Desert Ride

Landscape photography in Texas is an endurance sport, especially for your vehicle. The best locations are far from any major cities and in many cases, far from civilization itself. Having a dependable ride like the Subaru Forester is essential to your success and your survival.

My 2010 Forester has a little over 103,000 miles on it and still runs like a champ. I’ve taken it all across Texas from Houston to Amarillo, Dallas to El Paso and Harlingen to Nacogdoches with not a single breakdown to its credit. We’ve traveled the dirt roads of Big Bend National Park, the two track trails of Guadalupe Mountains National Park, the back roads of twenty different Texas State Parks and the dirt roads of over 150 Texas counties.

Man, what a ride!

Desert Ride – Salt Flat, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/16 for 1/20th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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Straight & Narrow

The drive from Canyon, Texas to Palo Duro Canyon State Park is a gorgeous ten miles of straight and narrow county road. Oh, what a view on a quiet, moonlit night!

Straight & Narrow – Canyon, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 27mm, f/16 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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Guadalupe Peak & El Capitan

Guadalupe Mountains National Park is the world’s premier example of a fossil reef from the Permian Era. The park is known for its extensive hiking and backpacking opportunities in one of the nation’s most pristine wilderness areas. Birding, history, and many other opportunities to learn and have fun await visitors in this hidden gem of West Texas.

Oh the Valleys & the Peaks – Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas
Copyright © 2013 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 35mm, f/16 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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Workshop Preparation Post #5: Packing for Landscape Photography

As I’ve posted before, gear selection and packing for a landscape photography trip is a cumbersome task. Each time I set out for a few days or a few weeks I begin by putting together a shoot list and hiking schedule. I also check the weather forecast for the area of Texas I’ll be traveling though and pray for any cold fronts approaching from the north or west. The last thing I want is a cloudless sky.

Pulling together a shoot list is a common enough task for most commercial photographers but I find few landscape or nature shooters that follow this discipline. I like to maximize my time in the field but I can’t carry fifty pounds of cameras and lenses on each hike so a shoot list is essential.

So here is a list of what I pack for a typical landscape outing.

• Canon 5D Mark III with EF 17-40mm f/4L USM zoom attached.
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L zoom with lens hood.
• Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II Tilt & Shift Lens.
• Gitzo Traveller Tripod & RRS Ballhead.
• Singh-Ray CP, Vari-ND & ND Grad filters.
• Black Rapid R-Strap & Clips.
• Bubble level, CF cards, lens cloths.
• Garmin GPS on one strap.
• Motorola MR350 Two Way Radio on the other strap.
• Emergency Thermal Mylar Blanket.
• Hiker’s First Aid Kit.
• LED Flashlight & Hunting Knife.
• Emergency Bail-Out Rope.
• Water, typically three 24oz bottles.
• Trail Snacks (for energy).

This much gear weighs in a little under 20 lbs and fits comfortably in my pack. The nice thing is, the weight decreases during the hike as I consume my water supply and trail snacks. I caution folks about carrying too much weight in their packs. I’ve done these hikes and climbs several times in the past few years and every extra ounce of weight you carry takes that much more energy. When you’re out shooting in nature, the last thing you need to be thinking about is how sore your lower back is from lugging around all that gear.

In fact, during my spring workshop (Texas Landscape Safari) I may carry only one lens (24-105mm) on my 5D3 and a few filters in my pockets. I load my pack up with as much water as I can carry along with some apples for energy. One thing I tell all my attendees; if it’s a choice between a lens or a bottle of water, always take the water. The Texas sun can be a relentless companion and folks that don’t respect its strength soon find themselves dehydrated and exhausted. Not a great combination for a budding landscape photographer during a workshop.

Texas Landscape Safari Spring 2013

The Spring 2013 Texas Landscape Safari will be held April 21 – 24, 2013 in Canyon, Texas deep in the heart of the panhandle! That’s right folks, the TLS will be moving from the Hill Country to the Texas High Plains & Canyons this year.

This not your usual photography workshop or tour. It’s more like a bunch of friends getting together to share their love of landscape photography and help each other grow as serious photographers. It’s a chance to visit and photograph some of the most beautiful spots in the Texas panhandle and to learn some techniques to enhance your landscape photography behind the camera and in the digital darkroom.

South Prong Canyon in Caprock Canyons State Park

Our Base Camp will be in Canyon, Texas and we will be shooting at both Palo Duro Canyon State Park and Caprock Canyons State Park as well as other key locations during the three day workshop. Many of the panhandle locations are “drive up and shoot” opportunities and there are literally thousands of great spots within 90 miles of our base camp!

Click on the image above to see our Google map for the TLS

What You’ll Learn

• Some of the best landscape photography locations in the Texas Panhandle.
• Basic landscape techniques for your DSLR, lenses & tripod.
• How to compose your landscape shots for maximum impact!
• How to correctly use a circular polarizer filter.
• How to correctly use a graduated neutral density filter.
• How to create special effects with a neutral density filters.
• Basic post-capture processing techniques in Adobe Lightroom.
• How to correctly prep your images for printing.
• Where to have your images printed and why!

Registration Opens Now!
Just drop me an email via this blog with your name, mailing address and email address and I’ll add you to the mailing list. Our class size is limited to the first fifteen people, so don’t wait too long!

Autumn Colors

Autumn Colors – Buescher State Park in Smithville, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 47mm, f/16 for 1/10th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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Pump Up Your Landscape Photography Using Singh-Ray’s Vari-ND Filter

I love flowing water. Images of flowing water speak to me more than any other landscape photograph except perhaps for sunsets. There is something both dynamic and serene about water flowing gently down a stream or the surf crashing against the rocks. Water just speaks to me.

To get that smooth flowing look when photographing running water, I’ve found that a shutter speed of about 1 second is usually required.

Singh-Ray’s Vari-ND (or Vari-ND-Duo) neutral density filter allows me to control the amount of light which passes through my lens from 2 to 8 stops of exposure.

With the filter mounted on my lens and set to its lowest setting (minimum density) I can frame my subject (the rocks and flowing water) and use my camera’s auto focus system without any trouble. When I’m ready to shoot, all I need to do is turn the outer ring to increase the density until my long shutter speed provides the effect I’m looking for in the running water. I could achieve the same effect using a conventional neutral density filter but it’s a much more time consuming process.

Guadalupe Falls – Hunt, Texas
Copyright © 2012 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with GP-E2 unit attached, set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens and tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 47mm, f/16 for 2.4 seconds of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray Vari-ND-Duo filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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Hiking Grapevine Hills

Hiking Grapevine Hills – Big Bend National Park, Texas
Copyright © 2011 Jeff Lynch Photography

Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/14 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 4.

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