Moonrise over El Capitan and Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California 2010

Moonrise over El Capitan and Half Dome,
Yosemite National Park, California 2010

167 sec at f/16, focal length: 70mm, ISO 100, Manual (Bulb),
- 29 January 2010 7:04pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted

This image was made exactly 30 minutes prior to the black and white image from Gates of the Valley in the previous post. My Dad and I thought we'd start to head out of the park via HWY 41 and stop at Tunnel View to see if anything was going on. Well something was going on and there were every bit of 30 other photographer's there to document it. So we drove through the tunnel and stopped at Turtleback Dome for a slightly different perspective. We were the only ones there.

I have to say that I'm in love with "live view". Without it, I would've focused just shy of infinity, stopped down and hoped for the best. But because of live view, I was able to zoom in to various points within the image and know that it was going to be sharp.
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Moonrise, Gates of the Valley, Yosemite National Park, California 2010

Moonrise, Gates of the Valley,
Yosemite National Park, California 2010

259 sec at f/22, focal length: 25mm, ISO 100, Manual (Bulb),
- 29 January 2010 7:34pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 17-40mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted

I spent Friday in Yosemite Valley with my Dad and while the day was fun with plenty of photo ops, things really started to get interesting when the moon came up. It was completely overcast most of the day. Perfect for mid-day photography and intimate landscapes. Just as sunset was coming around the clouds had completely burned off. Not so perfect for reasons I'm sure you know. Then, as you can see in this image, they came back, bringing the next, although short-lived, storm with them.

Where did you photograph this weekend? If you've posted your images from this weekend online, please leave a link in the comments below. I'd love to take a look!

Cheers,

John


Also, in other news, I've created a Facebook fan page where you can see regular updates of news and new images. Take a look and become a fan. http://bit.ly/bzwU7o Facebook is free and a great way to stay in touch with friends as well as follow other photographer's work, so if you don't already have an account I'd highly recommend you sign up for one now and of course you should become a fan of John O'Connor Photography while your there!
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Backlit pines and oaks, from El Capitan Meadow

Backlit pines and oaks, from El Capitan Meadow,
Yosemite National Park, California 2009

1/40 sec at f/16, focal length: 87mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority,
- November 4, 2009 9:59am PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted

Have a great weekend! If you get bored check out the photoshop file available in the previous post for you to download...but better yet, go have an adventure!
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Free Download - Example .PSD file

Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek,
Sierra National Forest, California 2009

0.3 sec at f/5.6, focal length: 200mm, ISO 400, Aperture Priority, -2/3 EV
- May 31, 2009 8:32am PDT. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


*If you're in a hurry, the download is at the bottom of this post!

I've tossed around the idea of putting together some online photoshop/lightroom tutorials and ultimately, have decided against it. There is just too much time and effort involved given how much content is already available on the net. But, I do believe in sharing knowledge and, obviously, with just how much instructional content is available there seems to be a high demand for it. The problem was finding a good way to contribute to the learning machine without saying what's been said and becoming redundant. Enter David Nightingale, aka Chromasia. He's published his "tutorial schedule" for the year and has included "mini-PSDs" as a new feature. I thought this was a great idea and the perfect way for me to contribute.

The basic concept is to provide a low-res layered .psd file with no further write up or tutorial. You can download the file, poke around through the layers and hopefully learn some new techniques to apply to your own files.

Although I won't be writing an accompanying tutorial for these example .psd's, I do, however, welcome any questions you may have. I'll try to name each layer as a sort of note as to what each layer is doing.

Some tips on exploring .psd files:

• option(alt) + click on the eye next to a layer in the layers palette to "turn off" all other layers


• option(alt) + click on a layer mask to show that mask


• shift + click on a layer mask to disable that mask and reveal the adjustment layer's effect on all pixels


• double click on a layer to the right of the layer's name to display the "Layer Style" window. Be sure to check the "Blend If" sliders found under "Blending Options". I use this fairly often.

Now, with that said, "Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek..." will be the first example PSD available. This file was chosen for it's relatively simple processing but at the same time not so common processing. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments so that everyone will be able to see them, and the answer.

Click on the download link below to get started, and just in case it needs to be said, you will need Adobe Photoshop to view this file. You can download a free trial here.


Download "Spring reflections and fallen pine, Willow Creek, Sierra National Forest, California 2009" example file (approx 5MB)




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Rare Light Handheld, Why Not?

Sierra Storm at Sunset, Ahwahnee, California 2010

1/25 sec at f/5.6, focal length: 22mm, ISO 320, Aperture Priority,
- January 8, 2010 6:02pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D MarkII, EF 17-40mm f/4L, hand held

Friday evening gave one of the best light shows I think I've ever seen here in the Sierra Nevada foothills. So why would I photograph it hand held therefore sacrificing image quality? Because I was being lazy. I didn't want to bother with my tripod and honestly I wasn't even planning on photographing in the first place. I was having fun with my kids and sometimes things are just better experienced without a camera in hand. I thought this was going to be one of those times but then I saw this...

So I finally grabbed my camera, switched to a custom setting that is basically aperture priority with auto ISO and ran out into the yard. You can see that it's still just a record shot of an incredible rainbow (double rainbow if you look close enough) and incredible light. But then the clouds started to break and progress towards what you see above and I just went with it. There was no time to grab a tripod. Light and clouds were changing rapidly. It was exciting, loose, and liberating all at the same time. The camera truly became an extension of completely experiencing nature's amazing display. There was no need to focus on technique or nitpick the composition. I could drop the camera to my side, out of view, feel the light rain fall on my face, breathe in the fresh smell of water on earth and hear the silence that occurs as a storm is breaking. Then I could bring the camera back to my eye and discover what there was to see.

15 minutes and 68 images later, I walked back inside, set the camera down and resumed my fatherly duties.
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Elements of Water at The Center for Fine Art Photography

Jeffrey Pine and Bridalveil in Mist,
Yosemite National Park, California 2008

1/20 sec at f/16, focal length: 200mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority, +1 EV,
- November 2, 2008 6:16pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 20D, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


If you're following me on Twitter you may have already caught that I've had an image accepted into the "Elements of Water" exhibit at The Center for Fine Art Photography in Ft. Collins, Colorado. I'm told over 2,300 images were entered and juror, John Paul Caponigro, managed to edit the selection down to about 50 pieces. An incredibly difficult task to be sure. I'm honored that a print of the image above will be included!

The exhibit runs from February 19 – March 13, 2010 with the reception on March 5, 2010. I hope to make it to the reception but it's hard to say at this time, but if you're in the area you should definitely go. There will be a lot of great work on display, more of which can be seen here.
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FALLEN

Fallen, Cooper's Hawk #1,
Oakhurst, California 2009

1/30 sec at f/22, focal length: 70mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority,
- December 9, 2009 at 2:32pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted


Earlier in the week, this beautiful cooper's hawk's life prematurely came to an end. While the why of what had actually happened is unknown, you can read more about the event on William Neill's blog post here: "In Memorial...". While the idea of keeping this "Broken Spirit" around for a few days to seek inspiration and honor it's life through a photograph may seem grim, this majestic creature has no other choice but to hold your gaze and invoke contemplation.

Fallen, Cooper's Hawk #1,
Oakhurst, California 2009

1/13 sec at f/22, focal length: 78mm, ISO 200, Aperture Priority,
- December 9, 2009 at 2:36pm PST. Photographed with Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/4L, Tripod Mounted
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