Tamron Blog: Angle of View

Colorado Continental Divide Winter Traverse

By Rob Moody

I’ve had a goal for a while to hike from Berthoud Pass to St. Mary’s/ Alice, Colorado where I live in one day. So a buddy of mine and I decided to attempt it. Of course, I had to bring a camera. The Continental Divide Trail runs along the backbone of the country. We would hike a small part in Colorado. We would start from Berthoud Pass and follow it along five summits (Mt. Flora, Mt. Eva, Parry Peak, Mt. Bancroft and James Peak) before descending through St. Mary’s Glacier and back home.

I know it sounds crazy, but I just love photographing adventures like this! There is something about the majestic mountain tops that summon me to visit. I am drawn to them like a magnet. Amazing blue skies against the foliage or snow as the sun dances between the clouds and paints the landscape. The crisp air, challenging conditions and grand landscapes keep me returning for more!

With more than ten miles to cover through wintery conditions and limited winter light, I chose to leave the tripod at home. Having time to set up and carefully compose seemed unlikely as we would be on the move. I would go handheld using the Vibration Compensation (VC) in the new Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC USD. This stabilization technology really locks on and holds still while shooting handheld. 

For some, going light means a point & shoot camera. For me going light means only taking a Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC with a polarizer and a Nikon D800 body. After all, I could bring several more lenses right? I took into account that high wind was probable if not guaranteed. Ice crystals, snow and dust would most certainly get into the body if I changed lenses, so I decided to go light and shoot the entire day with this combination. 

When shooting handheld, I constantly pay attention to the metering. I like to shoot aperture preferred mode, A on some mode dials AV on others. I desire higher f/stops for more depth of field, so I shoot between f/8 and f/16 for most situations like this and then monitor the shutter speed making sure it doesn't go below 1/60th of a second. With VC engaged, I get the results I’m after. Also, depending on the amount of snow, I use the +/- exposure compensation mode to over expose making the snow brighter, but being careful not to blow out the highlight detail.

A long story shortened, it was a long grueling hike! We made it back home just before 10pm. The Vibration Compensation worked amazingly in harsh conditions all day long! The only downside was walking the last three miles through the glacier with a headlamp in the dark. Even with that, it was a great adventure! The following images were processed from RAW. Hope to see you out there. Enjoy!

High Wind Rocky Mountain Sunrise

By Rob Moody

I headed out with a headlight on a cold and breezy morning before sunrise. I wanted to get high on the unnamed point next to St. Mary’s Lake, Colorado to capture sunrise images. The sun emerged over the horizon as I neared the summit of the point. As I emerged from the tree-line, the cold breeze turned to bitter cold accompanied by extremely high wind.

I dropped my pack, removed my tripod and extended the legs. After hiking for almost an hour, I knew my camera and lens had made the adjustment to the cold conditions. For outings like this, I put it in a zippered case so it can gradually change to the outside temperature as I hike to the destination. I removed my camera and placed it on the tripod. The wind was so strong and continuous that I had to hold the tripod down as I photographed.

To keep your hands as warm as possible in these conditions, I try to anticipate the start settings I will use and set them in the camera before leaving the house. This way I will minimize removing my hands from gloves during the shoot. I also highly recommend using gloves with leashes that attach around your wrists so you don't accidentally have one blow out of your hands and down the mountain as you remove it. Guess how I figured that one out?

The settings I set in the camera before leaving are settings I know I want or I know will be correct. One of these is RAW+ small jpeg. I know I will process from RAW, but I like to have the small jpeg for immediate viewing. This way I can toss them on my phone or pad for easy quick review on the couch or on a plane. They may not be perfect, but are enough to review and choose for editing the RAW version.

Another setting is white balance or WB on your camera. I know I want the daylight, commonly the sun symbol, setting so I retain all the subtle hues in the sunrise. If left in auto white balance, the camera is likely to shift the setting from image to image washing out most as it attempts to turn yellow and magenta light into white as it would with a light bulb. Daylight white balance is a fixed setting that doesn’t change. 

For my nature landscapes, I like to use a quality circular polarizer. I rotate the polarizer to the dial in the look I’m after. Simply put, a polarizer removes or forces the reflection. I use it to remove undesired light reflection from atmospheric particles. In this case, mostly crystals of ice and snow blowing in the wind. They reflect the light, so I dial the polarizer to remove this reflection. Sometimes I dial to get the reflection. You can clearly see it through the camera as you turn the polarizer. Don’t forget to always turn your polarizer in the same direction it screws onto the lens to prevent it coming off, hitting the ground and rolling off a cliff! Guess how I figured that one out?

