Previously Featured Photos...
In case you missed a feature photo since you last visited, enjoy...
Feature Photo - Dec 12, 2012
Title/Reference #:
Svartifoss, Iceland
In the Field:
This image was taken at Svartifoss (Black Fall), Iceland in May 2012.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 10-24mm/f3.5, tripod, 8x natural density filter.
Exposure: Aperture Priority Exposure at 0.625s & f/10, spot meter, +2ev exposure, ISO 200, RAW.
On the Computer
The image was first processed in Photoshop with Nik Software HDR Efex Pro which combined two images. Then the rest of the processing was done in ACDSee Pro Version 6. After adjusting D-Lightning, and contrast, I desaturation all the colours expect green and a bit of blue.
Feature Photo - May 2, 2012
Title/Reference #:
Big Horn River Alberta
In the Field:
This image was taken at Big Horn River, Alberta in September 2007.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D70s, Nikkor AF-S 28-105mm/f3.5, tripod.
Exposure: Manual Exposure at 0.625s & f/22, matrix meter, ISO 200, RAW.
On the Computer
Processed it to create an image I had in my mind. Used Nik Software HDR Efex Pro to create a single image high dynamic range image. Then I used Nik Software Viveza to bring out the colours and create the image I envisioned. Finished off with Photoshop to remove some noise and then sharpen.
Feature Photo - Dec 1, 2011
Title/Reference #:
Winter Mountains
In the Field:
This image was taken at Lake Louise, Alberta in January 2006.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D70s, Nikkor AF-S 28-105mm/f3.5, handheld.
Exposure: Manual Exposure at 1250s & f/8, matrix meter, ISO 200, RAW.
On the Computer
Cropped the bottom to create more of a panoramic style. Processed for B&W with strong blacks (power of the mountain) and sharp whites (coldness of the winter day). Vignette the lens and 'burn' some of the edge.
Feature Photo - July 26, 2011
Title/Reference #:
F-16 - 2011-07-16 13-30-28 - DC2_6914MC
In the Field:
After many years wishing to see a F-16 Falcon in person, the 2011 Airdrie Air Show delivered the Viper West Demo Team. With a number of flight passes just under the sound barrier this aircraft was pure adrenaline. Photographing it was a challenge, but as luck would have it I was able to get a number of excellent photos. Here is one of my many favorites. Many other highlights from the show will be available in my Photo blog.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300 with MB-10 battery pack, Nikkor AF-S 300mm/f4, handheld.
Exposure: Manual Exposure at 1/4000s & f/4, matrix meter, ISO 320 (Auto-ISO 1/500 min and ISO 400 max), Fine JPG/RAW. 51 point 3D auto focus in full tracking with focus priority.
On the Computer
Ever so slightly cropped. This was to place the cockpit into the upper 3rd of the frame. Adjusted levels, shadow/highlights, colour vibrance, and finally resized for screen output and sharpen.
Feature Photo - August 9, 2010
Title/Reference #:
Black Bear Cubs - 2010-08-05-DC2_2540
In the Field:
After a couple of very disappointing bear viewing days at the bear viewing platform in Hyder, Alaska we were slowly driving out of the area for home when I spotted the back rump of the black bear sow in the ditch. By the time I got the truck pulled over, the camera pulled out, the lens cap off and I out of the truck (about 10 seconds later), the mother and two cubs had emerged onto the road. I started rapid firing and 12 seconds later the last cub was gone into the thick forest. Out of the burst of photos, only a few photos turned out � operator malfunctions, but a few photos did turn out nicely. This is one of my favorites as the young cub looks at me curious what I�m up to and the other just continues across the road.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 300mm, handheld.
Exposure: Aperture priority at 1/320s & f/4, matrix meter, ISO 400 (Auto-ISO 1/320 min and ISO 400 max), Fine JPG/RAW. Continous focus (error in setting - had been tracking a bird and forgot to turn off the continous focusing).
On the Computer
Cropped the image, adjusted levels, and finally resized for screen output and sharpen.
Feature Photo - April 2, 2010
Title/Reference #:
Spring is Here
In the Field:
Hiking along a ridge beside the Bow River in Cochrane I came across my first Crocus of the year. Spring is now here!
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 16-85mm, handheld but braced on the ground.
Exposure: Aperture priority at 1/200s & f/11, matrix meter, ISO 200, Fine JPG/RAW.
Snapped image in between the gusts of wind. Found f5.6 was not enough depth of field, so I stopped down to f11, which created the look I wanted (keep the background soft focus, and the flower sharp).
On the Computer
Placed the image into Photoshop and then enhanced the photo using NIK Viveza 2. I darken and lowered the contrast for the background. I added some saturation and structure enhancements to the Crocuses. Thought the image looked better in a square format and then added a matte. Finally resized for screen output and sharpen.
Feature Photo - January 23, 2010
Title/Reference #:
December Snow
In the Field:
Braving the wind and snow flakes, I left my hot coffee on the table and I stepped out into my back yard to capturing the snow fall. Large fluff snow flakes were dancing in the wind. I mounted the camera on a tripod and then took a number of photos at different shutter speeds and focus points, knowing that I would combine a number of photos together to produce a single image.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 70-210mm (315mm - 210mm x 1.5 sensor factor), manfrotto tripod
Exposure: 2 exposures at the same setting: Aperture priority at 1/200s & f/5.6,
matrix meter, ISO 200, Fine JPG, Manual focus.
