Tag Archives: Canon

June 21, 2021 · 7:22 am

Before And After – An Ode To Photo Editing And Photoshop

*The “Before” shot of the Bryce Amphitheater detail at Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)*

*The “After” shot of the same scene at Bryce Point in Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)*

Ok, this is not so much of an “ode” but it is an appreciation of what photo editing can bring out in a composition. Whether you believe it or not, and whether you even like it or not – most images really do need some sort of editing done to them after downloading them to your computer. Digital and mirrorless cameras capture all the detail of a scene, but they don’t necessarily present it quite like we saw it. Our eyes – our wonderful, delicate eyes – are still the best at defining detail within the light and shadow of a landscape. To get that image to match what our eyes have seen (and the memory recorded in our heads), some editing using a favorite piece of software, like Lightroom or Photoshop or some other program is really necessary.

It was my first-ever visit to this particular national park. An April birthday gift I gave to myself several years ago – that, plus one of the last paid vacations I’d be able to get out of the company before my subsequent retirement and out-of-state move some three months after this shot was captured. I wanted to photograph the detail of the amphitheater wall, so I used my Canon 100-400mm lens for a “telephoto landscape.” Unfortunately, I didn’t pay much attention to the camera settings, and the resulting image was washed out, a little overexposed, and downright “blah.”

Recently, I’ve been brushing up on my editing skills, learning all sorts of cool stuff through the video tutorials purchased from one of my favorite photographers, Sean Bagshaw. I wanted to test my newly-learned skills and returned to this image. The result is not half bad, imo.

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Filed under Bryce Canyon National Park, National Parks, Photo Editing, Photography, Utah

Tagged as 100-400mm, 5DS, Bryce Canyon, Canon, editing, National Park, photography, Photoshop, telephoto lens, travel, Utah

May 2, 2021 · 6:52 am

Do You Sometimes Wish You Could Return To Re-Photograph A Particular Scene?

I look back as some of my photos and wish I could revisit a particular landscape and capture the same scene with my newer-model cameras (bear in mind, newer-model also includes the high-megapixel Canons I’ve had since 2016). Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah is one such place, and this is one such scene.

I photographed this landscape back in 2013 (8 years ago – has it been that long – or that short – of a period of time??). The February winter midday light was harsh, but the distant snow/rain storm was pretty cool. I’d like to go back and see how much more detail and dynamic range my current cameras could pick up. Maybe someday, I’ll do just that.

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Filed under Photography, Travel, Utah

Tagged as 16-35mm, 5Dmk3, 5Dmkiii, Canon, canyon, Dead Horse Point, Dead Horse Point State Park, February, geology, oxbow, photography, red rock, river, state park, travel, Utah, wide angle, wide-angle lens, winter

April 18, 2021 · 6:48 am

Tiger Lily

“April showers bring May flowers.” While that might be the case in the lower elevations of the park, that’s not really so in the upper elevations. If you visit during mid-late July, however, you’ll see an explosion of wildflowers in the park, including the beautiful tiger lily.

As I was driving up the road from the Nisqually Entrance toward Paradise, one July a few years ago, I saw this patch of bright orange, strangely-shaped blooms. There was no place for me to stop along the narrow road, so I drove on, trying to figure out where I could park and then hike down to this patch. Luckily for me, a day later, while driving Stevens Canyon Road, I saw these flowers again, right next to a convenient pullout.The tiger lily plant, also known as the Columbia lily, can grow to a little under 4 feet in height, with a few or numerous orange blooms dotted with brownish spots. They are apparently lightly-scented, which I did not know, otherwise I would have bent down to sniff (and probably breathed in pollen and then gotten an allergy, so probably just as well I didn’t know this). Tiger lilys are just one of the many wildflowers you’ll see during a July visit to this national park.

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Filed under flowers, Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks, Photography

Tagged as 100-400, 1DX, Canon, Columbia lily, flower, July, Lilium columbianum, Mount Rainier National Park, National Park, photography, summer, telephoto closeup, tiger lily, Washington State, wildflower, Wildflowers

April 6, 2021 · 7:25 am

“Half The Park Is After Dark”

*A starry sky and mirror-smooth Reflection Lake in Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)*

*A busy night at the Sunrise Area of Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)*

*Comet NEOWISE over Crater Lake National Park (Oregon)*

*Taking the road to the stars in Big Bend National Park (Texas)*

*A starry sky over the Watchman and Virgin River, Zion National Park (Utah)*

“Half the Park is After Dark,” as the saying goes. This week is International Dark Skies Week, so here are a few images of some dark skies over Mount Rainier, Crater Lake, and Big Bend national parks. To read more about this week, click on any of the images above.

