Snow geese flock takes flight at first light, Bosque del Apache NWR, San Antonio, New Mexico.
Once again I am wading through the huge number of captures that I made at Bosque this year. The going is slow: it is surprising how mentally taxing it can be to make fine distinctions between image after image. If I edit for too long at one stretch, I find myself keeping too many mediocre images. However, there is an upside: finding hidden gems that I previously overlooked.
This is one of those gems. I shot this in very low light, with an iffy shutter speed, at ISO 3200. On my 7D, ISO 3200 often resembles a pointillist painting more than a photograph. Consquently, I did not look at these images very closely on my first quick edit. I just didn’t expect much. In revisiting the high-ISO images this morning, I noticed the pleasing pattern of birds receding into the fog at bottom, coupled with the pleasingly blurred birds taking flight. To my eye, the noisy high-ISO files usually don’t look that great in color. But in black and white, the noise looks artistic, rather than crappy. Add a slight color toning, and voila.
Like this image? Hate it? Please drop me a comment or a tweet.
A herd of bison grazes on the banks of the Yellowstone River before swimming across. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
I can’t decide which of these American Bison (Bison bison) images I like best. Monochrome or color . . . monochrome or color. Please post a comment and let me know which you prefer.
A herd of bison grazes on the banks of the Yellowstone River before swimming across. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.
I previously posted another image from this series. For me, at least, good images tend to come in bunches. Search for days, then wham. Conditions are just right and I make several strong images.
Monochrome portrait of an American Bison (Bison bison), Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Speaking of animal portraits, here is an American Bison (Bison bison) portrait that I really like. The key to this image is the light. I shot this a few minutes after sundown. The bison illuminated by the ever-so-soft evening glow, with just a hint of backlight on the horns. (Full disclosure: can’t say that I really planned this shot. A heard of bison was blocking the road, so I decided to photograph while I waited for them to move.) I converted this image to monochrome to emphasize the wonderful range of tones in the animal’s fur. I also think that the the high-ISO noise works a bit better in monochrome, at least for this image. Instead of being distracting, the noise resembles film grain. This image is about detail; be sure to click on the photo for a larger image.
I have a couple of additional bison images in the que, which I’ll post tomorrow. Hopefully you’ll enjoy the contrast between those images and this one. Stay tuned.
Trees in Fog I, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
As I mentioned in my previous post, one of the highlights of my visit to Yellowstone was the fog each morning. These are some of my favorite fog shots from the trip. The only problem is I can’t decide which of these compositions I like the best. The top is clean and simple. The bottom one is a bit messier, particularly with the muddy shore peaking through at right. But, I like the way that the curved shoreline leads the eye into the frame. Also, I like that there are a few more trees visible in the background. So . . . which do you prefer? Please leave a comment and let me know what you think.
Trees in Fog I, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
I had grand visions of posting the balance of my bighorn sheep images. But since I got up at 3:45 this morning, I’m just too tired to finish editing them. (Went to Mt. Evans. Let’s just say that it wasn’t worth getting up for.) In the meantime, I came across this Scottish Highland Cow in my archives. I captured this last summer while shooting in Summit County. I really like these guys. Enjoy this until I get to the sheep!
A Mountain Goat poses at the summit of Mount Evans, Colorado
Mount Evans will be open in a few weeks — which means that I better get busy editing and posting my Mount Evans images from last year. This Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus) is one of the many tame goats that like to hang out at the summit. I like the monochrome conversion, the back-lit fur, and the suggestion of mountains at right. I should note that I seem to be alone in my positive opinion of this image. But I like it enough to share. Let me know what you think in the comments.
American Alligator Detail (captive)
This image is about texture, tone, and detail. (If your monitor is too bright, it may not look quite right.) I like this image for a couple of reasons. This image has just the right level of abstraction. At first, the viewer is not sure what is depicted. But there are just enough hints to make clear that this is, in fact, an alligator. I also think that the monochrome version, coupled with a bit of color in the shadows, works well to accentuate the wonderful texture and tone of the gator’s skin. (Be sure to click on the image for a larger version). One of my personal goals is to make images that go beyond documentary, that show the viewer something about how I react to the natural world. This image gets close to that ideal.
Love alligators? Hate abstracts? Please leave a comment.
I am working hard to process images from a recent trip to the Monte Vista NWR. I went to the refuge to photograph sandhill cranes, and I hope to post a gallery of crane images this afternoon. As often happens, however, my photographic eye wandered a bit from the primary subject. In this case I was drawn to this completely flat, perfectly straight road, with accompanying telephone poles. By getting down low to the ground, I was able to show the texture of the road, while highlighting both the nearest pole and the way that the road and line of poles converge on the horizon. Fortunately, the road sees very little use.
Perhaps this is just an example of my idiosyncratic photographic tastes, but I’m very excited about this image. If you agree (or eve if you don’t!) please leave a comment. And if you really agree, please order a print. I recently made an 11 x 16.5 print, and it prints beautifully. Also, be sure to click on the image for a larger version.
After posting a version of this earlier today, I started wondering what the image might look like if the leaf hadn’t been amputated. Adding in a leaf is a fairly extreme Photoshop manipulation for me — I never alter the natural history of a scene in the ‘shop, and I generally tend toward minor clean up, dodging and burning, and the like. Still, my curiosity, coupled with too much spare time, and voila. Photoshop’s selection and edge refinement tools, coupled with transform and a little color clone-stamp make this easy.
