photography | kritterspix

ND Filter

Posted on May 31, 2015 by kritterspaw

So I bought a 10-stop ND filter for Scott Stulberg’s workshop… but never got a chance to use it. So when we were in Lee’s Ferry and did the waterfall hike, I had to try it out. The 10 stop ND filter is pitch black. You can’t see anything through it when you use it. It’s main purpose is to give waterfalls that silky ‘cotton candy’ motion blur in bright daylight. You focus and compose your photo first, then put the blind filter on the camera (on the tripod), and do a long exposure. Fascinating tool!

Print It!

Posted on February 28, 2015February 28, 2015 by kritterspaw

For Christmas I gave gifts that kept on giving… and cost my friend’s money… and a smile.

To a special few, I handed out my own photographs. Not only photos that I took, but that I printed. Who knew printing was it’s own craft and art? I have learned more about ICC (International Color Consortium) profiles, paper types, RGB space, CMYK, Pro Photo and things I’m still learning. I have learned the need for sharpening, adding contrast, and calibrating my monitor to establish a true baseline for my prints. Who knew?

Traditional photo paper is RC, or resin coated paper, and comes in more well known brands and types than you can shake a stick at. But then there’s paper canvas, cotton fiber, and fine art papers that truly make wildlife and textures come alive. There is so much I have learned… and still so much I don’t know.

What I do know is I love my new Epson 3880 Large Format printer. It prints 17″x22″ and below, including the popular 13″x19″ sizes. Even paper sizes are new to me. I feel like I have been living in an alternate universe, one that was devoid of all this depth of knowledge of printing, papers and their new technologies that I was absolutely oblivious to. There may not be enough time left in my life to learn all I have yet to learn.

Lighting

Posted on January 7, 2015 by kritterspaw

At the risk of stating the obvious, photography is all about the light.

That was never more clear to me than during our visit to Grand Falls this week.

I used to look through the viewfinder and be completely oblivious to the lighting and it’s shadows (what was I thinking?). I’d take all these pictures and come home and wonder what that line was going across my photo. Now I look at that and wonder how I couldn’t see that when I was there.

Case in point… on our trip to Grand Falls, this stark line struck directly through the center of the canyon. The sun was going down, slowing putting all the fall pools and canyon completely in the shadows.

So I was forced to work fast on those areas that were still lit, and forget about the cool looking areas that were in the shadows. Great light makes great photos. Crappy light, well… you get the drift.