The Fisheye Lens - A Different Perspective

Back in January I purchased a fisheye lens, thinking it would give me a new way to look at the world, but it mostly sat in my camera bag for the first few months, waiting for me to take the plunge and start experimenting with my new toy...

This first shot was taken at Kachina Bridge in Natural Bridges National Monument in southern Utah, during a trip to the area last April.  I had brought my fisheye lens along for the hike down to the arches on a whim, and I was glad that I did.  In several instances the scene was so expansive that the only way I could include an arch in its entirety was to use the fisheye, with its sweeping 180 degree angle of view.  For this shot I walked through Kachina Bridge and looked back, pushing in tight to use the bridge as a natural frame for the photo.

This was taken at the Big Tesuque Campground in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above Santa Fe last September, a great place to catch the trees as they begin the transition from vibrant summer green to the more colorful hues of autumn.  Normally a fisheye lens introduces too much curvature to a scene, unless held relatively level to the horizon, but it can also be useful in that when tilted it "warps" the scene and introduces excessive curvature which can lend an "artistic" look to the scene.  With this shot I was looking straight up, and I stopped down the lens to get a nice sunburst on the sun rising over the ridge in the background.  

I took this shot of Broken Arch in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, last October.  I climbed up pretty close to the arch and simply "looked through" the arch when taking this shot.  Again, since the fisheye lens was tilted slightly upwards, it emphasized the curvature of the arch.

During that same trip to the Moab area last October I also did a morning shoot at Grand View Point in Canyonlands National Park.  After several minutes of shooting, once the sun had clearly broken the horizon, I switched out lenses to the fisheye and took a few shots.  I liked the look the fisheye lent to the scene, the slight curve of the horizon emphasizing the grand scale of the scene (and I'm always in love with the sunburst I get when using the fisheye).  Later, when processing the shot in Adobe Lightroom, I cropped the scene into a narrower landscape look since this fitted the feeling I was trying to convey, the broad expanse of the canyon lands.   

Last month I was on an assignment at Georgia O'Keefe's Ghost Ranch near Abiquiu, New Mexico: a morning shoot at the labyrinth.  After I got the shots I needed, I put my fisheye lens on and took a few more shots, getting close and kneeling down, trying to get a shot that took in the labyrinth in its entirely, emphasizing the circular patterns, incorporating a sunburst in the background.

A few weeks ago I went back to the Route 66 Auto Museum in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, specifically with the intent of using the fisheye lens.  For this shot I was literally two feet from the front of this old coupe, with the lens slightly tilted down to add a little "warped perspective" to the scene.  

It took a little while for me to explore the use of the fisheye lens, and it's not a look that suits every scene, but when the time is right, I love the aesthetic it gives a scene....

All photos taken with a Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10.5 DX Fisheye lens

View my online portfolio and purchase prints here

Looking For A Distinctive Gift?

Looking for a gift with a WOW! factor? How about a Ready-To-Hang Mounted Print?! Any photo on my website can be printed on Kodak Endura Professional Metallic paper for that rich distinctive metallic look, mounted on 3/16" black gatorboard for a lightweight alternative to framing. That and more are available at: www.kevinschafferphotography.com

This photo was taken at the Buck Canyon Overlook in Canyonlands National Park outside of Moab, Utah, in October 2014.  I was using a Nikon D7000 camera body with a Nikkor 10.5mm Fisheye lens.

2015 Calendar Preview

This year I'm selling a calendar with an Alaskan theme, featuring a baker's dozen of photographs (when you include the cover) that I've taken since I took up photography  (you can order yours here).  With today's post I thought I'd share a sampling of the images that are in the calendar - in no particular order - with a little background of where and when they were taken.

This is the photo I used for the cover.  This was taken at Crow Creek Mine in Girdwood.  In the 30 plus years I lived in Alaska, I never made it to Crow Creek Mine, but during my recent trip back to Alaska, I made the time to stop in and take a look.  While walking around the grounds I spotted this truck: a 1929 Model A Ford.  The  morning dew melting off the truck, the flower box under the front bumper, the shack in the background made for a nice composition... This was taken September 2014...

One morning during that same trip back to Alaska I drove to Seward, hoping to be in position to shoot before the sun rose.  A few miles outside of Seward I was driving past Bear Lake when I saw the reflection of the mountains in the water, and I quickly pulled over to take a few shots.  Normally, I don't compose a photo with the horizon line in the middle of the frame, but here I wanted to give equal weight to the mountains and their reflection.  This and the photo below were also taken in last September...

