Fall colors at a vineyard in the Sierra foothills.

[puppychow]

On a Sunday afternoon, I found myself with nothing to do, but to take the FJR out for a spin. The forecast was calling for the sudden arrival of winter like weather on Monday, with overnight drops in max/min temperatures of at least 10 degrees. This Fall, I hadn't yet taken the time to go leaf peeping anywhere in the Sierra's, it appeared this maybe my last chance to do so before the leafs get shed for good.

I took a short couple hour ride into the wine country in the Sierra's. Found a couple of new roads I hadn't yet rode on, spotted a few dastardly Deer, and saw a spattering of color in the trees amidst an overabundance of evergreens here in California.

My one and only stop was at a small vineyard/winery. I was on a motorcycle, so I didn't taste, but I went into the tasting room to talk to the friendly folks and left a few dollars in the tip jar and got their permission to wander a bit in their vineyard. I wasn't there long, maybe 15 minutes or so, I wanted to be home well before the fast approaching dusk.

I had borrowed a friend's Canon, similar to one (a couple generations newer), that I am looking to purchase to upgrade from my Panasonic. I had some trouble with the Canon, while quickly trying to figure out all the controls and had some trouble getting used to it's viewfinder, so my composition sucked, but the f1.8 lens on that Canon was beyond fantastic. My Panasonic with it's f2.8 lens paled in comparison. I am used to my Panasonic, having had it for a few years now, so the composition maybe better with the Panasonic. I leave it to the reader to figure out which picture is from which camera.

Hope you like the images.

Thank you for reading!

 

[CAJW]

Dude, your skillz slay me!

 

[Khunajawdge]

Good Colors and very impressionistic! The top photo is the best one, and I can't tell you what camera you used(?) but, you should take up painting and paint with pixels like Cezanne.

 

[mcatrophy]

From the topic title I was expecting to read of a disaster. Glad it wasn't. Nice pics.

So, how many wine bottles can you fit in a side-case?

 

[leedavis]

Nice color but IMO the bokeh is a little over cooked except for the last image. Given f1.8 and even f2.8 it would be easy to get a bit carried away with that.

 

[puppychow]

Dude, your skillz slay me!

It was the lens! Good glass makes amateurs look good!

Good Colors and very impressionistic! The top photo is the best one, and I can't tell you what camera you used(?) but, you should take up painting and paint with pixels like Cezanne.

The Canon lens I was shooting with was great for the impressionist 'bokeh' effect. Almost painting like. On the Panasonic, that LEICA lens is good, but couldn't keep up. I just looked up Cezanne, those are some interesting paintings..

From the topic title I was expecting to read of a disaster. Glad it wasn't. Nice pics. So, how many wine bottles can you fit in a side-case?

Yes.

I just edited the post title! ...and 99 bottles! ... and you sing along as they break one by one on your ride home!

Nice color but IMO the bokeh is a little over cooked except for the last image.

That was the point. I was trying to overcook the bokeh for an impressionist effect, it was what I was going for..the reason I was shooting landscape with a portrait lens to get focus lock on something close with a portrait lens and fade out everything else!

Is it getting carried away, if that's what you want?

 

[puppychow]

Although I must add, I do appreciate the critique, without which I may not improve..

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

Nice color but IMO the bokeh is a little over cooked except for the last image.

That was the point. I was trying to overcook the bokeh for an impressionist effect, it was what I was going for..the reason I was shooting landscape with a portrait lens to get focus lock on something close with a portrait lens and fade out everything else!

Is it getting carried away, if that's what you want?

Although I must add, I do appreciate the critique, without which I may not improve..

The thing with nature photography or just photography in general...is that the viewers may not always get what the photographer is trying to do. There are very few right/wrongs with photography but there are an endless amounts of opinions, views, likes, dislikes, personal preference...etc (kind of like 99% of the topics on this forum...LOL!) The phrase "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" comes to mind.

That being said I like what you've done with these photographs Sam. I especially like the last image because of the stark contrast with the vibrant blue grapes & the red foliage. In that image the grapes are centered & in focus and are the clear focal point of the shot but the red foliage around it adds to the warm Autumn feel of the image. Also the images before that I assumed you were going for that type of look. Nice to see some different takes on stuff.

--------------------------------------

Along the lines of nature photography and likes/dislikes as well as shooting in optimal conditions, correct angles, proper lighting, correct aperture, exposure value...blah, blah, blah...I had posted this waterfall image below on a photography forum to get opinions myself. I took it this weekend and of course by the time I hiked the 3.5 miles to the falls, it was Noon, the sun was directly overhead and it was directly in my line of sight over the falls. Less than ideal conditions for sure. But we don't always get to choose the conditions, in fact rarely in nature photography are they "ideal". That is the challenge. To get some decent images regardless of the lighting.

