Thursday’s Task

[John Holbrook]

Please share a landscape—and what inspired you to photograph it. Please post as many as you would like.

My examples below:

Madison River, Yellowstone National Park, WY
I was inspired by the sunrise colors and their reflection in the water below.

Arches National Park, UT

I was inspired by the fog obscuring the rock formations in the distance and the rain puddles in the foreground. I’ve never had to wipe down my camera so much as I did that day.

 

[AlanLichty]

Fun theme and a great lead-in graphic. Good examples to kick the Task off too.

 

[AlanLichty]

I'm not sure I can always put my finger on why certain scenes catch my eye and others don't. I typically don't like shooting in crowded places although that is getting increasingly more difficult these days. I tend to enjoy wandering on my own and do my best work when I am alone.

I love wandering out along the coast and go out of my way to be around stormy weather. Combine the two and I am a happy camper. This s a scene on Coquille Beach in Bandon, Oregon:

I grew up in the desert but never really liked being there. The first time I visited the forests of the Pacific NW I was instantly in love with the place and happily so was my wife even though she's from the midwest. Deep forest trails are one of my favorite places to explore with a camera. This is a scene from the trail leading to Willaby Falls on the Olympic Peninsula near Lake Quinault.

I do occasionally like go back to the deserts but not for extended periods of time. I like to look for views others ignore even when I am at a location that is highly popular and full of iconic scenes. This twisted old dead tree had shapes that fascinated me and I decided to find a way to frame it in a scene that let it be the focus of attention. Arches National Park:

I have a fascination with waterfalls that borders on pathological. There were no natural waterfalls where I grew up in Phoenix and I never was around serious waterfalls until I was in high school and got to spend a few days on a trip to Havasu Canyon. I have been overcompensating for my childhood deprivation ever since and will seek out waterfalls as a photographic subject ever since. I have no idea how many thousand waterfall images I have in my stash at this point and have yet to grow tired of adding more. This is a shot of Carter Falls along the Wonderland trail in Mt. Rainier National Park. I love framing waterfalls with deep forest scenes like this:

 

[John Holbrook]

I'm not sure I can always put my finger on why certain scenes catch my eye and others don't. I typically don't like shooting in crowded places although that is getting increasingly more difficult these days. I tend to enjoy wandering on my own and do my best work when I am alone.

I love wandering out along the coast and go out of my way to be around stormy weather. Combine the two and I am a happy camper. This s a scene on Coquille Beach in Bandon, Oregon:

View attachment 86618

I grew up in the desert but never really liked being there. The first time I visited the forests of the Pacific NW I was instantly in love with the place and happily so was my wife even though she's from the midwest. Deep forest trails are one of my favorite places to explore with a camera. This is a scene from the trail leading to Willaby Falls on the Olympic Peninsula near Lake Quinault.

View attachment 86619

I do occasionally like go back to the deserts but not for extended periods of time. I like to look for views others ignore even when I am at a location that is highly popular and full of iconic scenes. This twisted old dead tree had shapes that fascinated me and I decided to find a way to frame it in a scene that let it be the focus of attention. Arches National Park:

View attachment 86620

I have a fascination with waterfalls that borders on pathological. There were no natural waterfalls where I grew up in Phoenix and I never was around serious waterfalls until I was in high school and got to spend a few days on a trip to Havasu Canyon. I have been overcompensating for my childhood deprivation ever since and will seek out waterfalls as a photographic subject ever since. I have no idea how many thousand waterfall images I have in my stash at this point and have yet to grow tired of adding more. This is a shot of Carter Falls along the Wonderland trail in Mt. Rainier National Park. I love framing waterfalls with deep forest scenes like this:

View attachment 86621

Alan, I love each of your images—and your inspiration for each! Thank you for sharing them. I love the Coquille Beach landscape—nice composition and capturing the inclement weather. I love the angled tree trunk in the trail to Willaby Falls and the compositional interest it adds to this capture. Nice. I also seek out dead trees in the landscape—I love your Arches NP composition with this twisted tree. Very nice. I also love the Carter Falls image—very nice composition too. Thanks for your thoughts—and images!

 

[Jameel Hyder]

I echo some of what Alan wrote about what inspires me. I am a very visual person and that essentially leads me to my compositions. When I visit a place (even when I have been there), I like to experience it without even taking my gear out of my backpack. Some things draw the eye and I gravitate towards that direction.

A few examples below.

Zabriske Pt, Death Valley. This is a place that is hard to navigate with the crowds there. This is at sunrise. I walked away from where most of the tripods were already planted to find a composition to my liking.

