Photographic Progress . . .
A quick story on my beginnings as a landscape photographer
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your time tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. ”
So I was thinking about how I started with landscape photography and why I’m doing what I’m doing at this point.
It was about six years ago when I saw a picture of Torres Del Paine, by Daniel Kordan, which set off something within me. I remember I was in Barnes and Noble at the time, thinking about how I always liked photography, but never really studied it or tried it out as a hobby. This was also coming off of numerous injuries playing basketball and looking to do something else that wasn’t as “risky.”
Of course I ended up severely hurting myself a year later playing in a soccer game, of all things, but that’s a story for another time.
Anyway, since I was thinking of taking up photography, I picked up a few photography magazines just to thumb through them when I came across the Torres Del Paine picture of Daniel Kordan’s, a breathtaking picture that had energy and movement, but also a bit of serenity and tranquility to it as well. I’ll link to his gallery here and the picture I’m referring to is the first one in the gallery. And you might as well just check out the rest of the gallery as well!
Honestly, seeing that picture made me think “I want to get there,” not just physically, but also artistically.
This is where I’ll address the quote that started this entry.
Chris Hadfield is a Canadian astronaut who was pretty famous for his mission on the ISS and posting a number of different videos about his time serving on that station. A famous video of his is this one:
Now, back onto the quote. I won’t repost the whole quote here, but I’ll just use this part:
“Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction.”
I haven’t read his book (yet!), but I knew of the quote above, which was a great quote to remember. It’s the choices we make, day in and day out, that help define what we could be. What we could become. Sometimes we aren’t as consistent as we’d like, but always taking up that mantle again, not giving up on what you’d like to become, we have to make those choices and sometimes ignoring the impulses within (like wanting to sleep!).
That’s what that quote means to me. And it definitely applies to more than just photography.
So it was a simple choice; I wanted to be a photographer, specifically of landscapes like the ones I saw in Kordan’s gallery. That meant moving my life in that direction.
One of my first attempts at Burney Falls. If I remember correctly, this was day 100 of the 365 Project. I think I actually hand-held this with an old Samsung Point and Shoot. I actually still have that camera. This was taken in May of 2014.
So in 2014, I decided to do a 365 project with photography and take a photo every single day for that year. The intention was to be intentional. I wanted to get better. So I went out, most of the time after work, to find a composition, sometimes pushing it to near midnight. Sometimes I stayed at home because I was incredibly tired from teaching that day, but still managed to get shots either outside in my neighborhood or around the house.
Throughout the first half of the year, I mainly stayed within the Reno/Sparks area, save for a few trips like Burney Falls (see photo to the right), but I eventually started driving up to Tahoe more and more as the year progressed. This was also when I bought my first DSLR, I think mid-way through the year.
And yes, the gear upgrade made a difference, but it still came down to what I was seeing and how to set-up a shot. That was still the most important factor (until it came to understanding how to edit - still learning that one!).
I definitely point to this project as the project that started me down this photography path. Every single day of that year, I choose to practice. I also started reading as much as I could, studying as much as I could, and watching as much as I could regarding photography and everything else associated with it. I could see tangible and incremental things I did to progress throughout the year and looking back at what I did then definitely gives me a sense of accomplishment.
But I’m definitely not where I want to be.
I think that will keep me going.
This was taken this year. At a very similar spot from six years ago. I think I chose this spot just so I could make the comparison. Plus, I didn’t have the proper gear to actually get in the water to get the composition I really wanted!
A Day Trip. Well, an Evening and Night Trip.
Tufa Formations. As the sun went down, it lit up this small portion of the tufa formation.
On Monday, June 15th, I decided to take a day trip to Mono Lake. There wasn’t any particular reason, I just hadn’t been to the lake in two years and figured it was time for a visit.
The above sentiment is one of the reasons why I like where I live. The Reno-Tahoe area is in relative distance to a lot of incredible scenery. Tahoe is literally (said this in a Chris Traeger voice - if you get that reference) 40 minutes away, at least the northern part. The California Coast is around 4 - 5 hours or so (still doable as a trip!). Burney Falls is around two to two-and-a-half hours away. And Mono Lake is around two hours away (well, maybe two-and-a-half).
So it’s still a decent drive, but something that doesn’t really drain you of energy, say like a 8-12 hour jaunt somewhere (though I’ve done that too, in the past).
Of course, when I made the decision to go to Mono Lake, it was around 4:30 pm. So the day was really close to finishing.
So it’d be an evening/night trip, since I knew I wanted to be there at sunset.
Mono Lake is an incredible place to visit, primarily due to the geological formations that populate the area. For certain parts of the lake, the tufa formations jutting from the ground and along the shoreline have been there for centuries, in certain cases. These tufa towers are a result of underwater formations (when the water level was apparently higher), where calcium-rich springs met with carbonate-rich water and were insoluble to the alkaline waters (I think that’s right?). These towers were eventually revealed when the lake level dropped to it’s current capacity.
