Light and Landscapes

Photography by John Caplis

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Intimate Abstracts of Fall in Motion

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Intimate landscapes focus on a small portion of a scene.   Abstract images often obscure the obvious details of the subject, creating a more impressionistic or emotional rendering.  Combining these elements can also lead to something that allows the viewer to ponder what was photographed…and how it was made.   

 

Here we take the abstract process one step further by adding an element of motion, in this case the swift passage of leaves through the reflection of a beautiful tree.  Using a longer exposure time (6 seconds), the drifting leaves added wispy streaks of color weaving through the image.

  

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Fall Sunrise on the Tidal Basin

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The Tidal Basin in the District of Columbia is world famous for it’s  yoshino cherry blossoms in the spring.   But did you know that the leaves on these trees turn a brilliant reddish-orange color in the fall?   Sunrise in the fall is a beautiful time to experience the splendor of these cherry trees without the overwhelming crowds.

 

Morning sunrise at the Jefferson Memorial.

 

More trees along the Tidal Basin…

 

The walk approaching the Martin Luther King (MLK) Memorial.

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Fall Magic in White Oak Canyon

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Recently, the stars aligned for some fall magic in White Oak Canyon.   A two-day storm dropped about four inches of rain on the Shenandoah Mountains during the peak of fall color in White Oak Canyon.    I ventured out to photograph the smaller water falls in the canyon on the second day, when the storm had subsided to misty rain.   Normally the water levels in this small mountain stream are extremely low in the fall, but on this day, the Robinson River had been transformed into a non-stop series of whitewater rapids winding through a golden forest.  

The overcast weather made for wonderful soft light that really allowed the fall color to glow. 

 

Due to strong winds during the rain storm, the stream banks were covered in warm fall color. 

 

While White Oak Canyon features a number of larger water falls, on this day I wanted to capture the increased flow in the smaller cascades.  

  

A fly fisherman working one of the deeper pools at the base of a cascade.  The Robinson River is stocked with brook and rainbow trout. 

 

I usually look for areas in the stream that are clear of fallen logs, but sometimes they can add extra visual interest.

 

   I hope you enjoyed my favorite images from this amazing and beautiful day in the Shenandoah National Park.   I was truly blessed to be there to capture this brief moment in time.   I returned a week later for a family hike and most of the color in the woods along the water’s edge had already fallen to the ground due to a series of freezing nights and windy weather.    You can see more fall images of White Oak Canyon here.

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Autumn Fog in Canaan Valley

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The Highlands of West Virginia is often shrouded in fog on fall mornings.   The combination of fall foliage and fog creates some exciting opportunities for photography.   For my fall trip to Canaan Valley this year, I decided to explore the intersection of color, shapes, and light created within this fleeting microcosm of morning fog.

      

The first rays of the sun peak over the mountain tops into the fog in Canaan Valley State Park.

  

Warm light bathes “the tree”, which has become almost iconic with photographers frequenting the area for photography in the fall.  The intense light passing through the fog creates a pleasing minimalist atmosphere for accentuating a few tree shapes.

  

An orange maple shrouded in fog and soft morning light. 

 

As the fog began to dissipate, a rare “fog bow” appeared.   Also called a “white rainbow” or “ghost bow”, a fog bow is essentially a rainbow that appears in foggy conditions, but has water droplets in the air that are too small to reflect or refract light waves that would be perceived as colors with our eyes.   It was a true blessing to observe, let alone photograph, this unusual weather phenomenon.

 

The first rays of sun illuminate the top of a fog layer in Canaan Valley off Cortland Road. 

 

 

 

Sun kissed fog accentuates the shape of a grazing horse on a farm off Cortland Road in Canaan Valley.

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Photographing the Glade Creek Grist Mill

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The Glade Creek Grist Mill, located in Babcock State Park, is a West Virginia icon.  Photographing the mill in the fall takes a bit of planning and luck.   You have to factor in four key elements:  peak fall color, water levels, light, and crowds.  For the timing of fall color, keep an eye on facebook pages for the park, or call the park office.  For water, hope that it rains in the days before your visit.  For smaller crowds, visit on a weekday.  And for light, twilight periods or overcast days are best. 