So anyways I couldn't take any frontal shots of the waterfall like I had hoped because the sun would wash all the detail away. So I took a hard right angle close to the falls so as to keep the sun at a 90 degree angle and had both dark shadows & bright sunshine to deal with and trying to take a long exposure shot at the same time. In the end I got this & I liked it. Most on the photo forum seemed to agree & they liked the light/dark lighting and the bright green pool at the bottom.

f/3.6

4 sec exposure (9 stop ND filter used)

ISO 100

-1 stop camera setting

So my long-winded point is that...1. I the photographer liked the shot so ultimately that's all that matters even if others feel differently. 2. You can take some rewarding shots in bad situations if you adjust your mindset & think outside of the box. 3. Nature photography keeps your mind sharp and makes you a better photographer overall because of the endless weather/lighting you have to deal with. 4. No one will EVER master nature photography, which is why it's always interesting / challenging / rewarding.

 

[Niehart]

Sam, best part of the story was that it was a ride report. Sounds like you have gotten rid of the gremlins that were living in your FJR.

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

Sam, best part of the story was that it was a ride report. Sounds like you have gotten rid of the gremlins that were living in your FJR.

+1...forgot to mention that myself on my long winded good natured diatribe above. lol

 

[puppychow]

So my long-winded point is that...1. I the photographer liked the shot so ultimately that's all that matters even if others feel differently. 2. You can take some rewarding shots in bad situations if you adjust your mindset & think outside of the box. 3. Nature photography keeps your mind sharp and makes you a better photographer overall because of the endless weather/lighting you have to deal with. 4. No one will EVER master nature photography, which is why it's always interesting / challenging / rewarding.

Nathan, I always appreciate the wisdom of your words. I agree, experimentation is key and I am still an amateur photographer, I take pictures for fun. It is fun for me to try new and unfamiliar things and techniques, even if most of the time it doesn't work out, but sometimes it does, and that gives me a stepping stone to stand on and try to do something-else along the lines.

The vines were running west and the afternoon sun was strong, for against the light shooting, at a wide angle (28-135mm f3.6 zoom lens on the canon) and from a distance, I just couldn't capture the filtering of the color in the leaves. Even when I got a little close to capture the light 'bleeding' red through the turning leaves, the background was still too distracting in it's sharpness (not enough blur), my focal point, ie, the backlit red leaves were getting lost in the background clutter.

I decided to switch to an 50mm f1.8 portrait lens, to try to get one or two leaves as the focal point and fade everything else, did I end up with too much bokeh, maybe, it's subjective, although, I liked how it looked, this was something I was trying for the first time, lot of the shots I took didn't turn out at all, for example the 4th shot barely made the 'cut', the wind blew the leaf on the top into the frame the moment I pressed the shutter, but I kinda liked it..

The 5th shot had a tiny sliver in focus, but I loved how the bokeh made the color diffuse seemingly 'everywhere', of course these are all things subject to personal tastes.

I do appreciate critiques on how I can try something different to see if I may like it better, for example, I had never tried the 'cloudy' setting on WB, that you suggested, till I found myself on the coast with clouds completely covering the skies, I was surprised how changing that WB made the colors pop in what would have otherwise been dull cloudy images. So, keep the suggestions coming. Improving is always of interest!

PS - I LOVE your waterfall picture(s), I have only recently discovered ND filters. Would love to play with them, when I can get my hands on a few. Do you use a variable ND filter, or do you carry several filter of varying densities?

 

[GeorgiaRoller]

I agree, experimentation is key and I am still an amateur photographer, I take pictures for fun. It is fun for me to try new and unfamiliar things and techniques, even if most of the time it doesn't work out, but sometimes it does, and that gives me a stepping stone to stand on and try to do something-else along the lines.
Do you use a variable ND filter, or do you carry several filter of varying densities?

That is a 100% description of myself & attitude as well. And believe me I like MAYBE 10% of the shots I take. Most are garbage.

I have (2) ND filters. A variable one that I think goes up to maybe -2 or -3 stops. And a much darker non-adjustable 9 stop filter which really only works in direct bright sunshine. Between the two of them and then being about to stop down the camera -2 stops I seem to be able to make it work 99% of the time depending on the lighting.

I'm still learning not to trust the camera's LCD screen preview to much and trying to go by the histogram information instead. What sometimes looks good on my LCD screen is way too dark when I load it on the computer. I will usually take the same shot 4 or 5 times at different exposures and then decide which is best when I download them later.

 

[lonerider]

Great pics, thanks for sharing.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Thank you for reading!

Great stuff as always Sam. I really liked this last shot.
I'm not an artist, but I sure like it.

Keep up this free entertainment! I want more!