Compare this to the last upload. Which do you like better? I got up in the dark to get there early in order to show how the trade winds sweep the clouds past the rainiest mountains in the world. No HDR.
See the super-big 1920 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/601333646...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @ 35
45-second exposure @ F11
ISO 160
Lee Big Stopper 10-stop square very dark glass filter for long exposures
(It is hard to get due to limited production so order and wait!)
2-0.9 (3-stop) Lee soft edge neutral density graduated filters
(grads oriented vertically to get light onto the falls)
Lee foundation kit filter holder (3-slots) All full!
Lee adapter ring to fit my 77mm lens to the holder
No polarizer
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod with Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol grip ball head
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
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First light at Hanalei is one of the most spaecacular events to witness anywhere. I feel it rivals Yosemite or practically anywhere I've seen personally or in photographs. It is a warm Yosemite with an ocean! These mountains are as high as El-Capitan and almost as steep. The trade winds more the clouds quickly creating changing light conditions on the 4,000 ft. (1300+m) rain sculpted mountains which are the rainiest on the planet. You must see this place for yourself. I used a very dark Lee Big Stopper filter to allow a 45-second exposure to show the dynamic nature of the light here.
Sometimes the clouds open up a bit and during this time of year, the sculpted cliffs are etched perfectly in relief by the low sun angle. The long exposure also reduces distractions so that the pier and mountains stand out better.
Another nice thing the long exposure does is to eliminate people from the scene. There were paddleboarders, surfers and some boats moving through this scene but as long as they keep moving, all is well! And it was.
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Resources:
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Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Tags: landscape seascape hanalei kauai hawaii pier mountain rain ocean pacific coconut palm sand wind usa
© All Rights Reserved
I'm back from Kauai with as many good photos as I've made in all of my previous trips to Hawaii combined, but with no huge winter waves of course. I really lucked out with the light I think. So here is a good place to start. The start of the day in Hanalai.
The clouds were heavy before sunrise but they cleared out just enough to allow the sun to light up the 4,000 ft. mountain range behind the beach. Without that light, the scene did not have the punch and depth that is does in this photo. Summer is when the light strikes across the mountains at the best angle.
See the super-big 1920 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/599979019...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @ 28
1/4-second exposure @ F13
2-0.9 (3-stop) Lee soft edge neutral density graduated filters
Lee foundation kit filter holder (3-slots)
Lee adapter ring to fit my 77mm lens to the holder
No polarizer
ISO 160
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod with Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol grip ball head
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
---------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
---------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Tags: landscape seascape hanalei hawaii waialeale pier sand beach sunrise boats clouds sky first light ocean pacific sea usa
© All Rights Reserved
A cool evening on the Santa Monica Pier. A perfect way to beat the 104 degree (40c) heat just a few miles inland. No HDR
Visit me on Google Plus!
profiles.google.com/patricksmith1
See the super-big 1500 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/593549409...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @ 58 (Same as the last photo, but the results are different for sure!)
8-second exposure @ F16 (to get that 8-sec. exp.)
No filters
No polarizer
ISO 50
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod with Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol grip ball head
I put the tripod, legs in, on the wooden railing
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
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Story:
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The Santa Monica Pier is a great place to escape the summer heat and enjoy an ice cream and watch all the people walking by. I used an 8-second exposure to show the movement without the people disappearing entirely. The timing on the wheel was important. The wheel would stop to pick up passengers and then move a little, eventually filling up and then spining several times. Here, a little movement was combined with a medium amount of light to fill the circle with light, yet not overpower the rest of the scene. The spokes show too stongly when there is no movement in the wheel and though it looks great to the eye as the complex patterns flash by, a single image simply shows the spokes. If the wheel is too bright, it overpowers the rest of the photo and blows out the highlights.
It was not easy to do this and despite 30 minutes of trying really hard to capture it, this is the only shot I like a lot! It realyl captures the festive atmosphere here.
The map shows exactly where this is.
---------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
---------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Tags: landscape seascape pier santa monica los angeles la water pacific ocean california venice fog usa
© All Rights Reserved
A fine mist envelops a quiet lane in Point Reyes, near San Francisco. Sometimes, fog really enhances a scene. No HDR.
Visit me on Google Plus!
profiles.google.com/patricksmith1
See the 1200 pixel version!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/591649592...
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Settings etc.:
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Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 24-105L @ 58
3.2-second exposure @ F16 (For big DOF with low light)
No filters
No polarizer
ISO 50
Small Slik Sprint mini II tripod with Manfrotto 322RC2 pistol grip ball head
RAW file processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF file processed with Photoshop
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Story:
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Last week, I went out for a sunset shot at the beach here in Marin County, just north of San Francisco. This is the dry season, but there were some rare clouds and (even more rare) rain in the area and as sunset approached, it began to clear up. I was all ready for what I had planned when a bank of fog moved in and that was that. I had to go to my backup plan. (Always have a backup plan since nature does not often cooperate despite how carefully you study her!) I knew about this row of trees on the way to the Point Reyes Lighthouse so I headed over there. I have been waiting for about 3 years for a misty foggy sort of day where I could capture this scene with some extra depth and light that you don't see without fog. So here it is! ... If you try this, walk the entire length of the path looking for the best composition. It took about 15 minutes of fiddling around to settle on this composition. This was halfway down.
Here is some history on this radio installation:
www.qsl.net/w2vtm/rca_history_kph.html
The map shows exactly where this is.
---------------------------------------------------------
Resources:
---------------------------------------------------------
Google Earth
earth.google.com/
Simply the best way to scout out locations that there is. You can see sun angles and pre-visualize light under lots of different conditions. Sometimes you can actually pre-compose your shots! This has saved me many thousands of vertical feet of climbing by avoiding spots with blocked views etc.
Satellite imagery (choose 'National' for a local US region or use your fave website)
www.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/?wfo=mtr
Tide charting and preditions: (chose your area in US, other countries have similar websites)
tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/tide_predictions.shtml?gid=235
Tags: landscape mist fog cypress road lane myst mystery grass brances halloween spooky red california marin county usa nature art PhotoContest-TNC11
© All Rights Reserved
Here is an 8,000 pixel-wide version of my 80,000 pixel-wide San Francisco panorama. I just realized that I had never posted it to Flickr, so here you go! No HDR and no Gigapan machine required. I'll explain below and don't forget to fave and share it on the internet if you like it. I always forget that when I look at panos.
Have a look at the super-super-big 8,000 pixel wide version!! C'mon, you know you want to!
www.flickr.com/photos/patrick-smith-photography/587464094...
Most gigapixel images are created during daylight hours or well after dark, conditions at which the light is consistent over dozens (or hundreds) of shots. However, I wanted the entire panorama to be done during the rapidly changing light that occurs just after sunset. It was not as easy as I first thought!
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Settings etc.
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112 11-second exposures (they were almost all 11-seconds to keep the city lights constant)
All shots were taken between 20 and 27 minutes after sunset on several nights over a 6-week period.
The final size is (13,423h x 80,540w, 1×6 ratio)
AutoPano stitching software to start, but 50% was hand-stitched
Canon 5D mark II with live view set to 10x magnification to help with precise focusing
Canon 500L F4 lens with 1.4 extender (after the 800 rental expired!)
3 rows of portrait oriented shots with about 35-40 on each row
25% overlap on each shot
Refocus every 3rd shot with extra care on the towers and hillside to the left
Refocus on Bridge towers to make sure that every bolt can be seen clearly
No grad filters
No polarizer.
No HDR
ISO 200 (to reduce the exposure time a bit but not too much to induce noise)
RAW files processed with Capture One by Phase One
TIFF files processed with Photoshop
Tripod – 1 home depot bucket with a circular 1-inch thick plywood board rotated on top to create panoramas. Jessy calls it "The Pano-Pod!" I like it!
Amazingly, If I had simply used the 500 with no 1.4tc, I might have been able to do it all in one night with about 60 shots. But the extra resolution meant I could print it at 36ft @240DPI instead of about 20 feet. Big difference!
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Story
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I wanted to create an image that would look like a single photo taken during that 5-10 minute period about 20 minutes after sunset where the softening natural light is about equal to city lights. A photograph created at this time will not have blown-out highlights but still have the glowing atmosphere of a nocturnal view. Since I needed to shoot over 30 photos per row and at least 3 rows tall, I knew that it would take several favorable days to shoot them all. This is because there are only a few minutes with good light after sunset and each exposure would take around 7-12 seconds to shoot. Also, with the 800mm lens I rented from borrowlenses.com you have to be very precise about focus, and setting the focus using the Live View feature adds even more time to each shot.
Shooting
I was excited to begin. The next 10 days looked clear and warm, so off I went. This was last November, but it was warm. The first obstacle was how to stabilize this huge lens during 10-second plus exposures when it is perched on the side of a hill exposed to strong ocean wind. The Golden Gate is the easiest place for wind to pass through the California coastal mountain range so there is a lot of it passing through. The sturdiest tripod is no match for these breezes so I had to come up with another solution.
I headed over to Home Depot and bought a 1-inch thick rounded and sanded plywood wheel that is about 18 inches in diameter. It is about the size of a very large pizza. Also I bought a plastic bucket, a short 1×4 and some thin wood shims. The idea is to place the plywood onto the bucket and then put the lens on the plywood. Then it is easy to rotate the lens right and left. The bucket is low to the ground and very stable even in high winds with the big lens on it. Also, it is easy to level the entire thing using by moving it in the dirt until your line of sight across the wheel is level with the horizon. I cut the 1×4 to a length of about 6 inches and cut notch in the middle so that the end of the lens would rest in the notch. That stops the lens from rolling around. The thin wood shims are then used to raise and lower the camera side of the lens. With this setup, you can shoot an entire row, insert or remove some shims and then shoot another row.