That same morning in Seward I started out by walking the docks of the boat harbor.  As the light filled the sky, its reflection began to fall across the early morning's water, and soon the sun broke the horizon.  I stopped to take this photo, crouching down to emphasize the metallic reflection in the water.  

This photo was taken at Independence Mine at Hatcher's Pass north of Palmer.   When we arrived, the whole area was cloaked in a shroud of fog which started to lift as the sun rose higher in the sky.  I've always liked the moodiness of this shot.  Mining was so integral to the exploration and settling of Alaska that I wanted to include a photo that represented this part of the state's history.  Taken August 2012...

Autumn, often fleeting in Alaska, but magnificent while it lasts...  This was taken while walking along the shore at Eklutha Lake north of Anchorage.  I consider this to be one of my first successful attempts at composition, a shot where I took the time to carefully frame the scene and actually had an end result in mind.  Taken September 2008...

Last, but certainly not least, Mount McKinley.  Denali, the Great One...  This photo was taken at the first pullout on the road that winds through Denali National Park where Mt. McKinley - weather permitting - can typically be seen.  A great vantage point, if a bit crowded...  September 2014... 

With a subject as beautiful and expansive and varied as Alaska, trying to narrow it down to a dozen selections was a task filled with much internal debate, but that's a good dilemma to have...

You can purchase a calendar here

View my online portfolio, purchase prints and other merchandise here

Route 66 - Holbrook to Williams

Route 66.  The Mother Road.  Main Street of America.  Immortalized in movies, television, and song, stretching from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California, the mention of Route 66 conjures thoughts of Americana, nostalgia, the good 'ole days, the open road, and the great American road trip.  Once the road West, now bypassed and chopped up and alternately decaying or reinventing itself depending on where you cross its path, Route 66 remains a photographer's dream, presenting images of communities clinging to the past or frozen in time in an attempt to profit off of an enduring sense of nostalgia for yesterday, or broken dreams that couldn't survive the upheaval of changing patterns of traffic and life that the Interstate highway system brought to the land.   

This past week my wife and I had the chance to drive along or near a large stretch of Route 66, from Santa Fe into much of Arizona.  I knew that given the constraints of time I wouldn't be able to stop and take photos of everything that caught my eye, but I did make an effort to capture a few images.  All of this was done in a relatively short span from Holbrook to Williams, 127 miles of mostly open road through northern Arizona.

First stop was Holbrook, home of the Wigwam Motel, which is listing on the National Register of Historic Places and still open for business.  In addition to the "unique" accommodations, the parking lot is littered with numerous classic cars in various states of repair.  

One of the challenges of photographing the cars at the Wigwam Motel is the cluttered background.  In addition to the classic cars and wigwams are the hotel that sits at the rear of the property, numerous power lines, and other distractions.  One approach I took to work around this was to go with a shallow of depth of field (blurring the background a bit) and concentrating on photographing details like this hood ornament on a 1954 Pontiac Star Chief.

Next stop was Winslow.  This is a wide shot of Standin' on the Corner Park,  commemorating the Eagles song "Take It Easy" (which famously mentions Winslow).  The sun was behind me so I couldn't avoid getting the shadow of the light pole in the shot, but I still enjoyed checking out this landmark.

About 15 miles west of Winslow is the Meteor City Trading Post, which sits on a strip of frontage road (which is actually an old stretch of Route 66).  Once known as the home of the "World's Largest Map of Route 66" (now gone) and the "World's Largest Dream Catcher," the trading post consists of a large geodesic dome sporting a Mohawk, the dream catcher, several "teepees," and numerous large pieces of petrified wood which line the parking area.  Unfortunately the trading post closed in December 2012 and is quickly falling into disarray from the elements and the vandals.

About 20 miles further west sits the Twin Arrows Trading Post and cafe.  Despite having been given its own exit off of Interstate 40, this piece of Americana was last in operation in 1995.  Another place that's slowly falling into disarray...

Last stop, Williams.  In Williams lies the last stretch of Route 66 to be bypassed by the Interstate highway system (in October 1984).  This town has successfully reinvented itself as a keeper of the memories of Route 66 - no doubt helped by its location as the terminus of the Grand Canyon Railway (which takes travelers by train to the south rim of the Grand Canyon), making Williams the "Gateway to the Grand Canyon."  Driving down Route 66 in town, the pink and white Ford Fairlane sitting outside of Twisters 50's Soda Fountain caught my eye...

Route 66.  A fading memory.  But still there if you look...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 10-24 DX (Holbrook photos), Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (all others)
View my online portfolio here

Guide To Ordering

The website that hosts my online portfolio has recently made some changes to how photos and other merchandise are ordered.  In light of these changes I thought the time was right to put together a blog post that outlined the ordering process.  Note: You can click on any of the photos below to see a full screen version.

Before I dive in, I'd like to say that if you have any questions please feel free to contact me through the "Contact" link on my website (located at the top).  I would be happy to answer any question you may have.

When you go to my website (www.kevinschafferphotography.com) you will come to the landing page.  There are several buttons in the top center menu.  To view the photo galleries on the site, click the "Galleries" button.  

After clicking on the "Galleries" button, you'll see five Galleries: "American Southwest," "Alaska," "Pacific Northwest," "Great Plains," and "Hawaii."  To view the photos in a gallery click anywhere on the gallery's photo. In this example we'll chose the "Alaska" gallery.

After clicking on the "Alaska" gallery, you'll be taken to that gallery.  When you're in a  gallery, you can scroll down to look through all of the photos.  You can also click on the "Buy Photo" button as seen here.  This is useful if you'd like to purchase multiple photos from a gallery at the same time.

If you click on the "Buy Photo" button you'll get two options: "Photos from this gallery" or "Create a card."  In this example we'll choose "Photos from this gallery."  

When you select this option you will see a thumbnail list of all the photos in the gallery with pricing information.  Click on the photo (or photos, you can select multiple photos) you would like to purchase (it will now have a white border around it), then click on the "Change Product" button to select the size and type of paper for the photo you would like to purchase.

Here we will select a 8x12 Glossy Print.  You could also order a "Keepsake" like a photo puzzle, or purchase a "Download" of a file to use, for example, in a Powerpoint presentation or as your desktop wallpaper.

After choosing the product (an 8x12 Glossy Print) you are returned to the previous screen where you then add your selection to your shopping cart.

At this point you can chose to Checkout, go Back To Gallery, or Select More Photos to add more merchandise to your cart.

When you are viewing photos in a gallery, you can also click on an individual photo to see a full screen version.  A "Buy" button also appears as you mouse over the photo (as indicated by the red arrow in this example). 

After clicking on an individual photo, you can scroll through full screen versions of the photos in that gallery using the arrow buttons that will be on the left (to go back) and right (to move forward).  To make a purchase you would click on the green "Buy" button in the lower right corner.

To purchase Greeting Cards you would click on the "Create a Card" link. For prints and all other merchandise orders you would click on the "This Photo" link.  In this example we will click on the "This Photo" link.

After clicking on the "This Photo" link a window will open.  To the right of the photo you selected will be four links - "Wall Art," "Paper Prints," "Keepsakes," and "Digital Downloads."  Under the "Wall Art" link you can order products such as canvas prints and framed photos; "Paper Prints" is where you would order a photo print; "Keepsakes" is where you would order, for example, a puzzle or coffee mug with the photo of your choice printed on them; and under "Digital Downloads" you can order a digital file of a selected print to use, for example, in a Powerpoint presentation.  Here we are selecting paper prints.

After clicking on "Paper Prints" you are guided through several steps to complete your order.  In this example we are going to select "Standard Sizes," "8"x12"," and "Glossy" for our print order.

You then click on the "Add To Cart "button.

At this point you can click on "View Cart" to see your selections, or click on "Close" to continue shopping.  In this example we'll view our shopping cart.

When reviewing your Shopping Cart you can adjust the cropping on your photos (if needed) or change the quantity of the order.  Once you are satisfied with your selections, click on the "Checkout" button located to the right.

After clicking on the "Checkout" button you will be prompted to enter your name, shipping  address, billing information, asked to select your method of shipping, etc., as you would on any other e-commerce site...

You can check out my website, and purchase prints and other merchandise, here

The Near and The Far

Sometimes the subject of a blog post comes easily to me.  I've taken a recent vacation, or even a day trip, and have a set of photos that seems to pull together into a theme...  All too often, though, those days are rare for me.  More often I struggle with writer's block, or indecision, or a lack of confidence in the direction my words are taking me.  One way I try to fight through this -- to try and find themes and inspiration and direction -- is that I have a folder on my computer's desktop I call "Facebook not on blog yet."  One personal goal I've set for myself is to post two photos a day on Facebook (and Google+), so that I have to continually produce more work, with the intent of pushing myself to become better.  As I post these daily photos, I put them in the folder, and when I'm "stuck" for a blog theme, I'll look through those photos, look for a pattern or idea or theme, wait for something to "click"...

That's the situation I faced today.  I considered, and rejected, several ideas in my mind.  I started, stuttered, sputtered, and stopped, and finally I opened the folder of collected photos and started looking, waiting for the apple to fall from the tree of inspiration and knock a thought into my head.  After a little while, a theme bubbled to the surface.

Whenever I'm photographing a landscape, I try different compositions and camera settings.  When I process these photos later, I notice that I have a tendency, when there is a prominent land form or geographic feature, to fully develop two takes on the subject - the far and the near.  The wide open, sweeping landscape that most often emphasizes the sky, making the land form seem small in comparison to its setting, and the tight shot that makes that feature that primary emphasis.  Nothing revolutionary, but I was struck by how consistently I have pairs of images like this...

Shiprock is located in the northwestern corner of New Mexico, in Navajo Nation, part of the Four Corners region of the Southwest.  My wife and I were coming home from a quick weekend trip to Durango, Colorado, last July when I decided to make a slight detour so I could try to photograph this New Mexican icon.  Although we could see it in the distance, and on the map, getting closer to it took some trial and error and a u-turn or two until we found the right dirt road to get us closer. We drove as far down the rutted, bumpy road as we were comfortable with and then stopped for a bit.  I wasn't as close as I would liked to have been, but there was a certain drama to the skies.   

When I zoomed in tighter I could see a haze in the air from the dust being kicked up by the wind, so I decided to emphasize that look when processing the photo.

Later that afternoon, closer to Santa Fe, we decided to take the Jemez Mountain Trail National Scenic Byway home instead of the Interstate.  A slower roll but much nicer scenery.  One of the notable features of the area is Battleship Rock, which is always impressive but something that I never stopped to photograph because the sky was always clear, and bald skies usually make for boring photographs.  I wasn't expecting anything different this time, but as we rounded the corner and it came into view, I was immediately struck by how much it "popped" from the background this time, there being enough clouds in the sky to diffuse the light and soften it enough so the colors of the rock walls came out.  With this wider shot the full form of the clouds really becomes a prominent feature...  

This closer shot emphasizes the colors in the face of the rock...

Here's an older example from a drive through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument about a year ago.  We stopped at an overlook, and as I was taking a few photos, I liked how the black ribbon of asphalt stood out against the predominantly white rock, so I composed the shot to emphasis the land forms.

Instead of focusing on a feature of the land itself, I zoomed in on the curve of the road to make that the focal point of the photo.  This is probably the least interesting or effective of the three examples presented here, but again, I think it's interesting in its own way.

The near, the far.  You have to take your time and see and work the scene...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (first four photos), Nikkor 18-55 DX (last two)
View my online portfolio here

Ghost Ranch

I've written about Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch and the Abiquiu area of northern New Mexico briefly in the past, but I haven't explored the subject in depth, which is surprising because we have made numerous trips to (or through) the area since moving here.  It is a popular destination for tourists, yet retains a sense of peace, nestled in the hills, set between two ridges of red rock walls with the Cerro Pedernal visible in the distance.  

I considered going through my files and putting together a "best of the best photos" post about the area, but I decided to go in a different direction and write about a quick day trip to Ghost Ranch my wife and I took several days ago.  We set out with a simple agenda - let's go to Ghost Ranch and find the labyrinth, a feature we had only recently become aware of.  So, we headed out, taking our time and enjoying the drive to and through Abiquiu and on to the ranch.  

After a brief look at the gift shop we set out on the path towards the labyrinth and soon came across this karesansui (Japanese rock garden), an unexpected feature.

A little further up the path we found the labyrinth.  Even though the sun was high in the sky and there were few clouds in the background when looking straight down the entrance to the labyrinth, I took a few shots.

I walked to the right and took a few more shots, this time placing the mesa on the right side of the labyrinth while incorporating the clouds into the shot.

After spending some time at the labyrinth we worked our way back towards the visitor center.  Sitting among the guest cottages near the visitor center is Ghost House, where O'Keeffe stayed as a guest during her first visit to Ghost Ranch.  As soon as I stepped inside the house I saw this vase sitting on the table underneath a window.  Soft light spilled into the room from outside, and I started taking photos of the setting, working my way closer to the vase, which I finally decided would be the main element of my composition.  

The adjacent room featured this vase sitting in the wall.  Again, soft light filled the room, and I liked the simple presentation of the vase set in the white wall.

Mounted on a corner of the house is a bull's skull, an image incorporated into several of O'Keeffe's paintings.  I decided to switch things up a bit and photographed the skull using my phone.  I recently joined Twitter (@KSchafferPhoto) so I've been taking more photos with my phone lately (and Tweeting them), using this as not only another communications tool but as a creative outlet as well.

Georgia O'Keeffe once said: "I decided to start anew, to strip away what I had been taught."  When O'Keeffe came to northern New Mexico, she instantly felt at home, inspired, and transformed.  I've had a similar experience since moving to Santa Fe.  My passion for photography was soon rekindled, inspired by the landscape, culture, and rich history of the region.  I've produced more work and felt more in tune with my creative muse than at any point since I first picked up a camera.  Ghost Ranch, where Georgia O'Keeffe spent much of her life, and the surrounding area have played a large part in sparking that passion.  Upon seeing the red rock landscape with its sweeping vistas and open skies I knew northern New Mexico was where I needed to be.

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (first 5 photos)
iPhone 5, processed with Snapseed (last photo)
View my online portfolio here

Canyonlands Morning

During my recent trip to Moab, Utah, one of the goals I had was do a sunrise shoot at Canyonlands National Park.  I checked the weather forecast for the week, and there didn't appear to be one day that "stood out" as the best chance for a dramatic sunrise - a partially cloudy sky - so I chose to head out early on the morning of October 21.  I also checked the sunrise time for that morning - dawn was at 7:07, with sunrise following at 7:34.    

I knew the best vantage point for taking photos that early would be Grand View Point, which lies at the end of the Island in the Sky section of the park.  On the morning of the 21st I got up early and drove 75 minutes to my destination, arriving just as there was enough light in the sky to walk a bit and get set up.  Here's a quick iPhone snap of my setup that morning.  I had a 16-85mm wide to mid-range zoom on, giving me some flexibility in terms of focal length.  In addition to a tripod, I was using a cable release so I wouldn't have to touch the shutter, trying to minimize as much camera shake as possible since I was starting off shooting in low light.

This was taken at 7:32 AM, about two minutes before sunrise.  Turning at about a 90 degree angle (turning south) from where the sun was going to come over the horizon, I could could see the morning sky lighting up, the clouds and the rim of the canyon starting to reflect the first of the sun's rays that were peeking over the horizon...

As the sun came over the horizon it was mostly obscured by the layer of clouds that hung low on the horizon.  I took a few shots, but I had to wait until the sun rose above the clouds to get anything.  Finally the sun made an appearance, and I stopped down my lens to f22 to incorporate a sunburst into the shot.  Taken 7:47 AM.

After about five minutes of shooting, I switched out lenses to the fisheye, and took a few shots.  I liked the look the fisheye lent to the scene, the slight curve of the horizon emphasizing the grand scale of the scene (and I'm always in love with the sunburst I get when using the fisheye).  Later, when processing the shot in Adobe Lightroom, I cropped the scene into a narrower landscape look since this fitted the feeling I was trying to convey.  Taken 7:52 AM.  

After staying to take a few more shots, I packed up and started slowly driving back towards the park entrance.  I stopped once or twice to look around, taking my time. Eventually I ended up at the Buck Canyon Overlook.  I put my wide angle (10-24mm) lens on and took a few shots, but nothing was really "grabbing" me.  I decided to put my fisheye lens on, and I scrambled down to the right a bit from the overlook until I was looking straight down the canyon.  Quite often I'll crop photos taken with the fisheye lens to give them more of a "sweeping" look but this time I liked the shot as is.  Taken 8:42 AM.  

I then headed back down the road, thinking I was done with the morning's shoot.  After a short drive I looked to my left and saw the shadows in the canyon as the sun spilled across the landscape, so I did a U-turn at the first spot I could find and pulled into the small parking area (which I later learned was the Candlestick Tower Overlook).  Thinking I wanted to zoom in and try and capture a smaller piece of the landscape to show the light and shadows and colors present, I put my 16-85mm wide to mid-range zoom on, and started heading down to the canyon rim.  Soon I was in position and spent several minutes firing away.  Taken 9:01 AM.

The morning ended up having a longer window of good light to shoot in than I had anticipated, and I'm glad I lost a little sleep to make it happen...

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85 DX VR (1, 2, 5), Nikkor 10.5 DX Fisheye (3,4)
You can view my online portfolio here