You know, in these rather serious times it is really helpful & soothing for mental sanity to see things like this. Even if it is just a couple of us & basically giving feedback to each other, please keep doing this. I am afraid everything might get much worse before it gets better & even this outdoors catharsis becoming unavailable because of totally restricted freedom of movement. All doomy and gloomy, but from things like this to descent to complete anarchy is frighteningly close.


But back to lighter topics: Last pic is so interesting. At first it looked like frost collected on filter you forgot to take off and then I read whole rapid fire as ice crystals were falling off. Very cool, and totally appropriate for B&W I think

I agree. I hope people keep posting TR's also while they can. Although I may not comment on them, it's nice to read.

Favorite Photos of 2020 Summer & Fall
There was a lack of good photo opportunities this year which a lot depended on the weather conditions. Hopefully, starting this winter, photograph opportunities will be better. I'm still using a 12 year old Nikon D90 cropped sensor and an 8 year old Nikon D800 full-frame camera.

Moss-covered dead trees, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 0.625 sec, -2.00 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 17 mm
Polarizing filter
I've photographed these many times throughout the year and at different perspectives but in this shot the sunlight makes all the difference especially when taken at a certain time of year.

Beard lichen, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D800, iso 800, f13, 1/6 sec-1.33 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 22 mm
Polarizing filter
These trees were at the edge of a small clearing where a creek runs thus the light back-lit the hanging lichens. Sunlight would have been too harsh and blown out the details and would show up as white instead of yellow. During late fall, the low sun doesn't rise high enough over the mountain. I had to use a high iso because of slight wind on the ferns. Thus, I had to clean up the noise and sharpen the photo.

Sunrise at Thompson Park, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D90, iso 320, f16, 1/8 to 1/15 to 1/30 sec, 0.00 to -1.00 to -2.00 ev (3 exposures taken)
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 16 mm
2 sec timer for shutter release
I used an old photomatix program to combine the shots for HDR. There was quite a bit of noise that I reduced then added some sharpening. This area with the beaver pond is one of the best places for reflections but a little difficult to get to due to the marshland all around, the prickly shrubs and the narrow strip of dam (created by beavers) to walk along. The only regret is I wish I had brought my D800 which is better in low light and I can take more than 3 different exposures.

Encroaching clouds, Flora Lake Trail
Nikon D90, iso 200, f13, 1/60 sec, 0.00 ev
Tokina 11 – 16 mm f2.8 (IF) DX lens @ 13 mm
Lee one stop ND grad filter
My favorite weather conditions to photograph are drifting low clouds. One thing I'm always aware of is trying to keep the photograph in balance. The moving clouds on the left helps to counter-balance the overwhelming diagonal force of the slope otherwise the photo would appear off-balance.

Mushrooms, Trans Canada Trail, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 6 sec, 0.00 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 18 mm
Polarizing filter
Estimated hyperfocal distance
For the past couple of years, I visited this rotten tree trunk and never get disappointed at the amount of mushrooms growing on it. The other side of the trunk also has huge clusters of mushrooms. For this shot, the sun shone through the trees lighting up a cluster of mushrooms on the ground. I had to work fast setting up the shot since the sunlight slowly drifted away. I like the warmer tone the light gives on the mushrooms in contrast to those on the shaded tree trunks.

Last days of autumn, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 3 sec, 0.00 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 45 mm
Polarizing filter
2 sec timer delay for shutter release
I like the contrast in colors between the decayed orange leaves, reddish brown leaves and the green moss-covered tree limbs. At any other time of year, it's a pretty chaotic scene where the colors merge together and doesn't look as interesting.

Misty Mountain, Chilliwack Valley
Nikon D800, iso at Lo 1 setting equivalent to iso 50, f16, 1/3 sec, -1.67 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 18 mm
Back button focus
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Polarizing filter
Exposure through Live View
I used the in-camera HDR function to tame the highlights since I didn't have my Grad filters with me and I didn't want to bracket exposures. The HDR function works okay but it only shoots in jpeg. I'm pretty happy with the shot but would rather prefer the ND Grad. I corrected some lens distortion, reduced some minor noise, reduced some chromatic aberration, add some sharpening and contrast and corrected the white balance. The in-camera setting for jpeg shots was set to neutral instead of landscape or vivid mode and with reduced contrast.
Once in a while, I visit this pond just to photograph this mountain which hasn't been logged yet. On this day, some light dusting of snow fell and there was a clear shot of the mountain but I waited until some drifting mist floated across the way to add some drama to the shot.

