Since this is my first post in this forum I will introduce myself. I am an amateur photographer from Amarillo, TX. I am an accountant in my day job. I have been working in public accounting since 2003, but I have just accepted a new position working for a company headquartered in Amarillo and I will start on Monday.
While I have had an interest in photography since I was a child, it wasn't until I purchased a coffee table book featuring photographs of Colorado by David Muench about 10 years ago that I began to pursue photography. At the time, I could only afford a point and shoot camera and I really did not know anything about photography. I just knew that I liked what I saw from David Muench. In about 2003, I bought my first SLR camera, a Canon Rebel Ti film camera and shot slide film for a while. Not too long after that I purchased a 20D and I just recently upgraded to a 5D now that the prices are much more affordable.
I discovered NPN a few years back and I enjoy viewing the work of incredible photographers here. I have posted a handfull of images in various galleries, but I am still just learning and my day job consumes up a lot of time.
I took this shot tonight during twilight. One of the things that has stood out to me about David Muench's photography is the dramatic perspectives that he creates in his photographs. While this is a common landscape technique, he seems to be one of the best at drawing the viewer into the landscape with dramatic perspectives. I have tried to emulate this technique in my own work but haven't had much success. Since I live in the Texas Panhandle, I frequently try to photograph the Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon state parks when I have a chance. I find that it is difficult to find strong compositions in these parks using a dramatic perspective with an ultra-wide angle lens. Tonight I went to Palo Duro Canyon to experiment with different perspectives using longer focal lengths and to broaden my horizons a little. Feeling discouraged, I almost didn't go but I am glad that I did because I found this location and it works well to create the dramatic perspectives that I have been longing to create. Now if I could get some of that dramatic light that seems to follow Marc Adamus around and maybe some of Todd Caudle's clouds, I would be doing ok.
Thanks for enduring my rather long introduction. I look forward to participating in this forum more frequently.
Regarding this photo, I have done minimal processing. During RAW conversion, I increased the exposure by 3/4 of a stop because I neglected to check the histogram in the field. Otherwise, I have only applied smart sharpening primarilly for web presentation. It is amazing how little processing is really needed for files from the 5D (this is a significant improvement over my 20D). Since the photo was taken at twilight, I left it somewhat dark, but it may still be a little too dark. It looks ok on my monitor, but my monitor is not the best.
Here are the specs:
Canon 5D
17-40L @ 17
f16 @ 20 sec.
Polarizer to lengthen exposure and increase saturation.
Posted by Daniel Loomis on April 26, 2009 at 8:41 AM
Welcome to the forum. I know we will all look forward to your postings in the future.
The interesting rock formation in your image does indeed draw the viewer into the photo. I like the perspective it provides between elements in the foreground and background. It reminds me of the Gloss Mountain red buttes in NW Oklahoma where I grew up. Thanks for sharing.
Welcome aboard Brian. I've heard a lot about the dramatic landscapes of Palo Duro canyon but it never seems to be accompanied by photos. Perhaps you will be able to flesh that out for me.
With Daniel I like your choice of perspective, it does flow well towards the rock formation in the background. However the colors seem somewhat muddy. Your concern about being too dark is, I think, appropriate here.
A question, what is/are the white spots/layers I'm seeing here?
Posted by Wayne Rhodus on April 26, 2009 at 9:24 AM
Welcome Brian, I am glad you have decided to join us from the Texas panhandle! One of the wonderful things that has happened here on CSNP over the last year or so is the increasing number of photographers from TX, KS & MO showing us places through their images that we may not have been aware of before. I'm looking forward to seeing what you have to share with us from the TX panhandle.
It looks like your efforts have paid off. This image seems to have captured the elusive perspective you seek. I like the small details in the foreground and how they too lead your eyes into the bg. While the image as presented is representative of twilight I think you would find a broader appeal with a small boost of contrast and brightness.
Welcome, I'm looking forward to seeing many more!
Posted by Scott Bean on April 26, 2009 at 12:16 PM
Welcome aboard Brian! As others have mentioned, I like how this photo does pull your eyes in. I would agree with you that it is bit dark, but that also fits a twilight mood.
Bruce, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife website, the white layers are gypsum.
You are also right that there aren't many tripod holes in Palo Duro Canyon (with the exception of the lighthouse formation). Maybe it is due to my inexperience, but it seems to be very challenging to find compositions that adequately portray Palo Duro Canyon. When I am there, I see interesting elements all of the time, but they don't always translate well to a photograph. It is very challenging to simplify the composition and to find a cohesiveness between the foreground, middleground, and background. I know this is a challenge in photographing any location, but in my experience it is especially true in Palo Duro Canyon.
Posted by Darren Huski on April 26, 2009 at 3:16 PM
Brian-
Welcome to the NPN and CSNP!
Glad to see another person from Tejas here too. Amarillo is a great location, count yourself lucky. On top of Palo Duro/Caprock you have several decent local possibilities that reasonably close. I like the flatness of plains there. The Llano Estacdo escarpment. The grain elevators and farms. The thunderstorms that roll through the area. All are pretty photogenic to me. Top that off with you can easily weekend in the mountains of Provencial Texas (aka New Mexico).
BTW, I think you have the right lens for this country in the 17-40. I tend to shoot wide and low and do alot with the big sky. I have some of my panhandle work in my Texas galleries on my website.
I think you got a decent location in the image, I think it is just a bit too late in the day. The foreground is a bit too dark for me. Get here with a sunset in the sky and a grad filter and I think you got a winning location.
