Berkeley (CA), Concrete Stairwell, Light Bulbs, Shadows

Berkeley City Club, Berkeley, CA

The last time I was in Berkeley, it was specifically to take photographs inside the famous Berkeley City Club.  Designed by Julia Morgan (the architect of Hearst Castle) and built in 1929, this steel-reinforced concrete building dubbed “The Little Castle” began as a women’s only social club with 5,000 members and residence to now a club with both women and men and doubles as a historic hotel.

This time, we were here as hotel guests.  Quaint and perhaps a little dated by today’s luxury hotel standards, it was the cozy, intimate, and throwback vibe that made it a perfect weekend stay location.

Shockingly, in the 3 days spent as a guest, this was the only composition made with the dSLR camera and only 2 shots were taken.  There are times when it is better to enjoy the surroundings and the person you are there with than the need to capture every nook and cranny with a camera and a tripod.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO100, 18mm, f/14, 1.6 sec

Berkeley (CA), Concrete Stairwell, Light Bulbs, Shadows.  Berkeley, CA. February 22, 2015. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

El Dorado Hills (CA), Foggy Haze, Layered Hills, Tree

El Dorado Hills, CA

It has been some time since the last post on this blog.  More important, and often fun, priorities have been at the forefront.  The occasional photo opportunities lately usually involve spontaneous shots such as walking outside during a break at work or on a drive either to or from a destination.

Not wanting to sound like a broken record for the 3rd straight year, but this has been a dry winter.  Great for outdoor activities, but horrible for the on-going drought in California.  Strangely, a heavy fog lingered in the area for most of the day and resulted in an even haze by late afternoon.  The photograph in this post is a product of almost daily drive-bys on the way home.  While some of the interesting sunsets have almost caused me to stop for a shot, it was this perfectly smooth backlit composition that made me finally search out a parking spot and take a few shots.

In post, the thought was to keep the photograph in the natural “color” and not convert to black and white.  The second thought was to crop to a 16×9 ratio.  I wanted to keep the 3 layers of hills and the bright sky.  The 4th, barely visible hill in the foreground, is a bit of a distraction, but cropping it out would result in an even more unconventional ratio beyond 16×9.  I may eventually apply a graduated filter in post to blend the 4th hill into the 3rd.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO100, 135mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec

El Dorado Hills (CA), Foggy Haze, Layered Hills, Tree.  El Dorado Hills, CA. February 17, 2015. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

Amador County (CA), Three Layers of Rough Clouds, Sunset Light

Amador County, CA

When you are get out of the flow of shooting, it is important to take the opportunities to shoot when they come.  While not every opportunity and not every photograph ends up being good, or even great, there is something to be learned each and every time.  So take those extra couple of minutes and snap that shutter.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO100, 66mm, f/4.2, 1/13 sec

Amador County (CA), Three Layers of Rough Clouds, Sunset Light.  Ione, CA. December 24, 2014. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

Amador County (CA), Storm Clouds, Sunset Lit

Amador County, CA

In mere moments (of waking up after dozing on the couch) the sky turned from brilliant crimson to spots of it.  The camera was in the car.  In the 60 seconds or less of retrieving the camera and changing the lens, the main light show was over.  Yet, that doesn’t mean it is time to put the camera away.  It means using the long lens and carefully selecting compositions.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO200, 135mm, f/5, 1/50 sec

Amador County (CA), Storm Clouds, Sunset Lit.  Ione, CA. December 24, 2014. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

Inyo County (CA), Bristlecone Branches, Sun Star, Clouds, Monochrome

Patriarch Grove, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Inyo County, CA

Not exactly following the rule of thirds, but does that really matter?  Certain elements needed to be in this composition for me, so out went some rules.  Remember, rules in photography are guidelines and useful ones at that.  Yet sometimes, some creativity is lost when sticking to the time honored fundamentals.  It may work to break the rules, it may not, but you will certainly learn from the result.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO100, 26mm, f/22, 1/60 sec

Inyo County (CA), Bristlecone Branches, Sun Star, Clouds, Monochrome.  near Bishop, CA. November 28, 2014. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

White Mountains (CA), Silver Canyon Road, Power Lines, Monochrome

 

White Mountains, Inyo National Forest, CA

Photography is not just about randomly snapping away without thought.  Slowing down and thinking about composition, light, and elements are essential to achieving workable images that may eventually be processed into art photography.  I was reminded of this fact while shooting at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest with an apparent case of the hangover (really it was altitude sickness).

There were two distinct reminders of the thought involved in creating photography.  On the way to the Patriarch Grove over the 12 miles of graded dirt, Juls had an area of powerlines that seem to come from nowhere and disappear over the hill.  3 sets of parallel powerlines that instantly triggered ideas of shots in my head.  But we were on a mission to reach Patriarch Grove so the plan was to shot these lines on the way back.

While hiking around for what ended up being 2+ hours among the Bristlecones, the high altitude gave the both of us slight altitude sickness.  I ended up exploring and hiking alone for the last hour, intent on shooting the isolated Bristlecones up the hill.  What should have been a boon of quality photos, ended with 2-3 workable images.  The hour of battling low oxygen, high winds, and a low grade headache somehow took me off my game.  It became more about just getting to an interesting tree and hastily making a couple of shots and moving on.

The same gusty winds and headache affected these powerline shots on the way back.  Only 1 workable image out of maybe 5 taken.

If you don’t take the time behind the camera thinking and being creative, there is only some much you can reasonably do in post to complete that original photographic vision.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO100, 100mm, f/9, 1/250 sec

White Mountains (CA), Silver Canyon Road, Power Lines, Monochrome.  near Bishop, CA. November 28, 2014. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.

Latrobe (CA), Rolling Hills, Oaks, Barbed Wire, Monochrome

El Dorado County, CA

There is this hill in a small “town” on my route home from work that I will occasionally drive to when clouds, smoke, or something atmospheric of interest is in the area.  And town is in quotes because the town proper is virtually non-existent anymore.  Back in the day there was a railroad stop and much more daily activity.  Today, there is still an elementary and middle school, but the area is dotted with small ranches set far apart and one high-end home subdivision behind a gate.

The location of the hill is perfect for an elevated view of the most directions that are not north.

While the skies looked interesting this particular day, it was not as great as I hoped, but it still warranted a few test shots.  What I had forgotten was that the ISO setting was still set at 800 the outing before to shoot a boys’ soccer game.  Aside from a bit of graininess, the ISO neither improved or make the photograph better or worse.

EXIF data: Nikon D7000, center-weighted metering mode, ISO800, 75mm, f/4.2, 1/20 sec

Latrobe (CA), Rolling Hills, Oaks, Barbed Wire, Monochrome.  El Doradoo County, CA. November 11, 2014. © Copyright Steven Tze – all rights reserved.