Ivan Makarov's photostream  

Fresh

I have few more of more abstract shots to post like the one I posted yesterday, but before I go that route, I wanted to post a more straight forward view of the redwood trees that I caught on the same day.

Some photos help us remember not the visual sense of the place, but also the feeling and sometimes even the smell of it. This is one of those.

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Uploaded on Nov 30, 2009  |  Map

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Crowd of Redwoods

We hosted my wife's family this week for Thanksgiving break. On Saturday we headed down to Santa Cruz Mountains for a brief hike in the redwoods forest, and I decided to try something new for me.

Redwood trees are rather hard to photograph, and just about every time I tried I walked away with no usable exposures. Because of how tall they are, and because of how these trees create huge shadows for themselves to sustain moist environment for their roots, they're typically back lit and create a technical nightmare for a photographer. In other words, the trunks are in the shadow, and everything else around them are highlights. The redwood groves are typically a part of the biggest forest, so it's hard to find them in a situation where trunks are lit up.

So this time I decided I wanted to try a new technique I believe landscape photographer William Neill first made famous with his portfolio The Impressions of Light, where he tried to imitate the style of impressionism explored by Monet and others, but with his camera. To see how he does it, check out the article here.

I think these types of images look the best when printed large on canvas, and I'm planning on doing that in the future. However, I do like how this one turned out and how the light helped me shape this image.

Either way, a walk in a redwood forest is always good for the soul, whether or not I walk away with any usable frames.

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Uploaded on Nov 29, 2009  |  Map

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Five

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Uploaded on Nov 28, 2009

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Four Faces of Maks

I'm borrowing Nikon 85mm f/1.4 for this week, so I started testing this lens with the easiest subject I had on hand at the time. I absolutely love that prime (it's a second time I've borrowed it), and I hope to own it someday, although it is one of the most expensive primes Nikon makes. It's AF is great, and it's as sharp as any lens I've ever shot. The bokeh it creates is beautiful as well - very smooth.

I think when it comes to portrait, there is no better lens for Nikon.

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Uploaded on Nov 22, 2009

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