More tufa.
Walking along the tufa formations gives Mono a definite, otherworldly feel. And yes, it’s cliche’d to say that about Mono Lake, but it holds true. You definitely have to be cautious where you step as you make your way to the edges of the lake. As for myself, I was being cautious because I was still wary of cutting myself again on jagged rock.
It definitely makes it somewhat difficult to find a composition since there are several places that you’d like to go, but shouldn’t just because you’d step on those fragile formations. But there’s still a lot of perspectives to find from what’s available. I think one shot I’d like to get here would be a Milky Way shot, but that’ll have to come later.
When I arrived, there were several birds that were flying around the area, in particular, two gulls that seem to be cruising and skimming the lake for an early evening snack. In and out they flew, zig-zagging through the frame, gliding quietly atop the surface of Mono Lake. I wanted desperately to capture their flight against the backdrop of the sky and the tufa formations in the lake, especially if they started flying toward the camera, which they did when I first set-up.
Of course, waiting for zig-zagging birds to line up properly within the frame again amidst the setting sun wasn’t going to happen, at least this time around. Especially if I was trying to capture it!
However, there was a shot I thought was pretty fortuitous, despite not getting what I had hoped.
I didn’t realize it at the time, as I was only paying attention to the birds, the fading light and how the clouds were catching it. I triggered the shutter whenever the birds came into view, hoping to catch them in a frame. I also got a capture just of the scene itself, maybe thinking that I could get the birds in a different frame since I had to adjust my shutter speed to account for their flight, and blend them together later.
I did miss capturing the birds in frame for the most part, though I got a couple of blurry captures which didn’t make sense to use. But as I was editing, I sat there again thinking about how unique Mono Lake was in terms of topography, how it resembled something extraterrestrial. As I thought about that, I noticed the cloud formation in one of the captures I had for the scene, a very fascinating cloud in the left, upper-third of the picture that resembled a flying saucer.
I didn’t see that cloud as a flying saucer when I was taking the picture. I only recognized it when I started editing it. I thought it was an appropriate little “cloud” to show up during this capture.
Mono Lake is such an otherworldly place. What’s surprising is the little grey cloud shaped like a “classic” flying saucer.
Focal Length: 16 mm (vertical)
ISO: 100
Aperture: f/11
Shutter: 1/10 sec.
So does anyone else see that flying saucer?
Chasing and Guessing
Last Friday, June 12th, I took myself up to Tahoe figuring it’d be windy and stormy again, two things I love to photograph up at Tahoe, primarily because it kicks up the waves to create some interesting scenes. It also helps with the social distancing since there aren’t too many people keen on hanging out at Tahoe when there’s a rainstorm peppering the ground with precipitation.
For this trip, I wanted to hike along the east shore, a quick and easy jaunt to Chimney and back, taking some pictures along the way. As I made my way along the shore, the sunlight penetrated the clouds intermittently, an inconsistent burn that lit up scattered sections of the shoreline. I was pretty content seeing the light unfold and getting a few pictures of that as well.
Until the rain came.
It started raining, and although I was prepared this time with my rain gear and proper footwear, it’s still not too fun when you’re getting pelted by a waterfall of relatively cold precipitation.
So I hiked back to my car and had a little snack (mozzarella cheese wrapped in prosciutto - great little snack) before driving back to the Reno/Sparks area.
Here’s where you need to be adaptable and patient.
Knowing that the light had been peeking in and out all afternoon like some atmospheric game of hide-and-seek, there was a chance the actual sunset would light up. That was on my mind as I was driving toward Incline Village.
As I peered out toward the lake (briefly - I was still driving!), I saw the horizon had a small gap of blue sky, something that most landscape photographers always have there eye on, especially with medium-to-high elevation clouds in the sky.
We need light. We guess where it shows up. And we chase it.
So I decided to chase it. The light.
As I approached the outskirts of Incline, I turned around, drove back down 28, and found parking near Hidden Beach, guessing at the possibility of some decent light to photograph. And because of the rain, most, if not all, of the people who were around that area basically vacated due to the precipitation.
So I went to a new favorite spot, found a decent composition and fired away. The end result is below.
This is a blended image. The first image used was for the bushes and trees, getting an exposure at a relatively fast shutter speed and ISO to get a clean look. The second exposure was for the waves. And I used a third exposure for the crashing wave in the background. I used a 16mm focal length for all the exposures (except for the crashing wave) and blended them in Photoshop.
Shoreline (Trees/Bushes):
Aperture - f/8
Shutter - 1/125 second
ISO - 800
Waves:
Aperture - f/16
Shutter - 1/6 second
ISO - 100
Crashing Wave:
Focal length - 18mm (aligned in PS)
Aperture - f/16
Shutter - 1/4 second
ISO - 100