Archive for the ‘Best Of Landscape’ Category:
The Backside of Vernazza
This is not the most famous view of Vernazza. If you look up Vernazza (the 4th town of Cinque Terre in Italy), the view you usually get is the other side with the picture-perfect harbor. Trust me, I’ve got that shot too. This one was taken as we were leaving Vernazza on the trail to Corniglia – after climbing what seemed like hundreds of steps. The trail to Corniglia is a solid hour or two and not for the faint at heart – or lung.
Vital Stats: Canon Rebel XT w/Canon 10-22mm @ 22mm, ISO 100, f/9.0, 1/80 sec
The Old Fence at the Farm
This shot has a lot of nostalgia in it since it was taken at my grandfather’s farm where my brother now lives. The skyline is different now than I remember – the old barn would have been in the scene in the background on the right. This photo is a three-shot HDR bracketed at +/- 1 stop
Vital Stats: Canon 40D w/Canon 10-22mm @13mm ISO 100, 2.5 sec @ f/22
The Edge of Assisi
This photo was taken during a self-guided walking tour of Assisi courtesy of Rick Steves. As we were walking along the edge of the city, the old stone houses in front of the Umbrian countryside made a great vista to photograph. Though this ultimately turned into a high dynamic range photo (HDR), I didn’t shoot it as such. I triple-processed the RAW file and blended them to get this result. The original, by comparison, is very bland.
Vital Stats: Canon 40D w/Canon 10-22mm @ 10mm, ISO 100, f/6.3, 1/100 sec.
Night canals in Venice
This picture was taken during my November, 2007 trip to Italy with my family. Once the rest of my family turned in for the evening, I went out with my gear to get some night canal shots in Venice. It was probably around 35 degrees F when I took this shot – so my hands got pretty cold setting everything up.
The location for the shot is near Pte. Cavallo across from Campo San Giovanni e Paulo.
Vital Stats: Canon Rebel XT w/Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens @ 17mm. ISO 1600, f/10, 5 seconds
Spring Storms on the Prairie
This picture was taken driving home from my brother’s bachelor party in May, 2008. This storm spawned several tornadoes – the closest about 30 miles from my location. Seconds after this shot, heavy rain rolled in causing me to run for cover. In the sprint back to the car, my camera popped off the tripod and landed in the dirt no worse for wear save for a small scuff.
This shot is a 3-shot HDR composed of three photos bracketed +/- 1 stop.
Vital Stats: Canon 40D w/Canon 10-22mm @ 10mm ISO 100, f/14, .8sec (center exposure)
A Misty Morning on Gillis Lake
This one was taken just moments after dawn in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in northern Minnesota on Gillis Lake. It was probably around 40 degrees – and my wife went swimming about 15 minutes after this shot was taken.
Vital Stats: Canon Rebel XT w/Canon 17-85mm lens @41mm ISO400, f/9.0, 1/500 sec
The Venice of the North
Brugge (pronounced either BROOZH or BREW-GUH depending on whether you are Flemish or not) is often called the Venice of the North due to the canal system in the city. This shot was a quick stop on my way back to dinner after forgetting my mini tripod at the B&B. Though it’s a point-n-shoot photo, I’ve got this hanging in my family room blown up to 24×16 and it looks great.
Vital Stats: Olympus 5050z @ 11.9mm ISO64, f/2.0, 1sec exposure
The Flavian Ampitheater – HDR Style
Most people know of this place as the Colosseum, though it’s official name is the Flavian Ampitheater. This was shot at high noon in November in Rome – so a normal exposure was impossible. The left side of the picture was blown out, the right side was blackness. To solve, I shot three exposures from a tripod at +1EV, 0EV, and -1EV. When I got home, I merged them with Photomatix Pro to get this result.
Vital Stats: Canon Rebel XT with the Canon 10-22mm lens @ 10mm. ISO 100, f/11, 3 bracketed exposures centered around about 1/20sec. A Joby Gorillapod wrapped around an iron railing was used to steady the camera.
The Black Tusk
The Black Tusk behind Whistler Mountain – the basalt core of an extinct volcano. The photo was taken from near the peak of Whistler Mountain with an Olympus Digital Stylus – a 5MP point and shoot! Heavy post-processing was done with Photoshop to convert to B&W and boost the contrast.
Vital Stats: Olympus Stylus u400D @ 17mm. 1/1000sec at f/5.6