Return to Hualapai Mountain

[abraxas]

I'd mentioned in an earlier post;

http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=58494&highlight=hualapai

That I had returned to the mountain in late July to reshoot and maybe try to capture some of the forms and light in the trees. These photos were taken near sunset.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Comments & Criticisms are appreciated.

 

[D-50]

Number five is nice, it ahs a clear purpose, I find most of the others are too busy and Im not sure what the subject is. I understand yout thinking in taking them as when Im in the woods I often see trees and think they look nice, although when I get home and review my photos they never match up to being there.

 

[his4ever]

I like #5 as well... # 7 is cool too and it looks like it could be in a Jeep commercial.

 

[LaFoto]

Along with Photo 5, which is - no doubt - the best of the entire series here, I also like Photo 3 quite a bit.

Like D-50, also I have often tried to take photos in the woods, and have found that only few of them later could live up to the expectations I was having the moment I took them ... seems like photography-in-the-woods is quite a bit of a field of its own and not as easy as it might seem.

If you are interested (just found out that the pics are still on the server), here`s my latest attempts of photos taken in the woods.

 

[abraxas]

Ok. On re-examination, I like 3, 5 & 8.

8 looks like I was drifting a bit and tilted. Curses- I'll have to go back and do it right. I have my d70 now, maybe that'll solve ALL my problems.

I like the forest. I wish I had an attachment for smell-a-vision. No clearly defined subject either. Maybe I should look into buying a stuffed coyote and mule deer set?

 

[LaFoto]

Maybe I should look into buying a stuffed coyote and mule deer set?

Cool idea

 

[ravikiran]

Excellent shots man. But no one here is mentioning the gear used. It would help many begginers to learn which tool is used most for which mode of photography. What do you say Lafoto as a moderator? Do make the mentioning of gear mandatory.
Amiably,
Ravi Kiran.

 

[deggimatt]

Great, The first one is the best. I love the light on the trees.

 

[LaFoto]

Ravi, we keep saying, particularly to newcomers to both the forum AND the hobby, that it is not the camera that takes the photo, but the person behind it. We have even had some really good camera phone pics up here!
So while some have large (and expensive) camera bodies and lenses at home, some even a whole collection, others try to pursue the very same hobby with a compact digital camera or even a point-and-shoot film camera. And you can also learn the basics with those!!

So no, we are not going to make the mentioning of any photographic gear mandatory. Some put the camera(s) they have in their profiles, you might look there. AND you can always ask, what lens, how many mm, what aperture etc. were used. OK?

 

[chris82]

i agree the shots are great but what cams and lens`s are you using

 

[cumi]

#1 and #5 are the best for me.

Agree with LaFoto, it is very difficult to take nice photos in the woods. I have also quite bad experience. I think, it's because of very-very high contrast during the day. And we don't go into the woods on sunrise or sunsets to catch the magic hour, didn't we? Lots of demons, wolfes, vampires, elves and ogres.

One possibility for me to make photos in forest more attractive would be a bit digital post processing (e.g. making them dreamy) like described here: http://www.dphclub.com/tutorials/landscape-glow.htm

 

[abraxas]

These photos were taken with a Nikon 990, on automatic settings. I did use a tripod and the timer to eliminate camera motion from my fumbling and pressing buttons. The 990 is a bear for me to use manually either focusing or setting shutter speed and aperture, so I use it for a point and shoot. I bought it originally for 360 panoramas (which requires mainly being there). This trip I wanted to concentrate on light and composition.

Now, a couple months later I'm learning to work my Nikon d70 manually. The last 3 or 4 months I've been learning to focus manually. I don't like the autofocus and pushing buttons for brackets. With middle-aged eyes peering through cheap glasses I've tried to develop a method of focusing by going out either way then back to the middle and fine adjusting if possible. In the last few days I've been learning about aperture and shutter speeds and how to use the little teeny tiny light meter in the camera. I'm not fond of reading tech manuals, and have only read sentences in mine- I go by the following;

I can hand hold a camera and get decent results up to 1/32 sec shutter speed although 1/64 is prefered. I use a tripod if at all possible. The higher the f-number, the better the depth of field/ the lower the shutter speed to make the meter happy. Shoot at the lowest iso possible. This stuff generally works for my landscapes. Wildlife, people, interiors, anything else blows all these numbers around in my head like popcorn popping.

I like wandering in the desert and mountains, and I like rambling. This combination should make a pretty sad picture in my later years.