A Lesson in Preparedness

50mm f/5.6 1/200sec ISO 320

 In this episode I find a new fishing spot, learn a little bit about different types of trees, and learn a big lesson on being properly prepared for the elements I am in. 

Listen along as we visit two very different locations, and read along as I reflect on the photos we made along the way.

I wasn't looking for the Winona State Forest when I desided last minute to take a photography adventure today. I had a flashback of a place I visited with my wife and kids a couple summers back of a forest trail that lead to a dry stream with interesting rock formations all around, that's what I was looking for, but keeping with a theme of not preparing I had no idea where that place was.

Instead I followed signs that lead me to the Winona State Forest, miles from no where and down a road that dirt would have improved. I'm certain this trail system is used primarily for hunting and maybe snowmobiles in the winter, but I was here and the break in the weather seemed like a great opportunity to get out and make some photos.

Just a short walk in from the tree line, and before the clearing turned into a narrow trail laid this water pump. Seeing this water pump, in the middle of a clearing I have to wonder who put it there and when. at one point it was new, brand new, and someone was happy to finally have it. I like to imagine they tightened that last bolt securing it to the base, stood up, started pumping and water came flowing out of it. what a relief it must have been, flowing water.

50mm f/5.6 1/200sec ISO320

As much as my imaginary history of this water pump is, the image leaves a lot to be desired. I'm not one to disturb the natural settings of an area just to make a better photo, but the grass and the weeds had grown up around this water pump so tall it really takes away the focus of it. 

Looking back I wish I had taken more time, set up the tripod, pulled a few weeds out the background so the water pump would come through as a more dominate focal point in the image.

To edit this image felt labor intensive, it's always difficult to edit an image you're not particularly fond of. 

I started by straightening the image a little, trying to hand hold an image while being attacked by mosquitoes can often times result in a less than level photo.

I toyed around with a black and white edit, but ultimately decided against it. I ended up using the red lift matte preset, tweaked the highlights and shadows, and then began masking out the lighter bits of the pump with the adjustment brush. I wanted the pump to stand out more against the background so I brightened the lighter edges of the pump to give the appearance of more light than there really was. 

50mm f/2.8 1/8sec ISO 100

Finding images in the woods in the summer can be a challenge, you subject is often green, or brown, and your your background is often green, or brown. This is why some landscape photographers prefer fall and winter. This is the same challenge I faced in this photo. 

I spent some time at different angles trying to better separate the fern from the background. to low and the light that washed between the trees in the distance washed out the highlights of the fern, to high and we lose depth looking down on it. I'm certain another composition could have been found here but the mosquitoes made this photo feel like a race.

Editing it felt about the same. another photo I felt didn't necessarily deserve a detailed editing process. So I used the red lift matte preset again, just to fit in with the photo before it, left the shadows and we were done.

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50mm f/8 1/200sec ISO 500

Having been chased off by the killer mosquitoes and the boggy trail conditions I set out for home.

I headed out the next day for a location about an hour south in Lowville, NY called the Lowville Forestry demonstration area. An area ran by the DEC Forestry service used to demonstrate what a forestry service does.

Its riddled with trees of all shapes and sizes, most with their own little plaque telling you exactly what it is.

The Hawthorn tree caught my eye due to the lovely Cherry like fruit it bared. 
Originally I framed up JUST the berries with a wide aperture, blowing out the background, and the three berries behind the front one. I recomposed this time including the leaf. I loved the framing but I needed a deeper focus. I was at this point in the podcast that I said something I thought was so dumb. I stated that I can still get good separation at f/8 50mm. on my camera is looked OK but I was certain when I got home and looked at the image full screen, that that background was going to anything but blown out. 

Turns out I was wrong about being wrong. I love this picture and spent some time editing it... Maybe a little to much.

If you listened to the podcast you already know that this photo was taken on August 20th even though it looks like it was taken at the peak of autumn, I may have taken some artistic liberties with this photo to give it more of an autumnal feeling, but I'm not about to apologize for that. I absolutely love this photo. 

Achieving this look was done almost entirely in the HSL panel of Lightroom, adjusting Hues and Saturation. with a slight tweak to the contrast.

22mm f/2.8 1/320sec ISO 100

You may have to squint to see it, but I was joined by a little chipmunk friend along the way. It jumped right up on a rock in front of me, stood there waiting for me to make a photo. 

This photo was shot on a 22mm lens so I had to do quite a bit of cropping to get it to where it is now. 

I didn't expect much out of the photo when I pushed that shutter button, but it turned out sharp and colorful so I though I should include it. after all the chipmunk would have been upset if I didn't.

To Edit this photo, besides the massive crop, I just copied the settings from the photo before it. When ever I take multiple photos in the same area with the same lighting I like to use similar edits to tie them together.

50mm f/11 1/60 ISO100

If you've listened to the previous episode you'll know I am not a fan of bogs and swamps, and I long for the fishable shores of the ponds of my youth, thats what this is, exactly what this is. It may not come through in photo, but in person it was a serene tranquil scene that excited me and made me wish I had brought a fishing pole and some worms. As far as photos go, well give it a couple more months and you may have a real winner, but in its current condition? it's really more of a scouting shot, something to use a a reminder of places to go when the time is right. 

I gave it a bit of a matte look and did some cropping. really not much editing done here.

50mm f/11 1/60Sec ISO100

Finally we've crossed the pond and found ourselves standing on the deck we could see in the previous photo. The water from this position was begging to be fished so its certainly someplace I will have to return to for that, beyond that, there were no grand views from this location.

The cat tails struck my interest and I we managed to formulate a photo out of them, but I can't help but feel like I didn't capture the best photo I could have from this location. I edited with a matte preset and some adjustments to the highlights and the shadows.

We ended the podcast at this location but I may have found my best photos on my way out. down a short path and over a small bridge where dozens of turtles scurried off into the water was another pond, with another dock. I took several photos here and did some heavy editing to at least one of the photos. I plan on using those photos as an opportunity to write about the fine line between editing and over editing. so keep an eye out for that post in the future. 

I hope you've enjoyed seeing and reading about the photos we made during the podcast and I hope you'll join us again as we make Photos Along the Way.

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All good folk - Fly

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Music by Lesfm from Pixabay

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