Finally, in a situation like this with high wind, take two or three images of the same shot. I do this because I’m never sure how the wind will gust or momentarily ease. I’m using f/stops to maximize depth of field which means slower shutter speeds at a lower ISO. Taking multiple images of the same shot increases you chances of getting a sharp image in high wind. I keep my hand firmly on the neck of the tripod holding the legs down. There is no reason to leave your camera packed away until it is warm outside. With the right game plan, a little suffering and the right equipment you can create some incredible images in the winter.

The following images were taken with a Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC USD lens and a Nikon D800. Also used was a circular polarizer and a tripod. Keep warm and Enjoy! 

St. Mary’s Silhouette

By Rob Moody

One of the things I do to keep sharp is give myself mini photo assignments.  I really enjoy hiking and climbing near St. Mary’s Glacier in Colorado. I have been there multiple times throughout my life as I grew up. There are a group of trees up by timberline next to St. Mary’s Lake that always capture my attention while I’m there. Of all the places in Colorado I have been, this is one of the most bitter cold and windiest in the winter time. Those words really don't do it justice because it really is brutal! 

I set out to shoot the area one cold morning after a snowstorm. I headed into the area to capture some winter landscape images. Winter landscape images are very compelling to me. Anyone can get out of a car in the mountains and take some snaps that will look good. Winter photography however takes commitment and a willingness to suffer. I don’t know exactly why, but I just love it! 

After creating some sunrise images, I proceeded to the batch of trees I always visit while in the area. There is one tree that has stood in the face of the weather for years right at timberline. Brutal constant wind combined with extreme changing temperature throughout the seasons and over the years have given this tree a unique weathered character. 

My mini photo assignment was to work this tree into many images from different perspectives. Many beginning photographers tend to camp out in one place after finding a decent place to take an image. I do this exercise to remind myself to walk completely around my subject to get different looks at it. I make sure to raise my tripod to its highest and lowest setting during the exercise.

Here are a few of the images taken during this exercise. Don't forget! With digital, once you own the equipment, shooting is free. You just erase what you don’t want. So take lots of pictures.

Equipment Used:

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC USD lens

Circular Polarizer 

Nikon D800 body

Carbon Fiber Tripod

Out On The Ice

 

By Mike Moats

It's that time of year here in Michigan when the ice freezes solid enough on Stoney Creek lake to walk on, and capture some of the leaves that lock in the ice. There is a section of the lake that the westerly winds blow fall leaves into the lake which freeze over. I used my 18-270 Tamron to shoot these images.

Here's what I'm looking at, and I search out any interesting subject.

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Trapped in that Frozen Water

 By André Costantini

There is something trapped in that frozen water. And fortunately it wasn't me. Though when my leg fell through the ice to my knee, it almost happened! The odd weather this year with sub zero temperatures one day and 56 degrees two days later, made interesting conditions for sure. So seeing an iceberg stockpile in the river peaked my interest and despite a cold leg and some impaled brambles, it proved to be a great photo opportunity.

I had my new Tamron 90mm f2.8 VC Macro, which gave me the opportunity to get in really close and explore the worlds entrenched within the ice. The first image is an overall picture of the ice chunks, water and debris. Because of how it froze, it's a little hard to tell what is moving water and what is frozen. As you can see there was a myriad of textures to explore. I was only limited by my ability to physically get over to them and my tolerance for handling the cold.

As I slowly got closer to the ice I began to notice all the different worlds trapped inside based on the air and conditions the water cooled. In some of these images there are seemingly figures and in some cases even look like fossils or scientific studies. Because some of the ice was clear and some cloudy, depending on what plane the focus was on, the resulting images were different.

Speaking of focus, I had the lens set to manual focus for all of these images. The lens of course is auto-focus and even has an Ultrasonic motor for quick and quiet focus, but most of the time, especially for macro shooting, I find manual much better. The reason is quite simple, because there are several planes of focus which could be the "right one", manual gives you more control. Also, for the real close stuff I find it is better to physically move back and forth slightly and watch how the image changes, clicking when I see something that interests me.

Now in general, most macro photography is achieved best with a tripod, however in this case, due to the precarious situation of thin and uneven ice (and the fact that I didn't have one) all of these images were hand held. Fortunately, the new 90 has VC (Vibration Compensation: Tamron's image stabilization) which helps you hand hold images. All of these images were taken between 1/125 and 1/250 of a second at f8-f3.5. With macro it can also help you shoot at smaller apertures to get the depth of field you desire at slower shutter speeds. This is not a substitute for a tripod for all macro photography, but it can be helpful in certain conditions. And if you are using a tripod, make sure you turn the VC off.

One of the most incredible parts of this experience, is that no little frozen world is identical and of course they are all so temporary. You have the opportunity to capture some of natures happenstance in a way that will only occur different the next time even if the process is the same!

