Canon 5D MKIII with EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 66mm, f/5.6, 1/800 sec, ISO 1600
Looking down on a brilliant bed of fallen leaves, I noticed this single geranium bloom soaking up the early morning sun rays. It stood out stretching its neck out to show off its last hurrah. The rest of the plant had withered away preparing for the winter ahead. I will have to wait until the end of May to catch its first bloom of the new year.
Canon 5D MKIII with EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 63mm, f/8.0, 1/400 sec, ISO 1600
The color of fall in Eastern Pennsylvania has all passed. This entry is the start of a series of posts of an early November morning shoot in our back yard capturing the last of the fall color. The early morning sun caught these fallen leaves just right to pop them out from the frosted grass. Simple things tend to catch my eye. I constantly look down as I walk through the landscape.
On this shoot, I was testing out the low noise performance of the 5D. There was a steady breeze which required me to use a fast shutter speed. I also normally use a tripod where ever I go. This day I wanted to be “free” and capture images quickly as I saw them. With a high ISO of 1600, the 5D performed exceptionally well and allowed me to capture the images that I was targeting.
Canon 5D MKIII with EF24-70mm f/2.8L @ 45mm, f/8.0, 0.3 sec, ISO 400
Black and white granite markings laced with thin red lines decorate the narrow canyon walls at the bottom of Titus Canyon. The formations range from random lines, to indian pattern, to letters. Since I am the KGG the III, this pattern caught my eye right away. To bring out the contrast, the rocks were spritzed with water. It was amusing watching our workshop instructors racing back and forth between the students spritzing the walls with water bottles. I forgot which gave out first, the light, the water, or our instructors.
Canon 5D MKIII with EOS 24-70mm f/2.8L @ 70mm, f/22, 1/15 sec., ISO 400
These charcoal kilns seem to be in the middle of nowhere in Wildrose Pass. They were built by Swiss engineers in the the 1870’s to feed the smelters of Modoc Mine about 25 miles away. This was the closest source of wood.
The most difficult part of taking this image was to avoid the row of other photographers trying to take the same image. See below.
Canon 7D, EF 24-70mm f2.8L @ 70mm, f/11, 1/640 sec, ISO 400
Rhylolite is a old ghost town just west of Beaty, Nevada. See the following site for a brief history of the settlement: http://www.rhyolitenevada.com/rhyolite_history_settlement.html. There is a lot of history behind this little settlement. We were here a very short time for a quick shoot. It will be a place that I go back to.
This image was taken in the bright early afternoon sun. The color image looked very blah. Black and White gave it a little punch.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS @ 100mm, f/11, 1/90 sec, ISO 200
Throughout Death Valley, there are artifacts of the blurred history of people trying to work the land. This photo was taken at an abandoned copper mine and home site. What is the story behind this site? How hard life must have been? What kind of people lived here in the extreme heat of the summer and the extreme cold in the winter? What did they get from all their toil? What was the event or series of events that triggered them to leave? I am sure the history behind this site is a whole story by itself.
To help the image of a blurred history, I added a vignette blur on the edges.
Canon 7D, EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS with 1.4X extender @ 270mm, f/8, 1/125 sec, ISO 200
No these are not Chuck’s footprints! As I admire the grandeur around me, I try to remember to look up and down as well as side- and backwards. This time as I looked down, I was treated by a little critter’s path along the sand. Micro scenes like this abound everywhere just waiting for one to notice.