Lake Tahoe Storm

5D Mk IV, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II, Lee 10 stop ND filter, f/11, 24mm, 1.6 sec.

A quick trip up to Tahoe this weekend. Trying to decide last minute where we wanted to go, we ended up going to Lake Tahoe. This was my first photographic trip to Tahoe, almost all the images I've seen from there are of a calm beautiful lake with azure waters and boulders strewn about as if thrown in to a swimming pool. With a winter storm on its way in we ended up with just one morning shoot ahead of the storm.

5D Mk IV, EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II, Lee 10 stop ND filter, f/10, 47mm, 1.3 sec.

With winds blowing and gusting to 15mp or so it was a Challenge just to keep a tripod upright, never mind getting a sharp image with a long exposure, so I had to hold the tripod down against the rocks and try to keep it still while I took my images.

Ross

Images In Light

Exposing for the Mid Tones

 5D Mk IV, EF 16-35 f/4 L IS, 1.6 sec, 19mm at f/13
Lee 6 Stop ND filter
Convict Lake, Eastern Sierra

I am always trying to expose for the mid tones, while holding back the histogram from clipping the highlights. This was a pretty bright scene late morning at Convict lake, also very windy. I used the Lee six stop ND filter here to hold back some of the light and allow for the longer exposure on the waves, giving a little motion effect and allowing for some blur on the wave caps.  I used the mid tones on the mountain to expose the image in live view, then pressed AE lock and refocused on the foreground. At f/13, this gave me enough depth of field to make this image work. 

 

 final histogram

I still needed to pull shadows and highlights in lightroom, but by keeping my histogram in check I was able to pull the needed detail in post and get the most dynamic range out of this scene as I could. Finally I cropped it to a 4:3 aspect ratio, that I like for portrait orientation landscapes.

Ross

Images In Light

Using a ND filter for long exposure

 5D Mk IV, EF24-70 f/2.8 L  II, f11, 53mm, 30 sec

Processed  in Lightroom for monochrome and split toned.

When imaging a scene with lenticular clouds like this one, I like to use a long exposure to exaggerate their circular rotation. Here I used a Lee 6 stop ND filter to extend the exposure time to 30 sec. Instead of the wispy clouds, I got more of the circular motion of the whole storm system.

This was predawn light, so my original exposure would have been a couple of seconds at f/11, not long enough to get the full range of motion. The below image was a similar exposure taken after the sun came up and the exposure time difference with the same setup was 27.5 seconds, for a 2.5 sec exposure.

5D Mk IV, EF24-70 f/2.8 L  II, f11, 70mm, 2.5 sec

Of course its all a matter of personal taste, I happen to like both, I also have a shot at normal exposure speeds without an ND filter and like those as well. This is just one example of the use of an ND filter and why they should be in every landscape photographers bag.

Ross

Images In Light

Fall Sierra Nevada Trip

5D Mk IV, EF16-35 f/4 L IS, f/16, 24mm, 1 sec, 6 stop ND filter, ISO 100.

Windy day at Convict Lake 

5D Mk IV, EF16-35 f/4 L IS, 1/40 sec, f/16, 16mm, ISO 100.

Aspen near BishopCreek