I’m having a quick break from editing wedding photos and I thought I would upload a photo for the fans!
Thank you so much to the regulars who stop by the blog every day. I am still blown away that you call this little corner of the internet part of your online home.
As always I have made this photograph free for anyone to download. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Enjoy.
FOLLOW ME TO THE WATER
Watching and waiting, anticipating the sparkle in the sky the reflection of light grew intensely as I composed the scene before me.
Time was no factor I stood still in the cold night air waiting to see a shooting star – a glistening hope before my eyes. I waited but alas the spectacle didn’t happen. Instead the gentle breeze blew across my face as it played within the scene.
Artistic patterns marbled on the water’s surface freezing in time. Trees on the horizon danced as my camera captured the chorus of movement before me. Warming light from the nearby town seemed like a galaxy far away. My eyes were cast upward to the beauty of the atmosphere that seemed to engulf my presence.
A universe of light danced upon the glassy mirror. Twinkling stars pierced through the darkness with the brightest forming stairways that led to the sky. Was this my path was this the light?
Captured using the Fujifilm X-Pro 1
5 Images
35mm – ISO 200 – f1.4 – 30 Seconds Per Image
Edited and Stitched using Photoshop CS5
I got asked a few days ago is landscape photography really worth it? It sort of got me thinking about why I do it. I suppose this post is some of my thoughts on the subject and hopefully it answers the question – is landscape photography really worth it?
There is nothing like the feeling of the ocean breeze in your hair or the silence of a still desert night; these feelings are part of an experience that makes landscape photography so important to me.
When I lived in Albany, Western Australia I met Andrew Halsall who showed me just how to appreciate landscape photography. I always thought landscape photography was about arriving in a remote location only to unpack heavy photography gear. My thoughts had left me with the impression landscapes were was such a waste of time – I mean all that travel just to set up the camera on a tripod and take a photo – what a stupid idea! I couldn’t have been more wrong! I was shown there was a lot more to photographing landscape than I had imagined.
My thoughts started to change when I was taken on a few landscape adventures armed with some of Andrew’s essentials which included a camp cooker, stove top coffee plunger and some great humor. I have great memories of camping under the stars on uncomfortable ground after relentless days of hiking through the Stirling’s or even cooking toasted bacon sandwiches whilst the camera was photographing a star trail. Thinking back now I know that these experiences are really why landscape photography is one of the photographic subjects I now pursue.
Bluff Knoll, Stirling Ranges National Park
Living in Western Australia, I have been fortunate to photograph forests, oceans, deserts, mountains and salt lakes. I truly believe Western Australia has some amazing landscapes. You simply just need to get out there to photograph it.
So what does it take to photograph a landscape?
Simply put – determination! All you need is a little bit of determination to get yourself out of bed. The cold mornings and nights when all you want to do is go to back to sleep are the moments when you need to push yourself. My mums voice ” You’ll enjoy it when you get there” is a constant reminder which haunts me to get out of bed. The thought of getting up in darkness to take a photo is clearly mad for non photographers but the experience when you see the sunrise over a valley or a shooting star really makes the effort worthwhile.
Hunter Valley, New South Wales
I suppose what separates landscape photographers from the happy snappers is really a simple answer – you either enjoy landscape photography or you don’t. Being a landscape photographer isn’t really something you just think about it is something you become. It becomes a passion. All you need to do is get out there, make sure you have a full battery and memory card and the landscape will do the rest. Although don’t get me wrong there is a lot of art and post production behind a good landscape photographer but that will come with time and experience.
I really have never been much of a writer or philosopher but photographer yes! My motivation to get out and photograph the landscape comes down to the love of the outdoors. So next time you aren’t motivated in your photography just remember to break past the mind barrier and get outdoors with your camera in hand – I’ll tell you now you won’t regret it.
Lake Leschenaultia, Western Australia
Until next time – Happy Shooting.
The latest FREE fine art photograph is ready to be downloaded.
August 2012 – Port Gregory.jpeg
REMEMBER TO SHARE THE LOVE
Until next time – Happy Shooting!
The latest FREE fine art photograph is ready to be downloaded.
July 2012 – Mt Field National Park.jpeg
REMEMBER TO SHARE THE LOVE
REMEMBER TO SHARE THE LOVE
Until next time – Happy Shooting.
Dimly lit street signs guided my way as I left the bright city lights behind me. The fog filled roads lay in my path as my vehicle turned and climbed in the darkness. Small towns came and went, my journey to Pemberton was drawing to a close. I could almost smell the decaying forest as I opened the vent to let in some outside air. My eyes were alert and the smell of coffee was fading. Pemberton was fast approaching.
