Autumn is here!
It’s been a busy September for me – too busy to even write a post.
For the past week, I’ve been up at Bark Lake Leadership Centre with a group of Grade 10s from St. John’s-Kilmarnock School. It is the first of two intensive weeks of a locally designed Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecosystems science course. We have the students working outdoors and in right from our 7:30am microclimate data gathering session to the end of evening case studies at 10pm – which, for me, leaves precious little time to capture the spectacular beauty around Bark Lake.
Each morning I had about 40 minutes of light prior to the microclimate study I supervise. With sunrise around 7am, that meant most of my dawn shooting was before sunrise. I also got out one evening for some night photography plus another morning of landscapes. However the beauty and accessibility of spectacular views more than made up for the limited time I had. Below you’ll find a small gallery of images from the week. I think the over-riding factors for success this week was the wonderful lighting and the almost complete lack of wind. There’s nothing that spoils a great landscape like wind and having consistently beautiful mornings made the few minutes of photography I had a complete pleasure. In fact, I probably had more minutes of ideal conditions in this week than I had all year long!
All images are shot with a Nikon D800e with Nikkor primes and are processed in Lightroom 4. The D800e performed magnificently – especially with the night photos. Combined with Lightroom 4, I was surprised with what could be brought out of the shadows with virtually no grain or noise, just a few hot pixels after 4 to 8 minutes of exposure. I will work some more on this to determine if it is better to have a shorter exposure with higher ISO (more grain) or a longer exposure at a lower ISO to reduce grain.
The new adjustments of LR4 were really stretched as I often used -100 Highlights with +100 Shadows to reduce the contrast of the bright autumn sunshine. I am continually amazed at what LR can do with images to tweak them to what I pre-visualized in the field.
My 24mm was the workhorse with the Micro-Nikkor 105mm also a favourite. Less-used were the 20mm, 50mm and 300mm. Although all were needed at some point, I could have lived with only the 24 and 105.
Here’s the gallery – Enjoy!
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 1/3 ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 0.4sec ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ16 @ 0.6sec ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 1/3 ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 20mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 2.5sec ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 1/80 ISO 200
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ8 @ 1/100 ISO 1600
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ8 @ 8sec. ISO 800
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ5.6 @ 458sec. ISO 400
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 20mm ƒ2.8; ƒ8 @ 146sec. ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8; ƒ8 @ 25sec. ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8; ƒ22 @ 1/6 ISO 400
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF-Nikkor 50mm ƒ1.8; ƒ11 @ 1/13 ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 1/50 ISO 100
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Micro–Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8; ƒ11 @ 1/20 ISO 100
Tethered shooting with a Nikon D800e
It’s frustrating to learn that Adobe has dropped the ball with respect to tethered shooting. Tethered shooting allows you to connect the camera directly to your computer so that as you shoot, the images appear on screen. It’s a set-up studio photographers frequently use and one I am only tangentially interested in as I don’t make it habit of lugging my laptop out into the wilds for tethered shooting!
Nikon D800e w/ AF-S Nikkor 300mm f/4D IF-ED; ƒ4.5 @ 1/1250, ISO1600
Be that as it may, it is lovely summer morning on the deck with an inquisitive chipmunk as my subject to get tethered shooting working. As a Lightroom user, I was excited to try this out… only to discover Lightroom doesn’t (yet?!) support tethered shooting for the Nikon D800/D800e or D4. A quick online search reveals that Capture One supports it, Aperture supports it, even onOne Software supports it. Why Adobe doesn’t is anyone’s guess. Even the latest version of Lightroom which came out after the D800 – version 4.1 – doesn’t support it.
I own Aperture, but I don’t really want to have a second photo processing/database app on the go. I prefer to keep things simple by using Lightroom, so I won’t be purchasing Capture1 either (although, it sounds like I should as its raw engine produces superior results to Lightroom). This led me to onOne Software. I have OnOne’s “Perfect Photo Suite” of applications but, being more of a “realist” when shooting nature, I have never felt drawn to the product, nor yet had the need of Layers for Lightroom. However, onOne does offer a DSLR Camera Remote for iPad and iPhone. The app comes in two parts – the Server that’s loaded onto your computer and the App itself for the iPad or iPhone. Downloading the Server – which is free – allows you to shoot tethered to your computer without having to purchase the app for you mobile device.
And – best of all – it works! Within 2 minutes of downloading, I had it and Lightroom set up so that as each exposure is made, the file appears on screen in Lightroom. While I can’t control the camera remotely – I would need to purchase the iPad or iPhone app for that – the Remote Server tethering works perfectly well – as you can see from the photo above!
