Category Archives: landscape

Divide and Conquer – Revisited

Posted by Mike on

What I Have Learned
Pixley Falls State Park

Two weeks ago I did a “What I Have Learned” post and I really enjoyed the process. I went back to 2012 again and found another of my early favorites. This image from Pixley Falls State Park is another example of how I had over worked images via the HDR process. I realize now I did not have an understanding of the importance of lights and shadows. It didn’t hurt that some of the photographers I was following used HDR to their benefit in creating the images I admired.

This is an extreme example, now that I look at it with a more critical eye. I captured a three exposure bracket but went to the very extremes +/-2 stops when in reality the original exposure had everything I needed.You can see in this image that there are very few shadows and highlights. The whole image is practically the same tone.

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Divide and Conquer

Divide and Conquer – Original
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, {1/4, 1, 4s bracket}, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

  

For the new version of this image I processed the 1 second exposure in Lightroom. I re-cropped the image slightly to bring a little more of the scene into the top. I wanted to keep the highlights in the water as well as the shadows under the rocks. This also allowed the differences in the tone of the leaves to stand out. My original HDR processing as well as the plugins I’m sure I used dulled the image slightly. I wanted to keep as much definition and sharpness as I could.

After completing my Lightroom process I did add a few more adjustments with Luminar 4. I didn’t go crazy though. Slight pop to the color, a little more texture in the shadows and mid-tones, and I avoided dulling the highlights in the water. This new version is brighter, more colorful and a truer representation of the scene. I really like/liked my original but I this reworked version has me enjoying this view even more… let me know what you think.

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Divide and Conquer Revisited

Divide and Conquer – Revisited
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 100

Playing the Blues

Posted by Mike on

Hinckley Reservoir

This would be the first image I captured yesterday at Hinckley Reservoir. I love how the color palette changes as the sun approaches the horizon. The time difference between the photos is about twenty-five minutes. Definitely less magenta in the sky…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Playing the Blues

Playing the Blues
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 5s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 400

 

Pre-Morning Hinckley

Posted by Mike on

Hinckley Reservoir

We are supposed to be receiving some rain today. The forecast has it starting this afternoon. In my mind, that equates to a cloudy sunrise and I needed to get outside to find me an image. Based on the angle of the sunrise, I thought my best location would be at Hinckley Reservoir. I was unsure as to the conditions of the lake, i.e., if there was still ice cover, if there would be some open water, but it didn’t make a difference to me, I needed to go out and explore. I have been sitting on my butt the whole week.

As I started my drive I was a little hesitant as the sky appeared cloud covered but as I drove further East there was a band of clear sky near the horizon that would allow the morning color to slip through. I was a little early to the reservoir, about an hour before sunrise, but that allowed me to get everything ready at a slower pace and scope out a few areas to place my camera.

I played down by the water for close to 30 minutes. I think I was able to capture some interesting images. I will be posting those as I process them. The image I have today is the last one I captured. It is from the top of the berm near the dam. I was hoping to show as much of the view as I could. The colors turned out to be fantastic this morning…

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Pre-Morning Hinckley

Pre-Morning Hinckley
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4s, 14mm, f/11, ISO 100

Bellamy, First and Last

Posted by Mike on

Bellamy Harbor Park

I hauled my butt out into the morning so I capture the sunrise yesterday. There was finally the right amount of clouds on the horizon to make it look interesting. I didn’t venture far, I stopped at Bellamy Harbor Park. I grabbed a few different views prior to the sun breaking over the horizon.

Before I moved to the opposite end of the park I lowered my ISO as far as it would go so I could stretch out the exposure. The water was moving at a fairly good clip so I knew this wouldn’t create the mirror like surface I had at Delta Lake, but the effect was pretty good. Although, considering it was the second day of Spring at little warmer weather would have been nice.

As sunset fast approached I considered my options for where to go to close out the day. As I’m starting to drive out of the city I thought, “why not end where it started?”. I drove to the opposite end of Bellamy Harbor to capture the reciprocal view of the canal. The view didn’t strike as dramatic as my sunrise but the two images should compliment each other nicely.

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Rise and Shine

Rise and Shine
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2.5s, 29mm, f/11, ISO 64

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Say Goodnight

Say Goodnight
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/80s, 17mm, f/11, ISO 200

Water Mirror

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

When I was at Delta Lake the other night capturing the sunset there was another photographer on the beach. She had the best location and I tried to wait for her to grab the images she wanted before I interrupted but she was exploring a lot of different angles in that spot. I eventually realized she was not going to be done before the sun slipped away so I chanced walking up to her to see if I could share her location. She graciously agreed there was plenty of beach for both of us.

We chatted a little as we both went about our process. She was working on some long exposure images and I realized the conditions were ripe for doing so. For the last few captures, I threw my 4-stop ND filter in front of the lens and stretched the exposure out to 2.5 seconds. It was enough to smooth most of the water and create a nice mirror-like reflection of the sunset.

I photograph this section of Delta Lake quite often, some could say a lot! Maybe it is the easy access, maybe it is the direction of the sunset that makes it so easy. Either way, I never get tired of seeing this view, especially when there are a few lingering clouds in the sky to add a layer of color. I’m beginning to think orange and blue are my go to colors… 🙂

  

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Water Mirror

Water Mirror
Olympus E-M1 Mark II, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 12mm, 2.5s, f/16, ISO 64