The view above is the most common, and arguably most beautiful, composition for the mill.  The choice spot for taking this image is about 150 yards downstream on the far bank of the creek.   Your focal length will be around 85 mm, so a medium zoom lens will work well.  Due to the longer focal length, your composition will compress the reflection, waterfall, mill, and fall foliage into a seamless layered image.   A long exposure setting will smooth out the water and a graduated neutral density filter placed over the trees will lighten and bring out the colors reflecting in the water.  This shot was taken during morning twilight.  You have to get here early in the fall, even on weekdays, as the prime spots along the bank are limited and fill up fast.   I had to get low underneath the field of view of others photographers to find a spot.  Setting up your tripod and camera on the edge of the retaining wall in this manner is not for the faint of heart (it’s about a 15 foot drop, so keep good situational awareness for yourself and your gear).  

Nice compositions can also be made from the bank directly across from the mill.  For images here, a wide angle zoom lens works well (20-30 mm focal length).  A four to six stop neutral density filter will help slow down your shutter speed and smooth out the water and reflections.

If you shoot from this area after sunrise, you will have challenges with contrast between the sky, sunlight on the trees, and shady areas.   If you want to include the tops of the trees and the sky, you will need to shoot multiple exposures for both highlights and shadow areas.   For the images below, I wanted to capture the sunlight on the trees and the warm glow it was creating on the water below, along with some clouds in the sky.  I took two exposures for each image to capture the range of light and ensure a sharp focus from front to back, and manually blended them in photoshop.  While this type of image making takes more work, the results will stand out from other images you will see online.

If you don’t want to put that level of effort into getting this type of image, the newest generation of camera phones are now exceptional at capturing high contrast scenes.   The image below was shot with my IPHONE 11.  While it lacks the resolution of my Canon full frame mirrorless R5, it does a better job of capturing the dynamic range of the scene in a single exposure.

 

 

 

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More Nature Images from Neabsco Creek

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Steam rising around a white heron on Neabsco Creek at sunrise.  

 

The find of the day…a “yellow” green tree frog!   

 

 

Green tree frog on the stalk of a pickerel weed bloom.

 

I loved the decaying pickerel weed leaf which this green tree frog has decided to make his home for the day.

 

Giant yellow garden spiders are a common but beautiful sight along the Neabsco Boardwalk.   

 

It is rare however, to see them wander off of the neatly manicured webs.  I found this spider on some nearby vegetation in some nice early morning light.

 

A female garden spider guarding her egg sac, which contains next year’s generation of spiders.   These eggs will spend the winter in this semi-insulated silk sac and emerge in the spring.

 

A pregnant brown praying mantis on a cattail, nibbling away at the remains of her prey, which appears to have been an unlucky black and yellow wasp or hornet.

 

 

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Frogs at First Light

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Nature and wildlife photos are just like landscapes, they benefit from good light!  I went down to the Neabsco Boardwalk Park at sunrise to see what I could see.   There were plenty of critters crawling about, and the marsh vegetation was covered in dew glistening in the first light of the day.   

 

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Sunset at the Lincoln Memorial during the Fall Equinox

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I recently planned a photo trip to capture sunset and twilight images of the Lincoln Memorial around the fall equinox.   I chose this period because the sun would be setting due west on the horizon almost directly behind the Memorial as seen from the opposite end of the Reflection Pool.  I set up my tripod, along with three other photographers who evidently had a similar idea, at the edge of Reflection Pool in front of the World War II Memorial.  I decided to use a Canon 70-200 mm L IS USM II lens to get the proper framing and perspective for the image on my Canon R5 mirrorless camera.

 

Based on my research using The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) app, the sun would go down on this evening (September 19, 2021)  right over the top of the Memorial. 

