Greenland From Above

Following up on Denise's blog about our incredible trip this past summer to Greenland, I wanted to write about drone photography during this trip.

There are considerable limits on the amount of gear you can take to Greenland.  This starts with the weight limits imposed by the airline, then of course, space on the boat is quite limited as well.  Thankfully the DJI Mavic Pro is both small and lightweight.

According to our boat crew, about 50% of the people who bring a drone on this trip end up loosing or crashing their drone.   Considering this was the trip of a lifetime, I decided to give flight a try on our first morning, but it was not meant to be.  The drone had an internal calibration error and required a calibration process that required no movement or vibration.   So I had to wait until we went ashore that evening to run the calibration routine.

The next morning we woke up at the Iceberg Graveyard.  This is an area where the currents take the icebergs but there is nowhere for them to escape.  The shot above was taken at the Iceberg Graveyard around 4:00am just prior to sunrise.  Our ship was anchored a considerable distance away, and we took Zodiacs into this lagoon area and shot from land.  It was also my favorite spot for using the Mavic and luckily we spent two mornings in this area and were able to return to this area the next morning. 

I did try one flight a couple of days later from the boat.  We were near a glacier and the boat was still but not anchored.   Upon return to the boat the drone ended up doing a little bit of a controlled crash upon landing.  I chipped a propeller but otherwise the drone was undamaged.

In addition to the minor crash I mentioned,  I also had some times where the Mavic would lose GPS and then inflight control and stability became a bit more erratic.  However,  the more experienced you become as a pilot the easier these incidents are to handle.

I'm doing a lecture on Drone Photography for our meetup group on March 30th.  Click here for more info.

I Love Innovation

I have mentioned many times before that "it is a wonderful time to be a photographer”.  Usually I’m referencing the evolution and innovation of software, but today I’m talking about filters.  Many people probably think that with the advent of digital photography you can apply filters in software.   In some cases this is correct,  but every serious photographer I know believes in getting it right in camera, regardless of how much work they plan to do later in the digital darkroom.



The innovation I’m talking about is so simple, I wonder why it took so long.   Perhaps a decade ago the Variable Neutral Density Filter was invented and then copied by several others and often advertised as offering between 2 and 8 stops of light reduction.   The dirty little secret is none of these gives you 8 stops of light reduction before what I call the butterfly effect happens.  After turning between half and three quarters of the indicated range printed on the side of the filter, you end up with an uneven darkness that roughly resembles the shape of butterfly wings. Obviously, this effect is not photogenic.   I have never taken the time to actually calculate how many useful stops of light reduction I get when using one of these old style variable ND filters, but I stopped carrying one in my bag and instead started carrying a 5 and 10 stop ND filter instead.  After we switched most of our filter use to Breakthrough, I started carrying a 3, 6, and 10 stop filter in addition to a circular polarizer. 



So let’s get back to what impressed me about the Benro Variable ND Filter.   It has physical limits on the start and stop position of the filter. You just can't move it beyond its designed range of use.  The Benro is advertised as a 2 to 7 stop filter, instead of the more commonly listed 2-8 stops by other filter manufacturers.  The physical limits may seem like a small thing, but up until now no other variable filter has this feature.


This past weekend I took the filter with me while hiking White Oak Canyon in Shenandoah National Park.  The filter is fairly thin and caused no visible vignette on the edges of the picture frame.  I set up my base exposure at one second using aperture priority.  This is so any reductions in light intensity will result in longer shutter speeds.  The blog image above was a 30 second exposure.  My camera does not meter for longer than 30 seconds, but at maximum density the meter was showing 30 seconds and underexposed by one to two stops. So I backed off a little from the maximum setting so I could get a 30 second exposure.   I also took a variety of shots at different density settings and could not see any color casts or any other issues that made me question the quality of the filter.




The old Vari-ND filter is sitting in a box at home marked eBay.   The new Benro Filter is occupying a nice space in my camera bag! 



If you would like to try the Benro Vari-ND for yourself or any other Benro filter,  Click here and use the discount code Roadrunner15



Note: A stop is a measure of exposure relating to the doubling or halving of the amount of light.

Spring Snow in the Smokies

I just returned from our Spring Smokies Tour.   We always hope for certain conditions for our clients, but this year we received a special surprise.  It snowed at the higher elevations!   In anticipation of this adverse weather the Park Service closed the road that crosses the park and leads to the higher elevations.   However,  the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail remained open and got us up to the elevation necessary to experience and photograph the snow.


