A remote area of Queen Valley in Joshua Tree National Park was the location for the next print of the month.  This towering spire defies the imagination.  Besides its imposing beauty, one wonders how it could possibly have formed.

Read the rest of this entry »

“… nature – unadulterated and unimproved by man – is simply chaos.” Edward Weston.

There’s no argument that Edward Weston was one of the finest photographers that ever tripped a shutter.  And one of the aspects of his photography that he is most revered for is his compositions.  He was the absolute master in his studio but when it came to photographing nature he admitted that it was the most difficult of all.  Why?  Because nature is chaos.

Nature is Chaos

Read the rest of this entry »

We wrapped up the 2010 Death Valley photography workshop this morning and most everyone is on their way home now.  The grand finale was photographing Telescope Peak from Bad Water.  How was it?  See for yourself.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the morning of day 3 of the Death Valley photography workshop, the weatherman called for rain and wind.  With that in mind we decided that Zabriskie Point would present the best opportunities for sunrise and hoped to get a few good black and white photographs of the badlands.  When we left for Zabriskie at 5:15 it was windy as anticipated.  But overhead it looked like a few stars were twinkling although it was hard to tell for sure in the dark night sky with the Stovepipe Wells Village parking lot lights shining in our eyes.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday morning our photography workshop shot sunrise from Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park.  One of the really fun aspects of sunrise out there is trying to arrive on site before the sky starts to get light.  In other words, we start heading out to the dunes while it’s still dark, very dark.  We strike out into the desert without being able to see our destination.  It can cause a bit of trepidation amongst the attendees.

Read the rest of this entry »

The days have gotten by and here’s the first posting from during the workshop.  So far, we’ve covered Zabriskie Point, Mesquite Dunes and Artist’s Palette.  I’ve spent way more time helping the attendees than shooting myself.  And virtually no time working on images.  But last night at Artist’s Palette I came away I came away with a couple of images that I’d like to share.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Death Valley photography workshop will officially kick off in a couple of hours.  But some of the attendees have already shown up and we’ve been out shooting last night and this morning.  It’s all been very informal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Originally uploaded by Ralph Nordstrom

I just added this to my website today. It is also on fllickr. I’m very happy with the way it turned out. It’s moody and I like it that way – have it as the wall paper on my laptop now.

It was photographed in February 2009 at last year’s Death Valley photography workshop.  This is a bit unusual for me in that it is a sunset image.  I normally like sunrise at Zabriskie Point so this is a departure and one I’m very pleased with.

Take our survey.

One week from today I’ll be arriving in Death Valley National Park for the 2010 Death Valley Photography Workshop that runs from February 20-23.   This will be the second time Jack Graham and I have teamed up for this exciting workshop.  And we have a great one planned. 

Death Valley is filled with photographic opportunities.  February in Death Valley is really extraordinary, especially this year.  It’s an El Nino year which for California means we’re getting higher than average rain fall.  And Death Valley is getting its fair share – relatively speaking that is. Already Death Valley has received its average annual rainfall with more storms on the way.

A friend who was in Death Valley a couple of weekends ago reported that Cotton Balls Basin was already filling with water.  Cotton Balls Basin is the large salt pan north of Furnace Creek and near the Harmony Borax Works.  Oh, and I learned where it got its strange name.  Cotton Balls is another term for borax.  In the old days they mined borax there.  Cotton Balls Basin is where we got the unbelievable Death Valley Reflection photographs last year.

If the water is still there this year we’ll be out there for sunrise.

Speaking of sunrise, we will be shooting sunrises and sunsets of course.  For sunrises we will photograph that fantastic period before the sun comes up when the earth is awash in the cool, soft dawn light.  After the sun sets we’ll continue to shoot the beautiful twilight light.  And we’ll take full advantage of the wonderful warm light and long shadows of the golden hour, the hour after sunrise and before sunset. 

But in the middle of the day, when the light is simply not there, we’ll devote our time to photo reviews and instruction.  Every participant will have an opportunity to share the photos they are taking with Jack, me and the other participants for some instant feedback.  And we’ll  be covering some great photography topics.

I’ll be talking about the photo foundation – exposure and focus.  I’ll also do a presentation on composition as well as one on the important subject of HDR.  Jack will talk about his 20 tips to be a great photographer, his workflow and close up or macro photography.  And in the field, Jack and I will be working closely with the students to help them get the most out of each location.  You can see in addition to great photography this workshop is packed with photographic learning opportunities.

So, like I said at the start, we have an exciting workshop planned for next week.  If you want to get in on the fun but missed the Death Valley workshop, Jack and I will be leading more.  You can find Jack’s photography workshop schedule on his website.  And my workshops are listed on my site.