 

The red pin is my tripod location, and the two orange lines represents the sun’s position and elevation on the horizon at the chosen moment on the timeline (thin line), and the sun’s position at sunset (thick line).   TPE showed the sun at 270 degrees North and an elevation of 1.5 degrees above the horizon for the start of sunset.  As you can see below, this made for a beautiful image as the sun dropped partially below the Memorial’s roof line at just the right moment!  I stopped the lens down to f18 to get sunburst as the sun slid half way behind the memorial.   

 

 

The sunset images were rather difficult to expose due to the intense light of the sun and the backlit cloud layer.   I had to take a second shot later on in the sunset-twilight sequence (when the light was more even) which was used to restore the shadow areas of the Memorial.  

 

 

As the sun slipped below the horizon at the right edge of the Memorial, more colors exploded into the sky from the backlit clouds above the horizon.

 

 

This sunset image features a second exposure of the Memorial, taken about twenty minutes later that captured lighting on the front exterior of the building and statue of Lincoln.  Portions of this second image were blended to restore detail in the deeply shadowed areas of the sunset image.  

 

 

As sunset turned into twilight, having the sun set directly behind the Memorial resulted in some nice residual colors in the sky as the light faded and day turned to night.  

 

 

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In Search of the Almost Mythical “Blue” Green Tree Frog

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Green tree frogs are common along the edges of marsh areas in the coastal areas of the Mid Atlantic.   They can be found clinging to cattail reeds, or the stalks and leaves of various soft green marsh plants.

Getting ready to jump off a cattail.

Enjoying the warmth of the morning sun.

Green tree frogs range in color from light to dark green or olive-brown.   They can change their tones to more closely mimic their surroundings in an attempt to evade predators.   This tactic works well as these frogs are often very hard to spot.  

This frog has mastered the art of disguise, and has become one with the cattail.

I had heard reports that there was a “blue tree frog” at Neabsco Boardwalk Park.   In my quest to photograph this elusive animal, I made several trips to the park.   During a late afternoon visit, I saw many frogs, but no blue ones.   Nevertheless, I enjoyed photographing the green frogs in the warm light before sunset. 

During my mid morning trip, I was joined by four or five other photographers, all scanning the marsh looking for this ghost of a frog.  We looked for over two hours without any luck.   I was getting ready to pack it up and head home, when out of the thick marsh brush emerged the mythical “blue” green tree frog.  Perched on a stem ten feet from the boardwalk, surrounded by plants swaying in the wind, sat the object of my desire.  I questioned whether this shot was going to happen, but patience and repeated efforts to snap the shutter as the plants swayed away from the frog finally resulted in several images with a clear view of this stunning sky blue tree frog.  

“Blue” versions of the green tree frog are caused by a rare genetic abnormality that results in the frog having no yellow pigment in its skin.   

 

Update:  I returned another morning, and found a different “blue” green tree frog.   This one was like a leopard version. It was blue with green spots!    

 

 

 

 

Update #2:   On another morning outing at the park, we discovered another unusually colored  tree frog.   This one was not blue, or spotted, but lemon yellow!  Nature is full of surprises….

 

 

 

 

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Applying Creative Choices for Processing Super Color Infrared Images

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Making images in infrared is a very artistic style of photography.   The creative choices you can make are nearly endless, starting with the type of IR filter you get installed in your camera, the subjects and compositions you choose, and the processing you apply to finish the image.   Depending on the IR filter in your camera, post processing can be a huge part of making the image.   For example, with a deep IR filter (850 nm), the image needs very little processing, but you are limited in your creative processing choices.   For the image below, I used a deep IR filter to create a very dark sky and render the ocotillo branches bright white.  With a deep IR filter, your image will always be a high contrast black and white image.  Some people prefer this look and type of IR filter.  However, you can achieve the same look through post processing with other types of filters that also give you more options for the final look of your image.

Ocotillo plant photographed with a 850 nm IR filter

 

My preferred choice is the super color (590 nm) IR filter.   It passes a small amount of visible light through to the camera sensor along with the infrared light waves.   If you are shooting raw, the resultant image out of the camera will be somewhat reminiscent of a alien landscape that you might think is on Mars (given the strong red tint).