For the first 10 days, visibility over the bridge was perfect but it was hot and the city lights twinkled. Twinkling when viewed through 800mm of lens makes the entire frame flicker back and forth as though you are looking into a swimming pool on a windy day! During daylight it is not too bad because you can have an exposure time of 1/100 or less and things may look a bit wavy but at least they are sharp. At night, an 11-second exposure with the heat shimmering will make the entire image soft in a similar way to what you might see on a long exposure of ocean waves. Even my morning shooting suffered from atmospheric distortion. After 10 days with that magnificent lens I had nothing to show for my efforts! Needless to say I was a bit discouraged. However, I am not one to give up easily, so I borrowed a friend’s 500mm F4 and a 1.4 extender for a total of 700mm of magnification. Fortunately, he was very patient because it took about 4 extra weeks to get the images I needed.
Eventually the weather cooled, the atmosphere stabilized and the twinkling was dramatically reduced. Next, my hope was to get some mist in the atmosphere over several days to get through the entire panorama with consistent light. I made a total of about 20 trips to my spot before I had all the images I needed. All of the images used to make the final pano were captured on five of those evenings.
There were other problems during shooting besides the atmospheric distortion. First, the focus. The city is far behind the bridge, so when I was shooting the towers in front of the city I had to stop down to about F29 and focus extra carefully and do an extra long exposure. On the left side of the panorama were some foreground hills, so I had to refocus there too as well as every few shots throughout the panorama because the focus ring might get moved just a little. Most images, however, were made at F11. This allowed me to get enough depth of field to keep everything sharp. The DOF at F8 (the optimum setting) is too shallow and would cause something in each frame to be out of focus. I kept the exposure time down to 11-seconds by using an ISO of 200. There was very little noise in the final images.
The next problem is that I had to come back on successive days and pick up where I left off. So I had to arrive well before sunset to set up and practice what I was about to do. It is easy to not be perfectly aligned with a row from the day before. If you are not perfect all the way across then you don’t get enough overlap for stitching.
The other big problem is that the light was changing quickly and was different from the far left side to the far right side. This is a very wide-angle image so this is to be expected. So if you attempt a gigapixel image at dusk, study the direction of how the light fades and start shooting from the darkest areas and move towards the lightest. By the time you get to the lighter areas, they will be closer in brightness to the darker side. This way, the overall image will be more evenly lit.
Processing
I brought the images into Capture One, a RAW processing program. It has lots of settings which allow you to gain a little extra dynamic range and still have the image look natural. I collected the best images from all the shoots into one folder and carefully adjusted them for brightness and color. This went fairly smoothly, though there were a few images where I had to dig deeper. The idea is to have all the images be the same brightness.
I saved each one as a JPG because I knew the final file would be huge and I don’t have a super powerful computer! Also, I didn’t touch the JPGs until I had created a PSB file after stitching. TIFF files can only be 4gb in size and a 16-bit file would be 5gb. I ended up creating an 8-bit file but I kept it in PSB format, anyway. I did not lose any information as would be the case if I edited the JPGs directly. And JPG files have a 30,000 pixel width limit.
Originally I planned on using the highly rated Autopano stitching software. It did a great job until it reached areas where the bridge cables were in front of the bay water. As you can see in the small portion below, one cable or a bridge section looks like the next. The stitching software became confused no matter how I adjusted the settings. I auto-stitched as much as I could and then I stitched the remainder of the image (about 50%) manually in Photoshop. Fortunately there was plenty of overlap and after about 80 hours of work, the image was completely stitched.
After stitching, I went over the TIFF image carefully while viewing it at 100% magnification. I cleaned up any bad pixels or stitching errors. There was a bit of noise in some of the darker areas so I used the Photoshop noise reduction and that worked fine. Then I looked at the entire image to make sure that the entire scene looked evenly lit. A few places needed to be brightened or darkened but the adjustments were small because I was careful when creating the first set of files from the RAW files..
The combination of the 500L lens and the 1.4 II teleconverter along with close attention to focus created a final image that was very sharp. Most of the image needed no sharpening, though some areas were sharpened a bit just to get things as close to perfect as possible.
The total amount of time I spent doing recon, 20 trips to the location, and post processing was around 160 hours. Was it worth it? Yes!
Tags: landscape golden gate bridge gigapixel panorama marin headlands coit tower san francisco transamerica yerba buena island oracle bank of america usa
© All Rights Reserved