Capturing Dreamscape Ocean Photos with a ND Filter in Pacific Grove California
What is a neutral density (ND) filter and why am I so excited to finally own one?? Well, it is a piece of glass that screws onto the front of a camera lens that is like a very, very dark pair of sunglasses. The ND filter greatly restricts how much light comes through the lens, onto the camera sensor. Using typical daylight or twilight camera shooting settings, the ND filter would result in just a black rectangle, totally underexposed! However, this then allows the photographer to keep the shutter open for a long time, for a long exposure photo which means, the moving ocean water becomes like cotton candy. Clouds get spread out across the sky. That is how I was able to make these photos you see here, by leaving the shutter open for 30 seconds. Without the ND filter on, the photos would just be white rectangles, totally overexposed. So I call these types of photos not merely landscape photography, but I think more descriptively, dreamscape photography. Then again, I am a daydreamer!
Sunset Fine Art Photography of Bird Rock along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach
This April evening out at Bird Rock on 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California was a rare to the horizon sunset view. I took just my Sony 50mm f/1.2 GM lens, for a different perspective from the typical wide sunset shots. As I was letting the sun go down, I photographed these small flowers first (see the photo story). Many large rocks just off shore in this area function as bird rookeries, so I wonder why this one gets the distinction as bird rock? Maybe it was the first to be named so? As you can see in the background of some of the photos, there are lots of birds that do not get to live this close to where they go hunting during the day and have to fly further down the coastline. How did these birds get to be so lucky? All questions I ask myself!
There are often weather alerts for “sneaker waves” for the Monterey Bay coast where I live. Pacific Grove is a quiet small town, right on the coast that is often full of drama. Such was the case on a recent afternoon, so I took my camera with 70-200mm lens (medium telephoto) to see what wave splashes I could capture. When I took the above shot, about 100 shots into the time I was shooting, I knew immediately it was the shot I had been looking for, and that was even before I noticed the birds in it, which just added to the shot. I took a few more photos after that, but I knew I had gotten what I envisioned before even leaving the house. This is something very satisfying and recommended for any photographer, envision what photo you want to get before going out, and then when you get it, you will know.
Bird Rock is one of the best sunset viewing spots along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach California
There are many scenic viewing points along 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach, California. I discovered Bird Rock because of a cycling group I was riding with stopped there one evening. Besides the great view, this lookout point has lots of parking and picnic tables and even a restroom. I decided to grab the camera and head out there, by car this time, to get a few shots of the sunset and twilightsky. It’s named Bird Rock for the big rock just offshore that is used as a rookery. Lots of birds were coming home from their day of work to spend the night on Bird Rock.
On a recent trip to Arizona for rural land real estate work, it turned out for one part of it I was only about 1 hour away from the Grand Canyon, so if one can do such a thing, I swung by the Grand Canyon for an afternoon stroll and made these panorama photos of the canyon in less than ideal light, but at least a few clouds swooped in to help add some drama.
Telephoto Dreamscape Views of Sand Dunes in Colorado
This is my second series of photos from Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado (wide angle first series here), this time featuring all images made with a telephoto lens (Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master). You may think for landscape photography that automatically it’s best to use a wide angle lens. Many times that is the case, but when you are very far from the subject, even a very large subject like sand dunes, a telephoto lens can bring you in close, and produce a unique looking landscape image. As I was driving in to Sand Dunes National Park, I thought the sand dunes themselves looked fake, like CGI. There were this soft focus, creamy aberration before more solid, corporeal mountains. As I was leaving the park, I pulled over and took out the telephoto lens to capture these dreamscape like images. Tell me the sand dunes do not look like they were put into the photos as digitally created features?
Hiking in Cloudcroft, New Mexico I came across a fallen tree on the side of a steep bank. It appeared hollowed out at the bottom, but to my surprise, stooping over I could see light at the end of the tunnel. The tree is a hole in one hollow all the way up. I have no idea how this happens to a poor tree. It was interesting to imagine going up all the way through the tree and who knows what dimension I might come out on the other side! I thought black and white processing added to the mystery.