Mountains shrouded in clouds from Flora Lake trail
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 1/125 sec, -1.00 ev
Tokina 11 – 16 mm f2.8 (IF) DX lens @ 11 mm
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Lee one stop soft ND grad
I am always looking for drama in my photos and the clouds surely helped with that. I like the nice mossy foreground and the way the clouds expand outward from the mountain. There was some slight noise I had to clean up and I added some minor sharpening. I made 5 trips up this trail this year and came across a black bear on two separate occasions. The first time it ran away and on another trip it just hung around. When I stopped for several minutes watching it, I could see it was getting a bit agitated then I left it in peace.

Lindeman Lake from Goat Ridge
Nikon D800, iso 400, f16, 1/90 sec, 1.00 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 18 mm
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Exposure through Live View
2 sec timer delay for shutter release
I waited for over an hour before the clouds cleared and drifted about until I saw part of Lindeman Lake below. I spent a lot of time at this viewpoint and took quite a few shots of the rolling clouds. I think this one is my favorite since I like the way the clouds form this U-shaped window. This was taken in late November when it was mild enough that the snow was melting.

Favorite Photos of 2020 Summer & Fall Continued......

Lindeman Lake
Nikon D800, iso 100, f16, 1/10 sec, -1.33 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 27 mm
Lee 1 stop ND grad filter
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Exposure through Live View
One challenge of photographing is the time it takes to get on location. I was lucky that low clouds were lingering at the south end of the lake when I arrived. When the clouds departed from the ridgetop, I took this shot. Without clouds, the shot would have looked like any other boring scene. I had to under-expose quite a bit in this photo because of the bright cloud above so even at base iso 100 there was still some noise I had to clean up.

Mist on Lightning Lake, Manning Park
Nikon D90, iso 200, f11, 1/60 sec, -0.50 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 31 mm, vibration reduction (VR) turned on.
Early in the morning I took a detour to Lightning Lake before heading up the Poland Lake trail/ ski hill.
When I saw the mist floating around, I grabbed my camera and ran down to the lakeside. I didn't have time for a tripod or use any ND grad filter, so I hand held the camera with VR turned on since. Although I didn't need VR for 1/60 sec, it was good insurance as I only had a couple of chances for a shot before the mist moved on and dissipated.

East Skyline Trail, Manning Park
Nikon D800, iso 200, f16, 1/60 sec, 0.00 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 35 mm
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Exposure done through live view
Polarizing filter
I am not a big fan of bright sunny days and blue sky for photography however the angle of the sun was still relatively low and it did help light up the low lying clouds. One challenge for photographing scenes like this is to make it up to the ridge before the sun dissipated the clouds which started to disappear at a rapid rate. The leaning tree trunks included in the photo added to the foreground composition.

Remnant snow/ice. Needle Peak trail
Nikon D90, iso 200, f22, 1/10 sec, -0.50 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 20 mm
Polarizing filter
Reduced some minor noise and added some sharpening. I used a higher f stop due to the close proximity of the snow chunks.
Every year, I make it a habit of hiking this trail to visit these irregular shapes of snow however timing is important. Last year around this time (first week in Aug) most of the snow had melted and I missed the opportunity to photograph. Snow accumulates here every winter and gets compressed then it melts into unusual shapes.

Yak Peak from Needle Peak Trail (jul 16 #83 )
Nikon D90, iso 320, f16, 1/180 sec, -1.00 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 16 mm
Lee 2 stop ND grad filter
This old camera does not show the histogram in Live View so I had to take the shot and then look at the histogram to have an idea if the exposure was okay. I waited until a break in the clouds allowed sunlight to highlight Yak Peak. Also, I liked the way the sunlight shone through gaps in the cloud to light up the rock face on the left and parts of the valley below. I had to boost up the iso for a faster shutter speed as the wind was blowing quite hard.

Transition from Fall to Winter, Pierce Lake Trail
Nikon D800, iso 200, f16, 1/60 sec0.67 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 26 mm
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Exposure done through live view
The only viewpoint of the valley (rockslide area) before the trail enters the forest is one of the most difficult places to photograph because of the ugly logging scars on the mountainside. The brown patch below is someone's field and most of the logged areas on the mountain is covered by lighter green vegetation so it wasn't too bad. However, there is a newer logged area which I waited until the rolling fog had covered. I also framed the photo with the snow-covered tree on the left as it hid a fairly recent logged area. The composition remains fairly well balanced although the mountain slope on the right is a bit more imposing however the tree on the left is closer to the camera so it balances out well.