Prior to the start of our tour it rained and as such we had several days of strong running streams.  These streams are always a joy to photograph and I never tire of hearing the beautiful sound of running water in a mountain stream.   We usually venture out into the water, but this year I stayed close to shore because the higher water levels also bring swift moving water and I don’t want my camera gear to go for a swim. 


We finished off the week with a nice hike to Spruce Flat Falls in the Treemont area.   Just about the time everyone was wrapping up their shooting, the sun starting peaking over the top of the mountain and illuminating the waterfall with less desirable light.  One of the many benefits of traveling with an experienced guide who gets you to the right place at the right time.   

If you would like to see some additional images from this trip head over to the Road Runner Blog!

The Palouse in Color

In my last Blog I focused on the use of an Infrared Converted Camera and how the Palouse is perfect for Infrared photography.   In this blog I want to share a few of my color images from this trip.  As I mentioned in the last blog we love the Palouse!  The diversity of the landscape and almost every day has beautiful clouds.  This trip we were treated to some incredible storm clouds as well.

P.S.   If would like to see a few more color images from the Palouse, head on over to the Road Runner Blog.

The Ever Changing, The Ever Constant Palouse

We just finished up what has become our bi-annual tour of the Palouse.  For those who don’t know the Palouse it is the largest wheat growing region in the country.  But we love the Palouse for its large rolling hills that resemble the shape of sand dunes. The farmers in the Palouse also grow a variety of legumes and canola but wheat is the primary crop.  The fields are often partially planted which presents a ribbon of color and textures.  Throw in some iconic barns and we think you end up with a photographers paradise.

The ever constant part of the Palouse is its iconic small towns, dirt roads and farms.  With each visit so much remains the same.  The people are very friendly and welcoming, very little seems to change.
The ever changing part of the Palouse can partially be attributed to its current popularity.   During the pre-tour scouting tour we happened upon a favorite old farm site to find the smoldering remains of a beautiful red barn.  We asked a nearby farmer if he knew what happened, but he did not.  In talking with some of our friends who also lead workshops we heard of a second barn that burned to the ground and we heard rumors of another photographer who was doing woolies in the area.  We have no way to know for sure that this beautiful old barn succumbed to a such a fate,  but it would not be the first time in recent memory that an iconic location was damaged from this technique.   (Full disclosure, we occasionally shoot woolies, but we always do it in a safe and responsible manner.)

We rolled up on another favorite location during our pre-workshop scouting that had signs posted “No Photos”.  This owner has a restored Texaco station on his property with a nice collection of old trucks.   We have visited this location several times over the last few years.  But it seems a large workshop group invaded the property at 6:00 AM recently, not considering this this is also this gentleman’s home.    As I mentioned above, the people of the Palouse are very friendly and will welcome strangers onto their land, but the key is to seek permission.   This past trip I had several people thank me for asking.  I assume that is because there are others who don’t ask for permission.

I think most landscape photographers subscribe to the “Leave No Trace” Philosophy that is asked of us when we visit a national park.   We need to remember to keep that same philosophy in mind whenever we shoot.   If you sign up for a trip with us, please know in advance that we do not trespass on private property and we treat and expect our clients to treat the landscape like the treasure that it is!

In spite of the bad behavior of just a few,  the Palouse is still a wonderful place to visit.   The area is so vast and the photographic opportunities so numerous we look forward to returning in 2019.

P.S.  The image above was shot with my Nikon D200 converted to standard Infrared by Lifepixel.  We highly recommend Lifepixel for IR Conversions!   Click here for info;

Iceland Part II

We just returned from our second tour to Iceland this winter.  Our first tour was in December and our second was about a month later in January.   In this case what a difference a month makes. During our first trip temperatures were almost summer like and we had a lot more rain than we would have liked.  A month later the temperatures were in the teens for the early part of our tour and instead of rain we had snow.

The good news was we were finally able to get into the ice caves.  Denise has posted images from the Ice Caves on our Facebook Page.

The shot above was from our first afternoon with the group.  It was very windy and as a result the seas were quite stormy.

We will return to Iceland this August and we still have one spot available!

We Love Cape May

We Love Cape May


Each year since we started this adventure called Road Runner Photography Tours we have held a Cape May Tour.  But truth be told, Cape May was a favorite of ours long before we started Road Runner.  This year Mother Nature was quite nice and provided us with good sunrises and sunsets every day of the tour.   But Cape May is so much more than just sunrises and sunsets, with the shore birds, salt marshes, fishing boats, people, and the list goes on.

A Wonderful Weekend

Last weekend we finished our 3rd annual astrophotography and camping meetup at Spruce Knob, WV.  Each year the event becomes a little more popular and this year I think was the best yet.

