Landscape Images by David Shield's photostream  

Virgin River Narrows – Zion National Park - Utah

Many of my favorite hikes are located in Utah. The Virgin River Narrows hike is no exception. The trail leads hikers through the Virgin River, which requires one to hike in water. Water levels can reach up to at least three feet in places, so this can be a great hike to do in the warmer summer months. Much of the river’s water has a swift moving current; however I found this spot along the trail where the water was calm.

I composed this scene to convey a sense of calm and peacefulness. I liked the contrast of the different elements including canyon wall, boulders, tree and calm water.

Pentax 645
Fujichrome Velvia
Manfrotto Tripod
Polarizer

Mt. Rainier - Little Tahoma Peak - Mt. Rainier National Park

This image was taken about 20 minutes after an earlier post, titled “Setting into the Mist”. Therefore, it seemed fitting to post this version as a part 2.

The mist had now completely engulfed the valley between my camera and Mt. Rainier. About 30 minutes after this image was captured you could have stood at this exact spot, and you would have seen absolutely nothing but mist.

Nikon D7000
Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5 at 16mm
1/10 Second
f/11
ISO 125
Singh-Ray ND Grad

Greetings and Happy New Year to everyone...It’s good to be back!

For New Year's Eve, I had dinner in Sausalito, before watching midnight fireworks over San Francisco. However, the object of this trip was to capture the last sunset of 2011.

My mind has been working overtime lately, thinking of possible new locations to shoot, and trying to visualize different ways to capture images from places I have already visited.

Having some clouds pass by above the crashing waves at Rodeo Beach, I waited until just before the sun had completely set. I wanted this capture to include a small amount of sunlight on the foreground rocks, to add dimension. The key to this image was a long enough exposure to highlight the final sunset's last brush strokes.

Rodeo Beach - Marin Headlands

Nikon D700
18-35mm f3.5 at 35mm
198 Seconds
f/10
ISO 200
B+W ND Grad
Singh-Ray ND Grad

Goodbye Leah | September 30, 2011 - November 29, 2011

So, I have heard this question many times..."Do animals have feelings and are they capable of displaying emotion"?

Last Tuesday, I returned home to find that Leah's health had deteriorated rapidly and all of a sudden. I realized she was dying, so I wrapped her in a blanket and put her in the spare room so she could be comfortable. What happened over the next hour amazed me.

One by one beginning with the mother, her family came to say goodbye, until the mother and all the kittens came in to the room and huddled around Leah. Finally, Padme left and the kittens resumed their play. I then attempted to take all the kittens out of the room; however Luke would not leave. He lay by Leah's side and glared at me for about five minutes. He then stayed with Leah a further fifteen minutes, as shown in this image. Leah finally passed away; in no pain, comforted and in peace. She had a really great eight weeks of life!

It took me a while; however I finally grabbed my camera and took several images of what I thought was part of a very touching scene.

Three of the four remaining kittens have now been given new homes. As for Luke; he is now a permanent part of the family.

Very Happy Holidays to everyone!!

I will post again in 2012.

Valley View - Yosemite National Park

Nikon D7000
Tokina 11-16mm at 16mm
10 stitched images
1 - 3 Seconds
f22
ISO 100
Singh-Ray ND Grad

I completed this 10-image panorama version of Valley View about thirty minutes after an earlier post, taken at this exact spot. For this panorama image, I changed my usual workflow routine by adding post-processing before exporting the images into the panorama software. I blended two separate exposures of several parts of this scene, before stitching the images. I then opened the stitched panorama in Adobe Camera Raw to make adjustments to Curves and HSL. Finally, I opened the panorama in Photoshop, where I complete any necessary tweaks, before sharpening in Lab Mode, and saving the final image in RGB Color.