Category Archives: landscape

Hinckley in the Morning

Posted by Mike on

Hinckley Reservoir

Sunday morning was the perfect day to get up early and catch some pre-dawn images.  I finished reading Below the Horizon by David Delnea (you can see more about the eBook here) and was inspired to drag my butt out of bed.  This book talks about light at the edges of the day.  I spend a lot of time getting photographs during this time frame but David’s book still provided me with great information.  I truly enjoy the authors and books you can find on the Craft & Vision website.

The two pictures in this post were captured only 4 minutes apart.  As the sun approaches the horizon the light is changing drastically.  You can see this in the color tone shift between the two images.  The first image is cooler in tone with blue hues being the most dominant.  The second image is starting to get warmer as more of the sunlight is crossing the horizon and lighting the sky above the reservoir.

This was another chance for me to play with my filter set.  Not only did I have the circular polarizer working for me but the first image also has the 2-stop ND graduated filter.  It is a soft edge filter which means the transition is gradual.  That zone is centered on the horizon. By using the graduated filter I was able to get a single exposure image without any areas being too dark or light.

For the second image I added a 4-stop ND filter which allowed my to get a full 1 minute exposure time.  This allowed the slow moving clouds to blur as they worked their way toward the horizon.  It also allowed me to show the slight breeze with the blurring of the lake grass as it swayed.

I’m going to keep my eyes open for more opportunities like this…  🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Hinckley Pre-Dawn

Hinckley Pre-Dawn
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 15s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Hinckley on the Move

Hinckley on the Move
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 60s, 12mm, f/13, ISO 200

Down the Drain

Posted by Mike on

Buttermilk Falls State Park

 

MLCreations Photography: Buttermilk Falls &emdash; Down the Drain

Down the Drain
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 3.2s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Another State Park Day

Posted by Mike on

Buttermilk Falls State Park

The weather forecast predicted a beautiful Saturday here in Central NY so I decided Friday night I was going to make a run to Ithaca for some waterfall action.  There has not been a lot of rain recently but my thought was the lower levels would produce some interesting cascades in my “go to” state parks.  I gathered up my equipment, packed extra clothes and headed out around 5:30am.

My first stop was Taughannock Falls on the western edge of Cayuga Lake.  Much to my disappointment the gorge trail was closed which only left me the falls overlook location.  I grabbed a couple of images and explored around the new visitor center before reluctantly leaving for my next stop, Buttermilk Falls.

I was at the northern end of the gorge trail before 8:30am.  The change in plans due to my first stop probably worked to my advantage.  The trail was fairly empty and the sun had not reached into the gorge in a lot of the locations.  I spent a good hour and a half photographing the upper portion of the gorge.  I have never been very impressed with the namesake falls.  I have found much more interesting images in the upper portion of the park.  The image for this post is one of those locales.

 

MLCreations Photography: Buttermilk Falls &emdash; Buttermilk Creek

Buttermilk Creek
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 19mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

The next stop (which ended up being my last stop) was Robert H. Treman park.  By the time I arrived a little after 10am the park was already starting to get crowded.  I didn’t think it would matter too much though as there are over 5 miles of trails along the gorge.  What I didn’t think about was the number of people ignoring the signs about not playing in the water.  I lost count of the images I walked past because there was someone in the water.

This park ended up kicking my butt!  The next time the little voice in my head says “it is only a couple hundred stairs up to the top” there is going to be a fight.  It is only a five mile round trip from one end of the park to the other.  What the park map doesn’t explain is the huge changes in elevation.  I will put together a post later in the week with a better look at this great state park.

For now, I am going to relax and recuperate… and probably head out for some sunset action.  🙂

Through the Arch

Posted by Mike on

Butternut Creek, Old Erie Canal Park

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Through the Arch

Through the Arch
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, {1/125, 1/50, 1/25, 1/10 & 1/5s bracket}, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Silent Sunday: Fading Light

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Fading Light

Fading Light
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

The Watch Never Ends

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

I went back to my old stomping grounds last night for the sunset.  I hadn’t been back to Delta Lake State Park since I purchased the filter system.  There were not a lot of clouds in the sky but I was hoping the few along the horizon would add some color as the sun passed below.  I was also itchin’ to try out the graduated ND filter combined with the circular polarizer.  Neither disappointed…

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; The Watch Never Ends

The Watch Never Ends
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 5s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200

Almost

Posted by Mike on

Melbourne Beach Pier

As I work to plan another couple of trips to Florida I found myself looking through the images from March.  I definitely will be going back to Melbourne Beach to capture more images like this one.  There is a lot about this image that I like but when I go back I will be re-shooting this to correct what I do not like.

I’m sure current followers will be aware of my recent fascination with the piers in Florida.  I love exploring the coastline in search of a new pier and the chance for a beautiful sunrise/sunset image.  This pier is in the Indian River and faces West which allows me to grab those sunset images even on the East coast of Florida.

Looking at this image I just love the color that was developing as the sun passed the horizon.  The brilliant orange glow in the sky against the darkening blue of the clouds and water just works for me.  I am happy with the location of the sunset as it is right behind the pavilion at the end of the pier.  Even the lines in the image help focus the eye on that pavilion.

What I want to change is the horizon location itself.  I should have tried for either a higher viewpoint to bring separation between the top of the pier and the skyline, or gone lower and bury the skyline in the pier.  To me, the hint of the buildings in the skyline above the top rail along with the mast from the sailboat are distracting.  Hopefully on the next attempt I will be lucky enough to get a few more people on the pier.  I am enjoying the addition of the human element in my images.  It is a challenge I still need to work on.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Almost

Almost
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2.5s, 21mm, f/16, ISO 200