Origins of the Elk

It turns out that indigenous Roosevelt Elk were native to our river valley and the present day Cedar River Watershed prior to European American settlers making this area their home. Native Americans relied heavily on the natural prairie between the current towns of Snoqualmie and North Bend where the elk resided. They used the prairie as both a multi use pasture and a very large garden plot for native crops.

This area was scraped clean by retreating glaciers, so very few natural large trees grew and the remaining brush and the smaller trees were controlled by periodic burning (either by mother nature herself or through controlled burns by the Native American tribes that called this area home). This burning allowed these prairies to flourish. It also helped to keep up natural barriers between the grass lands and the stands of dense trees where the elk and deer prospered. These meadows served as an excellent breeding and feeding ground for the native Roosevelt Elk and the herd flourished to numbers well over 1,000 individuals.

New Residents & Replenishing the Elk Herd

When Europeans migrated west and entered our river valley in the 1800’s they relied heavily on the native elk and deer populations for food. As a result they all but wiped the elk completely wiped out the herd, save for a few individuals. To sustain the new inhabitants of the valley, it was decided in 1913 by the Seattle Elk’s Club that they would pay for the introduction of Rocky Mountain elk. The elk would be sent over from Yellowstone National Park in Montana by train to the Snoqualmie Valley to help replenish the dwindling food source.

The original shipment of elk numbered 44 animals and the herd soon grew to over 400 individuals. There were several complaints about the herd due to damage to property and agricultural crops. The elk were eventually pushed to the Mill Pond area where they lived for a number of years. During the great flood of 1932 the elk were forced back to the mainland where they became a staple food source during the Great Depression.

World War II

Fast forward to 1945 and World War II. The remaining elk population exploded due to lack of hunting (the majority of the men who would do the hunting in the valley were at war) and they became a large problem for the residents of the Snoqualmie Valley.

That same year a deep freeze hit the area and wiped out a large number of the elk. The residents in the valley lost their crops and their food sources were dwindling, so they turned to hunting the local elk once again. Lack of food, freezing temperatures and over hunting due to the starving residents in the valley wiped the herd out and only about 12 known individuals remained.

In order to save the remaining animals local officials decided to relocate the last 12 elk. One bull and 11 cows were relocated to the upper reaches of the Nooksack (River) in Mt.Baker National Park and the Snoqualmie River Valley was once again free from elk… or so they thought.

A few Roosevelt Elk remained protected and hidden in the Cedar River Watershed where they had been living for decades. In 1995 Snoqualmie Valley residents began seeing the elk return to the area. By 1997 they had come back to the area surrounding the old Weyerhaeuser Mill.

Elk Herd Remnants and Management

By 2008 the herd had gotten large enough to, you guessed it, cause problems for the local residents in the river valley. This time around the elk Management Group was formed to find solutions that benefited both the local residents and the elk.

There are now an estimated 450 to 500 elk in the Upper Snoqualmie Valley. The management group takes a census each year between March and April to confirm those numbers and make adjustments to their counts. Volunteers count the elk daily during the early morning hours while the herd is feeding. They work with wildlife biologists to collar the elk to help track their movement and to report their findings to the divisional wildlife department.

These elk counts help the fish and wildlife department decide on the number of tags issued during hunting season. They also help with research and education to determine the overall health of the herd.

I think it’s important to note here that there is a turbulent relationship between humans and the native species in the valley. Our interactions with them throughout their history have shaped their behaviors and it appears that we’re more the problem than they are. We’ve taken a great deal of their land away and we continue to do so at a fairly rapid pace. We need to strike a balance of sorts with the wildlife in our valley or we will continue to face problems with elk, bear, bobcat and even cougars. They were here first after all and I think we need to keep that in mind when we discuss management and how we go about dealing with them.

Rules of Engagement

If you want to go see them in person there are number of rules that you should follow:

1. Always observe from a distance, use binoculars or spotting scopes
2. If you plan to photograph them, make sure you utilize long lenses to keep your distance (All of the photos in this article were shot at focal lengths of 180mm – 840mm)
3. Talk quietly and minimize sharp sounds and pets should probably stay home
4. Do not disturb animals in mating season (or any season for that matter) and never come between a mother and her offspring… you definitely don’t want to find yourself in that situation
5. Walk away slowly if an animal becomes nervous or looks aggressive

Early morning and twilight are the best times to see the elk in the river valley. Once again and I can’t stress this enough; do not come close to the wildlife, especially during the fall elk mating season. Enjoy the views from a distance

To see more images and to order prints please feel free to visit my Wildlife Gallery here on my website.

References:

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Not to discredit Fujifilm whatsoever, but the camera had reached its limits for me. The file size, the DR, ISO tolerance and what I could do in post processing with them pushed me to make a change. Sure, the Fujifilm XT-4 was an option, but it still didn’t have the look and feel of the RAW files from a Sony Alpha series camera, so I decided to jump ship back to Sony.

This article is going to highlight some of the ground work that I did to make the decision to go with the Sony A7RIII instead of the Sony A7RIV and why it’s the better choice for most landscape photographers. It also features some new pretty pictures.

Sony A7RIII vs Sony A7RIV: Key Differences and Similarities

This is a question that I’m sure many landscape photographers have found themselves in since the A7RIV came out. There are a few key differences outside of price that are worth a closer look including file size, sensor design and autofocus regarding both full frame setups.

Sensor Differences

First let’s take a look at the sensor and file size. The A7RIII sports a 42.5MP full frame stabilized back side illuminated (BSI) CMOS sensor with improved, low-noise processing. The image quality and dynamic range is much improved compared to its predecessor and the dynamic range rivals that of the Nikon D850 at its long envied ISO 64 setting. The camera shoots uncompressed RAW files that come out at a file size of 81.9MB.

The A7RIV has a newly designed high-resolution full-frame 60.2MP BSI-CMOS sensor. It also has a new 16-shot high-resolution mode that can be used to generate 240MP images of static scenes (this means no moving clouds or water).

The sensor of the A7RIV is slightly noisier than the A7R III at the highest ISO values and I’ve seen some samples at lower ISO values that show the same thing. DPReview outlined this in their review of the A7RIV.

Storage Headaches

With a larger sensor and improved resolution you can run into a few problems, including lens resolving power. This sensor is downright impressive and the uncompressed RAW files are HUGE; in excess of 110MB. You better be prepared to upgrade your storage if you’re planning to pick this camera up. Seriously though this means that you will likely either need to build a new custom Mac or PC to handle the file sizes and you will definitely need to set up a new RAID storage system to handle and back up files that large. It’s definitely something to consider before purchasing.

Dynamic Range

Let’s take a closer look at DR:

The above chart came from an excellent site known as photonstophotos.net (linked in blue above). This chart displays the photographic dynamic range at each ISO value.

As you can see the A7RIII (in blue) is slightly better in terms of DR than that of the A7RIV (in black), but the differences really are going to be mostly indistinguishable in real world use.

Both cameras have fantastic sensors and in terms of printing a 42.5MP sensor will allow you to print virtually any size that you can dream up. The 61MP sensor is a monster and you may run into some issues with the resolving power of your lenses with a sensor this large. If your lenses are absolutely perfect optically, then you will the ability to print billboard size images that look amazing. For a full review of image quality and DR please check out DPReview’s reviews for both the A7RIII and the A7RIV.

Autofocus

Autofocus is an area where the A7RIV slightly edges out the A7RIII, but if you’re using this camera primarily for landscape shooting with some wildlife here and there, does that matter? No, not really. The A7RIII is still excellent for small children running around, sporting events, landscapes and yes even wildlife. The eye AF Animal eye AF and overall subject tracking on the A7RIII all work exceedingly well in real world situations and they have only been improved in the A7RIV. Both cameras shoot at 10fps with the mechanical/electronic shutter and 8fps in uncompressed RAW. Burst speed is also very close in 28 uncompressed RAW files in the A7RIII vs 33 in the A7RIV.

