Taken end of day with the fading light.
Winter Colors And A Great Blue
Category Archives: Landscape
Landscape Photography
Poking Around A Marshland
Many times when we enter marshlands the things happening are obvious. Other times, especially mid day, we need to take some time and look around.
This is also where selecting the right lens comes in. I really want to carry minimum ‘stuff’, the rest stays in the pack, in the car.
I could not photograph the swamp edge above with a long wildlife lens. I also would miss anything animals here with a short lens.
From the 2 images above you can see where things are wide open but can have thick trees. The scenes are beautiful, and different. This was only 50 yards (46m) apart.
Pines begin at the end of the dikes. Bald Eagles can be sitting and watching hidden above. The lens here was not so long to catch a closeup of him.
The need to shoot wide is obvious here. Not a single critter yet a nice view of the canals.
Finally on the edge of a marsh something to catch at a mid range. American Alligator floating, as they tend to do 80% of the time.
All the photographs here were taken with a Tamron 18-400mm lens.
A lens that covers a wider range than other lens which makes a great ‘all in one’. That said, the focus is a slow and it needs a good amount of light. It’s an average quality lens that makes up for that short coming by being small, light, and a massive range.
Foggy Avocet
Cool nights and warmer mornings play havoc with early photographs. Even with LCD screens and electronic viewfinders it’s difficult to know if you captured anything.
This is where knowing your gear can really help. A little luck doesn’t hurt either.
Click, or double tap, any image below to view the gallery.
Foggy Avocet – click to enlarge
Foggy Avocet – click to enlarge
Foggy Avocet – click to enlarge
Great Egret, Start Of Breeding Plumage
One of the early arrivals.
The warmer weather has thrown the birds off a little so more could arrive any time now.
Old Charleston Monochrome, Using My Stuff
One of the things I like about architectural photography is the different gear I get to ‘play’ with. And unlike wildlife photography it doesn’t weight a ton.
I keep a small drawstring bag in my kit with 2 lightweight lens. A 24mm and 50mm prime lens that can do most anything I need for this work.
Getting enough light inside these old houses is an issue. External flash units are prohibited. Prime lens open wider (faster) so light can be OK.
Above is the top floor, in sepia, of a three story 1800’s spiral staircase. All the light was from a large set of windows on the right and the hall window straight ahead. The right window helped since I was shooting straight into the hall sun.
Both back stairways were lit from a window. Shot with a Canon 24mm prime. On my Canon 7D2 that makes an equivalent lens of about a 36/37mm. A prime 35mm is a standard for street photography. So this works well here.
The final lens I like to have is the old stand by Canon 18-135 kit lens, used above. If I did more of this work a Canon L series would replace it. This lens has always done well for me and is versatile so I don’t see a replacement any time soon.
I believe the above was with the ‘nifty-fifty’, 50mm prime.
And last, another room shot with the 24mm prime. Unlike the other rooms I had plenty of light to work with.
The various lens used here are specialty type for specific work but none are particularly expensive. Using small primes makes you think different about composition but they are always sharper than a typical zoom.
It’s digital, so I can take extra photographs, change my settings all around, and finally fix things in post process if I screw up. I even bring an old Canon 70D at times, it weighs less. That camera wants more light, but I can fix most things. It’s digital.
Swamp Scene, Great Egret
A peaceful scene outside Charleston, South Carolina.
Charleston In Cyan
Fighting with the light. I’d call it a draw.
A Black And White Sitting Room
I am photographing the history, at least old buildings, of Charleston more lately.
Working like this is on the opposite end of the spectrum from wildlife.
Besides, it’s cleaner.
