travel photography Archives - Cape Ann Photo Tours

Winter Landscape Photography

February 11, 2021 by Kirk

red barn in snow — A red barn sits on the shore of a cove in Gloucester Ma during a recent snow storm. Fuji X-T3, XF 50-140 @ 94.5 mm

Landscape photography during the winter months can be very rewarding if correct pre-cautions are taken. Make sure you dress warm, plan your photo shoot, and make sure your gear is protected. If you follow these three simple rules you will make out just fine. The only caveat is the weather and what it can throw at you. Recently I went out on an excursion in a light snowfall knowing that the weather would not be a problem and that my gear was protected. With my Fujifilm X-T3, X-H1 and all the lenses I was using all weather resistant I knew that there would be no issues with water.

The first location I have photographed before but not in the snow. It used to be a boat house but is now a private residence. It has always been a wonderful red color and it stands out against falling snow. I made several different images of it but the one above is the one I wanted. The image was made at 1/50s to catch the movement of the snow. This is always a good idea to show a little movement with snow unless your goal is to make the snowflakes smaller and to create a different feel to the image.

Lens choice is also a critical factor when shooting in the snow or any kind of adverse weather. A wide angle lens will not show any compression of the snow at all an unless it is snowing heavily with large flakes it will be hard to show the snow in action. The image below was made with a 24mm equivalent lens and you can see that the snow is less visible.

My next location for this shoot was to go over to East Gloucester at the head of the harbor and shoot some fishing and lobster boats with a very long lens to compress the snow even more. I also shortened the shutter speed to between 1/125 and 1/200 to stop the snowflakes instead of a longer shutter speed which shows motion. I wanted a more painterly look to them.

Fishing vessel Princess Laura — The stern trawler Princess Laura waiting out the storm. Fuji X-H1, XF 100-400 @372.6 mm

I love this shot of this fishing boat as the snow is compressed enough that it looks like it’s really snowing hard and the gray of the sky and snow is in stark contrast to the boat, it’s super structure, the pilings and lights of the pier. The 100-400 really did it’s job in this instance. Next I was looking for a Christmas card shot for a client for next year and was looking for lobster boats in the snow. Again the 100-400 was the best choice.

Lobster boats in the snow — Lobster boats sit idle during a light snow storm in Gloucester, MA. Fuji X-H1, XF 100-400 @218.7 mm

Another shot I love that shows the snowflakes stopped in action giving this image and almost painterly look. The compression with this focal length is outstanding and really pulls the scene together for me.

So go out in the snow keeping these suggestions in mind, Bring the right gear, stay warm and enjoy! Check out the video below on my Youtube channel.

Finding the abstract in the ordinary

October 22, 2020 by Kirk

Tripping and almost falling while looking for good photographic view points is one of my strong suits! When I stumbled across this scene in Greenfield NH I knew the possibilities were outstanding. The obvious choice is to shoot the wide scene with all the colors surrounding the covered bridge. Last week a friend and I were up in southern New Hampshire and were faced with just such a shot. Make the obvious shot of course and even wait for the light to hit the leaves better and light things up even more. But, the more interesting shots can be abstract images made by thinking differently. Here is the obvious scene below.

Hancock Greenfield Covered Bridge — Colorful foliage can be seen around the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Geenfield New Hampshire.

Did you notice the little surprise making this the quintessential New England image? In the right hand corner there is red and white fishing bobber that has gotten caught in the branch. How many times as a kid fishing in Maine did I do that? Here is a cropped version of the image above which I really like.

With the obvious images made it was time to look for abstracts! The image below is my absolute favorite.

Colorful foliage can be seen under the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Greenfield New Hampshire.

The framing of the colorful fall leaves by the bottom of the covered bridge and its reflection make this image tops. A part of the scene as an abstract image what a concept. The next image is a little harder to pick up but it’s very interesting.

Colorful foliage can be seen in this reflection at the Hancock – Greenfield covered bridge in Greenfield New Hampshire.

This image is all reflection! If you look hard you can make out the water at the top of the frame. Some great images can be made if you look for parts of the obvious image as an abstract! So next time you are out shooting and faced with the obvious iconic image look for something different with a longer lens.

Wide angle landscape photography

October 15, 2020 by Kirk

Wide angle landscape photography can be described in two ways. 1. Getting in an entire grand landscape and 2. Emphasize the foreground as much as possible. In these two images I have tried to emphasize the foreground using the foreground to lead the eye into the frame and up to the lighthouse using the striations of t he rock below the light. I tend to use method #2 more than the first one because that is how I have always used my wide angle lenses. Using the foreground method you are able to use compositional elements to your advantage more than with any other lens. You are also able to get the most depth of field using wide angle lenses. Distortion can be your enemy or your friend depending on how you look at it. I love the distortion a real wide angle lens, eg; 15-21mm can give to your foreground. It’s always been a favorite technique of mine. In the vertical position especially, with the camera pointed downward the foreground just jumps right out at the viewer. The image above is just such an image. The rock formations take center stage and draw the viewer into the image.

With this image the opposite is true. Tilting the camera to one side or the other distorts that side. As you can see in the image above, the left side is is much larger than the rest of the image and draws the viewer into the image and up to the lighthouse. To me this is the best way to work with extreme wide angle lenses. Now if the distortion is too much then you can correct it your processing software.

While working on compositions at this location I was very cognizant of the fact that foreground distortion was important. This prevented me from looking for other types of shots which I regret. Nothing really with longer lenses which is a problem. Working the scene is one of my mantras.

I did get the shot above using my Fuji XF 16-80 but I cropped it up from the bottom to make the composition tighter. So as you can see, wide angle landscape photography can be used in many ways I have given you just a couple.