KNOT WHAT YOU THINK – ode to trees

REID FAMILY

My family likes trees and recently we explored the twisted ancient pine forests in California’s Eastern Sierra Mountains. During our day-hikes to some of the Mammoth Lakes and then camping in the steep canyons of Whitney Portal, we found some magnificent trees that are worthy of sharing. What made our adventurous hikes entertaining was the discovery theme of “knot what you think.”  In photographic terms; juxtaposition perception having fun with our iPhone cameras with the craziest trees we could find. Knot What You Think…ode to trees. The Reid Family.

P.S. no trees were injuring during the filming of this event ; )

 

 

KNOT WHAT YOU THINK.

KNOT WHAT YOU THINK. Juxtaposition in a tree circle at Mammoth Lakes.

KNOT REAL.                                                                                                               KNOT RIGHT.

KNOT REAL. Juxtaposition in a tree circle at Mammoth Lakes.

KNOT RIGHT. Hanging from a giant stump in Mammoth Lakes, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 DREAD KNOTS

DREAD KNOTS. Root system at McCloud Lake at Mammoth Lakes, California.

 

WHY KNOTS.                                                                               SQUARE KNOT.

WHY KNOTS. Y shaped trees at Whitney Portal Campground near Lone Pine, California.

SQUARE KNOT. Crazy extended tree at Lake Mary in Mammoth Lakes, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KNOT SAFE.

KNOT SAFE. Walking the log at McCloud Lake at Mammoth Lakes, California.

 DO KNOT DISTURB

DO KNOT DISTURB. Camping at Coldwater Creek at Mammoth Lakes, California.

 

KNOT ONE OF US.                                                                                             KNOT MARRIED.

KNOT ONE OF US. Pine cone wedge in a pine tree at Mammoth Lakes, California.

KNOT MARRIED. Twisted logs at McCloud Lake in Mammoth Lakes, California.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 KNOT FOR SALE

KNOT FOR SALE. Juxtaposed stuffed big bear at Mammoth Lakes, California.

and finally to the crazy July weather and rain optimism…..

HAIL YES

HAIL YES. Hail at the Whitney Portal Campground in July.

 

Surf Art Photos

Grandstand and crowd at the Rincon Classic surf competition in Carpinteria, California on January 25, 2015.

The final day of the Rincon Classic surf competition was greeted with perfect waves on a balmy January day with plenty of tanned skin exposed to the Southern California sun. It was a hot afternoon while talented surfers worked their magic on clear blue waves.

 

Pro Semi Final at the Rincon Classic surf competition in Carpinteria, California on January 25, 2015.

Bright backlit mid day sun reflecting off the ocean is one of the more challenging lighting for photography. One solution is turning your “classic” stop action scene into a “Surf Art Photo.” Using a combination of filters and a tripod can create magic time exposure images with the right equipment.

King of the Queen Final at the Rincon Classic surf competition in Carpinteria, California on January 25, 2015.

First is a sturdy tripod placed on a rock well about high tide and the steady stream of spectators. Next are two stacked filters; 4 stop neutral density and a circular polarizer mounted on my 80-400mm Nikon lens. I set my ISO to 100 and varied my shutter speed from between 1/160 second to .6 (or 3/5) second. The best exposure mode was aperture priority which I varied from f/5.6 to f/40 and relied on continuous auto focus for sharpness. Most of the 900 images where shot at 400mm.

Gremlin Finals at the Rincon Classic surf competition in Carpinteria, California on January 25, 2015.

Panning the camera to follow the surfer at slow shutter speed requires lots of luck blended with a tai chi motion. About a dozen serendipitous moments happened on Sunday when everything came together to create that magical image. The selected aperture creates the correct exposure while panning the camera on a talented surfer on a uncrowded perfect wave. The bright sun created the specular highlights on the backlit water and made the waves a transparent blue.

Longboard Final at the Rincon Classic in Carpinteria, California on January 25, 2015.

What a magical day in Southern California at the Rincon Classic.

January 25, 2015

Top Ten 2014 iPhone Panorama – tips and techniques

In October, I upgraded my iPhone from a 4s to a 6 and proceeded to snap 5,500 images in its first month. My $99 iPhone 4s has captured over 11,000 assets in its two loyal years and now has been proudly handed down to my daughter. These phones have survived punishing weather while traveling the globe entertaining guests while working on assignment for National Geographic aboard Lindblad Expedition ships. I think of the paradigm shifts in the photography industry in my last 30 years and have to admit that the smartphone has been the greatest advancement, even more than film to digital.