Touch to Focus

The touch to focus in the A7RIII is actually fairly responsive and fairly easy to use for focus stacking static subjects. The cancel button can be a bit sticky at times, but it still works pretty well. Make sure that you switch to manual mode with focus peaking to ensure that you’ve hit all of your focus points. The touchscreen and the LCD is identical in the A7RIV and didn’t see an upgrade outside of the fancy new red box. It now includes a red box instead of gray box for touch to focus, but that’s not enough to warrant spending the extra cash in my book.

Another important thing to note is that the A7RIII got a firmware update with the A7RIV made its debut. This allowed nearly all of the AF features to be updated to near A7RIV spec in the A7RIII… except the little red box. That stays with the A7RIV.

For a full review of the AF in both cameras please check out these links from DPReview A7RIV, A7RIII as they have done a great job going over the specifics of the autofocus differences between the two models.

AF Customization

Both the A7RIII and the A7RIV have it and if you don’t currently use it, you really should be. One thing that I cannot stress enough is to make sure to customize your C1, C2, C3 and C4 buttons with AF options. This makes it extremely easy to switch between different AF modes, AF coverage and different subject tracking options on the fly. If you’re photographing wildlife or even a landscape with quickly changing conditions. This video goes over how to go about making those changes.

Ergonomics

The ergonomics definitely saw a big facelift in the A7RIV with an improved larger grip and newly designed body. The button design, grip and button layouts all saw improvements in the A7RIV. Both of these cameras also offer 5-axis in body image stabilization with ~5-stops, so even your non IS lenses with perform exceedingly well. They both feature the exact same LCD screen. Full disclosure I have big hands and the hand feel of the A7RIII is great; I’ve had no issues with it whatsoever, even with larger lenses.

You will see a difference in the EVF resolution (electronic viewfinder) with the A7RIV sporting a new and improved 5.76m-dot EVF. I honestly rarely use it and when I do, I find that the A7RIII EVF is more than adequate. If that’s important to you, then it is something to consider.

Price (the deal maker)

This was the big one for me and what ultimately became the deciding factor. You can pick up an A7RIII new for $2,498.00 and if you decide to go used you can get one with an extremely low shutter count for around $2,000.00. An A7RIV will set you back $3,198.00 and the used ones are still going for around $2,800.00 – $3,000.00. I’ll give you two guesses as to what I decided to jump on.

I ended up picking up an almost new A7RIII for around $2,000.00. The differences between the A7RIII and the A7RIV were really negligible when you get down to it, especially for landscapes and it made more sense for me to put that extra savings into excellent lenses, batteries and lens filters (CPLs).

Conclusion

I hope that this article helps a bit in your decision to purchase your next Sony camera. Both the A7RIII and A7RIV are great choices for wildlife and landscape photography. With the A7RIII firmware update you’re really getting *most* of the functionality of the improved AF. The bottom line is that you wont be disappointed by either of them. The cost savings and the ability to use my 2018 Macbook Pro made the decision even easier for me. The A7RIII files are absolutely outstanding, the camera performs exceedingly well in the field and I have been extremely happy with my decision.

Stay tuned for my lens choices… Sony makes some great stuff, but there are plenty of 3rd party options that just might edge out that expensive G-Master that you’ve been eyeing.

The post Sony A7RIII vs. Sony A7RIV: Battle of the Landscape Photography Titans appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

I primarily used my 100-400mm lens (which is very typical these days) and panned the high cliffs for smaller scenes that provided nice textures, depth and atmosphere. Using a telephoto lens really forces you to focus on the content of the image as smaller scenes can very difficult to capture at times. I did use my wide angle for a few images, but the majority were taken between 100mm and 400mm (600mm equiv.) I hope that you’ll enjoy seeing this collection in its entirety.

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My journey to the Fujifilm X-T2 wasn’t exactly straight and narrow and it definitely wasn’t conventional by any stretch of the imagination; but 8 weeks into the switch, here I am writing about the whats, the hows and the whys of why I started down this amazing path. 

Let me start by saying that I had honestly never even considered switching back to an APS-C format camera or even to Fujifilm for that matter until a few months ago. The limited technology of the sensors in the APS-C cameras always turned me off for a number of reasons. The main reason being the lack of Dynamic Range, (ability to pull detail from shadows and retain detail in slightly overexposed regions of the image) followed by the lower megapixel count and the noisier high ISO files. I was determined to stick to a full frame system because I wanted more DR, more megapixels and more technology, plain and simple.

So why the change in heart?

My Love-Hate Relationship with Sony

I was in a bit of a weird situation when it came to my photography gear. I had moved on from my trusty Canon 5D Mkii to a Sony a7R with a Metabones Mkiii Adapter and Canon L glass to save weight, increase dynamic range, increase megapixels and to improve the overall Raw file quality. That was all well and good but there were a few things that I started to realize after shooting with that franken-system for a few years:

• The already mediocre weather sealing of the Sony a7R was further compromised by the use of a lens adapter
• Waterfall mist and rain literally caused my camera to shut down on multiple occasions
• Autofocus is useless when pairing Canon lenses with the a7R (this was mostly remedied with the a7R ii, but still limited)
• Shutter shock will ruin your life and no I’m not kidding
• The battery life was atrocious
• The menu layouts could have been better

All in all I loved my system, don’t get me wrong, but it did have some serious shortcomings and they began to become even more evident as I started to work with longer lenses.

Enter shutter-shock. In all honesty the a7R should have never left the manufacturer floor with how bad the shutter-shock issues were… and yes I’m being serious. Whenever I shot with anything longer than, say, 100mm with a longer lens I always had to take at least 10-15 shots to ensure that I had one useable file. Yes you heard that right; 1 in 10 images were useable when using longer lenses on the a7R. That’s unacceptable. That problem alone gave me serious pause and it really made me re-evaluate my equipment.

Let’s face it; time is money. Let’s say you’ve got a 10 second window to capture ‘that’ moment and you fire off as many shots as possible only to find out, upon reviewing your files, that none of them are even useable. That shot could have landed you a cover, could have sold a ton of prints or it just could have meant a ton to you. It could have been something that you had been chasing for a very, very long time and now that moment is gone. 

Additionally, anyone that tells you that Sony doesn’t have a weather sealing issue is either paid by Sony or is the luckiest person on earth when it comes to their gear. When I say that a camera has a problem; it’s not taken lightly and it’s not a brash or off hand comment. The a7R had some serious weather sealing issues. If rain, water fall mist or anything of that nature even so much as blinked at the a7R it would literally shut down. It shut down in hot weather, in extreme cold weather and in any sort of wet or damp environment. The battery life was down right atrocious. I treat my gear like gold, because frankly, I don’t have the money to replace it (yes I have insurance) and if I felt like a situation was too severe for the camera; I just put it away. That shouldn’t be the case when you’re spending $2k plus on a camera. The bottom line is that we should expect better and Sony needs to step it up (supposedly they have with the a9, but that is yet to be seen). 

Not to get too philosophical here; but photography companies owe it to their customers to do better and to improve. We spend a lot of money on equipment and often promote the use of said equipment for free because sponsorships are few and far between. I’m glad to see that many companies are moving in that direction, but it’s been a long time coming. As the market continues to shrink I really do hope that these companies will start actually listening to guys like Rishi over at DPR and folks that aren’t sponsored, but do spend a lot of hard earned money on equipment.

End rant.. sort of.

My Goals for the Switch

Okay time to come down from that pedestal. All in all I was frustrated, and I was in a situation where I had the perfect opportunity to move on and to explore my options in terms of what I really wanted to achieve in photography and what gear I would need to purchase to make those achievements possible.  

I had four major priorities in mind:

1. No more adapted glass
2. Better weather sealing and battery life 
3. Improved autofocus capabilities 
4. Comparable Raw image quality and DR
5. Incredible lens quality and selection

I was looking at three different options. The 5D MK IV, the Sony a7R ii and the Fujifilm X-T2. I had Canon mount glass that I was quite fond of, so I wasn’t too keen on getting rid of it and I still had the a7R and my Metabones adapter.

The a7R ii was definitely a strong second choice, but three things really held me back from making the commitment. The price tag, adapted glass and the weather sealing issues. The a7R ii’s image quality is the best on the market IMO, the only thing that beats it currently with respect to DR is the Nikon D810 at ISO 64. That being said, the thought of using adapted glass made my stomach churn (diminished AF capabilities w/ adapted glass despite all of the AF improvements in the a7R ii) and the weather sealing issues gave me straight up anxiety. There’s no reason that you should have to be worried about using a $3k camera in inclement weather conditions.  

The Canon 5D MK IV was something that I did consider for a while, but again the price tag and the fact that it didn’t perform quite as well as the a7R ii for almost $1,000 more really put me off. The DR in the 5D MK IV is definitely improved, but if I’m spending that kind of money I would just assume by the a7R ii. The AF performance with the Dual Pixel technology is definitely a huge leap forward for Canon.

With all of that in mind; why Fujifilm?

My Journey to Fujifilm

So, with out the way let’s move on to why I ultimately decided to go with the X-T2. Fujifilm wasn’t always on my radar, but after working at DPreview for a little over a year I got to experience the X-T2 with my own two hands and I fell in love with it. The simplicity of the twin dials, the relatively intuitive menu system and the quality of the lenses immediately captured my attention, but what about the files and the DR? After all that’s just about the only thing that folks in the landscape field care about, right?

Have a look at this DR chart from Bill Claff:

Convinced yet? Yes, yes I know the X-T2 still falls behind the 5D MK IV and the a7R ii, but keep in mind that you’re looking at an APS-C sensor versus two full-frame sensors. That’s downright impressive. I’ve been able to pull 2-3 stops of shadow recovery from my files with no banding or loss of color and detail. Do you really need more than 3 stops of DR? If you know the limitations of your system, you can learn to work within it. If that means firing off an extra exposure in super dark conditions , then so be it. It’s not that big of a deal. Too often folks get so bogged down by the technology that they forget the basics of photography… if you know your camera you can adapt it to any scene; no matter how much DR is present. 

As you can see, the DR is more than acceptable, but what about the overall Raw image quality? The Uncompressed Raw files are impressive if you know how to deal with them. The X-Trans platform makes post processing a bit of a challenge. There have been several articles discussing worm like issues in trees and foliage thanks to some compatibility issues with the Adobe sharpening algorithms and these Raw files. 

Fear not! There is a solution! David Kingham was kind enough to let me know about an amazing DNG conversion tool by Iridient. This X-Transformer adds one extra step to my post processing workflow, but it’s so worth the effort! You can try the converter for free to take it for a spin before you decide to purchase it (trust me you’ll want to purchase a license). The files will display a watermark, but you’ll get an idea of how the converter performs. Here are the settings that I currently use: 

Using these settings will enable you to bring these DNG files into Photoshop to process them further. To get the most out of the files use Unsharp masks and High Pass masks for sharpening. Don’t use the sharpening sliders in ACR or Lightroom on these files, they still present some nasty problems… cue Adobe to get that fixed!

All in all the Uncompressed Raw files give you plenty of latitude to play with! 

Lenses, AF and Weather Sealing

So the files look good, but what about everything else? Let’s start with the lenses. The quality of the Fujifilm glass is downright legendary. They have a nearly full line up of weather sealed XF WR lenses. The only lens that they are currently missing in my opinion is the 8-16mm F2.8 XF WR that will supposedly be released in late 2017. 

I currently own the 23mm F2 XF WR, the 100-400mm F4-5.6 XF WR and the 10-24mm F4 XF. All of these lenses are bonkers sharp (keep in mind that the equivalent focal lengths are 35mm, 152-609mm and 15-36mm, respectively). The sunstars that both the 23mm and the 10-24mm produce are exceptional, and that’s something that I don’t take lightly considering that I’m coming from the legendary Canon 16-35mm F2.8L Mkii sunstars. 

I used the Fujifilm XF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens extensively (I took nearly 1500 images with it) while on my trip to Alaska and I can tell you that the lens is extremely sharp throughout the entire focal range, even when shot wide open. To say that I was impressed by these lenses is an understatement. The quality construction, the weather sealing, the smaller size and the inconspicuous appearance make them a force to be reckoned with and I’m honestly surprised that they aren’t talked about more. I realize that the X-Trans platform makes them difficult to test for companies like DxO, but it’s high time that these lenses start getting the praise that they deserve.

How about the AF? The AF has been improved a great deal over the X-T1 and offers an impressive 325 points, with improved subject tracking. Honestly it’s great for wildlife in nearly every use case and it works extremely well for locking focus on stationary subjects such as landscapes. Check out a more in depth analysis here. 

But is it weather sealed?? The X-T2 sports more robust weather sealing than the a7R ii, but not quite as robust as the Pentax K1 or the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mk ii. I haven’t had any issues with the camera to date, and I don’t expect to since I’ll be using the native weather sealed lenses along with the weather sealed body. The camera is rated to work in temps as low as -10 degrees C. I haven’t been able to put that claim to the test yet, but I plan to this winter. Rain, waterfalls and snow don’t scare me with this camera in hand.

Did I mention that I only have to carry 3 batteries with me at all times instead of the 6 that I carried with me when I shot Sony? Cue my happy dance.

Final Thoughts

Part of the appeal for switching to Fujifilm for me was to make photography fun again. The control layout, the overall feel and the look of the camera harken back to the film era to some degree and that sense of nostalgia coupled with modern technology just tugs at my heart strings. The camera not only does what I need to do, but it also allows me to have fun doing it!

Fujifilm may not be for everyone, but I don’t think that you need to let the term APS-C or that 24mp number scare you off. The camera is more than capable of capturing every scene you can imagine; you just have to, as in any system, understand its limitations and learn to work within them. After all, a camera is only as good as the photographer behind it.

Updates

Well, it’s been nearly 8 months in and I’m still very happy with my decision to switch. Since writing the original post, I picked up the 35mm F2 XF WR lens (which is amazing to say the least) and I’m planning to add the 16-55mm F2.8 XF WR and the 8-16mm F2.8 XF WR (when it finally comes out) to my collection as well. Enough GAS; how’s the camera holding up? I’ve used the camera in rain, sleet and snow and I haven’t had ANY issues with the weather sealing to date. The lenses and the camera body have both held up impeccably in adverse weather conditions.

The battery life in cold weather seems to be markedly better than the a7R as well. I only carry three batteries with me at all times, as opposed to the 6 or 7 I would have to carry with the a7R. As a whole, I’m loving the menu layouts and the control dials more and more. It’s extremely easy to make changes on fly and I’ve found that the exposure metering tends to be very accurate. The firmware updates that are released on what seems to be a continual basis keep improving upon the camera’s already amazing features. I’ve noticed improvements across the board with the updates so far.

The AF works very well. Once in a while you can miss focus (especially with the 100-400mm lens). It happens, but for the most part the AF is very accurate and a lot of the error falls back on the user (me). It’s been a bit of a learning curve, but I find myself nailing focus more often than not. The majority of the time I find myself using single point and recomposing if need be. Later this month I’ll be shooting some wildlife (owls) and I plan to write a blog post on how the camera performs. Yes I know that birds shouldn’t be that difficult to nail focus on, but owls tend to hide out in wooded areas and tall grass, so it should present a nice challenge. 

As far as post processing goes I’m still using the Iridient Converter and I haven’t run into a file that I can’t work with yet in terms of DR. I have yet to find myself in a situation where I’ve needed to blend exposures to recover shadows and/or highlights. I’m planning to migrate to the creative cloud at some point, so it will be interesting to see how ACR handles the RAF files. From what I’ve heard, the Iridient Converter still works better than trying to work with a RAF file in ACR. In terms of high ISOs; I haven’t pushed the camera a ton, but the files up to an ISO of 3200 are very useable and I don’t foresee myself ever needing to go beyond that. 

So what’s on the horizon? I don’t ever foresee myself leaving Fujifilm. I may eventually purchase the medium format GFX 50S (or whatever the next iteration will be), but for now I am very happy with my purchase and moreover I’m happy sticking with Fuji. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing where this journey takes me next, so stay tuned!

The post Why I Switched From Full-Frame to the Fujifilm X-T2 appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

Check it out here: https://fstopandlisten.podbean.com/e/009-chris-williams/

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Let’s face it; we live in a world of saturated colors. In recent years it seems that the popularity of a photo is dictated by the ‘wow factor’. Saturated colors, composites and over the top scenes are what currently drive much of the landscape photography that we see on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Flickr and yes even 500px. When it comes to popularity those are the images that go viral and sell like hot cakes (at least for some people). It really begs the question; is black white landscape photography dead? I realize that this might be a bit of a bold question, but I think that it’s relevant. Stay with me.

Black and white photography got it’s start long before color photography was even possible. It was essentially the father of modern day photography, but ironically, many people treat it as more of a novelty today in landscape photography. I think part of this is due to the fact that we only see the world in color through the camera’s viewfinder, image preview or in the Raws that we capture. Seeing the world in color forces us into a creative corner, so to speak. There are a handful of cameras on the market that offer black and white film modes (Fujifilm and Olympus) and even one camera that currently shoots solely in black in white; the Leica M Monochrome, but outside of that you’re really left to your own devices as far as imagining what a composition could look like in black and white. That’s where the major road block hits most photographers; when you’re out shooting you don’t typically take the time to think “Hey this would look amazing in monochrome!”. Let’s face it, that just isn’t a reality for most folks. Most of that realization occurs when you’re in the digital dark room editing your images and you realize that the colors don’t work or the light is begging for a higher contrast edit. That’s when the lightbulb kicks on and you think to yourself “Let’s try a quick mono conversion!”, and bingo you just fell back in love with the image that was causing you so much processing grief (admittedly, I’ve been guilty of this at times).

I’m going to make a bit of a blatant statement here, but I think that black and white photography largely comes as an after thought for most landscape photographers today. Sure, there’s a handful of us out there that shoot almost exclusively for black and white, but I would venture to guess that we’re in a small minority. So with that said, what can happen if you start to solely shoot for the purpose of producing black and white imagery?

Color Management Issues Become Irrelevant

I think that most of the landscape photography community can agree that saturation has gotten a bit out of hand over the past few years. Color bombs are everywhere and they’re an endless source of frustration for many of us. By eliminating the color in the image, it really forces you to pay attention to the subject, the lines, the contrast and the light. Color can, in some cases, really
take away from the overall appeal of the image, especially if you over-do it (everyone seems to have a different opinion of how much is too much and they aren’t afraid to tell you in most cases). Color theory and color management can become a huge point of frustration, especially if your monitor calibration is off, but these frustration become largely irrelevant in black and white photography. Even though the color issues may disappear, luminosity becomes more important than ever.

Luminosity Control is Key

It’s important to point out that colors will present themselves in a variety of shades when converted to black and white and luminosity plays an even more important role in your photos. Maintaining the luminosity (the perceived brightness of a color) of the colors present in your image during a black and white conversion is extremely important. The luminosity effects how the grays are perceived in your image. Red, green and blue will all present themselves differently when they are converted to Greyscale.

Red (left), green (center) and blue (right) are converted to their greyscale equivalents in the above image. This is roughly the way our eyes interpret those colors; 30% Red, 60% Green and 10% Blue, where the Green lightness is double that of the Red, much like our eyes see; there are double the number of Green color filters on a camera’s Bayer array as compared to the Red and Blue. As you can see luminosity, or perceived brightness, is much more important in a black and white image. The bottom line is that if you’re going to remove color from your image, you need to know how the greyscale tones relate to each other and how to control how they are presented in your image. The nice thing about this is that it really comes down to personal preference and how you want your image to look. Changing the luminosity of the above shades of grey can dramatically change the look and mood of your image. It’s important to keep this in mind when you’re in the field because the colors in your composition can and will shape how your image will translate to black and white. 

Presentation of light becomes critical 

One of the most important aspects of black and white landscape photography is the presentation of light and shadow; it can dramatically change the overall impact of the image. The key is to emphasize the light that is already present in your image. When you’re in the field pay attention to how the directionality, the quantity, the quality and the brightness of the light impacts the overall scene. It’s equally important to look at how the shadows and dark regions in your composition effect the overall image as well.
Placing an emphasis on light and dark, while maintaining a level of detail is really one of the best ways to give your monochrome photos a more dynamic and three dimensional feel and that process really begins the moment you take the image. When you start to pre-visualize your images in black and white, you really start paying attention to how light and shadow are presented throughout the scene. This can be difficult to do in the field, but with practice it almost becomes second nature. If done correctly; the presentation of light and shadow can really take your black and white imagery to the next level. 

Black and white landscape photography really lends itself to more dramatic post processing. In a sense the realism of the photo is changed dramatically once color is eliminated. This allows you to become much more flexible than you otherwise might be with respect to post processing. The photography of Ansel Adams is a great example of this in that he used fairly dramatic post processing in the darkroom to emphasize light, lines and the overall composition. Don’t be afraid to push your artistic limits in the black and white medium to really emphasize the light that is present in the scene.   

Lines, shapes and patterns are emphasized

When color is eliminated, the lines, patterns and shapes that are left behind are emphasized and can be emphasized even more through post processing. Repeating patterns and textures can add a great deal of visual value to your black and white imagery. With that in mind; black and white photography and abstract/intimate scenes can compliment each other quite nicely. Subjects that have repeating patterns like stands of trees and succulent plants provide an amazing starting point for a black and white conversion. Subjects like water can work extremely well as leading lines in a composition; think of the water as a bright line carving through the dark regions in your composition. Anytime that you notice a pattern or a distinct line in your composition; chances are that you should be able to emphasize that feature even more though a black and white conversion.

Composition is King

A black and white conversion places strong emphasis on your composition. Since color is irrelevant, you really have to make sure that your composition is fairly strong to begin with. Some compositions just won’t do well in a conversion. If the light is relatively flat or if the image is largely one color with no repeating patterns or shapes a black and white conversion just may not work. Don’t force it. It’s important to not only realize the strengths of the medium, but also the weaknesses as well. If the conversion feels forced, chances are it probably is. Pay attention to your composition and how the light and shadow emphasize or detract from it; this will be critical to the overall success of your image.

Is Shooting Film the Answer?

Pre-visualizing your compositions in black and white can be pretty darn difficult, especially in the field when the light is changing and the conditions are deteriorating. One of the best decisions that I recently made was to shoot my Olympus OM10 (I know not the best 35mm film camera; working on picking up an OM-2n) with Ilford HP5 Plus ISO 400 black and white film. I know this sounds like crazy talk, but shooting with black and white film really forces you to visualize your compositions in black and white. It’s actually helped me a great deal and I’m looking forward to seeing how much this endeavor will impact my shooting with my a7R.

Final Word

I know, I know I still haven’t answered the question; is black and white landscape photography dead? The answer in short is no, absolutely not. In fact I think it’s more important than ever given the direction that the field is headed. In fact I think that black and white photography may actually save the field as we know it today and photographers like Sarah Marino are driving that point home more than ever before. In a sense the medium forces you to focus on the basics of photography, the bare bones if you will. Composition, leading lines, subject and light are all critical to the success of a black and white image. Throw color into the mix and a lot of those factors can take a back seat. I’m not saying that color can make up for a weak composition, but I think that it can distract from a strong one, if it isn’t managed correctly.

Giving black and white landscape photography a chance just might change the way you see photography today. It can be a powerful medium if implemented correctly and it just might be what the field needs to get back to the basics of what makes a photograph truly speak to the viewer. It may not be for everyone and it may not work in every situation, but it can certainly make a huge impact in the way you view photography today given the right conditions.

The post Black and White Landscape Photography: Why it’s still relevant today appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

The journey to this photo started at Isolation Lake in the Upper Enchantments Core. We decided to take a jaunt up to the summit of Little Annapurna, break down camp and head down to the Perfection Lake area to set up camp. The weather had been really nice all morning through the early afternoon but as we entered the Enchantments Core the clouds started to roll in and the weather was starting to turn. Believe it or not I actually pretty stoked about it as the sun had been out in full force without a cloud in sight for two days; not the best photographic conditions for sunrise and sunset photos. After navigating some pretty ridiculous terrain we set up camp just above Perfection Lake. Our campsite was set up on a series of flat granite slabs, very exposed to the elements and to the massive amount of goats in the area.

I scouted out this prime location for what I had hoped to be an awesome sunset. I ended up waiting for a long time, a very long time for the conditions to break up enough for some nice light. I was camped out on a pretty small rock, surrounded by angry goats in the middle of this waterfall that dumps into the lake below. Okay so maybe they weren’t exactly angry but there were a couple big guys that frankly freaked me out a bit. Lucky enough for us they pretty much did their own thing. Toward the end of the sunset we finally got some really nice light which made all of the standing around, freezing our butts off well worth the wait. That night I was in my bivvy camped out on the exposed slabs when one of the most intense thunderstorms I’ve ever experienced rolled through.

Let me preface this by saying I’ve been through some pretty damn intense storms but this one genuinely freaked me out a bit. The thunder and lightning were pretty much right on top of each other and our awesome choice to set up camp was right in the middle of it. Awesome. I seriously contemplated getting out to snag some shots, but quickly realized what a horrible idea that was being that we were so exposed so I decided to hunker down. My next fear was that the stream I was next to was going to overflow and wipe me out; thankfully that didn’t happen but the amount of rain that was coming down sure as hell made me think otherwise. It was pretty epic to say the least and to this day I still don’t know how we managed to get out of it unscathed. Never a dull moment in the Enchantments.

Perfection Lake, Enchantments Core, WA

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This image was taken in a hidden canyon in Zion, Utah

I love Iceland and Patagonia, but I have to say, seeing the same compositions from famous locations, albeit in different shooting conditions, over and over again is driving me absolutely crazy. In a broader sense, those locations aside, it really begs the question; is creativity dead? I know that some locations are very limited compositionally and I know that there can be other physical limitations as well, but I think that we as photographers owe it to ourselves to do better. I think many of us see those all to famous compositions while researching these well-known locations and we make a subconscious mental note to snag that shot. I think it even goes further than that; even seeing a captivating image from these locations forces us to put subconscious creative blinders on because we have to have that photo in our portfolio.

I’m not saying that we need to write off those ‘bucket list’ shots, because they do serve a purpose from a marketing and sales standpoint. What I am saying though, is that I think allowing sales and marketing to limit us creatively is doing a serious disservice not only to the progression of the field, but to our own personal progression as photographers and teachers as well.

When I first started out in photography I made the mistake of going after familiar compositions because well, it’s easy to do. It’s easy to see an amazing image from someone that inspires you and to gravitate toward immolating it. I think that we’ve all done this to some degree at some point in our careers. The question is; how do we break free from that mindset?

Personally, I have been working a lot harder as of late to shoot scenes in new and creative ways using different focal lengths and creative means to get myself out of any creative slump that I may encounter and to steer myself away from compositionally iconic images. Whether it be using a drone to gain a new perspective or using a super telephoto lens to pick out elements in a scene that speak to us, I think that it’s time to move on from the stereo typical compositions and to seek out something fresh and innovative. 

The best part about pushing yourself to try new things is that you don’t have to fly to Iceland or Patagonia to do it. Many of these opportunities can be found in your own backyard. The Pacific Northwest is an excellent example of this. There’s a never-ending supply of not only iconic locations, but also new and inspiring locations in our region. Seeking something new and different isn’t supposed to be easy. You have to work for it and the path won’t always be straight and narrow, but it’s the journey itself that I find to be one of the most inspiring parts to this whole process. In the past year alone I’ve seen a fairly marked change in the ways that I approach any given scene photographically. I think that forcing myself to move from what’s comfortable has expanded my creativity and has pushed me to move in different directions photographically.  

My challenge to myself, as this new year swings into full gear, is to push myself and to motivate others to push the field to new heights, creatively. Go to familiar locations and diverge from what’s easy, find new locations and explore them. I know that there’s more to be seen beyond the status quo and it’s up to us to push ourselves to find it.       

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Can you believe that 2016 has already come and gone? As the New Year approaches I decided to take some time to reflect on what 2016 has meant to me and just where I see myself heading in 2017. To say that 2016 was a big year for me would be an understatement. I got married, photographed a fairly large chunk of southern Utah, experienced shooting lava on the Big Island, spent a fair amount of time shooting locations around my home in Washington state and started working full-time for DPReview. I definitely have a lot to be grateful for this year and it’s going to be hard to top 2016, although I’m definitely going to give it a run for its money!

Photographically speaking this year was full of ups and downs. Between my career change and the wedding, I had a lot on my plate, which meant that I definitely had to make the most out of every photographic opportunity that presented itself this past year. This meant that I had to buckle down, focus and get creative. Additionally, if that wasn’t enough, I decided to try to reshape my personal image of what ‘popular’ photography is and what it means to me. 

I spent a lot of time this year reflecting on just why we create photos, why we go through the hours of driving, shooting and processing the images that we share. This year, more than ever, I realized just how important it is to shoot for yourself and to really create images that offer not only personal satisfaction, but also a sense of place, a sense of being and a story. Photography shouldn’t be about epic light and who got the best conditions in any given year, it should be about personal progression and overcoming adversity.

As photographers, we often dwell so much on what’s popular on social media or if a photo will sell that we often lose track of why we got started in the first place. I spent a lot of time soul searching this year and really asking myself why I create the images that I do and just what I hope to accomplish with them. My images may not always be ‘what’s popular’ or ‘what’s main stream’, but that’s not my end goal; my goal is to create work that inspires myself and others to try something new and to look beyond the lens.

Looking Beyond the Lens

Looking beyond the lens is something that I think that we all need to do from time to time. Put down the camera and just take it all in. This became even more apparent when I was out on the lava field shooting the ocean entry where new land was being created right before my eyes. My family has a long history in Hawai’i; we immigrated to the islands in mid to late 1800’s. To say that seeing the lava entering the sea was a spiritual experience would be an understatement. My connection with Aina, the land, my ohana and the culture made me realize just how small we are in this world and to really respect the time that we have to take it all in. Photography has opened my eyes to a lot of things this year, but that was one particular thing that has persisted and will for the remainder of my life.  

In order to develop my photographic vision this year and to look beyond the lens, I spent a lot of time behind my Canon 70-3oomm F4-5.6L IS telephoto lens. Minimizing scenes with long focal lengths really forces you to think outside of the box and to look beyond the lens in order to really break a grand scene down into its parts. Many of the grand scenes that we take in are only so because of the sum of their parts. Each portion of the scene can tell a story; it’s up to the photographer to decide how to decipher the story and how to present a portion of the scene that can stand on its own.

This can be extremely challenging and it definitely takes some time and a great deal of trial and error to come up with a methodology that works. This is something that I’m planning to do a lot more in 2017 as I’m looking to expand my reach to around 600mm to really capture some unique compositions.

Setting Goals

As this year comes to a close I find that it’s a great time to not only reflect personally, but to also take in all of the work that your favorite photographers have published as well. Education in photography is a never-ending process. I find myself constantly yearning to learn new things all of the time. In the end your personal progress is only hindered by the creative walls that you put up. You have the ability to do whatever you set your mind to and in 2017 I plan to to push myself even harder in that respect. Have a very happy New Year, everyone! Best of luck to you in 2017!

The post 2016: A photographic year in review appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

[See image gallery at cwexplorationphotography.com]

This is a story from our trip out to the Kalapana G61 ocean entry near Pahoa, Hawai’i. My wife and I ventured to the Big Island for our honeymoon and it was a trip that neither of us will ever forget!

First off I have to send out a huge mahalo to bruddah Bruce from Extreme Exposures, because without him this image wouldn’t have been possible. If you’re ever on the big island definitely look up Bruce and Tom- two of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. I also have to thank my amazing wife Kelcee for putting up with my shenanigans and getting up at 12:30am to go shoot lava. She was a trooper!

There’s a story that goes with this one and it’s a bit of a doozy. Ever since I was a kid my dad always told me stories about things that my grandfather had seen when he was growing up in the islands- everything from menehunes to the occasional spirit. I was hesitant to believe a lot of that stuff, but I had never gotten to truly experience anything quite like that first hand. This trip changed that.

The post Hawaii: The Land of Lava and Waterfalls appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

I decided to take a jaunt up to Mt. Rainier during some rather questionable weather conditions. I was really inspired to shoot the mountain in a different way that I haven’t really seen done before.  The conditions made the shooting difficult, but I was able to come away with a handful of images that I think really depict the beauty and detail that can be found in and around the mountain.

[See image gallery at cwexplorationphotography.com]

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I’ve been reflecting a lot lately about how much personal style and taste has changed over the years.  I’ve found myself really refining and in some cases dialing back the way I process images.  When I first entered the field in 2012 I was absolutely blown away by the stuff I would see on 500px, Flickr and Facebook.  So much so that I would often try to imitate not only the types of shots but the editing style as well.  The problem is no one can REALLY shoot that type of scene like the person who innovated the process or refined their own personal style.

You can nearly always tell when someone has taken a skype lesson or a tutorial from an artist with their own personal flare; as it resonates with the image.  The problem is what people fail to realize is that these lessons and learned skills are just tools to your own creative process.  Too often I see folks limiting themselves to what they see on 500px or what they’ve been taught.

Something that I wish someone would have told me when I first got my start is to be inspired by others but to also develop your own unique style. Learn from the images you see, but don’t limit yourself to their constraints.  Find your own voice and let your photos speak for you.  It really comes down to is a simple question; who are you shooting for?  Are you shooting for yourself or are you shooting for likes and publicity?  What motivates you?  To find your own voice through your images you have to dig deep into your creative process.

Don’t strive to be different, but strive to be you.  I think too often we push ourselves so hard to nail the shot or to think outside the box that we miss the mark all together.  I’ve said it before, but I think it bears repeating; imitation is a form of flattery, but at what cost to your own creative process?

Personal growth is something that I think never really stops in photography.  I look back at my images from even two years ago and cringe.  I think we’ve all been there.  As much as it hurts my eyes to look back through my work it is rewarding in a lot of ways.  It’s fun to see how far you’ve come not only compositionally but also in processing as well.  We are constantly learning.  As the tools improve our skill sets will shift in an inevitable ebb and flow, but your creativity and innovation will always be your foundation.

The creative process is how we all grow individually as photographers. It’s how we develop the style that sets us apart from the masses and it’s how we breathe life into our images.  Know your shortcomings and work to improve in those areas.  Is there a particular type of scene in landscape photography that poses a weakness to you?  Shoot the hell out of it.  Learn the ins and outs of it and improve where improvement is needed, refine where refinement is needed and don’t give in to your self doubts.  No one can dictate your success.

Egos

One of the things that perplexes me the most about landscape photographers is the sheer volume of arrogance and ego that seemingly go hand in hand with success.  Folks seem to forget that at one point in time no one knew their name, their post processing probably needed work and their images lacked interest, yet those same folks stand a top their soap boxes and intimidate the hell out of anyone whom they feel is wrong or may have crossed the line.  Let’s face it.  In the digital age the lines that define fine art and true photography are blurred.  It’s a very, very messy subject and one that I don’t want to get involved with quite frankly.  Everyone has an opinion on the matter and every social media thread seems to end up in the exact same place; you do you and I’ll do me.  In some cases, yes, things need to be addressed; like when Marc drops a sky and the internet loses their collective minds for instance.

Overall though, I think we owe it to ourselves as photographers to support one another, drop the cliques and help the field progress in a positive manner.  So much of what I read on social media is so toxic; people are bashing and belittling each other left and right.  Is that really what the field has come to?  Instead of spending so much time focusing on negativity how about we work to progress our art and push the field in a positive direction.  Forget your egos and pick up a camera, the field will be better for it.

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Developing an eye for composition in landscape photography is something that takes a great deal of time and practice in the field.  Sure, some folks don’t have to work as hard but you’ve got to put the hours in behind the lens to really gain a solid understanding of what elements make for a strong composition.  I can’t tell you how many times early in my career I completely botched a composition or just missed the mark all together.  One thing that I’ve learned over time is that you absolutely have to pre-visualize your shot.  How do you want to process it?  What elements do you want in the scene?  Where are your foreground elements? Leading lines? Focal point? What direction is the light entering your frame?  Does it work?  Does your composition look balanced? Do you have complementary colors throughout the image?  Is there symmetry or are there patterns present? Is the image interesting?  These are all questions that constantly fill my head when I’m in the field.  Now the question I’m sure you’re asking is “How in the world do I do that when everything is changing, the conditions are deteriorating and the good light is slowly burning out??”

I know it sounds complicated but I promise you; it’s not nearly as bad as it seems.  Pre visualizing the shot starts with four key elements – the direction of the light, the focal point, the foreground and the leading line(s). The focal point is often the first thing that your eye gravitates toward.  It could be a waterfall, a mountain or even a stand of trees.  If your eye gravitates toward it chances are it may serve as a good focal point to build your composition around.  The next step in the process is to look for a leading line that guides your eye through the scene to your focal point.

The ‘line’ is figurative of course.  It can be a rock formation, a river, a series of interesting trees, vegetation or foliage, flowers, or even a trail.  Choosing the correct leading line can have a large impact on your image.  It is important to note though that the leading line may not work depending upon the direction of the light in the scene.  All of the elements need to work together to form a pleasing composition. Let the light guide your eye to the focal point in the image.  Shadows and light play a huge role in guiding your eye through the scene and, when used correctly, can add a great deal of depth and interest to your photo.  Choosing the correct foreground (FG) can have a large impact on the success of your image.  I always try to choose a FG that offers a complementary color palette to the other elements in the scene such as the sky or mountains. Ted Gore published an excellent article on color theory so I won’t get too far into it here.  It’s safe to say that utilizing color theory correctly can really have a profound effect on the outcome of your image.

