April 10, 2012

Blue Suede Dunes – Sunset at White Sands New Mexico, 2012

Just after sunset these rolling dunes take on a subtle cast. Like an ocean of sand dancing in with a tides. Subtle shadows and perfectly arcing curves sweeping in waves across the landscape for miles into the distance.

White Sands is a rather remarkable place. Not only for it’s giant dunes that seem by themselves in the desert, but for the way it plays with light, the way you can take the kids and sled down it’s swooping slopes, the way it’s like standing in summer snow in the heat of the day.

It was a memorable visit all around and I’m thankful I was able to make a memorable image. It should be stunning on canvas.

Release details: Prints Available.. Order Open Edition originals above.. Master prints and Signature Limited Editions are listed below and can be ordered by contacting gallery.. Learn about Limited Edition values here.

Released prints….

For Photographers. How it was made…

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April 6, 2012

A study image only. Canon 5D MK2, 50mm 1.4 @f5.6, 1 hour, ISO160. Bright rock light from the moonlight

An image study for photographers.


Star trails, turning night to day, midnight landscapes. There is amazing image potential for the photographer willing to do their homework and pre-plan setups to take those grand steps into the dark of night.

This photo is lacking. What it shows me is not. I was in the New Mexico highlands. The sun has long set and the light is only from moon and stars in this one hour long exposure. This image is not fully up to my standards and hence may never make it into my Signature Collection. That said there’s something to be learned from it.

I’m trying to develop some baselines and ideas for working what I call ULE’s (Ultra Long Exposures) and I wanted to share some of those here. This image represents the first time I used “only” past experience to determine exposure time, running a single one hour exposure at 5.6, ISO160.

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March 25, 2012

Sliver Moon Blues – Near White Sands NM, 2012.

It was just awhile after sunset and I was not expecting an amazing view. We setup camp on the barren landscape of a tiny lake in the New Mexico desert, near White Sands. We ran the usual paces, unloading kids from the truck, planning dinner, getting settled. This is an image from an unlikely place that’s reminded me to never overlook potential.

I noticed what that moon was doing. A sliver moon, but with it’s shadowed area beautifully visible (there’s probably a name for that). I realized it was setting fast and that I had to do something, so I setup just a few yards from camp and started to work. It was not an easy image due to the rapidly setting moon and the low light, but I made this before it set fully and I’m thankful for a good night and an unexpected image.

 

Makers Notes…

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March 23, 2012

Photo Couch Podcast #28 MP3

In Big Bend NP once again, Gavin is working in the field and musing about how much we can gain by stopping, taking a breath and thinking about our scene before we release the shutter.

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Photo Couch is the companion podcast of Gavin’s f164 project. Sort of an audio journal. Nothing fancy here. Just short musings, tips, and thoughts on photography. You can listen below, or subscribe for free and get all the latest episodes. If you want more, you can also check out Gavin’s full podcast, Pro Photo Show.

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March 5, 2012

by Gavin Seim: Adobe wasted no time getting out of the beta phase. It seems they wanted cha’ching sounds a ringing.

Lightroom 4 is hitting desktops as we speak. Thankfully Adobe did drop the price a good bit to $149 ($79 for upgrades). Something we can probably credit to the Aperture price drop in 2011. Thanks Apple.

All told. LR4 looks pretty good. Not Earth shattering. But good. Sadly there seems to have been few changes from the beta. There were areas some were hoping would get more features. But LR4 has some new develop tools, some refinements and some new modules that will keep us busy.

A few major things to look for include…

  • Changes to the Develop settings, including Shadow, Highlight, White Point and more.
  • Video playback and basic editing support.
  • The book maker module (limited but interesting).
  • More control over Brush and Gradient settings, including localized White Balance.
  • Built in maps module.

Of course there’s more. I’ll be back with some thoughts soon. For now go check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

More detailed review in the works. This post will be updated… Gav

 

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