Some more from Colorado

[michaelb]

Hope you guys like these better :D.......





Sigma 17-70, 2 stop ND grad....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1257/1362751477_d75264cdd6_o.jpg




Sigma 17-70, 3 stop ND grad....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1132/1363640198_beadd3240a.jpg





Sigma 17-70 with CP....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1367/1363766182_9849a7f4f8_o.jpg



Sigma 17-70....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1416/1362751271_1ca9b25027_o.jpg




Canon 10-22 (you gotta love 10mm - that's my wife in the green coat)....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1322/1362751679_7c84e475e2_o.jpg




Sigma 17-70, 2 stop ND grad....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1154/1362751601_c9135f16ef_o.jpg




Sigma 17-70....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1410/1363640082_6d1c265da8_o.jpg




Sigma 17-70, 2 stop ND grad....
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1144/1363640010_e9b82b3372_o.jpg

[RichNY]

Michael- Some really great images you made. I am quite surprised at how good the Sigma 17-70 works.

[toriaj]

Michael, I like your tree trunks. What post-processing did you do to make them glow white like that?

[JTL]

Hey Michael...stop trying to make the rest of us live up to your shots, man...:p:D:p

Seriously, really nice work. I like 'em all.

And you kick butt with that Sigma...great color, contrast and sharpness...and I'm a big fan of effecvtive use of ND grads.

[coldrain]

Some really nice landscape shots there... although I find the darkness in the 1st photo very odd. I do not think the ND grad filter works in such shots, where it introduces odd dark "shadows".

And in some others the green trees show they are quite underexposed... lifting them would imporved the colours.

[No Control]

Wow great stuff! The color and compositions are all great. I agree with coldrain though in some of the shots the ND filter causes unwanted darkening in the land. But other than that, superior photos! :D

[GaryS]

Michael, those shots are all exceptional....

You should give them names or numbers so that we can comment on them!

I especially like the one with the road!

[michaelb]

Thanks for all the comments guys; very helpful.


Michael, I like your tree trunks. What post-processing did you do to make them glow white like that?
Basically no PP aside from some USM. The color/contrast is right out of the camrea. Its like Aparmley says...."Its all about the lighting".

I shot some trees on the other side of the road with different lighting and they look horrible. (In other words, I got lucky ;)).


Michael- Some really great images you made. I am quite surprised at how good the Sigma 17-70 works.
For the type of photography I do, it really is a great lens. I'm not sure I would like it for sports as its not as fast focusing as Canon USM though.


Hey Michael...stop trying to make the rest of us live up to your shots, man...

Seriously, really nice work. I like 'em all.

And you kick butt with that Sigma...great color, contrast and sharpness...and I'm a big fan of effecvtive use of ND grads.
Thanks, the ND grads really are fun to use.


Some really nice landscape shots there... although I find the darkness in the 1st photo very odd. I do not think the ND grad filter works in such shots, where it introduces odd dark "shadows".

And in some others the green trees show they are quite underexposed... lifting them would imporved the colours.
I agree with you Coldy; I have certainly not mastered how to use these filters - it takes alot of practice to get things just right. But, ND grads allow me to capure images that would be impossible without them; sometimes it "works" and sometimes it does not.

I also hate to do much PP (I just don't feel "right" about it - many people will "burn/dodge" these areas, which I should probably try). I have done some bracketted exposures and blended then manually, which I may try more of in the future, but it still seems a little "fake" to me. I'm still not much of a blend/HDR fan - its not that I don't think they look good (I've seen some amazing results) its just that I like to do things as naturally as possible.

With an ND grad I am trying to simply reduce the dynamic range of the image to a point where the cameras sensor can "see it as my eyes do".


Wow great stuff! The color and compositions are all great. I agree with coldrain though in some of the shots the ND filter causes unwanted darkening in the land. But other than that, superior photos!
Thanks No Control...I know I've got to work on my ND grad technique and accept the fact that some PP is an evil necessity.


Michael, those shots are all exceptional....

You should give them names or numbers so that we can comment on them!

I especially like the one with the road!
Thanks Dusty. In that road shot I was shooting a field a thousand feet below me for 30 minutes (with 5 other photographers), and I turned around to head back to the car and looked down the road and though "that would make a great shot". Sometimes a shot just "appears" to you.

[AdamW]

Wow, Michael! I really like the birch trees.

[michaelb]

Wow, Michael! I really like the birch trees.
Thanks Adam; close, but no cigar though - those are Aspens.

Here is a Birch tree shot that I took - Birch are very common here in New England....



Close up with Sigma 17-70....
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/194/442887829_0d468eb7b8.jpg

[Esoterra]

VERY nice set of photos. Imagine the fun you could have up there with a wide angle 10-20 or such. Nice work!

[AdamW]

Aspens. Got it. But aren't birch and aspen closely related? Neither grow well in San Francisco!

[Nickcanada]

Ya, you kick ass Mike! Great work!

[noyjimi]

michael, i like 2 and 6 the most, they're great! where is 2 taken?

i am not into 1 so much -- i think it looks odd with the blue sky's exposure under the ground's. maybe a 1 stop grad instead.

[Honest Gaza]

Nice shots Michael. I've never been there but I imagine Colorado must be one of the greatest places to be for a photographer.

Almost feel like breaking out my Johnny Denver DVD :)

[michaelb]

michael, i like 2 and 6 the most, they're great! where is 2 taken?

i am not into 1 so much -- i think it looks odd with the blue sky's exposure under the ground's. maybe a 1 stop grad instead.

Thanks again to all for the comments and critique.

The second shot was taken at Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park - was taking a leisurely stroll around the lake after a long day day of hiking and the lighting was just right.