Way I like to head

Below Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains

As the mild winter progresses I'm still in process to reorganize and clean my photo archive. I know that I will not have much time for this job when the birds start to migrate south again and I want to be out shooting every possible minute. The best part of this task is to look at some photos from a distance in time and to make choices about publishing.

This one is not really that old yet, it is from last year's trip to the Great Smoky Mountains. We just returned from Clingmans Dome, the highest summit in the Smokies, back to the parking lot when this cloud caught my attention. Why did I choose this one? It is the direction I try to head with my landscape photography. It is not about black and white, it is about story telling drama in the sky. This photo can be repeated over and over again with a boring blue sky and will always look the same. Most postcards are this way. It is unique with this particular cloud, and this is what makes the difference, at least for me.

Tool for file organization, maintenance, and analysis

It doesn't happen very often that I don't find the time for making any click during a whole week. Too many other things had to be taken care of during the last few days. I have to admit that I wasn't really sad about this because I found the time at night to do some maintenance in my picture data base. I'm a strong believer in a good file organization and I assign keywords to all of my images. Not only that finding a particular photo is so much easier, I believe it also helps me to analyze my work by comparing older shots with my actual creations. For instance, before I went in November for the third time to the Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Southern California I viewed my photos from the previous visits carefully. With a simple click in the keyword data base I can pull up every photo from a particular bird species. It helped me to see where I have room for improvement and to set new goals for the next shooting event in the same area.

During my nightly sessions this week I realized that I had neglected nature close up shots during our time in the Smokies this fall. A single click on the keyword "Fine Art" made me aware of this fact. This photo with the leaves in the crystal clear stream and the sun reflected from the minerals at the bottom of the creek was one of the few.

I use Adobe Lightroom for organizing my photos since four years now (version 3.6 was just released a few days ago). It's library module with all the features for searching, selecting, and file handling is awesome. Lightroom has many strongholds that I like but the library module is one of the best tools in my digital darkroom. If you have someone who is still asking for your Christmas wish, hey, here is a gift idea… ;-)

New layout, more space for images

Clingmans Dome, Great Smoky Mountains,   Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120 / f4

It was overdue. It always bugged me that the size of my pictures in this blog was so small. Sure, 620 pixel at the long side is big enough to see what the image is about, but I know my blog is the #1 showcase for my photography and I like to push the compromise between file size and display quality towards the latter.

Another reason I expand the space here is that I like to streamline my workflow. The blog is not the only place where I publish my images. I have my galleries hosted at the Pbase website and I also show some of my pictures at the German Fotocommunity. At all these websites I use about 950-1000 pixel length for my photos. The idea is to use 900px for all three from now on. This still leaves me the chance to add a white border around an image without exceeding a length of 1000 pixel. Because of the black background in the German Fotocommunity I like to add a white border and they will automatically downsize your image if it goes beyond the 1000px limit. The automatic downsize goes along with a big loss in quality and I don't want that happen.

Finally I added a share-button for any of the social networks out there or for sharing by email, just in case you may like something you find on this blog ;-) To make a long story short, I hope you will enjoy the new format here, despite the fact that it may take a few seconds more to load the website. Thank you for stopping  by!

Different approaches

Mingus Mill, Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina

One of the best things of digital photography is the fact that it gives you the chance to approach a subject differently from an artistic point within an extreme short period of time. Both images of Mingus Mill in the Great Smoky Mountains are from the same RAW file. The first one doesn't hide the fact that it was taken these days and it epitomizes the old mill as an historical building, worth to preserve, and worthwhile to visit, especially during the colorful fall.

Both images: Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f4

The second one emphasizes the structure and want make you believe it was created only a few years after the old mill was built (Okay, forget my watermark in the lower right corner… ;-) ).

In most instances I know already when I press the shutter release button how I want the picture be seen. Nevertheless, sometimes it turns out totally different while I work with an image in post processing. In this matter I knew the colors of the leaves would give a nice contrast to the building but I also saw the potential of the structure for a good B&W image (even if I used a sepia tint here). For me, there is not really a better or worse. It is just a matter of mood and my opinion about which one I prefer may change every minute. Do you like any of them? If so, which one do you like more and why? I like to hear from you! :-)

Killer light conditions

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f4

It wasn't as cold as it looks like in this photo from October 20, 2011. It was the day when we went over the mountain ridge to the north side of the Great Smoky Mountains. The first snow of the season had painted the trees white in the upper range of the mountains. It was a wonderful mix between fall colors and the white of the snow covered trees. Fast moving clouds made for real killer light conditions and constantly changing scenery. This photo was made at Newfound Gap at the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. More to come...

