Category Archives: The Intimate Landscape

The small details, shapes, and textures that catch my eye.

Lesson From Tony and John

131110_Leaves with red background by Karl Graf.

This image is based on a couple of lessons I have received in the past.  The first one is from Tony Sweet:  “When you see a cool background, find something to put in front of it”.  The second lesson is from John Barclay:  “When you see red … shoot”.  Walking along a trail in the woods a patch of red leaves caught my eye.  By themselves, they were not very interesting, but their combined color made me look twice.  I walked around and saw this scrawny branch with green leaves hanging down.  Again, by itself it was just ho-hum.  But when I lined up the bright green against the red background, the image “popped” in my mind.

Tony would have further critiqued this image and suggest that the green leaf in the top right corner should be removed.  He would also have commented that the small white dot in the top third of the red background be cloned out.  Tony is a sticker on details.  So here is the corrected file:

131110_Leaves with red background_v2 by Karl Graf.

It does make a difference!

Related Images:

Autumn Leaves – It’s Not Too Late

131109_Autumn Leaves by Karl Graf.

 

The peak of autumn color has come and gone.  I had not taken my camera out to capture any of the brilliance.  This was the first time since I started back into photography ten years ago that I hadn’t gone out on multiple fall shooting excursions.  Like I mentioned in my prior bog entry, I have been in a real slump.

The previous day, from when this image was taken, had been an exceptional late fall day in southeast Pennsylvania.  The temperatures were in the sixties.  The sky was blue with large billowing white clouds.  It was a beautiful day … but my camera remained at home in my closet.  What a waste!  That evening I felt depressed that I had not taken advantage of this wonderful day. The next day, rain or shine, I was going out.  My friend, Stan, and I went out for an adventure.  We were going to go down to Maryland for a little exploring, no set plan just go were the car takes us.  We didn’t get very far when we saw a creek and a dam along side the road.  Stan made a quick u-turn as he said, “we may never get back here”.  And so the day went.  When we saw something we stopped even as the rain was pouring down.  We did not always take the cameras out, but we did stop and explore as we made notes for a future adventure.  What a way to spend a great day with a great friend.

This image is from our first stop.  Stan focused on the water and falls from the dam.  I focused on the mini landscapes that layer below my feet.

Related Images:

Lonesome???

130802_Windmill by Karl G. Graf. Lonesome??? … Not really, just beyond the ridge there were hundreds more.  I selected to isolate this single wind turbine to portray the landscape the way I remember it back 13 years ago when I moved from the Northwest to the East Coast.  Wind turbines now are abundant on the desolate Washington hills above the Columbia River gorge.  I roamed on these lonesome hills as a young boy scout so many years ago. It gives me a sad feeling to see the once beautiful open hill country covered with industrial mechanical giants.

This image was taken along the roadside coming down from the Oregon plateau to the Columbia River near Biggs Junction, OR.

Related Images:

Seeing New Things

Attached is a blog entry from John Barclay which addresses seeing new things that you would not have shot before.

johnbarclayphotography.com | | Page 3.

By itself, the structure did not capture my interest.  However when linked with other “waste” materials, it perked my curiosity.  Here is my version.  Just a different perspective.

130428_EurekaMines_Outhouse by Karl Graf.

My next couple of posts will include additional details of the outhouse as I worked the image.

Related Images:

V’s

130329_V's_BW by Karl G. Graf. I was looking for lines and shapes at Zabriskie Point.  In the opposite direction of the point and in the shadows, I saw these repetitive V’s created by multiple ridges coming together.  The sun had just started to hit the top of the ridge line on the right side of the image.  The balance of the ridges were in a shadow from another ridge in the background.  The overall image was very flat. Using processing techniques taught by Chuck Kimmerle in our workshop, I was able to pull out the shadows within the overall shadow.  Thanks Chuck!

 

Related Images:

Look Around

130328_Sagebrush by Karl Graf. I had just finished shooting a wide panorama of a range of interesting rock outcroppings.  It was a “ho-hum” image of what was going through my mind.  Right before I left, I looked down at my feet and saw this interesting remains of a struggling sagebrush.  It reminds me of a continuous theme that I need to embed in my approach:  Look around and let the images come to me.

 

Related Images:

Mesquite Dunes #2

130318_MesquiteDunes2 by Karl G. Graf. This was my second try in the Mesquite Dunes.  A few of us got up early to catch the sunrise highlight the dunes while the others caught up on their sleep.  As the sun broke the horizon it cast soft shadows and warm highlights.  The contrast was very subtle.  This morning was a learning experience for me.  My objective was to see the contrasting shapes and lines, not necessarily capture that one great image.  Chuck Kimmerle gave us a few very good starting point insights, then took off over the dunes.  I followed his footsteps across the valleys and ridges, watching were he stopped shuffled around, put his tripod down (or not), then racing off to the next stop.  At these stopping points, I took my time looking around trying to pick out something that peaked my interest. Sometimes an image appeared, sometimes it didn’t.  It was a great morning just to be out and enjoy a wonderful landscape.

 

 

Related Images:

Mesquite Dunes

130316_DV_MesquiteDunes_1a

Where to start … the grand vista?, shapes?, colors?, details?, shadows? … too many choices!!!  As soon as I walked into Mesquite Dunes, my eyes and mind shot around in every direction.  There were just too many opportunities and a very narrow window to capture the light of the setting sun.  I quickly dropped behind our workshop group as I saw one thing after another.  I went after it all!  When I reviewed my images, I was pretty disappointed.  I ended up with a lot of “snapshots”.  Lesson learned here … don’t be greedy, let the image come to me.  Be patient, let my eyes and mind wander … the image will come.

This was one of the few images that did “call out”  I saw it in the distance and walked around several minutes before I found a perspective that “clicked” for me.  The curve shadow and bright highlights on the ridge separated the dune from the distant mountains.

 

Related Images:

Let the Image Come to You

130313_20 MuleTeamCanyon_BWIt was mid-morning following a great shoot at Zabriskie Point.  The landscape was filled with harsh shadows, bright surfaces, and subdued colors.  Nothing caught my eye.  I was about ready to walk around and look for some interesting view.  Then right in front of me was this graceful “S-curve”.  Two of our workshop leaders (Chuck Kimmerle and John Barclay) had previously emphasized the point not to force an image … but let the image come to you.  In this case, a little patience payed off as this image engulfed my focus.  Once seen, several other opportunities arose … to be continued in future blogs.

Related Images: