The Rule of Thirds

Image 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 30mm at f 16, 1/4 sec, 3 stop GND soft

Larger Image

Although I don't really try to hard to work with the so called Rule of Thirds it does work. When an image can be divided in to 9 separate portions of equal (or close) size by 2 horizontal and 2 vertical lines and placing points of interest at the intersections it meets a certain balance that is more pleasing the eye, if any one took art in school maybe you will remember this. But it is one more thing to think about when composing an image, I have found composition to be easier for me when I set up my equipment and do a quick composure through the viewfinder and then use live view to make adjustments, that 3 inch screen is a lot easier to see than the peep hole of a viewfinder. Only a few images work where the point of interest is centered in the image, most of the time you want the primary subject off center.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Pre Dawn Light

Image: Bandon Beach, 5D Mk II, 70-200 F4 IS L.

Larger Image

Early morning just prior to sunrise, totally overcast sky's, no filters, 2 sec at f16, slight adjustment to white balance from 6250 to 5250, who says you can't shoot in bad light, live view was used to expose and focus.

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

Larger Image

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

Happy Holidays

Image: Westlake Center , 5D MkII, 16-35 f2.8 L II

Happy Holidays

Ross Murphy Images In Light

787 high speed taxi test

Image: 787 No. 1, 5D Mk II, 70-200 f4 IS , ISO 400 1/2500 sec at f5.6

Larger Image

Big week coming up here in Boeing land, the 787 should be in the air on Dec 15th at 10am, high speed taxi tests where performed over the last few days in preparation.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Night Photography

Image: 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 16mm @ f11 for 3 sec, CPL filter.

Larger Image

Shooting at night or just before dark can be rewarding when looking for a new perspective on an often photographed subject, the Seattle Center Pergola is a place I have been wanting to shoot for a while and I must admit I found it hard to find a position where I could come up with something original, I am sure its been shot from this perspective before, maybe not with this light and this type of cloud. The 16-35 f2.8 allowed me to get the wide feel I wanted for the image I had thought about before hand and the light and cloud worked pretty well to allow me to come away with a few images I like. See more at my web site.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

My favorite Image for 2009

Image: 5D Mk II, 17-40 f4 L, 3 stop soft GND, Mt Baker B and W.

Larger Image

Kulshan (the Lummi indian name), The most prominent active volcano in the The North Cascades and part of the Pacific Rim of Fire. Renamed Mt Baker in 1792.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Zeiss Distagon T* 21mm f/2.8 ZE Lens for Canon

Image: 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 3 stop GND soft
Larger image

Now available the Zeiss glass we want for our Canon cameras, I have heard very good things about this lens and I am dying to try one out the Distigon 21mm f2.8 it will give full exif data to Canon cameras and give focus confirmation, it has some mustache distortion but looks sharp across the field. Next is the 50mm f1.4, the Planar 85mm f1.4, soon the Distigon 18mm f 3.5 and the Distigon 35mm f2 Things are looking better in Canon glass land, especially if you add in Canons primes and latest tilt/shift lenses.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Grand Teton Isolation

Image: 50D, 300 f4 IS L, 1/800 sec at f 7.1

Larger Image

Isolating mountain peaks with a telephoto lens is a type of landscape work I enjoy a lot, it gives a sense of what its like up there, and allows you to compose some interesting and original work. This can be shot at wider apertures than the typical landscape due to less depth of field, these type of images also lend themselves well to black and white renditions, the 300 f4 IS L is a very nice lens and pretty versatile, I was shooting Buffalo in the morning with it and the Teton range later that day. The above shot was converted to b and w with CS4.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Lightroom discount 15% off

Thought I would post this, for those on the edge of purchasing Lightroom, I highly recommend it. Find it here.

Image: 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 1/20 sec at f22, 3 stop soft GND.

Larger Image

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Perspective

Image: 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L at 35mm

Image: 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L at 58mm

Image: 5D Mk II, 24-105 f4 IS L at 105mm

Perspective will say a lot about an image, the above shots taken from Denny Park show 3 different perspectives of Seattle, each telling there own story. When shooting an image think about what you want to convey to the viewer, what image in your mind is it that you want them to see, each of these shots will feel a little different going from wide, to close in, one showing the Salish Sea as it is now known and the last showing a more intimate view giving perspective to the city's proximity to Mt Rainier.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Fall at Mt Rainier NP

Image: 5D Mk II,300 f4 IS L at f4,spot metered, ISO 400, 1/250 sec click to view larger

Image: 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 18 mm at f16, 3 stop GND soft, click to view larger.

Image: 5D Mk II, 16-35 f2.8 L II, 33 mm at f16, click to view larger.

Again another day of bad weather at the Mountain, was only able to get 5 shots off with the Mountain in the image, but it was still better than a day in the office, ran in to a black and silver phase Red Fox and a Black bear on this trip and enjoyed a quiet hike in Paradise valley, pretty much all to my self, the colors where a little beyond peak up high but still nice lower on the Mountain. The weekend before I got snow, so a little better this trip.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

Winter Forest

Image: B and W Forest, 5DMkII, 70-200 f4 IS L at 116 mm, f11

Larger Image

Well, what I thought was going to be the last chance to shoot fall color at Mt Rainier, turned in to a cold a snowy day with the temperature right at 32 deg. Paradise valley (above) was cold and moody, it turned out to produce some interesting compositions including this on that I cropped to remove the trunks of the trees and the square format worked nice. See the full image here.

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

Larger Image

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.

Ross Murphy Images In Light

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.
Larger Image


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