But as far as Death Valley is concerned, we’ll definitely be back next February.

To see more of my photographs click here.

When I’m asked how I get such intense landscape photographs I respond that it all begins with the fundamentals, the photo foundation.  Given that you have the other elements of a great photograph – a terrific subject and fantastic light – you are still not guaranteed a compelling image if it doesn’t have a solid foundation.

What is the photo foundation?  It’s two things – a proper exposure and the correct focus.  These are so basic we never talk about them much but, if you’re like me, you’ve had to walk away from a potentially great image because one or both of these were not carefully attended to in the field.

This post discusses focus.

Focus

Sharp images are the goal of most landscape photographers.  We have two options when it comes to focusing – autofocus and manual focus.

Autofocus

Cameras use multiple built in focus points to focus the lens.  When you depress the shutter half way, the processor in the camera determines which of these focus points to use and which to ignore.  It then focuses the lens.  The processors are extremely sophisticated and generally do a very good job.

But not all the time.  Sometimes they choose the wrong focus points.  Fortunately, most digital cameras allow you to tell the camera what focus point to use.

One thing to take into consideration when using auto focus is the fact that the focus may be off ever so slightly.  This can be corrected by sending your camera and lenses to your manufacturer’s service center and having them calibrate your body to your lenses.

Manual Focus

With early film cameras manual focus was the only way to go.  Various devices were used to help the photographer get a sharp focus including prisms and split images.

But without these devices it’s difficult to manually focus while looking through the view finder of a digital camera.  But with the development of Live View (the ability to see your image before you capture it) on digital SLRs, manual focus is now the most precise way to focus.  Here’s how.

Display the image on you LCD screen using live view.  Select the object you want to focus on and zoom in on it.  Focus the lens (make sure it is set to manual focus) and zoom back out.  Take your picture.  It’s as easy as that.

Hyper Focal Distance

Above we’re referred several times to selecting the object you want to focus on.  But how do you do that?

The goal is to have the nearest and farthest objects both in focus.  This requires two things – depth of field and focusing at the hyper focal distance.  What’s that?  Well, simply put, at any given depth of field it is the distance that will have objects at infinity just in focus.  You don’t want to focus on the objects at infinity because that will place your foreground objects out of focus.  And you don’t want to focus on your foreground objects because infinity will be out of focus.  You want to focus somewhere in between.  But where?

Generally speaking, given that your depth of field is adequate to cover both foreground and background, you want to focus 1/3 the distance between your closest foreground object and infinity.  That’s because the depth of field is much shallower in front of the focal distance than it is behind.

You can actually print charts off the internet or by little circular slide rules that give you the depth of field and the hyper focal distance for any aperture – focal length combination.  I know photographers that carry a tape measure in their camera bags to precisely determine the hyper focal distance.

But there’s an easier way.  On your live view screen or through your view finder, select an object that is 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the frame and focus on it.  Then shoot at f/22 and you got it.  However, if you are concerned about the effects of diffraction then maybe the circular slide rule calculator would be a good idea, if nothing more than to give you extra piece of mind.

Selective Focus

The opposite of a large depth of field is selective focus.  The goal is to have a very limited part of the image in focus and the rest out of focus.  To do this you minimize the depth of field by shooting with a wide open lens; that is, maximum aperture.  Longer focal length lenses have a shorter depth of field so one technique you might try is moving away from the subject and shooting wide open with a longer focal length lens.

When you’re using selective focus it’s critical that you get a very sharp focus on your subject.  In a flower that may be the pistils and stamens.  I wildlife, it’s the eyes.

Hand Held Photography

It’s worth mentioning hand held photography.  Most of the time landscape photographers will use a tripod to get the greatest sharpness in their images.  But there’s a freedom and spontaneity that comes with hand held photography.  And it’s still possible to get sharp images although not as sharp as you can get from your tripod.

The trick is to match the shutter speed with your focal length.  The formula is very simple.  The shutter speed should be 1 divided by the  focal length or faster.  For example, if your focal length is 50mm then you can get a sharp image if your shutter  speed is at least 1/50.  If your focal length is 200mm then you need to use a shutter speed of 1/200 or shorter.

You also want to do everything else to steady your camera like tucking your left elbow into your chest to give the camera a solid platform with your body.

Focus Summary

In summary, to get the sharpness you desire, first determine what object you want to focus on.  Determine the aperture and focal length settings that will give you the depth of field you want whether it’s hyper focal distance or selective focus.  Then focus.  If you’re using autofocus, select the focus point that is on the object you decided to focus on.  If you’re using manual focus, use live view to zoom in on the focus object.

Well focused, sharp images will provide your photographs with a strong photo foundation.