I’m here in Southwest Utah for the next several days and just before coming out I picked up the grand new Canon PowerShot G11.  (I was on the waiting list at Calumet.)  Now I’m actually getting a chance to use it and find out jus what this camera can do.

I didn’t do any research, no product comparison, didn’t even check the published or anticipated specs.  When Canon announced it I put my name on the list.  The only thing I cared about was that its predecessors had rave reviews from photographer friends of mine (some of them even dedicated Nikon people) and the fact that it shoots RAW.  So everything about this camera was new to me and I didn’t know it yet but I was in for some surprises.

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It’s official.  We are offering a five day photography workshop to beautiful Utah in mid October, 2009.  We’ll be photographing two days in Zion, two days in Bryce and a day in Cedar Breaks.  The dates are October 17-22.  Priced at $695, we invite you to compare this workshop with the others and you will find it’s a great value.

Besides great photography, our goal is intensive personal attention.  Therefore participation is limited to just six.

To learn more go to http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/workshops/2009_sw_utah/2009_sw_utah_announcement.html

For our 2009-2010 workshop calendar go to http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/workshops/workshop_home_page.html

Also, visit http://ralphnordstromphotography.com/

You can also join us on Facebook and become a fan.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ralph-Nordstrom-Photography/112254382772

I was fortunate enough to have all three photographs accepted for the Orange County Fair this year.  And I was very surprised to learn that all three had won awards.  To today I finally made it out to the fair and sure enough they all had ribbons.

Death Valley Reflections had an Honorable Mention ribbon.

Bristlecone Moon also had an Honorable Mention ribbon.

And Virgin River and the Watchman had a 2nd Place ribbon.

You can see more of my work at http://RalphNordstromPhotography.com

I never did get around to sharing the third entry to the Orange County Fair.  It’s a very unique photograph, not because of the skill of the photographer so much as the luck of the photographer being in the right place at the right time.

The setting is Death Valley, California.  A massive storm the week before flooded several of the playa including the one called “Cotton Balls,” north of Furnace Creek.  The day before this photo was taken another store came through and dumped a fresh coat of snow on the Panamints. 

The morning was perfectly calm so that we had ideal conditions to photograph the reflection of a snow covered range in a lake on a salt pan … in Death Valley.

Death Valley Reflections

The other submissions were…

Bristlecone Moon

Virgin River and the Watchman

The happy news is that all three were accepted for the competition.

There’s a lot of talk amongst photographers about shooting in the golden hours – around sunrise and sunset.  There’s no disagreement that the light is wonderful at those times of the day.  The low angle gives excitingly long shadows and the fact that the sunlight has to travel through more of our atmosphere means it’s a bit softer and a lot warmer.

So you often find a lot of photographers lining up for sunset shoots at iconic locations.  The bridge over the Virgin River in Zion is a perfect example.  I’ve got to admit, I love to shoot sunsets from the bridge myself.  Most photographers will arrive early and stay about 20 minutes after the sun disappears below the horizon at which time the pack up and head off to dinner.

I like to stay till I can’t shoot any more.  The light show isn’t over by any means when the glow on the clouds fades.  It’s just a lot more subtle.  As the light fades exposure times increase and when you get up to 30 seconds then ISO starts to bump up.

Why do I like this light so much?  Well, because there is so much going on.  Many complex and intricate things are going on in the sky above.  You end up getting a delicate play of warm and cool light.  Everything is enveloped in a quiet, soft luminance.  It can be a magic unlike any other time of day.

I was shooting on that famous bridge in Zion back in November.  If it hadn’t been for my two friends shooting with me I would have been the only one on the bridge.  Everyone else had long gone.  I was shooting HDR, 5 bracketed shots, something I’ve found to be very effective (don’t forget, the sky stays bright long after the sun disappears).  Each shot was varied by 1 1/3 stop.  Post processing consisted of Photomatix and a little Light Room.  Here’s what I got.  (You can click on these images to enlarge them.)

Watchman at Twilight

A few weeks before I took this Zion twilight shot I found myself in Death Valley on the Mesquite Flats Dunes, again at sunset.  I set up on this one composition and shot it for about an hour and a half.  Many people like the stark contrast created by the sun playing on the undulating surfaces of the dunes.  I like it too.

Mesquite Dunes Sunset

 But a while later comes the real show, at least for my money.  The play of colors becomes outrageous with reds, magentas, purples, oranges, yellows and blues.  And I love the forms and textures of the sand.  It’s truly amazing.

Mesquite Dunes Twilight

So for my money, you’ll see me out there (usually by myself) until I can’t shoot any more.  Hey, why don’t you join me and see for yourself.

Then and only then I’ll pack up my gear and head off for dinner.

Note:  All of the above photographs are HDR, not just Zion.

To see more of my work go to Ralph Nordstrom Photography.

Well, as anticipated, I didn’t particularly like the print from last night.  I seem to be having a problem with creating images that are way too cool in the shadows.  So, how best to warm up the shadows?

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What I’d like to do is keep a journal of the steps I go through and the decisions I make when creating the Zion Canyon print.  It was shot on 11/24/2007 near the Great White Thrown turnout.  I was there the day before closer to sunset and realized this shot needed to be taken about an hour earlier.  So I came back at 4:15 the following day.  The shot required both stitching (vertical panorama shots) and HDR (three exposures bracketed at +/- 1 stop) for a total of six shots.

The image was shot down by the Virgin River although it’s not in the picture.  The foreground is a meadow in the shade with two cottonwood trees.  The middle ground is a Navajo sandstone cliff jutting in from the right, also in the shade.  The background is a tall cliff, also Navajo sandstone, that is still catching some sunlight.  The sky is cloudless and blue.

Here then are the steps I’m going through to take these six shots from RAW to a finished print.  It will probably not be completed today.  Sorry I can’t show the before and after of each step.  That would be interesting.

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Last night we got the BLOG up and running, customized to some extent and connected to the main Nordstrom Fine Art Landscape Photography website.  Also got the first article published.  Today I figure out how to add photographs to the article.

I spent every night this past week working on Virgin River and the Watchman, a photograph that I shot in Zion National Park last month.  I’d work on in till nearly midnight and be pretty excited.  I’d place a print on the dining room table and the next morning I wouldn’t like it.  But I only made one change yesterday.  Haven’t looked at it again this morning but it’s probably pretty close.  Of course, that’s what I’ve been saying for a week now.  But this time I think it really is.