The Story behind the Camera

 

 Snow Tree at La Madre Springs

During the month of June, 2012, Reno Open Studios is featuring a preview of the 2012 visual artists with an exhibit at the Truckee Meadows Community College Main Art Gallery beginning on June 1st, through June 25th.  The art work that I selected for the exhibit is entitled "Snow Tree at La Madre Springs".  Since I have been asked many times how I got this photo, I decided to give some background information in this blog post.

The weather always seems to take a turn for the worst over Thanksgiving weekend out here in the Southwestern U.S.  And this was sure the case when I happened upon the image that I named the Snow Tree at La Madre Springs.  I was living on the west side of Las Vegas which was just a quick drive from the Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area when I noticed dark, moisture laden clouds moving in over the Spring Mountains.  I grabbed my camera gear and rushed out for possible photos. 

It had been snowing at the higher elevations of Red Rock Canyon and the patterns on the cacti made for nice macro photos. I was using a Nikon 50mm macro lens when I saw the outline of the bare trunk of an old dead piñon pine in the distance.  A number of factors were involved which forced my decision to take the landscape scene with the macro lens.  Heavy, dark clouds were moving in fast, it was snowing harder and I had wandered a good distance from my other camera gear in the Jeep.  Realizing that I had just seconds to capture the image, I clicked the shutter with an aperture of f/5.6.  I was allowed just two frames before it became so dark I could hardly find my way back to the safety of my vehicle. 

When the film was processed and I saw the one frame that turned out well, I was both delighted and surprised at the outcome.  The snow was accenting the outline of the tree and the shutter speed just happened to be fast enough to freeze the action of the falling snow but also create a blurred, Monet effect. 

For more information on Reno Open Studios Preview Exhibit:

 http://bonnierannald.blogspot.com/2012/06/tmcc-main-art-gallery-reception-for.html

"Snow Tree at La Madre Springs" is available for purchase, please visit my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/CUSTOM/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9_10_11&products_id=85

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Cold Weather Photography

Photo Fun When It's Cold Outside 

Winter has arrived to the High Desert of Nevada bringing in cold temperatures and other than bundling up, it's a great time to go out and explore nature with the camera. When I mention cold temperatures, I am referring to the freezing point and on down to the single digit range. The further the thermometer drops from the double digits, the harder for me to endure the cold, guess it's my southern blood.

Dressing warmly and in layers goes without saying, but what about the camera. Just like ourselves, the camera body also needs protection from extreme cold. Prolonged exposure when it is very cold quickly drains the life from batteries. In my Nikon D90, I have an auxiliary battery pack that holds two batteries and I always carry an extra battery just incase.

To protect the camera from extreme cold when the air is dry, I wrap it in a neck warmer. When there's rain or snow, a plastic produce bag from the grocery store comes in handy. I place it over the camera with a hole in the end for the lens. Another precaution during cold weather photography is to avoid breathing condensation on the viewfinder.

For protecting my hands, I use Atlas Therma Fit insulated gloves. These gloves are cotton coated with latex rubber on the hand and finger portion,which makes them waterproof. The gloves are thin and very flexible so that I can feel the shutter release and move the command dials on the camera.

After coming in from extremely cold temperatures, be careful about bringing a cold camera in to a very warm area. The sudden warm-up can cause condensation to form in the camera, and this is not good. Leave the camera and lens someplace safe where they can gradually warm up.

So when the mercury takes a dip, layer yourself in warm clothes, bundle the camera up and go explore the frozen world of nature.

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Black and White Digital Photographhy

Shooting in Color for Black and White Digital Photographs

The shorter days and active weather patterns have forced me inside to spend more time on the computer. This past week, I was going over photos and got in the mood to see how they would look in black and white. After opening up Photoshop, I started playing around, removing the color. My D90 has a mode and I can shoot black and white in the camera, but I haven't experimented with it, yet. I prefer to shoot in RAW, and then process the photos in Photoshop where I have the most latitude over the output. This way, I can add or subtract contrast and try out different filters like red or yellow.

We live in such a vivid, colorful world, why would anyone want to do black and white photos? Well, the answers are quite simple to this question. With color photography, textures and forms in subjects often become muddled, so by removing the color, thus creating a black and white image, details become more predominant and stand out.

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Lighting is very important for black and white photos and should range from highlights to shadows, where the contrast is needed to create emphasis. Gray, overcast skies can augment the scene, especially where there is action in the sky.

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Clouds help create interest, set moods, and add drama to landscapes. With the black and white photo, it helps to slightly overexpose some of the white clouds but without clipping too much of the details.

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The composition and subject matter differs in black and white than color and should be kept simple with isolated images.

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The geometric structure of the scene is emphasized in the black and white photo, and the good old rule of thirds is always important. Lines and curves support the composition by leading the eye into the picture and suggesting a 'flow' to the scene.

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Everything in the scene should be relevant to the composition.

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If you are interesting in trying black and white, experiment with your photos and see how appealing they are to you. Now that winter is coming, the skies will be more active, so go out and explore your world, look for different subjects or objects.

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In conclusion, I would like to mention the Zone system and how it relates to black and white. This is my simplified version. There are nine zones that range from 1, pure black; to 9 that is pure white. Gray is 5, and falls is the middle. Digital cameras tend to overexpose the highlights, so try and expose for the middle to highlighted areas of the scene. You will have to ultimately make the decision on what is the most important part of the scene and go from there. Learning to use the histogram in your camera is a big help and will show you where your exposure falls. If using a point and shoot, study the aperture and shutter speed indicated in the meter so that you will begin to learn the settings for different lighting. Have fun and enjoy the world of photography.

For additional information on Digital Black and White Photography and the Zone System:

http://www.normankoren.com/zonesystem.html

http://dpanswers.com/content/tech_zonesystem.php

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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Freezing Fog

Pogonip

With the arrival of winter in Northern Nevada when there has been an overnight snow and the sun comes out the next morning, we will probably have a meteorological phenomenon known as freezing fog or Pogonip.

Freezing fog is a some what rare condition that occurs in the mountain valleys when the humidity is around 100%, the temperature is near freezing, and cool air passes over warm, moist land.

 

During the month of December 2009, we have been experiencing freezing fog or Pogonip quite often.

The word Pogonip came from the Shoshone word Payinappih meaning "cloud" or "white death", as the early English-speaking settlers termed it. Pogonip was called the white death because the fog can get so thick a person could become lost and disoriented in a manner of seconds. Additionally, prolonged breathing of the ice crystals can damage the lungs.

In freezing fog the water vapor is super-cooled, filling the air with small ice crystals similar to very light snow.

 The super-cooled water droplets remain in the liquid state until they come in contact with a surface upon which they can freeze.

As the frozen particles collect on a surface, white rime ice forms which is similar to the ice inside a freezer.

Freezing fog creates a beautiful effect of a winter wonderland with the layers of frosty ice all around.

As beautiful as it appears, it can also be very dangerous when driving, walking or during prolonged exposure.

For more information follow this link:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_fog

www.wrh.noaa.gov/Reno

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What an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been.  I love it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get treated to new experiences. 

Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!

Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.

 "Reflecting Nature's Artistry" 

Many of these images are available on my website:

 http://www.bonnierannald.com/ 

For custom matted and framed images:
Off The Wall

No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download. 

 All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text, design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald. For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please submit a written request.

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