This shot was taken on the far side of the lake looking north.  The exposures were a collection of 2 minute exposures that spanned a period of about an hour and 45 minutes.   I would have preferred to let the exposures keep going for 2 or 3 hours, but I was also expecting to get up early for sunrise and unfortunately I’m the type of person that needs a fair amount of sleep.   I usually use Photoshop to assemble my star trails but this time decided to try StarStax and really like the little comets on the end of the each point of light.  So I think I’ll be using StarStax a little more often.

If you want to join us on our next camping trip or any of our Meetup adventures be sure to check out our group.

Mother Nature Puts on a Show

Last night I had the pleasure of presenting my program on Abstract Photography to the Upper Uwchian Area Community Photography Club (UUACPC). On the drive home I could tell there were storms in the distance.

 As I neared the Maryland border I was finally able to get close enough and find a suitable foreground at the northern edge of the storm. I did not have my lightning trigger with me, so I just set the camera to take 20 second exposures and just kept hitting the button.

 If you belong to a camera club in the Mid-Atlantic Area and would like me or Denise to speak at your club please drop us a note.

Solitude

When I started thinking about this blog, I was going to title it “How’s Your Friday Night?”.  The only reason for that question is that I see others post pictures on social media asking such questions when they perceive their location is better at that moment in time than yours.

I’m not convinced that everyone would want to be standing in 3 feet of cold mountain water on a Friday Night.  But this is how I spent last Friday evening and I can’t think of any place that I would rather have been.  Even considering the mild case of poison ivy that was a result of this evening.

This little spot is hidden away on the upper part of the Rapidan River just inside of Shenandoah National Park.   The road getting there is a bit of a rough ride and not something I would want to travel without a 4x4 truck.  The entire evening I had this little portion of the park all to myself.   I love doing tours, workshops and meetups but last Friday evening I really enjoyed the solitude of having this little spot all to myself.

On The Move!

It just occurred to me the last time I blogged was almost a month ago after wrapping up our Charleston Tour.  Since then I have been super busy with our Meetup Group, and traveling the camera club lecture circuit.  No complaints, it's always a blast getting out and meeting new people who share this passion we call photography!

The image above is the latest in my Motion Abstracts Series.  I prefer a cloudy day for this type of work and of course try to keep the sky out of the image.  Even though the tree does a nice job breaking up the boring gray sky, I decided a couple Flypaper Textures were just what I needed to take the problem with the gray sky "out of the picture", so to speak.

If you want to learn more about Textures, my partner Denise regularly lectures on textures to camera clubs in the Mid-Atlantic area. Her next lecture on Textures will be at NIH Photo Club on June 14th.  If you want to check out Flypaper Textures, be sure to use our discount code to save a few bucks.

Charleston

We just concluded our first tour of Charleston, South Carolina!  I was last in Charleston about 8 years and revisiting this fantastic city was even more fun than I remembered.  Charleston has so much to offer photographers.  The beautiful architecture of the old city,  beaches for sunrise, plantations and gardens to just name a few of the great shooting locations.


We are looking forward to returning to this great city!   Drop us an email at info@roadrunnerphotographytours.com if you would like to be notified when we offer our next tour in Charleston.


If you would like to see additional images from this recent trip head over to the Road Runner Blog!  

Too Much of a Good Thing

As I write this blog people in the mid-Atlantic states are digging out of a historic snowstorm.  This time the predictions were amazingly accurate with almost a week's warning prior to this historic storm.  At the start of the storm I was hopeful that we would get a nice snow, but not so much that I could not get out and make some images.  By the time the weekend was over we had well over 2 feet of snow. Getting out to make images in the fresh snow was not an option this time.

So instead of getting out to make some images, I have been stuck behind the computer working on presentations, website updates, and of course doing some image processing.


The image above was shot 2 years ago in Maine.  During that trip there was only about a foot of snow as I recall and getting around was pretty easy compared to the leftovers from the current storm.

Smokies Wrap-up

A couple of weeks ago we wrapped up our Fall Foliage Tour in the Smokies.  Temperatures were great during the day and cool evenings produced some fantastic fog.  Overall fall color was a little late this year, but we were able to get peak color on the last days of our tour.  This made for happy photographers!


Next year Denise and I will be doing our fall color tour in the Finger Lakes region of New York and we are super excited to share this new destination with our clients.

Speaking of next year, to celebrate Nature Visions Expo were are offering a discount on our 2016 tours until the end of the month.  Come visit us at Nature Visions or sign up on our website.

