Milky Way - Coast Guard Beach
Made from 20 light frames with 2 dark frames by Starry Landscape Stacker 1.8.0. Algorithm: Min Horizon Noise
This was captured using the Panasonic Lumix S1H and the Lumix S Pro 16-35 mm f/4 lens. Exposure Triad: f/5, 20 sec, ISO 6400. Final image made from 20 light frames with 2 dark frames using Starry Landscape Stacker 1.8.0. Algorithm: Min Horizon Noise.
Comet Neowise at Paine's Creek
Comet Neowise
This is a 2 exposure blend. Captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the 70-200 mm f/2.8 S-Pro Lens and 1.4X tele-extender. The comet exposure was f/4, 5 sec, ISO 6400.
Valley of Fire Panorama
This is a 9 image panorama stitched using PTGui. The images were captured a little more than an hour after the sun had set. The rocks become intensely red in the afterglow.
Do click on the image for a larger view.
Panasonic Lumix S1R, 24-105 f/4 lens. Exposure triad: f/16, 1 sec., ISO 200.
Valley of Fire
I had a little time to myself today so I decided to check out Valley of Fire State Park. It is a little over an hour from Las Vegas. By the time I got there, it was Noon and the light was not good. Also disappointing was the sky. There were no clouds even though while driving there the sky looked promising.
The image above was taken as the sun dipped behind one of the many ranges in the park. I was using the Lumix S1R with the 24-105mm f/4 lens. Exposure triad: f/16, 2 sec., ISO 100.
The next image is from a more direct viewpoint and captured shortly after the first image. For a brief moment, the colors in the sandstone just came alive. Exposure triad: f/16, 2 sec., ISO 100.
A Red Sunset
This was the sunset image from the same evening as the last few posts. After some great light we had an intense rain storm and then the skies started opening up just before the sun set. All the photographers left the butte except one other PSA member and myself. This image was the reward for sticking it out.
Captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix Pro S 70-200 mm, f/4 lens at 70 mm. Exposure triad: f/11, 1/125 sec at ISO 800.
Tending Fields in The Palouse - the incredible S1R
Before leaving the Palouse, I would really like to venture inside one of the giant combine harvesters that the farmers use. The are specially designed machines that traverse the steep inclines and slopes of the Palouse without tipping over. The cab is fully climate controlled and has computers that monitor and measure things like quantity of the grain being harvested, the moisture content and many other indices.
This is an image captured on Sept 20, 2019, in the late afternoon before the storm. I used the Lumix S1R with the Lumix Pro S 70-200 mm lens. I have cropped a slight amount on the top of the frame to remove a distraction. The performance of the S1R is exceptional. This was a normal (not a high resolution) capture. A severe crop of the frame just to get the farmhouse is shown in the image below. (Please do click on the images for a larger rendition).
Exposure triad: f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 200. Focal length 200mm.
Storm Clouds Over Palouse
I arrived in Spokane, WA for the PSA Board Meetings and the Conference. It was a long flight from Boston to Spokane but I was not going to pass up the opportunity to take a ride to the wheat fields of the Palouse. The weather did not look good but then bad weather can make for some great images.
Most of the afternoon the fields had barely any light and when there was some it was flat. As the afternoon progressed there were occasional openings in the dark cloud that were letting some light come through. The was a large expanse of rain clouds that were dumping rain while the sun shone through on either side casting some warm light on the harvested wheat stalks.
This image was captured in high resolution using the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix S Pro 70-200 f/4 lens. Exposure triad: f/11, 1/25 sec, ISO 200. Lens at 70mm. The 1440 x 934 pixel image is about 8% of the original file.
Please click on the image for a larger rendition.
A not so slow shutter speed - Rocky Coast of Acadia
(please click on the image for a larger rendition)
Slow shutter speed images are interesting and many are minimalist. But by the same token the use of slow shutter speeds seems to have become overly popular. Here in this early morning capture I wanted to slow the shutter down to get the action but at the same time show the motion of the waves as they crashed on the Acadia coastline. The warm glow and blue waters created a harmonious conflict.
The image is a blend of two splashes where both were exposed exactly the same. I used the Panasonic Lumix S1R with the Lumix Pro 70-200 mm f/4 lens at
Lumix G9 Hi-Res Mode - Canyonlands, UT
Despite windy conditions, I wanted to test the Hi-Res Mode of the Lumix G9 in a lighting situation where there would be a minimum shadow definition. I found this location and vantage point and returned at near high noon. The clouds were interesting but as they were not interfering with the light falling on this monolith, I set up and captured this image.
The original RAW file before any crop was 10368 px by 7776 px and approx 138 MB. One for one pixel (native resolution) at 260 DPI this image will print 40 inches wide. The image was processed in Capture One and I cropped down from the top for a better composition. The reduced resolution is a 1400px by 922px file.
No sharpening or lens correction has been applied, nor has any chromatic correction been done.
To determine the detail and quality of the image I have done an extreme crop as shown in the image below.
The Vast Icelandic Landscape
I posted this composite on facebook yesterday more as a "tiny" jab at a photography friend. However, today I felt it worthy of a post on my blog.
Cloud Formations
I have a passion for unique and captivating cloud formations and felt rewarded on March 27th 2014. We were on our way back from a trip around the Golden Circle in Iceland. Driving to Reykjavik it was foggy with low visibility but the fog really looked like low clouds. About a half hour to the hotel we saw some openings with some blue barely showing through an exquisite wind swept cloud formation. This image was converted to monochrome using Nik Silverefex Pro. I feel that simplifying a scene in B&W can not only enhance the image but also the story.
We spent a while photographing the swirls across the wide snow covered landscape and headed west toward the hotel. The sun set as a fiery ball but mostly obscured by clouds. Soon after there was a semblance of an afterglow that we did stop and capture. I feel the juxtaposition of the warm and cool tones make this image. The lower portion of the scene was intentionally cropped to eliminate a few man made structures that I found obtrusive.
