Local Color and Close-Ups

Photographers are naturally drawn to Jackson Hole’s wildlife and abundant scenic opportunities. Grand Teton National Park and the surrounding area have some of the best of both! While most people pass them by, there are additional “small scene” opportunities. This page is a collection of some of the close-up images I captured in late July and August. Morning Flowers I have a tendency to start my day watching for the “big stuff”, and if that’s not happening, I begin to look down for the “little stuff”. In reality, there’s a lot more of it! Weather plays a big role in most people’s success rate. Rain and fog can “ruin” some photographer’s day, but if you are willing to deal with the weather, you can get shots others don’t. In most cases, it is just a matter of looking down for alternative subjects. Rain drops are a great addition to flowers, leaves, pine cones & spider webs. A duck in a quiet pond with rings from raindrops may be more compelling and memorable than a standard duck on calm water. Continue reading "Local Color and Close-Ups"

August 2017 Daily Journal for JH and GTNP

August 1st, 2017:  Tuesday

Note: The first week or so of August should resemble the last two or three weeks of July. Check out: July 2017 Daily Journal for JH and GTNP Sunrise Pano Sunrise Pano: It’s a tough call when you have a sunrise like this one developing on one side and three Bull Elk on the other side. I took this three shot pano, then concentrated on the Elk! (Click the image to see it much larger) Nikon D810 and Nikon 70-200mm Lens, Handheld, VR ON.
Continue reading "August 2017 Daily Journal for JH and GTNP"

Working in 16 Bit Mode

Memory is Cheap — Memories are Priceless!

I typically shoot in 14 bit and process in 16 bit in Photoshop as long as I can. Here’s why…

16 Bit Clobber and Recovery

The issue is not what you can see, or what your monitor can display, or what your printer can print—but what is under the hood of the file! I believe you will be amazed by the examples! (For this article, 8 bit vs 16 bit refers to Color Bit Depth while using Lightroom and Photoshop.) 14 Bit Capture 16 Bit Image 16 Bit Export The image above was captured with a Nikon D810 in 14 bit mode. I set that in the camera’s menus long ago and never looked back! The files are much larger, so they fill cards faster, fill the buffer quicker, and possibly slow down the frame rate on some cameras. You might consider these issues up front. You can always “downgrade” a capture during your workflow, but you can’t “upgrade” one. As seen in the screen grab, I export images from Lightroom to Photoshop by selecting the 16 bits/component option. Continue reading "Working in 16 Bit Mode"

Eight Seconds of Fury

Brahma Bull Riding: “The most dangerous 8 seconds in sports”

The American Flag If you have them, jump into your Wranglers, put on your Tony Lamas, snap up your long-sleeved shirt, lock in your silver belt buckle and top everything off with your best Stetson. Then head to the Fairgrounds for a night of fast and unpredictable action. The Jackson Hole Rodeo has been thrilling tourists each Wednesday and Saturday for decades. If you can can’t make to either of those nights, Friday night rodeos have been added to the lineup. Little Bull Rider Each week, little tikes are initiated to the cowboy tradition and develop the skills for a lifetime of rodeo action. Bear Emlyn isn’t in Kindergarten yet, but he’s already on a bull! The Rodeo way of life starts early for some! Sequence 1 Each cowboy that gets on the back of a one ton Brahma Bull knows they are taking an eight second ride that can possibly kill them—or cripple them or life. No two rides are the same, but they are all potentially dangerous. These athletes “cowboy up” and put it all on the line, while us spectators do just that from the safety of the bleachers. Continue reading "Eight Seconds of Fury"