Texture and Layers

Texture is not something that’s often discussed in composition but I think that it’s crucially important to strengthening your composition.  Water texture is a solid example of this.  In some cases, soft water texture will work extremely well to give an image full of elements with an abundance of harsh textures such as rock and sand a more dynamic and ying/yang feel.  Texture can also convey a nice sense of movement as well.  Taking a shorter exposure of water for instance can add a great deal of movement to the scene. Balancing texture can be tricky but very useful.  I personally like to include elements that offer a variety of textures that work well together.  For instance; if you’ve got a series of jagged mountain peaks with clouds that lack interest try using a long exposure to convey movement and add a soft blurred look in the sky to contrast the sheer rock and ice. 

Utilize vegetation such as ferns, flowers or trees to add a contrast in texture to elements such as smooth rock, sand, fog or snow.  One of the reasons that foggy tree shots tend to work so well is the play on not only contrast but textures as well.  The jagged trees jutting out through the smooth rolling clouds and fog add a ton of interest to the image.  Texture can also be useful in setting up leading lines in a photograph. It can add depth, help with framing and ultimately solidify an already strong composition. Pay attention to the textures that are in the vicinity of where you’re shooting.  Look for ways to bring them into the scene to add balance and interest. The addition of texture, if used correctly, can draw your viewers into your image and ultimately help to shape the overall delivery of your work.

Layering on the other hand is a very popular theme in landscape photography- composing an image to bring layers and depth into the frame can add a lot of interest to your photo and can make it stand out from the crowd. I always try to add a bit of layering in my composition- even clouds and fog can add depth and interest. One way to go about doing this is to shoot in portrait mode. Shooting in portrait mode can compress the composition and can add depth by compressing the foreground, middle ground and background into ‘layers’. The other way to do this is to use longer lenses and telephoto work can often compress the scene and achieve some of the same things goals mentioned above.

Go wide or go home, right?

In truth this is a very loaded discussion, but if you’ve been paying attention to trends in landscape photography you will have seen a slight shift toward subtle, intimate and sometimes abstract scenes shot at longer focal lengths.  Shooting landscape images with long lenses (focal lengths that range anywhere between 70-400mm+) can be very challenging but a lot of the same aspects of shooting grand scenes can still be applied in many ways. Layering, light, leading lines, patterns, color profiles and a focal point all play a huge part in making a smaller scene seem grand and inviting.  Balancing these elements can be tricky given the constraints that a longer focal length can impose but the rewards can be plentiful!

When shooting scenes such as this, one of the first things I look for is depth followed by layering, framing and light.  If you see a focal point or a subject that looks amazing but lacks a solid foreground or is minimized a great deal by a wide angle lens, then you may want to switch things up and go for a longer focal length.  Zooming in on your subject can dramatically change the way the scene looks i.e. the presentation of light and contrast, the depth and the overall feeling that the image may convey.  Shooting longer focal lengths can also take a well known scene and transform it into something that almost renders it unrecognizable even to frequent visitors.

In the field I often mount the telephoto lens/camera combo on my tripod and pan throughout the scene using your viewfinder as a guide.  If you see something that really captures your eye or that you find yourself going back to snag an image of it! Don’t be afraid to experiment; play with the different focal lengths available to you.  Zoom in and out on a subject to see what looks best.  Take multiple images of the same subject at different focal lengths; you may find that one works overwhelmingly better when you begin your editing process and trust me you will kick yourself if you don’t have options to look at.

Information Overload

Personally, I think that one of the biggest issues that landscape photographers face in the field is information overload.  I think it’s happened to everyone at some point in their photographic careers.  It’s the point when you arrive at a location that you didn’t have time to scout, the light is going off and you’re completely overwhelmed.  You know you’ve got to nail down a strong composition in a short amount of time but where to do you even start? No pressure at all, right?  First things first; breathe! Take a deep breath and take in the scene.  Where’s the light coming from?  What focal point does your eye focus on?

Break down the scene and put it back together; does it have nice flow?  Does the sum of the parts contribute to the whole?  Don’t get fixated on one solid composition.  Look for alternatives. Take your camera off of the tripod and look through the viewfinder or use live-view.  Move around and get a quick feel for the different options that the scene may provide.  When I’m trying to determine how to put my composition together I look for depth, layering, curves and strong points of interest to guide my eye through the frame.  Remember that there are no rules in art, as in photography.  Placing constraints around your style and vision will only serve to hinder your personal development as a photographer and an artist.

Final Thoughts on Composition

In the end you are the artist and the photographer.  Be inspired by others but also develop your own unique style and eye for composition.  Imitation is a form of flattery but at what cost to your own creative process?  We are bombarded with inspirational content on what seems to be a weekly if not daily basis.  Learn from the images you see but don’t limit yourself to their constraints.  Find your own voice in composition and you will succeed.

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Here’s a moody black and white image of a gorgeous sunset at Ruby Beach, WA

Prior to starting this project I had worked with various monochrome techniques (producing photos with one hue of color such as blue) but I had never really, truly worked within the constraints of a true black and white framework.  I’ve always loved traditional black and white landscape photography but for personal reasons I always felt that I couldn’t fully convey the mood, the light and the overall atmosphere that I try to capture in my work.  It turns out that I was completely wrong.  I think that working within the constraints of a black and white medium really forces you to pay attention to the light, the contrast and the tonality in your RAW images.  A lot of folks tend to think that black and white photography is too old school or that you can’t apply today’s techniques to that art form or that it’s just bland. That stigma can largely be attributed to the way we view photography in social media today.  Everyone has become such a mass consumer of images, videos and other media that anything that lacks color or is subtle in nature tends to get overlooked.  I know that folks in the landscape photography community tend to pay attention to those subtle things, but as a whole I think that most folks love seeing the photos that pop and scream “Look at me!!”.

Black and white photography is not easy and it’s not for the faint of heart.  I actually think that working within the medium itself forces you to take big risks since it will only appeal to a select number of individuals outside of the landscape and fine art community.  I think the biggest reason for this is that the market has been saturated by folks that simply click a filter setting in their camera or do a quick change to black and white using Silver Efex or the built in Photoshop or Lightroom plugins that they may not have seen a true fine art black and white image.  I’m not knocking the use of these tools; in fact I think that they are a great starting place, but you definitely have to move beyond those plugins and understand that black and white images can offer just as much complexity in shadows, light, contrast and tone as their counterparts do in color.  Shifting your mindset and artistic vision is critically important to understanding the complex subtleties that black and white images implore and in doing so I hope that your eyes will be opened to the possibilities within the medium. 

An Experiment in Light

Breathless in Mono, Glacier National Park, Montana

When I first started working within the medium of black and white landscape photography one of the initial challenges that I came across was how to portray light, mood and atmosphere that I look to achieve in color images in a black and white framework.  I took many of the same techniques that I employ in my normal photos over to a monochrome framework and some worked and well some didn’t.  I think the toughest thing to accomplish is giving your monochrome images the same depth and dynamic range that you see in color images.  In order to do this I utilized luminosity masks, various high contrast layers, dodging and burning and my own version of a black and white conversion.

My process is a bit drawn out but my first steps always involve editing an image in color first to really get a feel for the light play, the shadow complexities and the overall mood and atmosphere of the image.  I then try to gain the same results within the black and white medium.  I think that first editing the photo as you would in color really allows you to breath more life into your monochrome or traditional black and white images.  Ansel Adams, Sebastian Salgado and even the painter Albert Bierstadt all utilized techniques to emphasize light and to show contrast and light play between the sources of light and darkness in the medium they were working in.  Putting emphasis on light and dark while maintaining a level of detail is really one of the best ways to give your monochrome photos a more dynamic and three dimensional feel.

What Photos Work Well in Monochrome?

