Leading lines and “the Tree”

One last image of “the Tree”…maybe.  This was made while I was waiting for the light to strike the rock face that is behind the tree and out of the frame in this image.  When I am teaching I emphasize the importance of a good tripod to make your image sharp, but during the compositional part I like to encourage taking the camera off of the tripod if necessary to find the best angle.  I love using leading lines and taking objects and jamming them into the foreground.  Using a wide angle lens to decompress the scene often creates elements to help the viewer navigate through the image as well.  Once you find the right angle, then set up your tripod.  I used the Vanguard Abeo Plus 323CB (carbon fiber with BBH-200 head) on this trip for several reasons.  The legs have “sand shoes” that you can add to help support it on loose sand or snow.  The center column can be broken down so the tripod can go to ground level easily.  In this scene I had to use the tripod in a very odd position with one leg at about a 10 o’clock position while the lower legs were in about a 4 o’clock position.  The upper leg was on rock while the lower legs were in sand.  To make it perfectly steady I removed the sand shoe from the upper leg.  I also had to breakdown the center column in order to straddle the rock I was using for a leading line into the bush.

Tamron SP 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-700, Aperture Priority, f11, -2 stops of exposure compensation, ISO 200 resulting in a shutter speed of 1/6th of a second, Vanguard Abeo Plus 323CB tripod kit, processed in Lightroom 5.

The Tree in Twilight

This is one of the images I had initially set out to do when I went to “the Tree”.  I wanted to arrive early enough to get some great blue colors behind it.  This angle is the typical angle it is shot most commonly.  If you are ever in Zion in the morning, walk around the tree and shoot back towards the road and the great rock face across the road.  It typically is about 30 minutes or so after sunrise when the rock face lights up.  I never did shoot the Checkerboard Mesa…
Tamron SP 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-700, Aperture Priority, f11, -1 stop of exposure compensation, ISO 200, resulting in a shutter speed of 30 seconds, Vanguard Abeo Plus 323CB tripod kit, processed in Lightroom 5.

The Tree

Last week while I was in Zion, we had eaten at a burger joint named Oscar’s.  Good homemade burgers.  At the next table were 4 photographers discussing the days images and what their plans were for the next day.  We all started talking and I asked where they were going to shoot sunrise?  I found the response a little odd but it was “there really isn’t a place to shoot sunrise in Zion”.  I know I had a puzzled look on my face and hoped they were thinking maybe direct sunlight in the Virgin River Canyon itself but over the hill to the east was plenty.  They asked where I was going to go and I told them over towards Checkerboard Mesa.  They had the same puzzled look on their face I had just had on mine.  I explained there was a tree, I have always referred to as the Kodak tree because I had used it as the subject for an ad I shot for Kodak years ago.  I had also done a series of ads for Mamiya using the same tree, but I thought the Kodak tree sounded better.  Mamiya tree was almost a tongue twister.  The youngest of the four replied saying oh the bonsai tree?  I said yes that was the one.  In reality it should be the John Shaw tree since it was he who had made it famous in his books.  They decided to sleep in I guess, they weren’t too enthusiastic about my location.

So the next morning we got up, loaded up the vehicle and headed to “the tree”.  Knowing it was in a area that was well below the horizon my thought process was to use a background and silhouette the tree.  Even my friend began to have a puzzled look on his face at my plans.  Anyway after the sun lit the background, my friend’s skepticism turned to a smile as he fired away.  Lesson is:  it is all about light, not always on the subject but how it effects the scene.

Tamron SP 70-200mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-700, Aperture Priority, f5, -1 stop of exposure compensation, ISO 200, resulting in a shutter speed of 1/2000th of a second, Vanguard Abeo Plus 323CB tripod kit, processed in Lightroom 5.

Sunset in Zion NP

I arrived in Zion National Park yesterday afternoon just in time to get some really nice light.  Being in a canyon the walls bounce a lot of light on the trees and river.  After shooting on the river for a bit I went up towards Checkerboard Mesa to scout for this morning’s sunrise.  After seeing a potential for a beautiful sunset at this location it was simply a waiting game.  As the light developed I simply found a foreground object I liked and then using the lines it the rock wanted to lead the viewer through the area up to the mesa.
Tamron SP 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD lens on a Nikon D-700, Aperture Priority, f22, -2 stops of exposure compensation, ISO 200, resulting in a shutter speed of 1/4 of a second, Vanguard Abeo Plus tripod and BBH head.