Nature clicks #61 - Focus tests with elk

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Another place in the Great Smoky Mountains where elks are often present is the vicinity of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the south side of the mountains. It is a wide open space in the valley and a herd of elks can be seen there quite often. Despite a dark overcast and the low light in the late afternoon most pictures of this grazing elk turned out with a decent sharpness. One of the best experiences with the new Nikon D300s is the way its focus works. It is much better than it was with my beloved D200.  This elk bull was really close and I didn't have to use the full 500mm focus length of the SIGMA 50-500. The elk didn't move too fast and this gave me a great opportunity to play and check out the focus system.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4.5-6.3 APO DG HSM

Another reason that sharpness turned out better than in similar situations before might be the fact that I'm using a taller tripod now. The Calumet 8156, a 4-section carbon fiber tripod, allows me to stand upright between its legs while shooting. I feel much more relaxed and the upright position while shooting makes it easier to apply correct long lens shooting technique.

Beside enjoying the close presence of this majestic elk I also got a kick out of the excitement from other visitors that had their first elk encounter in life. I believe it is important that many people, especially young folks, experience wildlife encounters. This will ensure that more people become aware what we loose if we don't protect the habitat of these animals and also understand that economical things cannot play the only role in our lives.

Nature clicks #60 - Best sound in nature

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4-6.3 APO DG

The next opportunity for more wildlife photography came during a trip to Cataloochee on the east side of the Smokies. In 2001 the National Park Service began to reintroduce elks in the National Park. One of the places were they can be viewed is Cataloochee Valley. Most of the elks wear radio collars around their neck and have ear tags. This makes a lot of sense for the biologists who control the reintroduction program but not every photographer may like it. It didn't bother me a bit.

The rut was already slowing down but we still could hear some male elks bugling. For me there is no better sound in nature than this! This twelve-pointer was chasing the ladies in his harem and made clear to the competition who owns the place.

Nikon D300s, Sigma 50-500, f/4-6.3 APO DG

I could have shot most of the pictures with ISO 200 but I really wanted to test how the D300s performs with higher ISO settings. I used mostly ISO 560 or 800, something that never turned out well with my old D200. Yes, noise is there but it is still manageable. However, noise reduction takes out detail and I know that I will stay away from the higher ISO settings as much as possible.

Nature clicks #59 - First wildlife shot with the D300s

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f/4

One question I was hoping to get answered during our time in the Great Smoky Mountains was, how would the new Nikon D300s perform for wildlife photography?

The first animal I had the pleasure to put my lens on was a five foot long Black Snake laying across the trail. I was on my way back from a tiresome hike and to be honest, I didn't really put too much effort in this shot. Now, three weeks later, seeing this picture on my screen it bothers me that I didn't try to get a shot with the snakes tongue out of its mouth. I guess my mind was already back in the campsite!

More to come about wildlife in the Smokies, so please stay tuned…

Let's talk about workflow

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f/4

Probably most people that visit the Great Smoky Mountains drive at least once up to the mountain ridge and walk the last mile to Clingmans Dome (6643 ft / 2025m), the highest point in the National Park. We did too, even if we prefer the quieter places in the mountains. Lots of tourists up there! It is nice to be on the watchtower and have a view in all directions but I found the more interesting views on a little lower elevation along the roadside. Luckily there are many pull-outs along the roads in the Smokies that allow you to park the car and shoot your pictures safely. The clouds moved fast and the sun rays let the leaves glow whenever they touched them. It was just gorgeous.

If you are interested, here is the workflow I used for this image:

I dialed in -1EV exposure compensation to bring the clouds to their full potential and not to have any highlights blown out at the right hand side. I used a graduated filter and the adjustment brush in Lightroom 3.4 to bring back some of the exposure in the foreground. Next I used the tone curve to enhance the overall contrast a little. This is followed by the usual capture sharpening, necessary for any RAW file. No color enhancements for this picture! Next I switched to NIK Color Efex Pro 4 (I have version 3 but just used the free 15-days-trial on the new version) and worked with the tonal contrast filter. As always, my last steps are done in Adobe Photoshop. I have a special downsize algorithm that also serves to sharpen the image for the web. I learned this step from the book "Image Sharpening with Adobe Photoshop, Camera RAW, and Lightroom" by Bruce Fraser and Jeff Schewe. A book that I can highly recommend to anybody who tries to understand image sharpening. Before I save a jpeg for the web I apply my watermark. Most of the steps in Photoshop are done by pre-recorded actions and require only one click to execute them. Done deal!

Diversity

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f/4

One of the things that impressed us the most was the immense diversity of trees we found in the Great Smoky Mountains. The question I asked myself was, how could I capture this in one image? Part of the answer came during a steep ascent by car to Cataloochee on the east side of the Smokies. Fast moving clouds in front of the sun with even a few rain sprinkles gave the colors of the leaves a great boost and show so the variety of trees and bushes. What no picture can transmit is the wonderful smell these forests have. Oh, just try to imagine it… I know you can't, it was heavenly… ;-)