Trees in Fog

I was once told that the best selling photograph of all time was the picture of a fence zig zagging to a tree in the fog – you may have seen it in frame stores, etc. I don’t know that that is true, but I can definitely understand the appeal. A copy of that photograph hung in my office for a while as an inspiration piece. Maybe that is why I shoot so many trees in the fog? The blog image is a recent example that I shot in the vineyard near my home. There are vines out there in the distance, but you can’t see them (and you weren’t suppose to).

Blog image:  Sepia toned with some burning in (darkening) of the sky/fog around the tree. A little contrast added to the tree to make it pop out a little better.

Fall Orchards

Can you resist an orchard on a foggy day? I know I can’t. On the way to work this past week I noticed there was a nice fog in the local orchards (I vary my drive many days just so I can see what is happening in different areas). No matter how many times I shoot in the orchards I find there is always some composition I haven’t tried before.

Do you have some subject you shoot over and over? Do you press your self to come up with something new and different? Some times it can be really hard (frustrating even) and other times it just flows. This particular day was somewhere in the middle. In some ways it can be like exercise, some days its easier than others. But either way you come out stronger  and maybe feeling better.

These image were all taken that morning.

Blog Images:

1. Looks straight forward but I did use a focal composite (in CS5) to get the detailed depth and compressed view I wanted.
2. This is a simple slightly wide field shot – 35mm focal length equivalent.
3. This shot had a Polariad Transfer filter applied to if from Nik’s Color Efx Pro during post processin.
4. As always, I have to grab a pan shot to add to my Seasonal Immersions portfolio.

Golden Portal

Ever been to a place you know has been photographed a million times before and you are looking for a way to do something new?   That was the case when I shot this classic image under the Siuslaw Bridge in Florence, Oregon. While I caught it at a nice tide level and at sunset, I wanted more than the classical image (I still shot that though). Applying a technique I learned from Tony Sweet when shooting under a pier, I put on the vari-ND and set up the tripod. This exposure was 25 sec. After about 10-15 seconds, I slowly zoomed in on the image for the rest of the exposure. This allows for the arches to be very distinct and transparent at the same time. When during post processing I found that the image felt unbalanced (because of the lighting from one side) I decided to apply a “Dreamscape” mirror. (See my video on this by clicking here for more on that) This made it balanced and enhanced the surreal feel of the image.

Preparing for Print Sales

It is the holiday bazaar season and I thought I would take up an offer form a client to sell some prints and cards at her holiday shop. Perhaps you are getting ready for a sale yourself. There is more than meets the eye in getting ready (beyond all the details that go into preparing your artwork – printing, signing, mounting, framing, etc.)

Here are a few questions you might want to ask the shop owner before you show up with the prints.

1. What is your commission rate?  Typically 30-50% depending on the venue (bazaar to fine art gallery).
2. Do you have a way to display matted prints, cards, etc or do I need to provide that? You may need to provide bins, racks, etc.
3. Do you advertise?  This may determine whether the venue is a good use of your time and effort. You may also want to do some advertising yourself – maybe a postcard mailing to your contact list.
4. What is the price range of products or art that typically sell in your shop or bazaar? Not a good idea to put $300+ prints where most buyers are only spending  less than $200.
5. When do you need my artwork delivered? Day before, week before, etc
6. Do you have room to stock any inventory? You may need to hold prints and be ready to restock if sales are good.
7. To what level of detail do you track what sells? A shop owner may only know that you sold 20 cards or 5 prints, but not which prints or cards.  You should have a detailed inventory so you know what is selling (market research).
8. Do you need an inventory list? They might require this given you are leaving valuable goods in their hands. You may want one so there is not disagreement or mistakes later on the payment you should receive.

This is just a short list of items that you need to address , but not an exhaustive one.

If you live in the area and are interested in one of my prints you will be able to find them every weekend until Christmas (Dec 19th) at Willakenzie Lavender Farm in Yamhill, Oregon. For a map – click here.

Blog image: This is a multiple exposure (9 exp) image of leaves blended with one single exposure image of the leaves. Using a brush and mask layer in Photoshop I brought out the one single leaf.

Fall Fog

 

We are into the foggy season here in the Northwest. It comes on with the transition from fall to winter. We only have a little moisture in the air out here in the Northwest (really) so it is easy to get days where the air temperature drops enough to create fog (technically speaking when the temperature and dew point are within about 4 degrees).  But don’t worry about the technical definition. If you see a change in the weather forecast from a warm trend to a cool trend and you have moisture – look for fog.

I love to shoot on quiet foggy mornings. It is so peaceful and the subtle hues of color are great. This week I had another chance to go back to the vineyard near my home. The blog images were taken there.

Around the Yard

As I was coming back from a fall color shoot I noticed there were still a couple flowers blooming in the yard. I had been itching to create some additions to my “Floral Fusion” portfolio.  Unlike the past, I left these flowers in place (vs. bringing them into the studio). The wind was calm enough and a pop out diffuser provided shade when needed. As in the past these images are a blend (or fusion) of multiple exposures. Sometimes they are blended in camera and sometimes in Photoshop using layers and a brush. I used the later for both of these images. As you can see they both proved to be great subjects and the color mix of the backgrounds was great.

Blog Images: Both of these are textured glass blends: morning glory and kaffir lilies.

Just Next Door

In the search for fall color I have driven around a bit, but it turns out there was some great subject matter right next door – well more like the other side of the hill. David Hill Winery is just a couple minutes from my home (I live on part of the hill). A while back I asked the owners about being able to photograph there outside of their regular hours. They said sure, no problem. So the last couple of days I have taken them up on that – late evening and early morning. It has been great fun shooting in and around the vineyard. All the vines are bright yellow and seem to glow after sunset. Unfortunately the grapes have been harvested, so no grape images but I am more than happy with what is there.

What do you have next door waiting?

Blog Images:

1) This is just a straight shot taking advantage of the evening glow just after sunset. The quality of light was exceptional.

2) This was taken the next morning just as the sun was starting to light up the tops of the vines. This is a 0.4sec pan where the camera is moving along the angle of the vines.

Fall Again

It is fall again and the effort to find new and exciting images is well underway. While color has been sparse in some areas, there is still great color to be found in others. I visited one of my favorite fall locations again this year – the Portland Hoyt Arboretum. There is one particular group of trees at the arboretum that tends to have the best color and groupings. I have shot there multiple times now. The blog image is a 0.4sec pan with a branch from the front tree close to the camera on the left and around the top. A wide angle (17mm) let me get this perspective. The image has only had tonal, color saturation and touch up work done in the post processing. The rest of the “look” comes from the camera panning action.

Sunburst

Now and then we are fortunate enough to witness a sunburst in the fog - where the sun breaks though a span of trees and magically we see sun rays shooting off in every direction. That was the case Friday morning this past week as I was driving to work. The phenomenon actually went on for quite a while as I stood there with my tripod trying different compositions as the sun rose up the trees creating various sunburst patterns. Sometimes I kept the sun behind a tree trunk and in others I let it peak out as in the image above. As with most back lit shots the exposure had to be adjusted off of that indicated by the auto exposure. I also used auto bracketing to generate HDR image data. This image was processed with Nik’s new HDR Efx Pro – keeping it very natural.