Onion Creek (Page 2): #3 for me🤗👍...

Susan yamakawa

#3 for me🤗👍

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

AzPicLady wrote:

These are beautiful, Cany, particularly #2 for me. Again, I am struck by your use of foreground elements and your focus. Do you search for foreground items, or does it just come naturally to you? And I know you frequently use focus stacking. Did you on these?

Thanks --again it appears, since you've commented on my use of foreground elements elsewhere and previously-- for your comment and your observation, APL. I very much appreciate both.

There's a long answer and a short answer to your questions, though. The long answer would require a bunch of how, when, where, and mainly, the why I like to use --and actively seek out-- foreground elements. Its unlikely, however, that any of those would have credibility or usefulness for anyone but myself. The short answer is, 'yes, I look for foreground elements.'

Both of the first two images were shot with the intent to focus stack. #1 proved problematic --a slight breeze moved the foreground grasses-- so rather than do a focus stack, I did a blend of the two exposures I'd made. #2 was a standard focus stack using three separate exposures.

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Cany143 wrote:

Thanks --again it appears, since you've commented ... (show quote)

Thanks. I find focus stacking quite difficult. Even when locked onto a tripod, using a remote, when images are stacked, ghosting appears. So apparently it's beyond my capability. But I do see its advantage.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good set, Jim, I didn't see a single onion in the creek.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

AzPicLady wrote:

Thanks. I find focus stacking quite difficult. Even when locked onto a tripod, using a remote, when images are stacked, ghosting appears. So apparently it's beyond my capability. But I do see its advantage.

Ghosting was the problem with #1. There are workarounds to the problem, both pre- and post-processing wise, but sometimes its just not worth the hassle. In field situations (as in those shown in these images), I seldom use a tripod. Hand-held, I compose for the overall scene, place my camera's moveable focus point on the furthest elements (allowing for dof over a range of distance), then reposition the camera --NOT the focus point-- such that the focus point lies on the foreground element. Using that same focus point (which will typically be left or right or upwards of the foreground thing), I'll then focus on the foreground. With the shutter button half-pressed to lock focus, I'll bring the camera back to the actual composition, shoot the first exposure, allow the half-second or so that it takes for the focus point to re-focus for the background, and immediately shoot a second exposure. Being pretty steady helps a lot, of course, and I rarely get more than a smidgeon of spatial difference between the two exposures. Regardless, even in short time it takes to make the separate exposures, a lot of movement can take place. Sometimes the discrepancies are curable, sometimes they're not.

For multiple exposure stacks --I often use 3 or 4 separate exposures-- I focus manually, and try to do so as rapidly as possible. Obviously, those are best done with the camera mounted on a tripod, but for me, in the field, a tripod is sometimes more of a hinderance than a help, so... --and its surprising how much movement we do --much less what movement takes place in a scene-- over the course of ten seconds. Every heartbeat, every compression of a shutter button, every re-focus, they all add up. But when you get used to doing it, and do it very quickly, when you go to align the separate images, there's often very little misalignment. (Which is why I almost always 'overshoot' with the intent to include slightly more than I actually want compositionally, the expectation being that I'll crop ever so slightly to arrive at what I actually want.

Like I said before: there's a long answer, too. And I haven't even touched on the 'why' aspect.

dreff Loc: Bow, WA

enjoyed last one best 👍👍

AzPicLady Loc: Behind the camera!

Cany143 wrote:

Ghosting was the problem with #1. There are workarounds to the problem, both pre- and post-processing wise, but sometimes its just not worth the hassle. In field situations (as in those shown in these images), I seldom use a tripod. Hand-held, I compose for the overall scene, place my camera's moveable focus point on the furthest elements (allowing for dof over a range of distance), then reposition the camera --NOT the focus point-- such that the focus point lies on the foreground element. Using that same focus point (which will typically be left or right or upwards of the foreground thing), I'll then focus on the foreground. With the shutter button half-pressed to lock focus, I'll bring the camera back to the actual composition, shoot the first exposure, allow the half-second or so that it takes for the focus point to re-focus for the background, and immediately shoot a second exposure. Being pretty steady helps a lot, of course, and I rarely get more than a smidgeon of spatial difference between the two exposures. Regardless, even in short time it takes to make the separate exposures, a lot of movement can take place. Sometimes the discrepancies are curable, sometimes they're not.

For multiple exposure stacks --I often use 3 or 4 separate exposures-- I focus manually, and try to do so as rapidly as possible. Obviously, those are best done with the camera mounted on a tripod, but for me, in the field, a tripod is sometimes more of a hinderance than a help, so... --and its surprising how much movement we do --much less what movement takes place in a scene-- over the course of ten seconds. Every heartbeat, every compression of a shutter button, every re-focus, they all add up. But when you get used to doing it, and do it very quickly, when you go to align the separate images, there's often very little misalignment. (Which is why I almost always 'overshoot' with the intent to include slightly more than I actually want compositionally, the expectation being that I'll crop ever so slightly to arrive at what I actually want.

Like I said before: there's a long answer, too. And I haven't even touched on the 'why' aspect.

Ghosting was the problem with #1. There are worka... (show quote)

Thanks so very much, Cany. I'm actually going to print this out and study it. Sometimes I feel quite slow on the uptake. I get the whys. Sometimes I want the background to fade into the distance. Sometimes I don't.

John from gpwmi Loc: Michigan

Beautiful shots, interesting hike and can see the need to retreat.

JRiepe Loc: Southern Illinois

These are really nice.

brucebc Loc: Tooele, Utah

If I remember right you cross onion creek 16 times before topping out and leaving it.

Cany143 Loc: SE Utah

brucebc wrote:

If I remember right you cross onion creek 16 times before topping out and leaving it.

Can't say I've ever counted the crossings, but 16 sounds about right. At least up to the point where you get to 'Stinking Spring.'

brucebc Loc: Tooele, Utah

I got distracted during the earlier post and hit send before I commented on the great photos. All four of these are great and I think #4 is the one I like best.

Hereford Loc: Palm Coast, FL

All are beautiful landscapes, but #3 is easily my favorite.

alamomike47 Loc: San Antonio, Texas

Nice series

DickC Loc: NE Washington state

Very nice photos, Jim, thanks for sharing!!