Thanks, Darren. I remember seeing a shot that you posted some time back from around Adrian here in the panhandle. I was hoping for a nice sunset last night since it had been hazy and mostly cloudy most of the day due to a nearby low pressure system. I arrived at this general location about an hour before sunset and chose this backdrop because there were clouds over the peak that you see in the background, but as my luck would have it the clouds parted by sunset. Even so, I witnessed some nice alpenglow on the background peak but the foreground in those shots is not as interesting. I definitely plan on returning to this spot to capture this foreground with the alpenglow on the peak.
I actually prefer Caprock Canyon because due to its location off the Caprock, this area receives more moisture than Palo Duro and the vegetation is a lot more interesting and green.
I travelled to the San Juans in Colorado last summer and since then I have had a harder time getting too excited about the panhandle, but you are right that there are opportunities here. Maybe someday, I will move closer to the Rockies, but until then I will look for every opportunity here!!
Discussion
7 repliesWhile I have had an interest in photography since I was a child, it wasn't until I purchased a coffee table book featuring photographs of Colorado by David Muench about 10 years ago that I began to pursue photography. At the time, I could only afford a point and shoot camera and I really did not know anything about photography. I just knew that I liked what I saw from David Muench. In about 2003, I bought my first SLR camera, a Canon Rebel Ti film camera and shot slide film for a while. Not too long after that I purchased a 20D and I just recently upgraded to a 5D now that the prices are much more affordable.
I discovered NPN a few years back and I enjoy viewing the work of incredible photographers here. I have posted a handfull of images in various galleries, but I am still just learning and my day job consumes up a lot of time.
I took this shot tonight during twilight. One of the things that has stood out to me about David Muench's photography is the dramatic perspectives that he creates in his photographs. While this is a common landscape technique, he seems to be one of the best at drawing the viewer into the landscape with dramatic perspectives. I have tried to emulate this technique in my own work but haven't had much success. Since I live in the Texas Panhandle, I frequently try to photograph the Palo Duro Canyon and Caprock Canyon state parks when I have a chance. I find that it is difficult to find strong compositions in these parks using a dramatic perspective with an ultra-wide angle lens. Tonight I went to Palo Duro Canyon to experiment with different perspectives using longer focal lengths and to broaden my horizons a little. Feeling discouraged, I almost didn't go but I am glad that I did because I found this location and it works well to create the dramatic perspectives that I have been longing to create. Now if I could get some of that dramatic light that seems to follow Marc Adamus around and maybe some of Todd Caudle's clouds, I would be doing ok.
Thanks for enduring my rather long introduction. I look forward to participating in this forum more frequently.
Regarding this photo, I have done minimal processing. During RAW conversion, I increased the exposure by 3/4 of a stop because I neglected to check the histogram in the field. Otherwise, I have only applied smart sharpening primarilly for web presentation. It is amazing how little processing is really needed for files from the 5D (this is a significant improvement over my 20D). Since the photo was taken at twilight, I left it somewhat dark, but it may still be a little too dark. It looks ok on my monitor, but my monitor is not the best.
Here are the specs:
Canon 5D
17-40L @ 17
f16 @ 20 sec.
Polarizer to lengthen exposure and increase saturation.
The interesting rock formation in your image does indeed draw the viewer into the photo. I like the perspective it provides between elements in the foreground and background. It reminds me of the Gloss Mountain red buttes in NW Oklahoma where I grew up. Thanks for sharing.
With Daniel I like your choice of perspective, it does flow well towards the rock formation in the background. However the colors seem somewhat muddy. Your concern about being too dark is, I think, appropriate here.
A question, what is/are the white spots/layers I'm seeing here?
It looks like your efforts have paid off. This image seems to have captured the elusive perspective you seek. I like the small details in the foreground and how they too lead your eyes into the bg. While the image as presented is representative of twilight I think you would find a broader appeal with a small boost of contrast and brightness.
Welcome, I'm looking forward to seeing many more!
You are also right that there aren't many tripod holes in Palo Duro Canyon (with the exception of the lighthouse formation). Maybe it is due to my inexperience, but it seems to be very challenging to find compositions that adequately portray Palo Duro Canyon. When I am there, I see interesting elements all of the time, but they don't always translate well to a photograph. It is very challenging to simplify the composition and to find a cohesiveness between the foreground, middleground, and background. I know this is a challenge in photographing any location, but in my experience it is especially true in Palo Duro Canyon.
Welcome to the NPN and CSNP!
Glad to see another person from Tejas here too. Amarillo is a great location, count yourself lucky. On top of Palo Duro/Caprock you have several decent local possibilities that reasonably close. I like the flatness of plains there. The Llano Estacdo escarpment. The grain elevators and farms. The thunderstorms that roll through the area. All are pretty photogenic to me. Top that off with you can easily weekend in the mountains of Provencial Texas (aka New Mexico).
BTW, I think you have the right lens for this country in the 17-40. I tend to shoot wide and low and do alot with the big sky. I have some of my panhandle work in my Texas galleries on my website.
I think you got a decent location in the image, I think it is just a bit too late in the day. The foreground is a bit too dark for me. Get here with a sunset in the sky and a grad filter and I think you got a winning location.
I actually prefer Caprock Canyon because due to its location off the Caprock, this area receives more moisture than Palo Duro and the vegetation is a lot more interesting and green.
I travelled to the San Juans in Colorado last summer and since then I have had a harder time getting too excited about the panhandle, but you are right that there are opportunities here. Maybe someday, I will move closer to the Rockies, but until then I will look for every opportunity here!!