One exposure was focused on the trees and one exposure was focused about
30 feet in front of me.
On the Computer
Using Photoshop, I placed the two images into the same file. The image that was focused on the snow was set to a blend mode of hard light and lowered the opacity to 75%. The image that was focused on the trees was placed under and sharpen. A adjustment layer was added between the two to only adjust the sharp tree layer. This layer was to enhance the contrast of the trees. An adjustment layer was placed on top to desaturate the colour a bit.
Feature Photo - September 13, 2009
Title/Reference #:
Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick
In the Field:
Hopewell Rocks is a unique ocean beach with distinctive sandstone formations. At low tide you can walk around the "flowerpots rocks" and at high tide (42 feet/12.8 meters) the rock formations are surrounded by water. The rocks are along the eastern cliffs along the Bay of Fundy, so sunrise gives the best even lighting. This photo was taken at sunset after the sun had gone below the horizon and twilight colour was just coming out. Image was taken July 8, 2009 at 9:15pm.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 18-85mm (at 16mm), manfrotto tripod
Exposure: Manual mode at 1/10s & f/8, spot meter (to create the silhouette),
ISO 200, Fine JPG
On the Computer
Using Photoshop, I changed the colour mode to 16-bit colour to help prevent banding and then applied adjustment layers of Saturation(increase colour saturation), Levels (increase contrast) and Channel Mixer (bring out the red in the clouds). Added Smart Sharpen filter. Then back in ACDSEE Pro, I ran a noise reduction filter - didn't like Photoshops noise removal look.
Feature Photo - April 6, 2009
Title/Reference #:
Spring is coming
In the Field:
This photo was taken from a series of photos in attempt to catch the water droplets falling off the icicles. I set the camera to manual mode since the exposure was fooled by the dark background. I then set the camera to high speed frame rate and then with some patience I tried to match the rhythm of the water drops to my finger pressing and holding down the shutter button to snap a burst of photos.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D300, Nikkor AF 70-210mm (315mm - 210mm x 1.5 sensor factor), handheld
Exposure: Manual mode at 1/400s & f/6.3, -1.33eV from camera meter, ISO 200, JPG
On the Computer
Image had basic adjustments to exposure, highlight/shadows, and sharpness. I also desaturated the image and pushed the contrast up to make the more striking.
Posted January 18, 2009
Title/Reference #:
Bald Eagle Soaring above
In the Field:
This photo was taken in November 1996 on slide film. Every November, bald eagles gather in Haines, Alaska area to feed on the Chum Salmon. It was a fairly warm sunny day in Haines (for November - but still below freezing). This photo was taken on the side of the road just north of Haines. The backlite bald eagle against the snow peaked mountains has been my favorite eagle photo that I've taken to date. This photo is part of the Bald Eagle Collection of photos that I took that day.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon F601 film camera, Tamron AF 200-400mm (at 400mm), manfrotto tripod (released head to allow for movement).
Exposure: unrecorded. ISO 200. Matrix Metering.
On the Computer
Scanned the slide in using a Konica Minolta Dimage Scan Dual IV slide scanner at full resolution (3200dpi), which created a 11.1 megapixel image. Image had basic adjustments to exposure, highlight/shadows, colour and sharpness. To view this featured image and others, check out the new Bald Eagles Collection Gallery.
Posted January 1, 2009
Title/Reference #:
Sunset on Mount Fox & Mount Foch, Alberta.
In the Field:
After a day of hiking and exploring we drove to the picnic area on the lower Kananaskis Lake. The parking lot was deserted and we had the place to ourselves, so we grabbed the camping chairs and found a peaceful spot along the shore to watch the sun go down behind the mountain peaks. Looking south from our chairs, was this. It was a perfect ending to a great day.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D70s, Nikkor AF 28-105mm (at 57mm), manfrotto tripod, Cokin
split neutral density filter, B+W polarizing filter.
Exposure: Program mode at 1/20s & f/4, ISO 200, Matrix Metering - Lighting
was pretty even - thanks to the split neutal density filter, so I didn't
need to tweak it.
On the Computer
Image had basic adjustments to exposure, highlight/shadows, colour and sharpness. Image was orginal shot as JPG (normally I shot in RAW NEF, but I had limited
amount of memory card and a week of backcountry, so I had to sacrifice a bit.) The image was moved into Photoshop CS3 and enhanced.
This image was taken in the summer of 2007, but just this fall I created
the Kananaskis Collection, so I thought I would feature this image and give
you a link to the new Kananaskis Collection Gallery.
Posted December 2008
Title/Reference #:
Opera Bird - Preparing to sing!
In the Field:
Fall had arrived and the birds had arrived in full force to raid the bird feeder. I hid between the vehicles and poked around them slowly to get in position for some close up photos. This bird had been bumped off the bird feeder and was watching for an opporunity to jump back in.
Behind the Camera
Gear: Nikon D70s, Nikkor AF 70-210mm (315mm - 210mm x 1.5 sensor factor), handheld
Exposure: Manual mode at 1/320s & f/5.6, +0.7EV, ISO 200, NEF
On the Computer
Image had basic adjustments to exposure, highlight/shadows, colour and sharpness. Image was cropped a bit. Image was then converted from NEF to jpg.
End of Featured Photos (started December 2008)