A few non-wildlife shots from the weekend

[NorthernFocus]

Photos best viewed in the lightbox.

This is Mink Island anchorage in Port Nellie Juan. This shot was taken in the morning after an evening of torrential rain. Since inquiring minds will want to know, I've included a B/W version.

1.


2.


There are hundreds of these naturally occurring bonsai trees around the sound. Their growth is naturally stunted by the short growing season, damage by deep snow, and like this one, poor soil. I've taken dozens of shots of these trees over the years with limited success. Isolating them is usually the problem. In this case I could get a clear background but only from a distance and didn't have the right lens to flatten DOF at that range. The tree is actually on a rock that is surrounded by water at high tide. But we were there at low tide so I shot it at this angle rather than including the water/shoreline.

3.


There are also dozens of tidal waterfalls like this one. At high tide the water falls just a couple of feet directly into the sea and isn't very impressive. But at low tide all of these rocks covered in marine life are exposed. At the time we were there I had to shoot from a kayak so couldn't set up the tripod and go for long exposure. All of you misty water haters out there should like that

4.

[NorthernFocus]

Forgot one, this was just another tree on a rock with cool lighting.

5.

[Brownbear]

Just to say that I love the 1st image... Beautiful! I do see more detail in the b&w but still prefer the colour because you captured the colours and light so beautifully.

I also like the trees for the beautiful light on the trees and the rocks, and the unique beauty and character of the bonsai tree. I prefer these with a closer crop with the just the tree(s) and the beautiful light in the image.

[kaneohebud]

Hi Dan:
I particularly like No. 3. Nice photo.

[tbob]

I am amazed you "forgot" the last one even for an instant. Absolutely brilliant. The rest are good but the light and colour is amazing. This needs to be on your wall. Actually, a lot of walls.

[Mike Buckley]

I am amazed you "forgot" the last one even for an instant.

There is only one possible explanation: he also forgot to take his meds.

By the way, the third one presents the opportunity to make a clinic out of converting to black-and-white and showing the completely different yet very effective effects of using various filters.

[Otavio]

I am amazed you "forgot" the last one even for an instant. Absolutely brilliant. The rest are good but the light and colour is amazing. This needs to be on your wall. Actually, a lot of walls.

+1 to me, Dan. Beautiful light!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, guys. Glad you liked the shots. I didn't actually forget no.5. Just got in a hurry, lost track of what I had already done, and posted to thread too quick. That one is my own personal favorite of the lot. That's one of those fleeting moments in time that I'll never be able to re-create. Ten minutes later the light was hitting the shoreline and two hours later it clouded up and stayed that way the rest of the weekend. Plus we pulled out of that particular bay and didn't return.

The "bonsai tree" and waterfall are in the same location. Where I was standing when I took the shot of the tree would be just out of left side of frame of the fall shot. There is a clear muskeg meadow there. I was also standing in a bear trail about a foot deep where generations of them have come down to the falls to fish. Duly noted for another month or so from now when the salmon are there. That particular location is along our normal route going/returning on the boat. We may just have to anchor there one night through both tides, high for the tree and low for the falls.

Regarding the B/W conversion, I tried a couple of different presets and really didn't like any of them. The B/W brings out too much detail and loses the sense of the misty morning. Though it might look better in a larger format where the detail could be appreciated. As is it just runs together. That image is a two frame composite pano rendered from high resolution D800 shots. So there is plenty of detail to work with.

I need to leave my long lenses home and concentrate on landscapes more when we go out there. Someday we'll leave Alaska and I'll regret not having more shots like these to show for it

[John 2]

Very nice series Dan. First (colour) and last are stand outs for me, particularly the last one which is just special.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Dan. Very nice shots but I especially like the first (colour) and the last I would also crop #4 from bottom ( the first dark rock) to get a less busy composition.

[Shadowman]

Nice series. 3-5 for me.

[FrankMi]

Although they are all great, the last one really stands out for me as being quite unique! Thank you for posting these Dan!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks for the comments folks and glad you liked them.

Binnur, I agree the fall shot is very busy. I'm surprised no one has commented that it is over sharpened. Which it is not but there is so much small detail with the barnacles and leaves that it just looks odd. I've shot dozens of similar falls and can never land on a composition that really satisfies me. I think maybe an ultra wide format lens would be the trick. Unfortunately I don't own one and haven't delved into that area yet. Maybe this is the motivation to finally do so.

The last shot seems to be emerging as the consensus favorite. Imagine a group of photographers picking the shot with the most unique lighting One thing interesting is that a few years ago with a Nikon D40, that shot would have been fairly easy to make SOOC by simply under exposing a stop or so. But with the D800 the dynamic range is so much "better" that I had to use the selection brush in LR with -1EV and paint the BG shadows to achieve the same effect. The new technology provides more flexibility but can also make more work to achieve the desired result.

[Mike Buckley]

with a Nikon D40, that shot would have been fairly easy to make SOOC by simply under exposing a stop or so. But with the D800 the dynamic range is so much "better" that I had to use the selection brush in LR with -1EV and paint the BG shadows to achieve the same effect.

Interesting observation!

[Marie Hass]

The last one is amazing.

As everyone agrees, a wall-hanger.

Marie

[Brownbear]

Just to say that the 1st image is still my favourite!

Even though the last image has the most beautiful light it has a dark side (right half). The 1st is my wall hanger because of the stunning beauty of the scene, the soft light, the colours, the mist and the overall serene mood... So you have two wall hangers!

[NorthernFocus]

Thanks, Marie. I have a similar shot that I printed on aluminum and it looks great. I may try this one on that medium. It should do as good or better since it has a lot more detail. Content in the other is a bit more compelling.

Christina, the only thing I'm dissatisfied with in that first shot is the water. Next time I have a similar opportunity I'll have to remember to set up and do a long ss to generate a smooth surface. Not sure if that will goof up the clouds/mist though

[Digital]

Dan, nice series.


Bruce

[Brownbear]

Hi Dan,

No doubt, silky water would make that scene image extra dreamy.

I don't think an extra slow shutter speed would effect the mist but likely the clouds (if there were a lot of them). Maybe two exposures would be needed, one for the water and one for the clouds? I have yet to try this, so I'm truly not sure.