Oregon Coast. In total contrast to the one above, I had this place to myself to explore. I was there quite a bit before sunset to plan what I want to do when the right light happens.

The drone has opened up possibilities that allowed me to capture images otherwise not possible. I can look out of my window and see when the light is conducive to take my drone up and see what I can capture.

 

[John Holbrook]

I echo some of what Alan wrote about what inspires me. I am a very visual person and that essentially leads me to my compositions. When I visit a place (even when I have been there), I like to experience it without even taking my gear out of my backpack. Some things draw the eye and I gravitate towards that direction.

A few examples below.

Zabriske Pt, Death Valley. This is a place that is hard to navigate with the crowds there. This is at sunrise. I walked away from where most of the tripods were already planted to find a composition to my liking.
View attachment 86633

Oregon Coast. In total contrast to the one above, I had this place to myself to explore. I was there quite a bit before sunset to plan what I want to do when the right light happens.
View attachment 86634

The drone has opened up possibilities that allowed me to capture images otherwise not possible. I can look out of my window and see when the light is conducive to take my drone up and see what I can capture.
View attachment 86635

Jameel, wonderful images you’ve shared—thank you. I love the Zabriske Pt. image, love the layers and the light—and choosing your own viewpoint. Very nice. The Oregon coast capture allowed you to choose your position and timing—and it certainly created a beautiful image! The last image captured via your drone expands your vision to our benefit. Love this image!

 

[Ken Rennie]

I wanted to try out my new Tamron 28-200 and the forecast was for some wave action and stormy skies.

We had booked a short holiday in Perthshire at a time when Autumn colour should be at its height. This location was a 10 minute walk from the hotel and that morning had heavy mist. This was the moment that the sun broke through.

Coming back from a local photo shoot when I saw the sky. I stopped the car and luckily found this flooded field on the edge of my home town.

The forecast promised fog and I drove the 30 miles to this previously scouted location.

My wife attends a Celtic traditional violin workshop in the North of Scotland and I had photographed this waterfall 2 days previously but the water flow was too high so a return after a mostly dry couple of days.

A stormy day on the Atlantic day of NW Scotland and a love for breaking waves. Long exposure, a 200mm lens and panning produced this effect. I finally stopped shooting when I could no longer feel the shutter button.

I had arrived at this local location before dawn and waited a couple of hours or the first ferry of the day to give the image a focal point.

I hope you enjoy the images.

 

[John Holbrook]

View attachment 86636
I wanted to try out my new Tamron 28-200 and the forecast was for some wave action and stormy skies.


View attachment 86637
We had booked a short holiday in Perthshire at a time when Autumn colour should be at its height. This location was a 10 minute walk from the hotel and that morning had heavy mist. This was the moment that the sun broke through.


View attachment 86638
Coming back from a local photo shoot when I saw the sky. I stopped the car and luckily found this flooded field on the edge of my home town.


View attachment 86640
The forecast promised fog and I drove the 30 miles to this previously scouted location.


View attachment 86641
My wife attends a Celtic traditional violin workshop in the North of Scotland and I had photographed this waterfall 2 days previously but the water flow was too high so a return after a mostly dry couple of days.


View attachment 86642
A stormy day on the Atlantic day of NW Scotland and a love for breaking waves. Long exposure, a 200mm lens and panning produced this effect. I finally stopped shooting when I could no longer feel the shutter button.


View attachment 86643
I had arrived at this local location before dawn and waited a couple of hours or the first ferry of the day to give the image a focal point.

I hope you enjoy the images.

Ken, truly remarkable images you’ve shared—and thank you so much for doing so. I like your inspiration given in each situation. Your first image shooting with your new Tamron lens captured a panoramic landscape with perfect composition—love the B&W editing. Very nice. I also like the autumn Perthshire panorama capturing a perfect reflection—glad the sun cooperated for this shot! I also favored the “flooded field” near your hometown with the beautiful sky and silhouetted trees. Gorgeous. I also favor the fourth image with the promised fog a captured reality creating a memorable image. Very nice. Perhaps my most favorite (perhaps) is the north of Scotland autumn landscape featuring a perfect waterfall. Love this composition. I admire your tenacity in capturing the long exposure of the waves in the Atlantic in NW Scotland image. Thanks for capturing—and sharing this image with us. Very nice. And I admire your patience waiting for the “focal point” ferry to complete this gorgeous image and composition. (I’m betting you took a few images before the ferry arrived).