The Spring 2010 Texas Landscape Safari Was Great!

Many thanks to the folks that made this spring’s Texas Landscape Safari such a blast. Everyone at this week’s workshop was a real trouper. We hiked over 15 miles (best estimate) up and down some of the steepest grades in state to capture some magnificent Texas landscapes.

This shot below was taken looking directly upstream from the lower portion of Pedernales Falls near Johnson City. We had almost no clouds until after dinner, so we made a mad dash to the falls before the sky and clouds disappeared on us. It’s nice to get lucky every now and again.

Sunset at the Falls – Johnson City, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 19mm, f/16 for 6 seconds at ISO 50 using a Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter and an LB warming polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Hiking Through Lost Maples

I love hiking at Lost Maples State Natural Area near Vanderpool but I rarely get out there during the fall because the crowds (of very nice folks) make it tough to get good shots. Hiking during the spring or summer is a real treat and you can explore up and down the Sabinal river valley for hour after hour and never run into another person. It’s a beautiful walk through some of the most picturesque Hill Country landscape you’ll ever see. And for you birder watchers, it’s cool to see all the hummingbirds zooming around the place.

Low Water Crossing on the Sabinal – Vanderpool, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens hand-held. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/11 for 1/45th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Hill Country Landscapes Presentation Download

I had a wonderful time presenting at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association meeting last evening. The folks that attended were warm and friendly, pretty much what you’d expect from a group of enthusiastic Texas photographers. I’d like to thank John Old for giving me the opportunity to speak in front of this group and I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I’d also like to thank everyone that bought a copy of my book last evening. It was a wonderful surprise!

It turns out that my slide deck was a wee bit larger than I had expected (too big to email out to folks) so I’ve posted a copy (PDF format) of the presentation highlights that folks can download here. Just click on the image to the left but be warned, it’s a 15 MB file and might take a bit of time to download.

Here’s a set of links to some of the products I discussed last evening:

Gitzo Traveller Tripod (Legs)
Really Right Stuff Ball Heads
Hot Shoe Bubble Level
Singh-Ray Filters

Speaking Tonight at the Houston Audubon

I’ll be speaking at the Houston Audubon Nature Photography Association meeting on April 21, 2010 in the Edith Moore Sanctuary headquarters library at 7:00 PM. Come join us for a night of practical advice on shooting landscape and nature photography in the Texas Hill Country.

For more information click on the image above or visit the HANPA Website.

Hill Country Hillside

Here’s another shot taken from the top of the rise overlooking Cougar Canyon in the Hill Country State Natural Area. It was a tough climb under very hot conditions but the view was well worth it. This is definitely a spot to return to for a sunset shoot later this year.

Hill Country Hillside – Bandera, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-104mm f/4L IS USM lens hand-held. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/11 for 1/100th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Open Sky

Happy Monday Morning! If you’re anything like me the thought of facing Monday mornings falls somewhere between having your wisdom teeth removed and paying your monthly bills.

So here’s a shot I took while hiking Hill Country State Natural Area with my oldest friend in the world (and the god-father of my first daughter), Jack Alberts. Jack reminded me a few weeks ago that I’d unintentionally slighted him in the introduction of my first book, Hill Country Landscapes, by neglecting to mention his part in my photographic exploits last fall.

To set the record straight, Jack was the “driving force” (inside joke) behind many of the best shots presented in my book and when I say he is “my oldest friend”, I’m being quite literal. If it weren’t for Jack I’d never have hiked straight up the 400 foot face at Garner State Park, gotten some truly wonderful shots and then spent the next several hours finding a safer route down. My ego just couldn’t let a friend fifteen years my senior, leave me in the dust of his well worn and taped (another inside joke) hiking boots.

I also would never have gotten this shot, taken at the trail-head of Cougar Canyon on a hot, autumn afternoon. So to my oldest and dearest friend, here’s to you Jack!

Open Sky – Bandera, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-104mm f/4L IS USM lens hand-held. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/8 for 1/125th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Early Morning on the Pedernales River

Here’s a shot I took a few weeks ago during my scouting trip for the upcoming Texas Landscape Safari workshop which begins on April 24th (forgive my blatant self-promotion) in Lampasas. The Pedernales River is one of my favorite spots in the Hill Country and it’s hard not to come back with some nice shots, even when there’s no clouds to add some drama to the sky.

Early Morning River – Johnson City, Texas
Copyright © 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-104mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 40mm, f/16 for 0.6 seconds at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray Vari-ND-Duo neutral density filter. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

First Sign of Spring (Cheating)

I’ve driven out to Brenham in search of the wildflowers for the past three weekends and we’ve had the most pitiful weather for landscape and nature photography. It’s been either completely overcast or not a cloud in the sky. Both ends of the spectrum are not the best for shooting wildflowers. So until I can complete my mission, here a couple of shots taken last year near the Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge in Eagle Lake, Texas.

First Sign of Spring – Eagle Lake, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens hand-held. The exposure was taken at 200mm, f/4 for 1/200th of a second at ISO 100 using a circular polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Another Sign of Spring – Eagle Lake, Texas
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens hand-held. The exposure was taken at 200mm, f/4 for 1/500th of a second at ISO 100 using a circular polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.