My imagination was running. I started to recall countless customer’s photographs of tall trees I had printed in my working life. Picturing light as it broke through the blanketing canopy and fell upon glorious fern beds or capturing the morning calls of the local wildlife waking up to the day – these were the pictures I wanted to capture. I was so excited. With hands gripped to the steering wheel I navigated the fallen logs hindering the road to arrive at my destination around midnight. Eager to capture the forest I had ended up in the car park at the Big Brook Dam just outside of Pemberton town.
Stretching my legs from my long journey I witnessed tree trunks silhouetted against the starry sky. Rolling my head back and looking toward the sky the trees seemed to reach endlessly into the night sky. The giant trees clustered together to form a thick forest surrounding the car park making me feel dwarf like. The stars only had brief shining moments as the leaves rustled about covering their shine.
Too excited for sleep I decided capture my surrounds.
Fumbling about the boot I quickly packed my camera bag and with head torch leading the way I set off for the path. The still night air was interrupted from the sound of my footsteps as they crunched the undergrowth beneath me. The smell of damp wood rose from the ground bringing a smile to my face. Stumbling along, hands thawing within my jacket pockets I reached a clearing.
I was in amazement at the scene that lay before me. The stillness of the night has produced a perfect mirror across the body of water. Surrounding the water were tall trees that stood trunk to trunk, their shadows simply blackened voids on the surface of the water. My head torch was no match for the light that was energizing the night. The stars shone with brilliance reflecting their glow on the watery mirror in front of me. This was truly an amazing moment. I had to capture this scene!
Navigating my way along the muddy bank I located the southern cross above me and aimed the wide angled lens toward the constellations. With freezing fingers bouncing about the back of the camera I set the camera’s mode to Bulb and attached the cable release. Nestled on the tripod the focus was locked and aperture set…all I had to do now was wait 20 minutes. 10 minutes for the exposure followed by a 10 minutes walk back to the car (which was enough time for the camera to process noise reduction to the capture).
Arriving back at the car the heater was set to full blast as I waited for the red light to disappear from the back of the camera. Finally the moment arrived, noise reduction was complete.
The back LCD of the camera lit up producing the shot. AMAZING – I thought to myself. I had captured a night scene I was finally happy with!
All I needed to do was to get to sleep as I was getting up in 2 hours for the sunrise!
Big Brook Dam, Pemberton, Western Australia
Until Next Time
Happy Shooting!
The latest FREE fine art photograph is ready to be downloaded (on the right hand side of the blog).
June 2012 – Big Brook Dam 002.tiff
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Enjoy.
The latest FREE fine art photograph is ready to be downloaded.
June 2012 – Port Gregory 011.tiff
(on the right hand side of the blog)
All I ask in return is:
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Enjoy.
Everything has a beginning right?….it can only grow and get better from here!
Join me for the first official cameraED YouTube video as I travel out to Port Gregory located in Western Australia to photograph a landscape scene.
cameraED will be growing every day into a site that will be available for every budding photographer out there, professional or beginner. So sit back and enjoy the weekly videos all about photography!
Below is the final image I managed to capture before the battery died again!
Canon EOS 1D MK IV – ISO 50 – 40mm – f5.6 – 0.5 sec
The people in their cars behind me must have thought I had a rubber neck as I consistently moved my head in every direction panning the skies for Osprey followed by more horizontal pans looking across the lifeless earth for the perfect landscape composition. I had been on the lookout for the momentous shot for some time and now the light was beginning to turn a golden hue. Time was running out.
I had frequented this road before. The long open road that produced a distant hopeful shimmer. We’ve all been there only to find the road continues on into an endless journey, and my journey had taken me to the beautiful Coral Coast in Western Australia. Bustling along my eyes rested upon a majestic pink lake nestled alongside the road. The wheels were spinning in full rotational motion as some of the scene passed, a quick stomp applied by my feet applied a relieved halting pressure to the brakes – I simply had to capture the developing scene before me.
The sound of the car door was behind me as I flurried into position. Jostling tripod and camera into some sort of balancing act I clicked the X Pro 1 into a starting position, the camera proceeded to perform with some sort of magic. The focus arrived as the composition fell perfectly into place – this was going to be one for the pool room.
I had been waiting for this sort of scene since the sun experience deja vu from the day before. The atmosphere was filled with silence as I quietly navigated the quick mode on the back of the cold metal camera body. Fingers easily falling upon the self timer mode I rested knowing the picture would be perfect. One click of the shutter button had confirmed my belief. My journey was complete.
