Monday, December 2, 2013

Sunday's Photo Tech: Fine Art Photography Technique & Inspiration

Saint Mary’s Lake and Wild Goose Island is located near the Eastern side of Glacier National Park. The lake is almost 10 miles long and about 300 feet deep – a beautiful scene anytime of year. Our excursion through the area was in late June, and as a result we encountered a series of storms that brought in thick billowing clouds, strong winds, rain and at higher elevations, snow. Perfect.

Figure-1 Saint Mary's Lake and Wild Goose Island  L. A. Lewin

Seriously, “weather” can make most landscape and seascape locations more interesting.
Of course, there is a limit to how much rain, wind and snow a photographer (and their equipment) can tolerate! So, a little common sense will go a long way in keeping your photo shoot exciting, safe and successful. Almost the entire 9-day trip to Montana and Glacier National Park included some type of stormy or at least overcast weather. I was thrilled! 1. Overcast (especially bright grey skies) saturate color and 2. It eliminates most shadows – adding a softer feel to some photographs due to less contrast. 3. In addition, billowing clouds, light rain or snow add a layer of texture to the scene that if captured properly through the lens can make a good photograph into a more interesting one.

How did I get the shot?
 
After a long day traveling and shooting, Anne and I traveled East and down the “Going-to-the-sun-road” towards Saint Mary’s to have a late lunch at this great little café serving among other things, out of this world home baked pies! Thinking maybe I would capture a few frames at Saint Mary’s Lake later, or perhaps the next day, my right eye caught a glimpse of clouds hovering over the peaks that encircle the lake. Anne! I shouted, stop the car, now! Of course Anne is used to this behavior, so her reflexes are sharp and instantly found a small spot to pull completely and safely off the main road.

The Canon 16-35mmL-II was already attached to the camera, so no time was lost choosing and attaching a lens – the weather was moving quickly and I was making haste back to the spot I saw a few moments ago – if I was lucky, the picture I envisioned was still viable.

Wow! Wind gusts was 30+ miles per hour; I found a position behind a narrow tree, just wide enough to block the wind overlooking Saint Mary’s Lake and the tiny Wild Goose Island, and still allow me to easily peek and quickly get into position for a shot. I worked quickly because the weather was rapidly changing and I literally had about 1 minute from the time I hid behind the tree to capture the interpretation I was after. I got off two shots holding the camera vertical, and 4 shots horizontal. Many iconic pictures of the lake span the entire girth to include the mountain range on both sides and centering Wild Goose Island in the middle – instead, this less photographed view (or frame) in Figure-1 represents my alternative version of I wanted to capture the lake, this day.

Though the original color photograph is beautifully rendered, the GNP series will be mostly finished in black and white, with few photographs published in color.

Technical: Digital Capture: Canon 5D Mark II camera system
Hand held
ISO 100
Captured @32mm
F/4.5 @320 sec
(+1) exposure compensation
Post Production:
Photoshop used for specific dodge and burning; Color Efex Pro-4 for polarizing filter
and BW conversion via Silver Efex Pro-2: yellow filtering and custom silver dip

Please, your comments are welcomed – I look forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,
Lance A. Lewin

www.visualizingart.com

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