Jim Patterson Photography's photostream  

Press L & F11 for best Lightbox View

Portfolio & Services

The sun peeks out from behind an aspen tree in the forests of the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. The fall color contrasts with the deep blue sky with crisp alpine air. California may not be known for its fall colors, but when they are good, they are a beautiful sight ot behold.

Want to join the Sea to Summit workshop this Fall to the Eastern Sierras? We were running a sale through yesterday, but Josh and I are slow to take down the links. You can still swoop in and save.

Nikon D300S (borrowed from Mr. Cripps while my D7000 at the time was in the shop)
Tokina 10-17mm @ 10mm
1/100 sec, f11, ISO 100

Press L & F11 for best Lightbox View

Portfolio & Services

Good morning everyone! I hope everyone has a relaxing, enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Any plans? Any photo plans?

I'm a retail slave, so I will be working today and Monday but Sunday should be a day of photography up in San Francisco to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate bridge. It is going to be a madhouse in the city!

Here's a nice sunrise from a few months ago at a spot not too far from my house, the Walton Lighthouse in Santa Cruz, California.

Description: Vivid sunrise light falls along the breakwater entrance to the Santa Cruz harbor. The Walton lighthouse sits in the distance with the crescent moon just above.

Nikon D7000
Nikkor 12-24mm @ 12mm
4 sec, f9, ISO 200
Singh-Ray 3-stop reverse GND
LEE .6 Soft GND

Press L & F11 for best Lightbox View

Portfolio & Services

Mono Lake basin along California's eastern Sierra Nevada mountain range is a saline body of water which has amazing mineral structures called tufa which line its shores. These tufa formations draw travelers from all over the world to visit Mono Lake. During this winter sunset, the sky turned vivid hues of red and purple and certainly was an amazing scene over this alien landscape.

Sorry for the blatant "key word" description. Gotta post and run to work!

Nikon D7000
Nikkor 12-24mm @12mm
1.6 sec, f10, ISO 100
Singh-Ray 3-stop reverse GND

RAW file processed in LR4 and finished off in PS CS5 using a mix of Nik filters and luminosity masks.

Press L & F11 for best Lightbox View

Portfolio & Services

Last week, I got out to use my new D800 up in San Francisco. A quick thought on the D800: think of resolution as similar to the strength of a magnifying glass, the more resolution, the stronger the magnification. This means more details AND more flaws will be exposed. This camera will force me to get better, which is a good thing.

Anyway, I met up with a few other photographers, some I've met before and some I met for the first time. Joe Azure, Ivan Makarav, Steve Landeros, Nathan Wirth, Grant Murray, and the lovely Kendra Karr, it was a pleasant and enjoyable evening!

As for the image, it is a two exposure blend. I tried using my filter system, but the salt spray and the nature of the composition I chose made it difficult to use them properly. And why this composition? No clouds. I walked up and down the beach looking for something to jump out at me. These massive rocks did the trick as we don't have quite this effect down in the Santa Cruz area. I used one frame for the sky and another for everything else.

Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24mm @ 15mm
0.5 sec & 1/60 sec, f11, ISO 50

Press L & F11 for best Lightbox View

Portfolio & Services

I live near the coast. Because of this, I have the luxury of weather watching and making last minute decisions as to whether I go out or not. But sometimes, I realize this is lazy approach. Skills such as honing your eye for composition needs to be kept sharp. I recently went through one of my "lazy" spells, and didn't go out much in March and April.

Maybe I was simply waiting for my new camera, the Nikon D800 to arrive. So when I got my new body, I promptly headed out to give it a test run even though the skies were cloudless.

So what does one do with a cloudless sky? One option is to make sure your foreground is as compelling as possible. I tried my best by using the rock formations and receding water to pull the viewer's eye into the frame.

Nikon D800
Nikkor 14-24mm @ 14mm
0.5 sec, f10, ISO 200
LEE .9 and .6 Soft GND filters in SW150 holder