Himalayas in Black and White

By André Costantini

About 125 miles west of Kathmandu you will find Pokhara, the second largest city in Nepal. It is located at the base of the Annapurna mountain range, which is part of the Himalayas. Now although you will not be anywhere near the famed Mt. Everest, you will be near only three of the top ten highest peaks in the world and be privy to quite a view from town and the surrounding hills.

Pokhara is a famous destination as a launch point for travelers to spend weeks trekking the Himalayas. With only several days to stop by, we didn't have time for a proper trek, but had plenty of time to hike about and take in some of the spectacular scenery.

The deceptive thing about this landscape is that without anything for scale you really have no sense of how massive these mountains really are. The peaks in the image are over 23,500 feet tall. The altitude I am making these images is probably only 3,500 feet. The peaks are roughly 30 miles away and there is a tiny paraglider in the bottom center of the image, probably at about 5,500 feet and probably only 2 miles from us.

The conversion to black and white was done using Nik Silver Efx Pro 2.0 which is a really great black and white plug in for Photoshop, Lightroom or Aperture. The density of the sky was so blue even without the use of a polarizer, that the black and white conversion came pretty easily with a dark sky without much manipulation. In this case the key was to use the software equivalent of a red filter on the camera, which makes the blue tones, blacker.

Certain images tend to lend themselves really well to black and white. This image was one because there was nice contrast from the snow and the clouds against the sky. In the original image the intense blue color hues overpower the form of the clouds and mountains. But when the color is removed now our focus shifts to the contrast of the clouds and mountains against the sky for something a little more striking. I have included the original image below for comparative purposes.

This image was taken with the Tamron SP 70-200 f2.8 VC. The focal length was 70mm and the aperture was set at f7.1 at 1/640th of a second.

Cold Weather Camera Tips

by Jillian Bell

December 21, 2012 marked the start of our winter solstice. In Minnesota this means 20F temperatures, warm scarfs and beautiful winter landscapes. Anytime you are out photographing in below freezing temperatures, be weary of how your camera can react. Batteries deplete faster, condensation can build on fast warm ups, lenses can fog. To help keep your gear at its best, follow these guidelines.

Tips for Shooting in the Cold

• Pack extra fully charged batteries. To extend rechargeable battery life, keep them warm in your pocket rather than in your camera bag. When possible, non rechargeable lithiums or alkaline batteries are preferred and have better cold weather resistance (an adapter might be needed for SLR cameras).
• Always travel and use rain covers. These keep cameras dry in the snow and sleet.
• Only change lenses outdoors when necessary. If possible go inside, or a sheltered area. If your equipment gets wet, dry as soon as possible.
• Keep microfiber cloths handy for cleaning, and keep dry within plastic bags / containers. Plastic film containers work well for this. Also, know where your cards are stored. Use a waterproof card case to keep cards dry if they ever are dropped into the snow. Brightly colored cases are easier to find.
• I prefer fingerless gloves for dexterity. Mittens can be worn over for warmth. Find a system that works best for you.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY - When you are bringing your electronics back inside, warm them up slowly. Put your camera inside a sealed plastic bag, or I put my whole case inside a cooler. Place them in the coldest area inside to warm equipment up slowly. This minimizes the risk for condensation and shock to the new environment.

Happy New Year Everyone, Enjoy these photos from our last snow fall - Jillian

My Top Ten Favorite Images Of 2012

By Mike Moats

Even though 2012 has not come to a close yet, I couldn't wait any longer to post my top ten favorites of 2012. Well actually I lied about the number I'm posting, I just couldn't narrow it down to ten, so I came up with twelve images. There is a nice variety of images, many that I shot when I was out on the road doing my Macro Boot Camps. Images were shot using either the, Tamron SP 90mm macro, Tamron SP 70-300mm VC, or the Tamron 18-270mm VC PZD.

I will start with this image shot in the winter of 2012, and work through the spring into the fall. This was shot in a small frozen puddle in a park near my home. I liked the design of the leaf on the right and the bubbles. The thousands of tiny bubbles add a nice texture to the black background.

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In March I was in Raleigh, North Carolina for a workshop, and one of the local photographers and friend Susan Bailey asked if I would like to visit the Duke Universities Arboretum as the flowers were starting to bloom. I like the flow of the petals in this flower, and the soft pastel color.

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While I was at the Duke Gardens the tulips were just starting to bloom, I like how this budding tulip was being cradled in this leaf.

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Now moving into April, I was presenting at the Bird and Photo Festival in St Augustine, Florida, and I visited a small park. It was early morning and I found this pair of Bird of Paradise leaves that were backlit by the sun. Nice abstract pattern.

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While still in St Augustine, I strolled down to the beaches in search of feathers or shells. I found lots of nice shells composed in the sand and this was one of my favorites.

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Back in the spring I started playing with different subjects outside of nature photography. Its been lots of fun and I've produced some very cool stuff with all kinds of subjects. I had a blast photographing water and oil. This was my fav of the oil and water shots.