Beauty Within in Mono, Mt. St. Helens, WA

This is honestly a pretty loaded question.  I think that all photos can work well in monochrome, to a certain extent, dependent upon how you process them and what your final artistic vision is for the photo. I think the ones that work the best though are photos that are dynamic in light, shadows and contrast.  Photos that achieve a great deal of depth through layering and photos that may not have that dynamic color range that you’re looking for.  Typically we are used to seeing extremely long exposure seascapes or just images that involve water in general portrayed in black and white because the soft tones and exposure settings really lend themselves to portrayal in monochrome.  That stigma has definitely begun to shift as folks like Luke Austin, Marc Adamus and Alister Benn present their fine art images within a black and white framework and I think that we may start seeing a resurgence in the treatment itself.  Many of their images depict that photos of all types can work well within the medium and that portrayal of light, mood, atmosphere and detail can be just as effective in a world without color.

I think the bottom line is don’t be afraid to think outside of the box and to try new techniques.  Personally, I find that working outside of my comfort zone forces me to become a more well rounded artist and it also forces me to change my perception on a number of things in the landscape photography field and community.

If all else fails if you’re not happy with how a photo is turning out in color, try editing it in monochrome; you might be pleasantly surprised by the outcome.

The post An Experiment in Black and White Landscape Photography appeared first on Chris Williams Exploration Photography.

Although I’ve touched upon the topic of social media and its impact on landscape photography before in a previous post: LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MEDIA: A BLESSING AND A CURSE; I felt that it was important enough to add a bit more discussion and depth to the topic.

Mass Media and Consumption

Smoldering Embers – Mt St Helens – This is a perfect example of shot that I just had to get. I honestly love this area so I did this for a number of personal reasons as well.

The world of Landscape Photography is getting more and more crowded by the second.  Facebook, Instagram and several mass upload photography sites have inundated the fine art photography world with mountains and mountains of well for lack of a better word; crap.  Getting noticed and gaining relevance in this day and age is extremely difficult given the current environment we find ourselves in.  With that said the question that really stands to be asked is; why bother? Why bother pursuing a career in a field that has ultimately been consumed by copycat photographers who post the same compositions that have been shot hundreds of thousands of times over?  Patagonia, Norway, Iceland you name it are all being inundated by photographers chasing that one epic shot that everyone else has.  So, why struggle? Why fight? Why take photos at all?

I’ll be the first to say that I’ve been there; I see a photo online and I go ‘I NEED to get to that location, that’s completely insane!’.  I’ve done that more times than I can count.  With that said however how do you separate yourself from the thousands that came before you once you get to THAT location?  Why would you want to add to the never ending flow of comp stomps and stigmas that come with landscape photography?  I think the answer to all of these questions is simple and it boils down to one word; innovation.

Innovation is Key

For me innovation is key; it separates you from the masses and allows your photos to rise to the top.  For many of us photography is our escape. our passion and our way to reconnect with ourselves but I admit that it can be quite frustrating at times as well.  As artists we can all hit mental blocks in our creative process and photographic highs and lows.  Something as simple as changing your lens can open up a huge variety of possibilities. Thinking outside the box in regard to shooting, processing and marketing are all key to forming and maintaining a successful business and keeping the creative juices flowing.  With that said it all boils down to one thing; the photos.  They have to resonate with people; you need to make an emotional impact from the first time a potential client sees your work.  Most of all they have to resonate with YOU and make YOU happy.  The minute that photography becomes ‘work’ is the minute that you need to take a step back and really re-evaluate why you started down this journey in the first place.

Winter’s Embrace- Snoqualmie Pass, WA

The field is crowded and it’s only going to get worse as technology improves and more more people purchase their first DSLR.  I don’t look at this as a bad thing necessarily; I look at it as more of a challenge.  I actually enjoy going to overshot locations in hopes of finding some new way to present a well photographed scene.  Take your camera off of the tripod and play with different compositions; move around! Get excited about the scene!  That’s what photography is all about; feeling the energy of the moment and just having fun.  If you’re not passionate about your work it will show in your photos.  Not every photo is going to resonate with everyone but the key is that you pushed yourself outside of your comfort zone and tried something new.

History and Trends

Although many of us complain about the sheer volume of photos available today and how dilute the market has become we have to realize that this has ALWAYS happened in art throughout history.  Think about the various art movements in landscape work throughout history.  In the 1800’s artists like Brandt, Vedel, Monet and Millet all carved their niche in a very popular field of naturalism which eventually gave way to impressionism and artists like VanGogh.  Tens of thousands of paintings flooded the market during that time in an attempt to imitate the style that was sweeping the globe.  The only difference is that they weren’t nearly as visible as they are today thanks to social media and the internet.  Imitation really is a form of flattery; but directly knocking off someone else’s work is really detrimental not only to the photographer but also the field as a whole.

I’ve learned an absolute ton from photographers like my good friend Ryan Dyar.  He carved his niche in the industry by giving his photos a distinct look and feel in his post processing work along with very strong and unique compositions.  Take one look at the crowded field of landscape photography today and you can see just how much his work still resonates with photographers all over the world.  Ryan first introduced me to several different painters who’s work he really learned a great deal from.  One of those painters was Albert Bierstadt from the Hudson River School (along with other artists like Frederic Church).

The Central Cascades, Snoqualmie, WA

The way Albert portrayed light, atmosphere and mood in his paintings directly influences a lot of what I do today in my work and I think that his work indirectly influences a lot of the great photographers in the field today.  His paintings almost had a cinematic quality to them; like something you would see out of the films adapted from Tolkien’s books.  His style (as well as the style of other painters from the Hudson River School) is still very relevant today and whether photographers realize it or not, still has a huge impact on the field.  There are many imitators out there but only you can take the steps necessary to break away from the trends in photography.

Separating yourself from the crowd in post processing and understanding the fundamentals of photography is key.  I’ve discussed this quite a bit in some of my other posts about abstract photography and intimate scenes but it is very, very important.  Developing your own unique style of presenting, editing, and shooting your images is extremely important to personal satisfaction and overall success in the field.

I think all too often we succumb to trends and patterns that we are exposed to on a daily basis thanks to sites like 500px  but it’s our job as photographers to keep things fresh and to keep the creative juices flowing.

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains by Albert Bierstadt. You can definitely see his influence of light, mood and atmosphere on modern day landscape photography today.

Avoiding the Pitfalls

Into the Unknown- I definitely channeled Marc Adamus’ For Eternity image in the processing of this one. This was taken at sunset and it’s a single shot at 300mm taken from Snoqualmie Ridge. There’s an airfield near by and I was lucky enough to catch one of the planes taking off into the sunset.

The competition that social media can lead to can stunt the personal growth of a photographer in a big way.  I personally don’t look at other photographers as challengers or as the field as a whole as a competition. I think we tend to get so blinded and frustrated by the success of others that we lose focus of our own creative process.  I think that it’s important to let other photographers inspire you! Inspiration is the key to innovation; you absolutely have to let go of jealousy, animosity or anything else that might be harmful to your own personal growth as a photographer.  I think it’s also important for folks that are just entering the field to realize that sometimes criticism and critiques can be a good thing! I’ve been there.  I’ve had my photos torn apart by Marc Adamus who is practically a God among landscape photographers.  It made me feel sick to my stomach at the time but  I can honestly say that it made me a better photographer.  It forced me to grow out of my comfort zone and to develop my own style and presentation of my work.  Don’t let yourself fall into the trends and styles of shooting that have been made popular by mass media.  Develop your own style and you will succeed.  Nothing is easy; I’m still learning and developing as photographer on a daily basis but I think the key is to stay humble and to keep yourself motivated.  Sometimes my shots turn out and sometimes I’m absolutely kicking myself for not going about them in a different way.  It’s part of the creative process and it’s all part of the journey to becoming that photographer that you’ve always aspired to be.

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