I don’t do much night photography, but that’s mainly because it’s hard for me to stay up past my bedtime. I’m not a “night owl” and never was. I’m an “early bird” and have no problem getting up at 3 a.m. to get to a spot for sunrise shots. I really do need to get more night shots of the parks I visit, and I’ll try to make that a mission. Another part of the problem, besides light pollution and staying up late, is that clear skies and moonless nights are the best circumstances in which to view and photograph the stars and Milky Way. Sometimes, I remember to time my trips during the week of a new moon, but oftentimes, I simply forget.

Night shots are a good way to work on your photography skills. To get a decent star image, though, you need to set your camera to Manual (not Auto or Program), put it on a tripod, increase the ISO to greater than 640, and experiment with different slow shutter speeds, anywhere from 10 seconds to greater. It’s also helpful to use a corded or wireless remote shutter release, or utilize the 2-second timer on your camera. That reduces blur from camera shake when your finder touches the shutter button.

It takes a little expertise with the editing software to really bring out that Milky Way and landscape. Some photographers blend anywhere from two to more images to get enough light on the landscape while keeping the dark sky dark. If they are honest, they will say what they did. But most photographers keep quiet. That’s why you will be amazed at seeing something like the night sky over the Watchman and Virgin River at Zion Park, where the landscape is beautifully lit. when in reality – as you can see from the image above, captured around 2 a.m. on a cold, clear February night – it is a a bit darker. Nonetheless, it doesn’t detract from the beauty of the shot.

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Filed under Big Bend National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, National Parks, Night Photography, Photography, Zion National Park

Tagged as Big Bend, Canon, Crater Lake, international dark skies, international dark skies week, milky way, Mount Rainier, Mt. Rainier, National Park, national parks, night photography, photography, Sony Alpha, where the trails take you, Zion National Park

March 28, 2021 · 9:12 am

Early Morning At Roaring Mountain

*An early autumn morning listening to the low hiss of Roaring Mountain fumeroles, Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)*

This shot was captured on my last day in the park. Actually, I was heading out and back to Bozeman to meet up with some friends, but I was loath to leave the park. I could have stayed there for another week and been happy.

Roaring Mountain doesn’t really roar. Instead, it has a low hiss that is sometimes difficult to hear – especially as cars passed by on the road behind me. All those spots where you see steam issuing forth are from fumeroles – openings that emit steam and other gases.

If you ever visit this national park, take a moment to fathom that you are standing upon a volcanically active (hydrothermally active) landscape. The crust is not quite as thick as you think it might be, which is why it’s good to obey the signs that say “Stay On Trail.”

2022 marks Yellowstone National Park’s 150th birthday. I’m going to try and be there at some point in time to celebrate that year with the park.

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Filed under Geology, National Parks, Photography, Travel, Travel and Photography, Wyoming, Yellowstone National Park

Tagged as 24-105mm, 5DS, autumn, Canon, fumeroles, geology, National Park, October, photography, Roaring Mountain, steam, where the trails take you, Wyoming, Yellowstone, Yellowstone National Park

March 23, 2021 · 5:48 am

World Water Day 2021 … Yesterday

*A Summer Sunset Over Kalaloch Beach, Olympic National Park (Washington)*

I’m a day late in posting this – probably because I didn’t realize that March 22, 2021 was World Water Day. So, better late than never, I’m posting a water image the day after World Water Day.

We are a very lucky world to have so much life-giving water. It behooves us, as a species, to take better care of this precious resource. With climage change, I have a feeling that future battles will be fought over water.

As for this image, it was captured during a late August visit in 2019, and while there were people out there, there were not as many as I thought, given that it was summer. If you’ve never visited Olympic National Park, you should put it on your to-see bucket list. It’s a national park with a bit of everything: lush green temperate rainforests, ocean beaches, and rugged mountains.

