Rio Grande Hoodoos

Rio Grande Hoodoos – Big Bend Ranch State 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 1/20th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 and Photoshop CS5.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

Hiking Closed Canyon Trail

Hikers climbing their way through Closed Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park.

Photographer’s Notes
This image was taken in harsh sunlight at 1:30 PM using a 2-stop, soft, graduated neutral density filter with no major adjustments in post-capture processing. I did this just to prove that with the right in-camera techniques, you don’t need to rely upon HDR techniques or exposure blending to obtain an acceptable image.

I was able to balance the exposure in this high-contrast scene by metering for the shadows and then hand-holding my graduated neutral density filter to “block” the sunlit side of the canyon and prevent it from being completely blown out. This technique of “fooling your camera’s meter” is old school but works very well in high-contrast landscape situations like this.

Closed Canyon – Big Bend Ranch State 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 32mm, f/14 for 1/13th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

Using a Graduated Neutral Density Filter

Lower Madera Canyon – Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2011 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105m f/4L IS USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/14 for 1/60th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer and two-stop, soft graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done entirely in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

Everyone knows I’m an old-fashioned kind of guy when it comes to getting the correct exposure “in-camera” as opposed to “in post”. For me, post-capture processing in Lightroom 3 or Photoshop CS5 is a matter of tweaking the RAW image to help recreate what I remembered seeing when I took the shot. A graduated neutral density filter is used to balance the exposure between the background and foreground of an image. As such, it is an essential tool that every landscape photographer should learn to use early in their career (or hobby). Yes, I know you could accomplish the same thing using a photo-blending technique like HDR but it’s much easier to do this “in camera” while you’re out in the field.

The way a graduated ND filter works is very simple, by reducing the amount of light transmitted through a portion of the filter to your camera’s sensor so that the foreground exposure more closely matches the background exposure. They are not perfectly matched mind you, just more closely. By positioning the graduated ND filter in front of the lens you can vary the amount of exposure “balancing” the filter does in each scene. You can position these filter by hand or by using a filter holder as shown in the image below.

This is my typical setup for a landscape shot with my 5D Mark II on a lightweight but sturdy tripod (Gitzo Traveller using an RRS ball-head) and a Singh-Ray graduated neutral density filter held in place by a Cokin “Z” holder, mounted on a wide angle lens. The graduated neutral density filter is generally a 2, 3 or 4-stop / soft ND grad made by Singh-Ray, a company that designs and builds the best quality photographic filters in the world.

The purpose of the “ND Grad” filter used here was to “hold back” the bright sky to balance foreground exposure in this early evening shot of Madera Canyon. This allowed my DSLR to meter for the mid-tones without blowing out the bright highlights or losing all the shadow detail. The great thing about a graduated neutral density filter is that you, the photographer, have complete control over how much light the filter blocks by changing its position in the filter holder. Many photographers (myself included) prefer to hold the filter against the lens by hand, moving it to achieve exactly the effect we want.

On of my favorite landscape photographers Steve Kossack, is famous for teaching students “conscious control over colors and light” and a big part of his craft is in using the right filter at the right time. Steve’s also famous for hand-holding and moving his ND-Grad filters during the exposure so that each image is unique and one of a kind.

As Steve teaches, getting control of the colors and the light “in-camera” using a graduated neutral density is a great way to practice your craft in the field. Learning to properly use a few simple filters can extend your success and bring some much needed control to your landscape photography.

Santa Elena Canyon

Standing at the end of Santa Elena Canyon with Mexico only a few steps away on my left. The once mighty Rio Grande river now just a trickle after nine months of drought. It’s hard to believe this vast canyon was formed over millions of years by these same waters. The beauty and grandeur of our border with Mexico continues to amaze me.

Santa Elena Canyon – 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 17-40mm f/4L USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 19mm, f/16 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

Canon’s Back Button Focus Explained

Canon DSLR cameras like the EOS 50D, 60D, 7D and 5D Mark II have an option to change the way auto focus is activated. This setting lets you customize the camera so that auto focusing is initiated by pressing the rear “AF-ON”  button with your right thumb instead of by half pressing the shutter button. “Back-Button Focus” as its called, offers several advantages such as making it easier to lock focus, making it easier to override auto focus with lenses that provide full-time manual focus and making it possible to switch between focus lock and focus tracking when in AI Servo mode.

Activating “Back-Button Focus” is done on the EOS 5D Mark II by changing C.Fn IV-1 to one of the settings shown below. I’ll attempt to explain what each of these mean since they definitely seem a little confusing at first.

0: Metering + AF start
This is the default setting where you activate the camera’s meter and AF by pressing the shutter button half-way down OR by pressing the rear “AF-ON” button.

1: Metering + AF start / AF stop:
Again, you activate the camera’s meter and AF by pressing the shutter button half-way down but now, pressing the rear “AF-ON” button locks the focus. Focus is unlocked by removing your thumb from the “AF-ON” button. This is very useful when shooting in “AI Servo” mode when you need to switch from “AI Servo” to “One Shot” mode back and forth. (Hint: This is the setting I use most often for birds in flight)

2: Metering start / Meter + AF start:
The shutter button no longer activates auto focus, but still fires the shutter. Auto focus is activated solely by pressing the “AF-ON” button. There’s no locking of exposure, unless you separately press the “AE Lock” button.

3: AE Lock / Metering + AF start:
Auto focus is activated solely by pressing the “AF-ON” button. The difference between this setting and option 2 is that when you press the shutter button half-way, your exposure is locked and won’t change until you pull your finger off the button entirely. If you shoot a burst of pictures in any auto exposure mode, the exposure setting used for the first shot is used for each subsequent shot.

4: Metering + AF start / Disable
This is the same as the first option except the rear “AF-ON” button is completely disabled. I suppose this protects you from accidentally pressing the “AF-ON” button (Hint: Dumb setting since this rarely happens).

I Saw God Today

The light in the desert can play tricks on you. Make you see things that aren’t really there. After a morning of landscape photography, Jack and I were driving north through Big Bend National Park to the Persimmon Gap ranger station. We pulled over for a quick shot of the long park road running east into the distance and I noticed a “halo” around the sun.

Looking up, I honestly thought it was just a trick of the light; of the clouds and smoke from the recent wildfires. It never really occurred to me that the atmospheric conditions would be just right to form not one, but two distinct “halos” around the midday sun. Still not believing what my eyes were telling me, I quickly turned my camera straight up and took several shots, trying to center the sun and halos in the frame.

I’m still not sure what caused this incredible effect but I swear to the Lord that this image is completely untouched, except for adjusting the exposure in Adobe Lightroom 3.

I think I saw God that day!

Desert Halo – 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/16 for 1/1000th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

The Beauty of Madera Canyon

On the left, the beautiful mountains of Upper Madera Canyon and on the right, the high desert of Big Bend Ranch State Park. Down the middle flows the Rio Grande and our border with Mexico. On a cool spring morning it’s easy to forget the strife, poverty and violence happening just a few miles to the south.

Madera Canyon – Presidio County, 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 40mm, f/14 for 1/50th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.

High Desert Plains

High Desert Plains – Lajitas, 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 35mm, f/14 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer filter and 2-stop graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.
Click on the image above for a larger version.