Silent Sunday
West Canada Creek
Color Rapids
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 19mm f/5.6, ISO 200
Color Rapids
Category Archives: long exposure
Perseid Meteor Shower
Backyard
As a meteor hunter, I am not very good. I can probably chalk it up to lack of experience and/or opportunity. Of course, there is also the fact that when I went to bed Thursday night the weather forecast was calling for rain. Waking up at my normal time for work (3:30am) I noticed I could see stars out my window. I quickly fed the cats and headed out into the back yard to see what I could capture.
I only spent fifteen minutes pointing my camera at various sections of the sky. My Olympus is not the perfect camera for high ISO night photography but I did manage to snag a couple of meteors. In the first image the meteor is dead center and traveling vertical. The second image I barely caught the meteor over near the top left, also traveling vertical. I can say I did see quite a few more meteors in other portions of the sky, mostly as my camera was exposing in the wrong direction! LOL
Perseid Meteor 1
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 30s, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Perseid Meteor 2
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 30s, 12mm, f/2.8, ISO 3200
Rainy Day Creek
Backyard Creek
Rainy Day Creek
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 3.2s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Hinckley in the Morning
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… 🙂
Hinckley Pre-Dawn
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 15s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 200
Hinckley on the Move
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 60s, 12mm, f/13, ISO 200
The Watch Never Ends
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…
The Watch Never Ends
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 5s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Aqueduct
Butternut Creek Aqueduct, Old Erie Canal Park
From my first visit to the Old Erie Canal Park I have been visualizing this image of the aqueduct. After I purchased the filter system with the neutral density filters I stopped back to capture my vision but did not succeed. In my enthusiasm to use the filters I was not careful with my composition and came home with unusable images.
Yesterday I went back with a single purpose, to get the one image I wanted. I took my time. I was careful with my composition. I reviewed my images to ensure I captured what I wanted. Once I had ‘the image’, only then did I move to explore other views. Slowing down paid off. I didn’t rush to get as many photos as I could during my lunch hour. I went with a purpose and was happy with just a few images that fulfilled my vision.
What I really wanted to capture in my image was the incredible stone work of the aqueduct. I loved the way the midday sun illuminated the arches via the reflection off the creek. The contrast of the stone with the Spring foliage and the blue sky was very striking. I hate to warn you but I am sure I’ll be going back over the course of the summer. It is too easy to get to during lunch and it helps me relax during the work week.
Stone Arch
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 18mm, f/16, ISO 200
Butternut Creek Aqueduct
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1.3s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Old Erie Canal Park
Butternut Creek, Dewitt, NY
I found out that my work is only two minutes away from the Old Erie Canal Park. I have made a few trips over to the park during lunch but with a nice forecast yesterday I knew I would be going during lunch. I finally remembered to bring my filters for my lenses. I really wanted/needed my variable ND filter to block as much sunlight as possible which would allow me to smooth out the water in the creek.
I am sure over the course of this summer I will be making numerous visits to this park. There is a lot to explore and I found quite a few unmarked trails along Butternut Creek that I want to see where they go. I did manage to get a few interesting images.
Aquaduct
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Stonework
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 0.5s, 12mm, f/16, ISO 200
Detours
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4s, 17mm, f/16, ISO 200
Living on the Edge
Lake Haines, FL
I think I am suppose to live close to water. I have always been drawn to it. I played in the creek as a kid and even today I wander the various waterways looking for interesting images. When I discovered what a longer exposure can do to moving water I was fascinated. When I need to unwind, going to a place where I can hear the sound of the water is always relaxing.
Living on the Edge
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 2s, 12mm, f/18, ISO 200
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