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Filed under National Parks, Olympic National Park, Photography, Travel, Washington State

Tagged as August, beach, Canon, Kalaloch beach, National Park, ocean, Olympic National Park, Pacific ocean, photography, summer, sunset, water, where the trails take you, World Water Day

March 20, 2021 · 6:23 am

Falling In Love With The National Parks

*A Minimalist View Along The Fairyland Canyon Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)*

I just finished reading a very good opinion article in the NY Times, and thought I’d share it. The link is embedded in the photo above, so click on the image to be taken to the article.

As for this image: I’ve visited Bryce Canyon National Park twice in my life – both in 2018. My first time to see this geologically surreal place was in April 2018, and then again in July 2018, during my road trip move from TX to central WA. Each time, I ventured out on the Fairyland Canyon Loop Trail, but never completely hiked the 8 miles. I’d sure like to finish what I started, so maybe I’ll schedule a road trip back to this park in 2022.

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Filed under Bryce Canyon National Park, National Parks, Photography, Travel, Utah

Tagged as Bryce Canyon, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canon, fairyland canyon trail, hiking, July, leading line, photography, summer, trail, travel, Utah

March 12, 2021 · 5:52 am

Fun Fact Friday 3-12-2021

*Folds Of Velvet – A Telephoto Landscape*

Here;s a wide-angle and a telephoto shot of the same area in the Painted Hills Unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, located in east-central Oregon. The telephoto image focuses more on those beautiful folds of maroon and olive hills, which was the objective with the telephoto shot. This is also to prove you can get some really nice telephoto landscapes, too. Telephotos are not just for wildlife, birds, and sports.

It’s #FunFactFriday , so here’s some interesting facts about this national monument located in Oregon. There are three units in this national monument, and each unit is about an hour’s drive from any other of the two units (the roads are winding so it’s important to drive the actual speed limit). The monument, as a whole, contains fossils of plants and animals that date back as far as 44 million years. The varigated colors of the hills denote periods of climate change, between wetter and drier periods. The darker colors of the hills represent wetter atmospheres, in which water oxidized (rusted) the iron minerals within the soils.

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Filed under John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, National Parks, Oregon, Photography, telephoto lens, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, 24-70mm, 5DSR, Canon, climate change, D850, John Day Fossil Beds, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, March, national monument, National Park, Nikon, Oregon, painted hills, Painted Hills Unit, photography, spring, where the trails take you

March 5, 2021 · 5:42 am

Fun Fact Friday, 3-5-2021

It’s #FunFactFriday ! Meet Chief Mountain. Half of it is in the eastern portion of Glacier National Park, and half of it is in the Blackfeet Reservation. Named Ninaistako by the Blackfeet, it’s a place of sacred ritual and ceremony going back thousands of years.

According to the National Park Service’s Geodiversity Atlas for Glacier National Park, it’s also a premier example of a klippe: “a geologic term for the erosional remnant of older rocks in a thrust sheet completely detached from comparably aged rocks trailing behind. Like the Lewis Overthrust itself, Chief Mountain is considered one of the world’s outstanding examples of a klippe; its images grace the pages of many geologic textbooks.” Come to think of it, I believe I *have* seen this mountain in one of my geology textbooks.

Back in 2017, when I told my editor I was heading into Glacier National Park, he asked me for images of Chief Mountain to go with a National Parks Traveler article about bison, I think. On the day I traveled over to this area, it was really hazy with smoke from the Sprague Fire over on the west side of the park. So getting a clear image was impossible – on that day, at least – and took a little bit of editing and Adobe Lightroom’s dehaze slider to bring forth any details.Veiled with wildfire smoke or not, Chief Mountain is an impressive site.

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Filed under Glacier National Park MT, Montana, National Parks, Photography, Travel

Tagged as 100-400mm, Canon, Canon 1DX, geology, Glacier National Park, Montana, National Park, photography, telephoto, telephoto lens

January 26, 2021 · 5:54 am

My 10 Favorite Photos From 2020

*Folds Of Velvet, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument (Oregon)*

The National Parks Traveler has published my first photography article for the New Year. It’s a tradition I began some years ago, where I choose my 10 favorite shots from the previous year, why I like each shot, and how I captured each image.

To read the article, click on the image above.

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Filed under National Parks, National Parks Traveler, New Year, Photography, Photography In The National Parks

Tagged as 10 favorites, 2020, Canon, favorite photos, National Park, national parks, National Parks Traveler, photography, Sony Alpha, travel, where the trails take you