Take advantage of Puddles :)

Image: 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L, 45mm, f16, 20 sec 2 stop soft GND.

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Take advantage of element's that can add to your image, here a simple puddle after a rain storm gave me the opportunity to add foreground interest to this image of Seattle, I took a few images and the one with the planks leading into the puddle proved to add a little more than just the reflection on its own. Simple little things can mean a great deal to an image. B and W conversion done in Lightroom and CS4.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Back Light

Image:5D Mk II 24-105 f4 IS L, 3 stop GND soft, 93mm @ f16, 1/50 sec

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Back light can kill an image or make for a strong composition depending on how it is used, here the light was so strong I needed to reduce it far beyond a filters capability, so I walked towards this sea stack at Bandon beach until I was standing in the apex of its shadow and composed an image that included the shadow of the sea stack.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

More from Shuksan

Image: 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L at 50mm, CPL and 3 stop GND soft

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This is an image I have been wanting to get with the 5D Mk II, its a 2 shot panorama of Mt Shuksan with the fall colors and fresh snow on the mountain, I look forward to getting this one printed and framed. The 24-105 f4 at 50mm is deadly sharp on the Mk II and is a combination thats hard to beat. Right now I am very happy with the lenses I have, I do wish I could afford a 400mm f4 DO. Canons f4 series of lenses are a blessing for outdoor photographers that want to travel light and the cost is a blessing also over their f2.8 cousins.

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Fall has Arrived

Image: Fall At Mt Shuksan 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L, at 35mm, 3 stop Soft GND, 1/20s, f 22.
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Probably my favorite type of image to shoot is the portrait mode landscape with foreground interest, this one has a lot to look at in both fore, mid and background, shot at f22 for maximum depth of field.
A great place to shoot, taken around 3:00 this afternoon, the most photographed mountain in the US, so I hear. Part of the North Cascade range and in close proximity to Mt Baker, about 3 hours north of Seattle.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Wide Angle Landscape Shooting

Image: Mt Tahoma (Indian Name) 5D Mk II, 17-40 f4 L, 29mm @ f16, 1/6 sec. 3 Stop GND

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Shooting wide angle landscapes is one of my favorites, I have found that the key is to have a foreground subject that is tack sharp, the shot should feel balanced weight wise and if possible use the rule of thirds, this is where the new tilt/shift lenses should excel. prints from these types of images can be a challenge but when you get that shot where it all comes together the wide angle landscape can be gorgeous hanging on your wall. A GND filter is a big help in this type of image, I want to spend my time in the field not behind a computer trying to put HDR's together, I spent maybe 5 minuets putting the above image through Lightroom and CS4.

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Shooting Waterfalls

Image: Punchbowl Falls, 40D, 24-105 f4 L IS, f22, 2.5 sec, 65 mm.
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Image: Marymere Falls 40D, 17-40 f4 L, f11 1/5 sec, 25 mm.
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One of my favorite things to shoot, especially in the Columbia river Gorge, on the Oregon side.
Shooting waterfalls can be quit difficult, the contrast between the water and the surrounding landscape can be extreme to say the least and if sun light is landing on the water it becomes most times impossible to get a good shot. I prefer to shoot falls that are shaded when the contrast is closer between the falls and the surrounding area, this makes those over cast wet days great for getting out and exploring nearby waterfalls. Depending on conditions I may use a CPL or even a GND filter, I like to shoot them under one second to avoid to much of the misty water look, however some times when shooting in the canopy of the forest you may have to up the ISO to get the speed you want. Be creative and experiment, some time's a longer exposure works. A CPL or GND can help you get the longer exposure and by metering on the water (use exposure lock) and then recompose and focus on a foreground subject to add interest, you can get a nice even exposure, by metering on the brighter water the longer exposure will bring enough light to the surrounding area, remember if your foreground is not in focus the shot is ruined.

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Filters in the digital age

Image: Canon 5D and 17-10 F4 L, Lee 3 Stop GND filter, f11 at 17 mm, no crop.
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Filters are still required in the digital age of photography, not as much as they where in the film days, but in order to get proper exposure on a lanscape that has a very wide dynamic range or to remove reflections from water, we still resort to using filters.

The main filter system in my bag is the Lee Graduated Nuetral Density filter or GND for short. The main task of these filters is to reduce the amount of light contacting the camera sensor while still being able to use the lens aperture you need. Graduated filters, as the name implies, start the transition from the center of the filter and graduate to the edge in varying degrees, measured in stops.

The top photo is an example of where a GND filter is needed, if a filter was not used and you where to meter on the sky the land would be under exposed or if you metered on the land the sky would have been over exposed, in this image a 3 stop filter was used to even out the overall exposure. The filters I use are made by Lee and Singh-Ray I use the foundation kit with 4 x 6 filters, for wide angle I use there special wide angle hood with one filter slot. I carry a 1, 2 and 3 stop GND a 3 stop reverse GND and an 8 stop variable ND. The reverse filter is for shots like a sunset or sunrise where the brightest part of the image is closer to the middle of the image. The variable ND is a great filter for shooting seascapes, this is a filter that I will talk about in another blog.

 The Lee Big Stopper a 10 stop ND filter for maximizing the effect.

Circular Polarizer: The CPL is another filter that is still required for reducing reflections and a good quality filter should be used to prevent color cast's. B + W is my choice, I use the slim 77mm and reducing rings when needed. These filters also increase the color saturation of trees and blue skys and add contrast to clouds, there should be one in every photographers bag. A word of caution on CPL and wide angle landscapes, if you have a lot of blue sky the CPL will only cover part of the sky and you will end up with un-even polarization that will ruin your image.

Ross Murphy Images In Light