When you first open onOne DSLR Camera Remote Server, it creates a download folder for you. You can create your own folder or go with the one created. Lightroom itself was easy enough to set up. Under File, choose Auto Import > Auto Import Settings… and point LR to the folder created by Remote Server. LR will automatically move the photos from there to a folder you create. This can all be customized for each shoot you do, right down to the file names.
Anyway, technical gymnastics aside (it’s really only a cartwheel to get you started, nothing like we saw in the Olympics!), tethered shooting is easy to do. For me, I doubt I will use it often, but it’s a great facility to have available. Try it…You’ll like it!
Update
With the recent release of Lightroom 4.2, you can now shoot tethered directly with Lightroom. Thanks Adobe for playing catch-up!
More from Wellington County
More scouting trips around Wellington County. Last Friday, it lead to a wonderful piece of pie at Marj’s in Alma. If you haven’t been, it’s a must! Marj’s is a classic village diner with great service, great food and, most important of all, great, home-made pies.
The photos I’m showing you are not final cuts, but rather works in progress. Some will never see the light of day as they are location “snaps”. I find it helpful to shoot a location when I know it’s not the ideal time, but want to keep a record of what it looks like and its exact location using Lightroom Maps module and the GPS unit on my camera.
You will notice that some of the photos are “blurred”. They are the product of the work I am doing with motion landscapes – photographs that capture varying degrees of motion to give us fleeting glimpses of shapes, colours and textures. They, too, are a work in progress! Final note: all photos are processed in Lightroom 4.1
Enjoy!
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ11 @ 1/10, ISO 50 w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ11 @ 1/10, ISO 50 w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 20mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/125, ISO 100 EI-2/3 w/ Polarizing filter
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/50, ISO 100 w/ Polarizing filter
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ20 @ 1/50, ISO 50 w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/30, ISO 50 w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- Nikon D800e w/ AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/60, ISO 200 EI–2/3 w/ Polarizing filter
Landscapes of Wellington County
For a while now, one of the projects I’ve been working on is a series of landscapes of Wellington County. Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, Wellington County is an hour west of Toronto and surrounds the city of Guelph (about 120,000) and the towns of Erin, Fergus and Elora with a hodge-podge of townships trending northwest from there. Predominantly farmland with few natural areas, Wellington County is bisected by the Grand River and some of its tributaries, namely the Speed and Eramosa Rivers. It’s not exactly Madison County with its various bridges, but, there are a few places where the river courses are quite photogenic. As well, Elora Gorge offers some great photographic potential.
There is not much in the way of topography, though, with the highest point being Starkey Hill, just east of Arkell (southeast of Guelph) atop the Guelph Moraine, part of the Galt-Paris Moraine complex left over from the last glacial period. The Grand River valley also provides some topography, but with most of the land being private and the natural areas being either wetland or forest, there are few “vistas” ideal for landscapes.
If I could photograph only one thing, it would be landscapes – those broad, sweeping, three-dimensional vistas filled with detail that start at my feet and extend to the horizon. However, to really work, they require just the right combination of timing for vegetation and lighting – that dramatic moment that says something more than “I was here”. And, more often than not, landscapes are at their most stunning when I’m on my way somewhere else and can’t stop to photograph. Such is life… Needless to say, my landscapes of Wellington County continues to been a long-term project.
Yesterday morning I made a point of doing some exploring to re-familiarize myself with some spots I hadn’t been to in some time. It was a fine summer morning still fresh after Sunday’s rain. Thank goodness for the rain over the last week, otherwise the river courses would have been nearly dry. I worked in the area just north and east of Guelph – the Eramosa Township area.
Field techniques included, as usual, a Nikon D800e mounted on Manfrotto 055 legs and head, mirror lock-up and an electronic release. Shooting data for each photograph is in the caption. The raw image files were processed using Lightroom 4.1
Here are a few from yesterday…
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- AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/15, ISO100
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- AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ11 @ 1.3sec, ISO50; w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- AF Nikkor 24mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ22 @ 0.6sec, ISO 50 w/ Polarizing & ND3x filters
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- AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm ƒ2.8 D; ƒ16 @ 1/30, ISO200 w/ Polarizing filter
Lightroom: There is more to print resolution than meet the eye
While surfing today (hey, it’s raining out, why not!), I came across an excellent article from last year by Lightroom guru Jeff Schewe that sheds an incredible amount of light and detail on print resolution. If you are printing your own prints using Lightroom then I strongly suggest you read this article and adjust your printing routine accordingly.
I’ll warn you, the article is 5 pages long and full of detail that just might cause some head-scratching, but persevere and you will come out the other end much more knowledgeable about printing.
Here is the link from the magazine Digital Photo Pro :
luxBorealis Blog 