So, now that I’ve done it, which one do you like? Note that the “new” version in this post has a slightly different black and white conversion and toning.
Monochrome Back Lit Palm Leaf
I made this image of a huge, back-lit leaf while shooting at the Denver Botanic Gardens with Jay and Kurt. The arboretum at the Gardens is a great winter refuge for photography:. It’s full of interesting textures, colors, and shapes, and you can shoot in shirtsleeves. Because of the riot of plant life in the arboretum, I tend to focus on “tight” shots; wider shots tend to be too busy and jumbled.
Shape and Line (Leaf Closeup)
The appeal of this image is the fuzzy texture of the leaf and the gentle, symmetrical curves at the top of the leaf.
Leaf Detail With Water Droplets
I was struck by the wonderful texture of the palm trunk, but it was too simple by itself. Finally, I found the palm frond at the base of the tree. IMHO, the contrasting shape and texture of the palm leaf completes the image. That said, I can’t quit decide if the trimmed leaf at right adds or subtracts from the image. It certainly takes the photo out of the realm of perfectly “naturalistic” imagery. But in a sense, the amputated leaf makes the viewer more consciously aware of the curves of the remaining leaves. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Scottish Highland cattle calf standing in a green spring pasture.
These Scottish Highland Cattle (also known as kyloe) point up a couple of important photographic lessons. First, don’t have tunnel vision. I ran across these remarkably hairy beasts while I was in Summit County, Colorado photographing foxes and osprey this summer. I almost didn’t see these animals, and then almost didn’t stop. I’m a wildlife photographer, I thought to myself, not a farm animal photographer. But I’m glad that I did. The calf is adorable, and his red fur really pops against the spring pasture. And frankly, I suspect that these will work better as stock (and even fine art) images than the wild animals I photographed earlier in the morning.
Monochrome Scottish Highland cow
The second lesson as that a texture plus hard light can make great monochrome images. I wasn’t crazy about this image in color — to much contrast, and the light angle is too oblique. But the contrast works much better in monochrome, highlighting the trademark heavy coat.
Scottish Highland cow displaying the remarkably shaggy coat that is the hallmark of the breed.
Scottish Highland cattle calf standing in a green spring pasture.
I don’t normally post a vertical and horizontal image of the same subject, but this calf is too cute not to post twice.
Sioux Villa Curio, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
I’m a big fan of street photography, particularly the gritty, monochrome, Leica-on-the-hip style. I just can’t claim to do much of it — my photography is notable more for the absence of people than their presence. Also, I don’t have a Leica.
That preamble explains why this image is a bit of serendipity rather than careful street-shooting savy. This curio store in Glenwood Springs, Colorado — literally a “rubber tomahawk store” in the pejorative parlance of the tourist west — is a sentimental favorite of mine. When I was a child, we’d stop at the store whenever we passed through town, whether to visit relatives on the western slope or on vacation. I made many happy purchases of things like fake Davy Crocket coonskin caps, plastic dog poop, and prank dribble drinking glasses. For a little boy, heaven. Fast forward a quarter century. Now my kids love shopping here for the same cheap crap as I did. We visited over the weekend, and I decided to get a snapshot of the colorful facade. Just as I was setting up, though, the colorful, hippy proprietor walked out for a smoke break. A quick “hey dude,” a smirk, and voila. Instead of a snap shot, I captured a little of the wonderfully quirky, kitschy personality of the place. Be sure to click on the photo to enjoy a larger view.
Back to your regularly-scheduled nature photography soon — I have six months of images that need editing.
I got up very early on Saturday for Burrowing Owls and again on Sunday for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park. (Owls were great. RMNP, not so much: animal total was 1 moose, a half-dozen mangy deer, and not a single elk. Too windy to look for Pika and Marmots on top). I’m way too tired for serious photo editing, so instead of working through my backlog of photos, I’ve been puttering around in my catalog of older images.
In the course of said puttering, I ran across this fairly-old image of Leafy Aster. I’ve always liked the texture of the center of the flower, but the flower petals are tad too worn to make for a really great image. On a lark, I converted the image to monochrome. Add a little dodging and burning, lots of contrast, a slight color tone, and voila. The worn flower works much better in monochrome.
I captured this image on a business trip to Philly. I was drawn to the great texture in the ivy, and captured a quick shot with my trust G9 (a fancy point-and-shoot). In retrospect, I wish that I’d had my “big” camera with the tripod to as to avoid some technical shortcomings from shooting with my hand-held G9, but better an imperfect image than nothing. I’m not sure whether I prefer the monochrome image above or the color image below. Please let me know what you think in the comments.
Edit Aug. 16, 2010 to fix my previous failure to crop the images after performing a perspective correction in Lightroom.
Monochrome Fox Kit (Img# 100619_1005280)
For some reason I rarely make monochrome images deliberately, but I often stumble across a good monochrome candidate image while I’m doing something else. Certainly true in this case. This image is a doubly good candidate for monochrome – the fox pops from the background, and there’s a great range of tones in his face. Equally importantly, there are lots of funky colors in the background, which are slightly distracting when the image is in color. Converted to monochrome, those problems vanish.
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