August 22nd, 2010
iPhone 3GS___1/6400 sec at f / 2.8__ISO 64
Last Monday, my kids went back to school. My 13 year old daughter started 8th grade, and I have the morning run, taking her to her new school which is 20 minutes away from my house. I will be making the drive nearly every weekday until next June. Seeing the I will be driving through beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills, and I am always looking for great light and new photographs, I might as well work on a new theme. I plan on calling the portfolio Morning Light.
For nearly five years, I drove into Yosemite Valley from El Portal to go to work at The Ansel Adams Gallery. And back down the canyon again at the end of the day. What a blessing. I remember that I had no problem getting up early to make that drive, so that I would have time to photograph if so inspired. Well, I won’t have that option on this “morning run,” since we have to leave the house by 7:30, but on my return home, I will have time to photograph.
The photograph here was made with my iPhone – three frames stitched together in Photoshop – on my drive home. This view looks east towards the Ansel Adams Wilderness and the Sierra crest. On this first day of school, I had left my 1DS Mark III behind, unfortunately. I won’t make that mistake again. However, with the extra quality from three iPhone files stitched in PS, and the wonderful Noise Reduction in Lightroom 3, the file would make a very good small print. From now on, my camera bag will be packed when I go to bed, and ready for my morning shuttle service, and my search for morning light.
Let’s see what I can come up with over the next ten months. I’ll keep you posted!
William Neill’s New E-Book: YOSEMITE: VOLUME ONE
Please check out my web site for information on online and private workshops, posters, books and ebooks, and list of galleries that represent my fine art prints.
Tags: canon eos 1ds mark III, Landscape Photography, merge to panorama, photograph, photography, photoshop, Sierra Nevada Mountains, William Neill, williamneill.com
Posted in Landscape Photography, Nature, Photoshop Resources, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Yosemite National Park | 6 Comments »
August 14th, 2010
William Neill's Yosemite: Volume One
I am pleased to announce the publication of my latest ebook, William Neill’s Yosemite: Volume One. I have compiled 52 of my favorite images created using film cameras. The majority of the photographs were made with my 4×5 view camera, and the exposure dates range from 1977 to 2005. I have lived and photographed in the Yosemite area since 1977, and so it is rewarding to have finally produced a portfolio of my favorite images. The book was designed in Adobe InDesign with file sizes that have been optimized to preserve the high-resolution image files. The quality of the images vividly comes to life on the computer monitor and you can zoom in closely to examine details within each photograph.
William Neill’s Yosemite: Volume One is delivered as a PDF file. Each image is presented on a single page, and so is optimized for viewing the individual images clearly. When you click on each image, you will be taken to a secondary Photo Notes page that includes camera and lens info, my commentary on the making of each photograph, as well as notes on the location of where each image was made. The ebook also offers interaction between each image and the Photo Notes section at the back of the book. When viewing the Photographic Notes, simply click on the photograph’s thumbnail, and you are linked back to that image in the PDF.
Half Dome and Elm tree, winter, Yosemite National Park, California 1990
My new ebook can be easily viewed on an Apple iPad, iPod, iPhone or any other device that can view PDF’s using an excellent app called Good Reader. I have seen my ebooks on an iPad, and the quality of each image and text is excellent.
To purchase this Digital Edition book, visit my ebook store here: William Neill’s Yosemite: Volume One.
Half Dome and Tenaya Canyon at sunset from Washburn Point, Yosemite National Park, California 1996
Black Oaks, Autumn, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California 1984
Tags: 4x5, 4x5 Film, Landscape Photography, large format photography, national park, Nature, William Neill, williamneill.com, yosemite, yosemite valley
Posted in Landscape Photography, Macro Photography, Nature, Yosemite National Park, photography | 5 Comments »
June 30th, 2010
Tags: canon eos 1ds mark III, flower, lily, Nature, nature patterns, panoramic, photography, pink, pond, tilt shift, William Neill, williamneill.com
Posted in Inspiration, Macro Photography, Nature, Nature's Design, Patterns of Nature | 6 Comments »
June 14th, 2010
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM__2.0 sec at f / 32__ISO 100
Life is full of lessons. When I went to Yosemite Valley a few weeks ago, as with every spring for 33 years, I tried to create a new dogwood images. I always gravitate to the same tree where I have made my best dogwood images. I call it my Home Tree. I tried a few frames of this tree again, but realized that my past images were better. So I moved on. Upriver, near Pohono Bridge, I worked along the river bank, looking for a “dogwood and river rapids” image. Here is one I made in 1988, but this season at this same location, the dogwood were too sparse: Dogwoods on the Merced River, Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California 1988. Again, I tried a few frames anyway then headed upstream to another location where I have rarely photographed. Unfortunately, I was running short on time since I needed to meet up with my 9 year old son Ravi’s Yosemite field trip group. The first composition I tried was the one below. The branches were graceful and full of blossoms. The wind was light and there was little movement in the branches. The water was high so the river was mostly dark with a few curving breaks of whitewater. I am pleased with the image, but it is not up there with my best.
Finally, I spotted a dogwood tree next to the river that had a broken branch dangling in the rapid water. The blossoms danced to the movement of the river like so many dancing fairies. My first instinct was to use a fast shutter speed, so that the dogwood would be sharp. Even if I could freeze the action of the tree, the river rapids would look stiff and unnatural. So I turned my aperture down to f/32 to see what kind of impressionistic effect I could capture by allowing the blossoms to dance their dance and for the river to blur softly in the background. Since only parts of the whole branches were being shaken by the strongly flowing river, this image has an intriguing blend of sharpness and softness. I feel that the BW treatment adds to the delicate effect.
Lesson: I find it important to visit locations where I feel at home. In this case, it was my dogwood Home Tree, and in general, the stretch of dogwood trees below Pohono Bridge. But in order to continue my own creative growth, and to raise the bar on my work, I needs to push myself to seek new views, new angles. Each time I hope to better my best!
Let me know your thoughts about these two images.
Cheers, Bill
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__EF70-200mm f/2.8L USM__1/3 sec at f / 32__ISO 200
Tags: canon eos 1ds mark III, flower, Landscape Photography, photograph, photography, water, William Neill, williamneill.com, yosemite, yosemite valley
Posted in Featured Print, Landscape Photography, Nature, Patterns of Nature, photography | 8 Comments »
