Springtime Blackwater Reflections
Springtime Blackwater Reflections
Springtime is struggling to get a grip on the landscape. With temperatures lower than normal and chronically cloudy skies, the forest fauna growth is being detained. This limitation is fine by me. When the golden hour springtime sun does peak out, it is weak and frail. This delicate lighting assistant wonderfully allows for longer cooler exposures. The resulting images when coupled with black water reflections create waterscapes with colorful blankets of incandescence hues of greens and browns.
The Technical Layer
To read additional technical and location content please click on the tabs below.
Technical: Camera Settings
Technical: How & Gear
Often you will hear that shooting landscapes should be done with super wide or wide angle lenses. (16-35mm). Another school of thought is that your eyes have a field of view of 50mm, so it is boring to shoot landscapes at 50-105mm. The rules go on and on. My strategy is to enjoy working with a particular lens and train my senses to become proficient at image making with it. Work your wide angle gear for a while and then switch over to mid-length telephotos, then switch again to telephotos lens.
Current Gear
At the moment, I am working with a Nikon 80-400 w/tc1.4 on my Nikon D5 on an RRS tripod with .75 Lee soft ND. It is doubtful that this combination of gear choices could be improved to make this image. However, I know that sometime in the future, I will try with a wide angle and compare the results. That is part of the inspiration of photography for me, always working on fine tuning aspects of images. Each lens is like a different brush, and the resulting images can take your creativity in unique paths. The paths are unimagined until you try and succeed or fail.
Technical: Location & Inspiration
The small Cherry Plain State park, ‘up the mountain,’ behind my home in Averill Park, is a location favorite. All sort of pent up spring fever angst has needed some attention, and I have been going up there daily. At this time of year, the dirt access roads are still rutted, temps at elevation 900′ are cooler, and the snow melt has not completed
This allows opportunities for image making. It is also my favorite time of the year for image making. You can often find me in the blackwater swamp areas. Sitting on a tent tarp ground cloth, peering out from behind the glass and watching the antics of wildlife and waterfowl as they shift into their springtime activities.
Technical: Craft
Without a doubt, two areas that I focused on developing and training on during the long winter months, appear to have boosted the quality of my images. The first process was incorporating the release of Tony Kuper’s Action Panel V (TKActionV) with Shawn Bagshaw’s tutorials. The next process was enrolling in Lee Varis, ten channel workflow classes.
TKActionPanel V
I have been using the TK actions V3&V4, so the concept of using luminosity mask is understood. This new version five release vastly improves using luminosity masks in 16bit real time. Additionally, the TKV5 User Interfaces crushes Adobe Photoshop’s hunt and peck buttonology process. The new TKV5 panel was a bit daunting to use. However, as always, the tutorials by Sean Bagshaw where (as always) spot on and easily assist and quickly train you to use the new TKV5 panel.
Lee Varis, 1o channel workflow
Hold onto your hat! Instead of using three channels, RGB, to process your images, Lee shows you how to use ten channels! Lee Varis amps up and integrates the workflow process using LAB, CMYK, and RGB color modes. His program, known as the 10 Channel workflow is available on a premium purpose built website.
This training site has several screencasts showing the user exactly how to use the 10 Channel system. Lee also explains why and when you should use the workflow. It is important to understand the technical or craft, yet I am very interested in learning the art of image making. I believe this is where Lee’s training excels.
A Quick Example
Have you ever post processed an image with every ounce of integrity and focus on quality but it still comes out somehow digitally unrealistic? For me, that seems to happen with the color green, especially in forests where there are multiple hues and shades. Lee introduced me to the CMTK workflow. He teaches you how and why your colors are unrealistic and then gives you an excellent CMYK workflow to extract the Black channel to use in your digital darkroom post-processing.
Wow. Using just that one technique enhances the quality and the vision I have for my Image.
Technical: Original vs PostProduction
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Results courtesy of https://everypixel.com/aesthetics
Results courtesy of https://everypixel.com/aesthetics
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My thoughts are that an improved workflow as described above in Technical Craft section have contributed to creating images that are more aligned with my vision of the location subject.
