Tag Archives: Polarizer

Technical Details: Canon 5D MkII, Canon 16-35mm @16mm, ISO200, f/9, 13 seconds, Singh Ray Warming Polarizer

Hi Gang,

Welcome to today’s post.  First, I guess its only fair to acknowledge my misleading statements from the previous post.  I promised to bring you some photography from a place other than Lake Superior, and its coming, but I haven’t shot it yet.  I’m planning a trip to the Badlands next week, weather permitting.  In the mean time I want to share with you an image I shot last week at Gooseberry Falls and use it to discuss the concept of The Hero, introduced to me by fashion photog Matthew Jordan Smith.

Hero: a subject of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble qualities.  Often understated or unexpected qualities.

A successful image has a hero.  This may or may not be in your main subject.  The Hero.  The hero can take many forms in  all styles of photography, but its worth asking in your photography, “Who is the Hero in this image?”  Not a super-hero, like Super Man, with the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound.   The hero is often that understated or unexpected secondary subject, supporting subject, that makes the image move from good to great.  In landscape photography it can be as simple as a small leaf of color in a big scenic that ties the image together, or a simple cloud structure that rhymes with the lines of the landscape, or the shape of rocks that repeats in some sort of rhythmic pattern.  Who is the hero in your photograph?  A successful photograph has a hero.

In today’s photo, the heros (in my opinion) are the two tiny falls of water flanking the larger flow.  They add that certain, understated quality.  They are guardians and protectors of the image, keeping it from being a simple, cliche waterfall shot.  They are not random – they are intentional.  They are simple, balanced, noble.

Technical Details: Canon 16-35mm lens, Canon 5Ds MkII, Singh Ray Warming Polarizer, ISO100, F/16, 30 seconds

Today’s image came at the tail end of a great, but interesting day.  Weather on the North Shore was gorgeous and I had been out all morning looking a property to purchase.  I went into Two Harbors for lunch and decided to return to a few lots for a second look.  Upon returning I parked the truck into what could only be described as quick sand.

With no one around, no one to call, I got down on all 4′s and starting digging with my hands, uncovering both front wheels enough to insert some large rocks upon which my 4WD could find purchase.  Of course I got out, but then the noise under the front end began.  A mile down the road and I found myself here:

A guy I know who lives on this road came by with some pliers and I was back in business in no time and in need of some relaxation.  I arrived at The Landing just in time to watch the Kentucky Derby and a little of this:

(sincere apologies to all my packer friends.  The other side of the glass said “Miller Lite” and I had to make a quick photo decision).  After all this I drove 25 miles back up the shore to the Beaver River, well above the lake to area some locals refer to as Avon Glen.  My research reveals that an “Avon” is Celtic for river, and a “Glen” is more like a gorge and less like a valley.  The area I was shooting was certainly more valley than gorge, but I do like the sound of Avon Glen, so we’re sticking with it.  Some of the finest stretch of river I’ve seen yet on the North Shore.  It will take me days to shoot it properly, but today we have an initial take on it.

I shoot a great deal of motion effects, quite exaggerated and with a certain vision in mind, so it seems helpful to include the video below so you can see exactly how I saw the lead image real time.

http://vimeo.com/23441517