Mushroom, Teapot Trail at Cultus Lake
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 2 sec, 0.50 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 85 mm
2 photos focus stacked
Polarizing filter
If mushrooms are large enough, then a macro lens is not necessary. I used a zoom lens at 85 mm. Most fungi I find are always at ground level making it impossible to get the tripod that low and therefore the top (mushroom caps) dominate the shot. These mushrooms were several feet above the ground on a old fallen tree trunk and I like this perspective looking up at the gills underneath the cap.

Sunbeams, Vedder Mtn Trail
Nikon D90, iso 200, f16, 1/3 sec -0.50 ev
Nikkor 16 - 85 mm lens @ 28 mm
Corrected lens distortion; vertical shear.
The opportunity to photograph sunbeams depends on the right environmental conditions. There has to be a combination of sunlight and mist in the forest at the same time. Sometimes, it's one or the other therefore it was a matter of waiting patiently and following the moving mist and hoping for the sun to pop out from the clouds. The rainbow colors that you see around the sun is not lens flare but water diffraction.

Very nice, as always. Was wondering what happened with this thread


My favorite this time is mushroom cluster. Interesting you needed 6 sec exposure, even with f16, as it looks it was still daylight. I'd probably make colors bit more vibrant in post-processing. It's a great photo

I think I'll just post photos after each season ends. I noticed that posting on this website, the photos look less vibrant than on my computer screen. About the mushroom, I only wished that the mushrooms were wet....I guess I could have sprayed them with water to make them look less dull.

I am noticing that too, not just website but also between image editors. Normally I first process in Photoshop, and as last step use Irfan View to strip Exif (PS can do it too, I just like Irfan View). In Irfan colors are always less vibrant than in Photoshop. Basically these are all viewers (image processing software as well as websites) that interpret formats, such as JPG, in their own way. Some automatically sharpen, some don't. etc etc


Btw, I might have told you before, but you should really consider trying to sell some of your stuff. Not to get rich, but gives you bit more of satisfaction because of recognition. I just got enhanced license for this






it was on a hike earlier this year, and I wasn't even trying -- just turned back, snapped few frames & stitched them later on. Enhanced license means usage in commercial purposes, such as calendar, poster etc. You won't get rich but it does pay for the gear.

Yes, I had looked at your website a week ago and saw how much you made....that would pay for a zoom lens I need for my full frame camera. I'll have to look at those stock website you sell to. See what photos are in most demand. A lot of mine is forest shots...not too exciting. I guess you can't go wrong with mountain shots.

Stock photography is subject on its own that has lots of frustrating parts, but as long as you approach the right way it can be enjoyable. One of main lessons is that you never know what someone might look for. And with time after you built portfolio, it becomes steady passive income for years



Try with Adobe. They are a bit more artsy & your nature shots would get downloads.

solo75,
I'm impressed by your use of light and darker areas to structure the photo and keep the viewer's eye moving within it.
Also, they are gorgeous! and make me want to go take a look for myself.

Thanks. I've learnt from pro photographers that the most important part of photographs is composition and light. Light is everything. Not bright full sun but I like the contrast between light and dark. Photography is challenging but it's also fun.

Yes. Yes. One more 'Yes'. And it's not always golden hour (although golden hour is golden most of the time!). Here are 2 I snapped today & just finished uploading; both taken ~1pm, and both have good chances of getting sold.

Attached Thumbnails

 

 

Do you find that these sunny day photos sell well? I guess it depends on the buyer.

I know you don't like 'sunny day photos'. It's all relative to what is captured, and as you say, what buyer is looking for.

This is one of my best selling landscapes, used between others by Dell to showcase high resolution capabilities of their next generation monitors, also 'sunny day'. Lots of contrasts between shadows and highlights






btw, this is link to my portfolio on Adobe; near the top are best sellers, as you can see it's mostly landscapes. So nature shots, despite some misconceptions, are in demand

The last shot of 2020

Elk Mountain views, Chilliwack
Nikon D800, iso 100, f16, 1/500 sec, -0.67 ev
Nikkor 18 – 35 mm lens @ 29 mm
Estimated hyperfocal distance
Used Live View to set the exposure
2 sec timer delay for shutter release
Taking bright photos using Live View to determine exposure doesn't always work well. Exposing far to the right can result in blown highlights even though the histogram may not show it. I kept the histogram in the center but still had negative exposure compensation in the raw file. The Raw shot was a bit dark and had noise that I had to clean up then I added some sharpening. The sun was a little diffuse behind a light layer of drifting clouds. I lucked out this trip with the drifting low clouds which not only added drama but helped hide all the logged areas on the mountainside.