Home by the Sea

I grew up in New York, and I like to visit often.  This year I went in February and shot a lot of sunrise and sunset images at the beach.

This is an HDR from 3 source images shot with D4 and 14-24mm f/2.8, on 1 of my 2 new and favorite tripods (Really Right Stuff - extra tall 4 section series 2 and 3).  I'm probably going to get a 3rd one that's a series 4 XL 4 section.  After years of skimping on tripod and spending on lenses and bodies I've taken the plunge.

Last year right before going to Florida I got a 1000$ Gitzo and it broke on my second day shooting there when it was only around 3 weeks old.  One leg became wobbly and lose.

When I got back from Florida I returned the tripod and ordered an even better and only slightly more expensive Really Right Stuff series 3 tall 4 section one.  It is great.  I have absolutely no complaints.  And then I bought a second one that was a series 2 and as such a little smaller and lighter for a ball head and short lens use.

I have had a few other tripods (crap 1, small Gitzo, and large Fiesol) and really I should have just spent a thousand bucks on the best when I started and been done with it.  Everyone makes that mistake so I guess I had to as well.  You're probably reading this and have done it too, or will in the future.  It's like a right of passage all non-millionaire photographers have to achieve.



-Jon

Ready for Fall and Ready for Good Luck

For a bunch of years I have made it to Shenandoah National Park during the fall foliage season.  I tend to go and have had some of my best luck on October 20th.

In general I get there an hour before sunrise, and then drive south along Skyland Drive, and check various overlooks and then shoot sunrise from one of them.  As the day progresses I will drive further south and continue to check out the overlooks and shoot photos from them.

I've not explored the trails at SNP at all really, just a tiny bit of walking here and there but nothing that would be considered a hike.  I know I am missing out on a lot of great areas and things to see, but that's not how I have shot there and I don't know the area well enough to go looking without doing with the potential for nothing coming of it if it isn't a good spot to explore or to shoot from.  In the future I may change that, but for now not so much.


But there are great views from the overlooks.  Here is one from 2012 that I like a bunch.  The sky was great and the foliage was pretty good too.
Oct 20 2012


This is from 2007, my first visit to SNP. 
Oct 20 2007


This photo is from the second year I've been to SNP, and I like this since it has the "blue ridge mountains" in it!  
Oct 26 2008 


Finally, in 2012 I got really lucky! 

I was driving along Skyline Drive and had my 200-400mm lens on the front seat next to me.  As I drove down the road, I had the though that I'd like to find a little foliage detail and shoot it with the longer lens.  So I slowed down, and was looking for interesting and colorful patches of leaves.  After just a few minutes of this mindset, I saw directly out my driver side window, this Barred Owl!  It was sitting along the side of the road and wow.  I was so lucky to be going slowly, to have the window down, and to be planning to shoot with a long lens.  Normally I would have a couple of wide angle lenses at the ready to capture a landscape scene...  But I was ready and I was very lucky.

The owl stayed there for just a few moments, and then flew away.  My shutter speed was only 1/250th, but it worked even though the car was running, I was hand holding and there was an unexpected owl there.

Oct 20 2012


I'm planning another visit next month and I hope to get lucky and I hope to make some nice images.

Original content posted at http://natureandwildlifephotography.blogspot.com/

Nikographer.com / Jon