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Corn Lily - Sequoia National Park, California
Corn Lily - Sequoia National Park, California
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Aug, 2015Views
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Winner in your favorite black and white Photo Challenge
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immaginEmozioni
May 06, 2020
Beautiful work in bw; you're the winner of my photo-challenge, congrats!
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was captured on an August day, in a marshy meadow, in Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, CaliforniaTime
We had just arrived at the park for a few days of camping and exploring. It was right around 9:30am. I saw these corn lilies in a marshy meadow just a few hundred feet from the visitor center on the Kings Canyon side of the park.Lighting
It was a partially cloudy day with some large thunderhead clouds looming. July/August in the Sierras offers constantly changing light and weather. Thunderstorms are a regular occurrence. I deliberately moved about the lilies until I found and angle with minimal direct sunlight hitting the back side of the leaves and patiently waited for a cloud to at least partially obstruct the sun. I wanted that softer light to illuminate the subject so that it would enhance the delicate/graceful feel of the leaves.Equipment
I shot this image with a Canon 5D MkII DSLR with the 24-105 zoom lens at around 50mm. Because I wanted a large depth of field, I shot at f-18, ISO 100 and 1/2 sec shutter speed. The camera was tripod mounted and mirror lock-up used to eliminate camera shake during the exposure. I released the shutter with a remote cable release.Inspiration
I remember seeing an Ansel Adams image of young corn lilies many years ago. That graceful nature of his image stuck in my head and I always thought I'd love the opportunity to photograph them for myself. This image is of a much larger corn lily than his. Rather than shooting down on the subject, I chose an eye-level perspective.Editing
The RAW image file was converted in Adobe Lightroom to B&W. I added some additional contrast, vignetting, and some localized lightening and darkening of some areas to add more visual depth.In my camera bag
I started photography back in the mid-1970's and was fortunate enough to learn the art of B&W photography from some of the great master's of American photography. I even got the chance to meet Ansel Adams and hear him speak at a Brett Weston symposium in Carmel, Calif. I have shot with small, medium, and large format film and digital cameras. I have used super-wide to super-telephoto lenses. I would carry what was necessary to get the job done. As the years have passed, I have found that it is less about what you have in the camera bag...but, more about what is going on between your ears.Feedback
I find it fascinating to look beyond the subject and study the shapes, color, lines, patterns, and light before I shoot. Putting a camera on a tripod forces you to slow down, look carefully, and be more deliberate in your actions. Study great images...not only will they inspire you; they will get you to think more deeply about your own image-making processes.