 

 

Example of what a raw image file from a super color IR filter looks like straight out of the camera

 

Your first task in post processing an IR raw image is to remove or reduce some of the red color cast in the image using raw conversion software.   While reducing the red saturation levels, you can also adjust highlights, shadows, contrast, sharpness, and other needed corrections that you would apply to any image you process.  When processing raw IR images, I would suggest finding a series of settings in the raw converter that works well for you, and save it as a preset that can be  loaded anytime you process an image using the same type of IR filter.   If you prefer to shoot in jpeg, many of these adjustments will be done in-camera, but you will have less control over the outcome.   Whether you shoot in raw and do the conversion yourself, or set your camera to shoot in jpeg, your resultant image should look similar to the image below:

 

Image taken with a 590 nm Super Color IR filter after raw conversion in Adobe Camera Raw

 

Some people like this particular look for their infrared images, and stop their processing at this point.  Depending upon the subject material, it may be the best post processing creative choice. For my tastes, blue foliage and a rust colored sky is too unnatural for most images.  There are some simple processing steps that I feel yield more attractive, if not more natural, looking images.  The next step is to perform a “channel swap” in photoshop.   This involves opening a channel swap adjustment layer, and flipping the red and blue channel sliders.   You can learn more about channel swapping on the web.   I would make two points at this juncture in your post processing….first, don’t be confined to the most basic settings for doing the channel swap.   Experiment with moving all the sliders to find the values for red, green, and blue for each channel that gives you the results you like best.   Save these settings as a channel swap preset in photoshop that can be loaded anytime you are doing a channel swap on an IR image.   I have a number of these channel swap presets saved for processing different types of IR subjects; however, I have one or two that I use most often, and will make fine adjustments after loading them based on what I think makes each image look best.  If you do the basic red and blue channel swap, the resultant “faux color” image turns your sky blue, and your foliage a nice gold color.      

 

Red and Blue Channel Swap to create the “goldie” IR look

 

Another creative choice for post processing is to desaturate your foliage (primarily the yellow and red color sliders) in a HSL Layer in Photoshop.   You may have to do this selectively for parts of your image by applying a layer mask to your HSL adjustment, but often making global changes with the sliders will do the trick.   This will retain the blue sky, but remove the gold tones from the image.   

 

  Red and Blue Channel Swap with the foliage desaturated in an HSL layer 

 

One of the most common creative choices for post processing is to apply a black and white conversion layer in photoshop after doing your channel swap.  The color information within the image gives you a tremendous amount of control on how the black and white image will look.  Adjusting the different color sliders in the black and white conversion adjustment layer controls the luminance for different parts of the image based on their tones prior to the conversion.   Once you find a series of black and white slider settings that you like, save them as a preset for black and white IR images.   Super color IR provides you with excellent source material to make superb (and unique) black and white images!   

 

  A red and blue channel swap with an added black and white conversion layer

 

The three processing options described above are my usual go-to creative choices for most IR images using my super color IR camera.   Sometimes, however, I feel like adding a splash of selective color can really take the image to another level.   This is usually done by separately processing a duplicate raw image, where the red tint is not desaturated for a part of the image in raw conversion, or the color of a certain part of the image is manipulated by adjusting the hue, saturation, and lightness sliders in a HSL layer.  The duplicate image can be layered on top of your already processed IR image, and the select portion of the duplicate image you want can be blended into the underlying background image using a layer mask.   This process is a bit more involved, but it can give you great results by adding selective colors to an area of interest in your image.   

 

Red tint of the raw image retained for the brick color of the building in a duplicate image, which was layered and blended into a “goldie” red and blue channel swap background image

 

Same duplicate, layered and blended into a background image that has been processed using a black and white conversion layer

 

Making IR images offers many creative choices that can be obtained through your post processing.   If it sounds complicated and time consuming, sometimes it is.  If you save your settings for processing IR images as presets at each step along the way, you can save a lot of time and greatly simplify processing your images.   

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