Cape May and the making of Lemonade

We just finished our annual Cape May Photo Tour weekend and as usual we had a great group of talented and energetic photographers.   Cape May is such a wonderful venue that even though we arrived 2 days early to scout the locations, we still did not cover all of our favorite spots!  

In regard to making Lemonade.  That’s a term of art that I use to illustrate how to deal with the challenges that photography can sometimes present.   The shot above was our first stop with the tour group last Friday evening.  The access to this point is very narrow allowing for only one photographer at a time.  I needed to get my tripod in the water to get the reflection and wanted to show the shot to our clients as an example of one of the possible shots from this location.   Considering that I had 10 people in line behind me, I just took a quick snap and on the back of the camera everything looked fine.   When I started to process this shot I realized that while I had the foreground sharp, my depth of field was not sufficient to render the lighthouse as sharp as I would have preferred.  So I used a couple of Flypaper Textures to give the shot a different feel and I think with the use of textures the importance of sharpness in the image becomes less important.  

I also use and recommend the plugin “Dirty Pictures” from Totally Rad Software for managing and working with Textures in Photoshop.

We are planning to do our annual Cape May Weekend next year a littler earlier so we can photograph the iconic Cape May Boats that line the beach!   Registration is open and it’s not too early to secure your spot on this tour… .   If you want to keep up with all things Road Runner, please join our Meetup and our Mailing List(on the right side of the page).

Icelandic Highlands

We just wrapped up our 2nd epic tour of Iceland.  We had a great group of participants and in spite of some challenging weather, we got to see and photograph a lot of great locations.

The image above was taken in the Icelandic Highlands on a day with light rain and 60 mph winds.

We always rent 4x4 vehicles so we can take our clients into the Highlands.  While Iceland offers much for the photographer without going into the Highlands, our clients agreed unanimously that going to the Highlands was essential and the long rough ride on the Icelandic "F" roads was well worth the extra expense and effort.

Iceland Awaits

After almost a year of planning, Denise and I are soon to head back to one of our favorite places on the planet!   We are leading a group of photographers on a tour of what we think are the best locations in Iceland.   While we have seen much of what Iceland has to offer during our previous trips and tours, we know that much more remains to be discovered.  So we are spending 5 days exploring the north of Iceland before our group arrives.

The photo above was taken in the Westfjords at a waterfall called Dynjandi.  It’s a beautiful and stunningly large waterfall in a very remote location.

A Fleeting Moment

Last Friday Denise and I arrived in Davis, WV just in time to be greeted by significant rain. I was making Denise drive so I could work on my motion abstracts when suddenly the sun pops out before it stopped raining.  Without missing a beat Denise proclaims there must be a rainbow somewhere.  I started looking around and sure enough there was one behind us over the Canaan Valley Wildlife Management area.  We quickly turned in, jumped out, and started shooting.  

From the time the sun popped out to the time the rainbow disappeared was about 5 minutes.  These moments are fleeting and knowing our gear allowed us to jump out and start shooting.  If you have to fumble with your gear you just might miss some opportunities.   

Palouse Year 3

In a few days Denise Silva and I will be heading to Washington for our Palouse Photography Tour.   This is our third year doing tours in the Palouse. For those who don't know, the Palouse is the largest wheat growing region in the country.   The landscape is full of rolling hills, barns and my personal favorite, lots of old trucks.  

We are looking forward to working with a great group of participants, several of whom have done other tours with us.  We can't wait to see what they create!

During the last 2 years we have mapped thousands of miles of country roads and, believe it or not, we will be scouting some new areas in the days before our participants arrive.  I already know the week will fly by.  Did I say fly?  Stay tuned to this blog to see what that means.

Win a Trip!

Since the inception of Road Runner Photography Tours we have frequently raffled spots on some of our tours. This May however, we are doing something we have never done and frankly have never seen anyone else do either.  We are planning a weekend photo tour in one of our favorite areas of West Virginia and the only way you can attend is to win a spot on the tour.  That’s right, every spot on the tour will be given away to randomly selected winners.

If you want to enter for a chance to win one of the 6 spots on the tour you need to head over to this page;  www.RoadRunnerPhotographyTours.com

If you want to increase your chances of winning a spot on the tour it’s easy.  You just need to share the custom link that will be made available to you after you enter.  You can share this link with friends directly via email or you can use the buttons to post the link on your favorite social media site.   Each time someone enters using your link, you will get an extra entry into the contest as well.

Let’s just imagine for a moment, that you don’t want to win. I know I’m having trouble imagining that you would not want to win.  But you can still help your friends win by registering and sharing the link with your photo friends.  Imagine how grateful they would be if they won a spot because of your help!

Full details are available on the contest page.