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Now we're heading into the fall, and I'm in the Boston area doing a workshop and had a day off to shoot, so headed up to Rockport, MA. Stopped by a small harbor of boats and saw this nice reflection in the water of the boat and ropes.

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I heard about this very cool place called Old Car City. As I was on my way from Savannah, GA to Cincinnati, OH, I stopped in at Old Car City, which is 50 miles north of Atlanta, and 2 miles off I-75. There are over 4,000 classic cars scattered over 6 miles of trails through out woods and fields. Had a blast and got tons of great images. I scheduled a 2013 spring workshop there that sold out within days. People love shooting rusty junk cars.

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When I made it to Cincinnati after Old Car City, I stopped at a small Arboretum and found this unusual looking succulent. I used the Solorization filter in Nik Software to get this really cool look.

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I had two weekends of workshops in the twin city area in Minnesota. Jillian Bell who is a Tamron Tech Rep lives in that area and went with me to the Minnesota Arboretum, which is run by the University of Minnesota. The indoor area was just a small building with some tropical plants, but I found this nice succulent that turned out very nice.

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While at home and in between traveling to workshops, I started visiting some of the local Detroit area museums. This one was shot at the Henry Ford Museum.

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We have another nice car museum called the Walter P Chrysler Museum. Too bad attendance over the years wasn't strong enough, so the museum is closing as of January 1st. This is a cool abstract of reflection in the fender of one of the cars.

That's my 12 favorite images of 2012, thank you for stopping by and viewing them.

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Going With The Flow

By Jeff Allen

Every once in a while a new product comes along that really makes a difference in my shooting, and shooting enjoyment.

My recent revelation is a relatively new design innovation in neutral density (ND) filters, called a variable neutral density filter.

For years, photographers have used two polarizer filters stacked together to achieve the effect of infinitely adjusting the volume of light through the lens, primarily for being able to achieve long exposures even in bright light. Stacking filters is never ideal since the more glass you put in front of your lens, the more likelihood there is for loss of sharpness and in the case of stacking polarizer filters, the possibility of unwanted shifts or variations of color. Another option has been stacking conventional ND filters, but again possible loss of sharpness can occur. Both options also can cause vignetting, or darkening at the edges of the frame due to the protrusion of the filter hardware at the front of the lens. Unfortunately, these effects are not ideal

Now, variable ND filters, available from most major filter manufacturers, which are available at your favorite camera store, offer the benefits previously stacking polarizers or conventional ND’s all in one package and without the detriment of attaching multiple filters. At the twist of a wrist, you and I can now adjust from minimal light reduction to nearly complete blocking of the light through the lens. With one simple accessory. A very handy tool for many shooting situations, such as moving water and waterfalls, even midday allowing more shooting flexibility in a wider variety of conditions, more conveniently than ever. Here’s an example…

Tamron SP 24-70 F/2.8 VC USD at f22, ISO100, 2sec. bright morning light.

Try a Variable ND filter to expand your shooting capabilities soon.

Good Shooting.

Macro Images & Controling Your Depth of Field

By Ken Hubbard

 

A few days ago a questions was asked of me on Facebook about one of the images I posted. The question asked if I used focus stacking software on the posted image of orchids which were taken while conducting a workshop at Parkside Orchids in Pennsylvania earlier this year. For those of you who don't know, focus stacking software allows you to create a larger depth of field than is normally attainable by merging images taken of the same subject with the same cropping, but with different focus points. When the images are merged the depth of field increases. The image above was the image in question, and no, there was no focus stacking done to this image. Anyone can obtain the same look by understanding the 3 things that effect depth of field, aperture, focus point & focal length.

First, lets look at aperture (or in other words your F-stop), the larger your aperture (F/1.4, F/2.8...) the smaller the depth of field & the smaller the aperture (F/16, F/22...) the larger the depth of field. This image was taken at f/32, which helped maximize my depth of field. Next is focus point, or how close you are to the subject you focused on. Keep this in mind, the closer you get to your focus point the shallower depth of field and images taken at the minimum focus distance of a lens, the DOF will be extremely shallow. This image was taken with the 90mm Macro lens which has a minimum focus distance of about 11 inches. I did not like the composition when shooting that close so I moved away from the flowers to about 22 inches. As I move away from my subject from 11 inches to 22 inches my DOF increased. Lastly, the focal length of the lens also affects your depth of field, the wider the angle of the lens the larger the depth of field. For example a 10mm lens will have a much larger depth of field than a 500mm lens.

In conclusion, to maximize the depth of field of this image, I stopped down the aperture to F/32, moved a little further away from the subject (22 inches) and used a 90mm focal length lens (instead of the 180mm Macro lens which would have had a shallower depth of field).