Downdraft – Davis Mountains Preserve, Texas
Copyright © 2014 Jeff Lynch Photography
Click on the image above for a larger version.
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 tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 67mm, f/16 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100. Post capture processing was done in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.
GPS Coordinates: 30°41’9″ N 104°3’19” W, 6271.0 ft
I’m back on the front page of Singh-Ray’s web site for a few days and you can read all about my exploits on Singh-Ray’s blog. Man, are my friends at Singh-Ray filters some of the coolest folks in the business or what! With the drought here in Texas and the overall economy, I’ll take all the free publicity I can get.
While you’re feasting your eyes, take a look at the Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, the Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filters and the brand new Vari-N-Trio. These are three essential filters for any landscape photographer and the same three that I use again and again in the field.
No, the folks at Singh-Ray do not sponsor me. I just think the world of their products and you will too!
It’s amazing what impact a little warm weather photography can have on folks in the middle of the worst winter in 20 years throughout much of North America & Europe. My friends at Singh-Ray filters are some of the coolest folks in the business and I’ll take all the free publicity I can get these days!
Yes, those two images on the front of the Singh-Ray web site and their blog are two of my favorite shots from the Texas panhandle and a little something to help warm your soul on a cold and wet winter day.
While you’re feasting your eyes, take a look at the Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, the Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filters and the brand new Vari-N-Trio. These are three essential filters for any landscape photographer and the same three that I use again and again in the field.
No, the folks at Singh-Ray do not sponsor me. I just think the world of their products and customer service and you will too!
Here’s a similar shot from a recent visit to Buescher State Park in Smithville, Texas taken ultra-wide at 17mm. When shooting at this focal length it’s important to use a thin CP filter and watch how you use it.
Polarizing filters will tend to create dark areas on images taken at the very wide end of your zoom lens. Without getting too technical it’s caused by how the CP filter polarizes light and the angle at which the light hits the filter. The easiest way to prevent this is to dial back a little bit on your polarizer. This also creates a stronger reflection in the water.
Many folks ask why I use the Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer instead of a “neutral” polarizer. Here’s the thing. Some polarizers are not really “neutral” since they use glass which tends to “shift” the polarized light to the blue end of the spectrum. You can test your polarizer for this easily by adding a solid neutral density filter on top of your CP filter. Even with your camera set on a “daylight” white balance your image will still have a blue cast to it.
The Singh-Ray polarizers don’t seem have this problem, at least not in my simple tests. Singh-Ray now offers a “lighter/brighter” neutral polarizer as well but I still like the very subtle warming provided by the original filter. For me, it beats spending hours playing around with the white balance in camera or in Lightroom.
Encore – Smithville, Texas
Copyright © 2010 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 17mm, f/16 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100 with 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.
View Location on Panoramio & Google Earth: Encore – Smithville, Texas
By now, 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 or Photoshop is a matter of tweaking a RAW file to obtain what I remember seeing when I took the shot. Since many of you reading this blog are relatively new to photography and perhaps to the use of filters, I thought I’d explain my basic setup for the shots of Monument Hill shown below.
The image above illustrates a typical setup for a landscape shot with my 5DII 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 “P-Series” holder, mounted on a wide-angle zoom. 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 probably the highest quality filters in the world.
Monument Hill (with no filter) – La Grange, 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 tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 28mm, f/16 for 1/25th of a second at ISO 100 using only a circular polarizer filter. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.
The purpose of the “ND Grad” filter is to “hold back” the bright sky to balance the foreground exposure as shown in this late afternoon shot. Using an ND Grad allows your DSLR to meter for the mid-tones without blowing out the bright highlights in the sky. The image above was taken without an ND Grad filter and you can see how dark the trees are in the foreground while the clouds in the background are almost completely blown out. Compare that with the image below where both the trees and the sky are exposed properly and you begin to see how powerful a graduated neutral density filter can be.
Monument Hill (using an ND Grad) – La Grange, 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 tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 28mm, f/16 for 1/20th of a second at ISO 100 using a circular polarizer and a Singh-Ray 3-stop graduated 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.
