Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Fall Leaves, Lundy Canyon

December 5, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Leaves transition from summer to fall colors in a deeply shaded area of forest in Lundy Canyon.

Since it was the second week of October, and the time at which I’ve seen Lundy Canyon aspens change color in the past, I headed up into the canyon on the last day of this visit to the eastern Sierra to look for aspen color. As I drove up the canyon from highway 395 I could see some brilliant color far above on the ridges above the canyon, but I wasn’t seeing much down in the bottom of the canyou. I continued up the canyon past Lundy Lake and the resort – closed up for the season – and then continued on the one-lane dirt road that goes on up to the trailhead, passing some flooded flats along the way. There is often color in these areas and then again in the grove of aspens near the trailhead… but not this time.

(Looking back on this “aspen season” from an early-December perspective, it was a bit of a strange one. It seemed to begin early at the higher elevations and there were stunningly colorful trees up high during the first week of October. However, storms soon came in and took down many leaves – and then there was a “dead zone” period of nearly two weeks before the color resumed at lower elevations. This visit to Lundy Canyon took place near the start of this slow period.)

After figuring out that the color I had coming looking for was not to be found, I started back down the canyon. I stopped briefly by the ponds but the light was not quite what I was looking for – it was still a bit too early in the afternoon and the light was harsh and coming from the “wrong” direction for my purposes. However, elsewhere in the canyon I decided that I had to photograph something before leaving the canyon for a planned evening shoot nearby, so I simply pulled out on a short dirt side road where I had earlier seen some tree trunks leaning against rocks. It turned out that I couldn’t find a composition there either – sometimes this is just the way it goes! However, I found these leaves nearby next to the path I had taken down to the river. I thought that the contrast between the green and yellow and the very dark forest floor might be interesting, so I put on a long lens (to minimize depth of field and to give myself some working distance) and I made a few exposures.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Desert, Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Northern California

Black Point and Negit Island, Mono Lake Shoreline

December 4, 2010 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

The north shoreline of Mono Lake leads from foreground offshore tufa past the base of Black Point to Negit Island and beyond.

You would never know it from this black and white photograph of the austere desert landscape around Mono Lake, but I was there to photograph… fall aspen color! Earlier in the day I had photographed further south along the eastern slopes of the Sierra, gradually working my way north with a plan of heading back to the “west side” over Tioga Pass at the end of the day after doing a last bit of fall color photography near Conway Summit and Dunderberg Road in late-afternoon light. By mid-afternoon I had made it to Lee Vining for an espresso stop at Latte Da and a break to check some email and so forth. Soon it was time to get into position for the low angle sun that would light the aspens a bit later, so I headed north out of town.

The road north from Lee Vining skirts the west shore of Mono Lake. Before leaving the lake there is a turn-off to another road that passes along the north shore of Mono Lake and can take you to places such as Black Point. I often stop at this turn-off since it provides a slightly elevated view of the larger terrain around the lake including the low hills to the east and Mono Craters and higher mountains to the south. On a typical blue sky mid-afternoon I might not make any photographs, but something about the light and the forms of the shoreline, Black Point, and Negit Island leading into the distance convinced me to make a few exposures, using a long lens to compress the distance.

This photograph is not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Mono Lake Basin, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Alien Life at Mono Lake?

December 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 16 Comments

A thunderhead builds over Mono Lake. — “MorningSquallSouthTufa20100725” — The shoreline of Mono Lake as a morning squall drops rain over the Sierra Crest near Lee Vining, California.

I think I may have been there when the “alien life”* arrived at Mono Lake… ;-)

* Just kidding, of course, but given the recent stories about “alien life” (or, more correctly, some very strange terrestrial life) this cloud came to mind. The original post is here.

Equipment, Technique

Tripods and Shooting in High Winds

December 3, 2010 G Dan Mitchell 8 Comments

I recently saw – and replied to – a question posted in a photography forum regarding tripods and shooting in high winds. The poster wrote something very similar to the following:

I realized that many shots from a recent trip are blurry because of wind shaking the tripod. Even hanging 10lb weight did not help. So now, I am looking for a new tripod that won’t be affected by wind.

What the writer has discovered is that no tripod is immune to strong winds, especially if you make long exposures and/or use long focal length lenses. Even if you had an absolutely rock-solid tripod, in a 40 mph wind your camera and lens will vibrate enough to create a slightly less sharp image.

So, what to do? You could get the heaviest tripod you can find and weight it down with bags of rocks and what not. But then you are stuck hauling around the dead weight of this tripod the other 95% of the time when you don’t need it. Yes, get a good solid tripod and a good head with good camera brackets, but other things can help in high winds and, in fact, may be necessary even with the best tripod:

Use a shorter focal length if possible.
Use a higher shutter speed, even at the expense of a higher ISO, larger aperture, and accept the slightly increased noise or slight loss of DOF.
Consider using image-stabilization (IS) even with the camera on the tripod in extreme conditions.
Don’t extend the tripod legs all the way – if possible shoot from down low to the ground with the legs retracted.
try to brace the tripod against something – rocks, your legs, anything that will dampen vibrations a bit.
Try to use natural wind screens when you set up – sometimes being in the lee of a wall or tree or rock can diminish the wind enough to make a difference.
Time your shots for moments of less wind.
If your exposure times are not extremely long, gently resting a hand on the lens or camera body can dampen the wind-caused vibrations.
Rather than relying on a single exposure, make many redundant exposures – some will likely be less affected by the wind than others.
If you have a strap attached to your camera, take steps to make sure it doesn’t flap. Wrapping it around the tripod may be sufficient.
If conditions permit, consider removing your lens hood.

I recall once shooting on top of a bluff at the far reaches of Point Reyes, normally a very windy place and on this day windy enough to almost be scary. But the light was beautiful and I wanted to make photographs from the edge of the bluff. I ended up retracting the tripod legs so that the camera would be lower to the ground, sitting with the tripod braced between my legs, using IS, leaving a hand on the camera to dampen vibrations, raising the shutter speed, and making many exposures. In the end, a good percentage of the images were adversely affected by the wind… but among them were some good ones that were sharp.

Point Reyes Shoreline

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