Fujifilm X Pro 1 – ISO 400 – 35mm – f8 – 1/1900 sec
The perfect opportunity arose when I was fortunate to find myself with a rarity of four days off. I had been wanting to exercise my camera’s shutter at a unique West Australian landscape setting – a pink lake located in the small town of Port Gregory. My fascination to photograph this bizarre landscape arose when I peered out from my window in a very small plane heading to Karratha from Perth. Even though I am extremely colour blind I was clearly able to see the pink hues from the air. Amazingly the pinkness comes from a bacteria – Dunaliella salina which finds itself trapped within the salt crystal of the lake. The psychedelic colour is most vibrant around sunrise and sunset. That was my goal – to photograph two sunrises and one sunset.
Pen went to paper as my visual ideas for a great shot consumed me. I felt a bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings, I was simply pursing one of my dreams to capture the ‘precious’ shot. The days drew nearer toward the 6 hour Skoda drive that would see me at my destination. My thought train was rumbling and steaming as I debated what photographic gear I would take. The usual suspects were there the tent, clothes, sleeping bag and the like but the burning question on my mind was which camera and lens combination should I use?
Pondering the question over a beer some sense came to mind – I thought “I’m travelling all that way I should just take it all.” So I did:
Fujifilm X Pro 1, Fujinon 18mm f2; Fujinon 35mm f1.4, Canon 1D MK IV, Canon 17-40mm, Canon 85mm f1.2, Sigma 120-300mm f2.8, Canon MP-E65 f2.8, Canon MT-24EX Flash, 3x Lee Filters and a stack of memory cards all stuffed into my Lowepro Nature Trekker Case…oh and don’t forget the Manfrotto 190XBPRO tripod!
The night had arrived when I found myself standing in front of the seemly quite and eerie destination. The scene before me was pitch black with an encompassing blanket of stars reflecting on the gigantic lakes’ every ripple. Delirious from the trip I managed to take one photo on the X Pro 1 before I set an alarm to wake my fading Red Bull and coffee filled mind up from its unnatural state.
The developed photograph intrigued me as it revealed a dull glow from a salt refinery on the distant horizon. The aura produced by the man-made structure seemed to interact with the greater constellations. There was something else to the photograph – it was a bit of a surprise – at first I thought I had captured some sort of military plane or an object you would see in documentaries over the famous Area 51 – I took a second photograph to confirm my belief…but alas the UFO was classic lens flare. Just quietly before I took the second photograph I couldn’t contain my excitement – I thought I had made contact!
Morning arrived with rain filled clouds and disappointment written all over my face. I wasn’t going to get the sunrise I had been dreaming of – the clouds were simply way to cumulus for any light to penetrate. Picking myself up I reached for the Fujifilm X Pro 1 to test its high ISO abilities. During my oscar winning sad-sack performance the heavens had a break and decided to have a sneak peek of a light show as the sun played hide and seek with the clouds. During the intensely short game I managed to pick off a few which made me bounce right back into being Leigh Diprose – the happy traveller.
The rest of the trip I experienced downpours, sand blasting winds and extreme chills (youtube videos to come). I opted to leave the X Pro 1 in the car due to the intensely bad weather. The only advance I saw in using the Canon in the horrible weather was it’s weather proofing – other than that the X Pro 1’s image quality was on par with the Canons. All of these images were photographed in RAW on the Fujifilm X Pro 1 with adjustments made in Lightroom 4.
ISO 800 – 35mm – f1.4 – 1/100 sec
ISO 200 – 35mm – f16 – 0.5 sec
ISO 200 – 35mm – f5.6 – 1/180 sec
ISO 200 – 35mm – f16 – 1/10 sec
ISO 200 – f35mm – f16 – 1/110 sec
ISO 200 – 35mm – f8 – 1/750 sec
ISO 200 – 35mm – f8 – 1/55 sec
Until next time.
Happy Shooting.
Here is another photo taken on my trusty Velbon Sherpa Pro monopod at the recent photo shoot at Leighton Beach, Western Australia.
Enjoy.
The sunset was striking yesterday as I pointed my lens towards Rottnest Island, Western Australia. This photo was taken just as the sun disappeared over the horizon.
Went out to capture the sunset today with Jamie Paterson and Paul Pichugin.
This image was straight out of the camera with some sharpness added and a hint of saturation. Taken on my monopod for a total of 6 seconds. Impressive!
Until next time.
Happy Shooting.
I took this image about 2 months ago. Finally got around to stitching it.
The colour of the sunset that afternoon was truly amazing.
Enjoy.
LEIGH DIPROSE 