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.
One 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.
Getting control of the colors and the light “in-camera” using a graduated neutral density filter is a great way to bring some control to your landscape photography.
I have to thank a friend of mine for pointing me to this wonderful location in central Texas. Its a small overlook on FM 1431 just outside Kingsland, Texas that boasts one of the best views in the state. From this vantage point you can see south to Lake Lyndon B Johnson, north to Lake Buchanan and straight west towards Packsaddle Mountain for a great sunset shot. I stop here almost every time I travel to central Texas and I’ve never come away with a bad shot.
The View from On High – Kingsland, Texas
Copyright © 2009 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 tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 32mm, f/11 for 1/6th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer. All post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3 Beta. Click on the image above for a larger version.
Here’s a shot I took a few weeks ago at the Guadalupe River State Park near New Braunfels, Texas on a beautiful Sunday morning. I can’t walk past one these wonderful old Bald Cypress trees without taking a few shots.
Roots – Guadalupe River State Park, Texas
Copyright © 2009 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 tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 50mm, f/16 for 3.2 seconds using a Singh-Ray Vari-ND neutral density and LB Warming Polarizer filter at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.
On a calm morning with the water flowing past these trees, it’s an ideal time to play around with some long exposure techniques using Singh-Ray’s Vari-ND neutral density and LB Warming Polarizer filters.
The Vari-ND filter is an incredibly useful design that makes long exposure photography much easier to setup and provides more consistent results. By mounting the Vari-ND on your lens, and adjusting it to the minimum setting (brightest image), you have already added 2 stops more density. After framing and focusing your subject, you simply turn the outer filter ring to continuously reduce the light transmission and increase the density as much as six more stops.
Unlike conventional solid ND filters, you’ll have no problem framing and focusing your DSLR camera with the Vari-ND mounted on your lens. In this image the long exposure time (3.2 seconds) made possible by this filter provides the water’s smooth, flowing look.
Adding a Singh-Ray LB (Lighter/Brighter) Warming Polarizer to this stack helps cut through the glare of the water and warms up the image slightly. Most circular polarizers add a blue cast to your images but the LB warming polarizer actually adds a little warmth.
Here’s a quick disclaimer and a bit of advice on buying filters. First off, I don’t work for Singh-Ray and don’t generally offer product endorsements, but in the case of filters I’m going to make an exception. Over the years I’ve bought hundreds of different size and brand filters from the $15 el-cheapo UV filter back in the 70’s to the top of the line graduated neutral density filters bought just a few months ago.
There are five basic things to understand about filters.
By now, 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 or Photoshop is a matter of tweaking a RAW image to obtain what I remembered seeing when I took the shot. I’ve also fallen out of love with using HDR for landscape photography as I tend to think it interferes with the story the picture is telling rather than enhancing that story.
Since many of you reading this blog are relatively new to photography and perhaps to the use of filters, I thought I’d explain my basic setup for the Summer Nights shot I posted a few days ago. This also gives me a chance to showoff an image taken with my new Canon Powershot G10 P&S camera. BTW – I was amazed by the image quality this little camera can produce at low ISO speeds.
Singh-Ray Neutral Density Grad Filter in Cokin “P” Series Holder
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon G10 set on aperture priority (Av). The exposure was taken at 14mm, f/5.6 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 80 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.
This is my typical setup for a landscape shot with my 5DII 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 “P-Series” 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 is to “hold back” the bright sky to balance foreground exposure as shown in this early evening sunset shot below. This allows your DSLR to meter for the mid-tones without blowing out the bright highlights in the sky. 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 (besides Bill Neill and John O’Connor) 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.
Getting control of the colors and the light “in-camera” using a graduated neutral density is a great way to extend your success and bring some control to your landscape photography.
Summer Nights
Copyright © 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 40D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 47mm, f/13 for 1/15th of a second at ISO 100 on Sandisk digital film using a Singh-Ray 2-Stop/Soft graduated neutral density filter. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2 and Photoshop CS4. Click on the image above for a larger version.
Texas Landscape Photography 