The following top ten panorama photos were taken on my iPhones during 2014 and each image is accompanied with a photography tip and technique. The smartphone has changed the way we process our visuals as we share countless photos uploaded to social media. It has also changed the way we teach photography which is evident by the responses I have received from satisfied guests. Being able to do a live iPhone photo demonstration in front of 100 guests is evolutionary and certainly a wonderful device for connecting people across all photographic abilities.

Panorama of sand dunes and the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California.

#10 Pacific Coast Highway Sand Dune
10/18/14, 1:15pm
Panorama of person climbing a 400 foot sand dune above the Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu, California.

Symmetry and Simplicity – Look for a simple composition with equal proportions on either side of the image.

Panorama of the London Underground train at an empty station in London, England.

#9 London Underground
10/22/14, 4:20pm
Panorama of a train in the London Underground or Tube at an empty station in London, England.

Distortion – Take advantage of the known barrel distortion to give your image a spherical look. Much like a cropped fisheye lens where the magnification decreases with distance from the optical center.

 

Panorama of the shipwrecked sealing vessel, the Protector III In front of the Barnard House on New Island in the Falkland Islands.

#8 New Island
11/12/14, 8:35am
Panorama of the shipwrecked sealing vessel, the Protector III in front of the Barnard House on New Island in the Falkland Islands.

Landscapes – Selecting the correct proportion and creating visual anchors are important.  Establish your height/width ratio and beginning/end of your image by doing a test pan. The camera crops approximately 10 percent from all sides so give yourself some additional room.

Vertical panorama of Multnomah Falls in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

#7 Multnomah Falls
10/14/14, 3:06pm
Vertical panorama of the Multnomah Falls, combined 620-foot waterfalls in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.

Vertical – Turning your camera horizontally in your hand and panning vertically can benefit certain subjects like waterfalls and forests. The camera will not realign when turned so ignore the arrow which is designed only for horizontal photos.

Panorama of the sunset on Mondos Beach near Ventura, California.

#6 Mondos Beach
1/2/14, 4:44pm
Panorama of the sun reflecting of a beach house at low tide on Mondos Beach near Ventura, California.

Reflections – Double your visual assets with reflections from windows or water. By relocating your camera left or right ever so slightly, you can capture reflections during key lighting situations.

Panorama of ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ art installation of red ceramic roses at the Tower of London, England.

#5 Tower of London
10/24/14, 3:08pm
Panorama of ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ art installation of red ceramic roses at the Tower of London, England.

Right to left panning can save your image. Your camera defaults to left to right panning motion but by selecting the right side of your image, you can pan from right to left. With this image, I started from the right and panned slowly left while waiting for people to move out of the frame.

Panorama of the National Geographic Sea Bird bow in Gut Bay on South Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska.

#4 Gut Bay
6/11/14, 6:29am
Panorama of the National Geographic Sea Bird bow in Gut Bay on South Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska.

Asymmetry – Offsetting your subject to the left or right side of the frame leads the viewers eyes into visual thirds or rules of thirds. Dividing your subjects into vertical thirds also helps create a compelling composition.

Panorama of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square in London, England.

#3 National Gallery
10/20/14, 12:26pm
Panorama of Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square and The National Gallery facade in London, England.

Motion – If you include people, its advised to inspect all faces and appendages before posting online or end up on “panos gone wrong.”  For crowds look for distant people while panning quickly and for close ups pan slowly and have your subject still. See double exposure for another fun trick.

Panorama of a king penguin colony and the Allardyce Range at Saint Andrews Bay, South Georgia Island.

#2 Saint Andrews Bay
11/19/14, 5:20am
Panorama of a king penguin colony and the Allardyce Range at Saint Andrews Bay on South Georgia Island.

Wildlife – Many variable to consider when working close up with wildlife. Foremost is not disturbing the animals so be patient. When an opportunity arises, use your subject as a visual anchor and include the background for impact.

Stunning panoramic sunset in the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica.

#1 Lemaire Channel
11/25/14, 10:59pm
Panoramic sunset in the Lemaire Channel, Antarctica.

Exposure – Locking the exposure and focus is the most useful feature on the camera. Panorama often cover a wide range of exposure to the sun so find an average within your composition, many times in the center. Hold your finger on your screen over this average exposure until a yellow box plus AE/AF LOCK appears. Return to your original left or right position and pan with the exposure and focus locked on your selected spot. Works amazing!

Top 10 iPhone Photos of 2013

#10 I LOVE in the beach sand in Pacific Grove, California.

The iPhone has been a game changer in the ways we share our photography. Not only have these smart phones improved teaching photography during my photo expeditions but it also has created hours of entertainment with minimal processing time. Although the optical options are limited, the simple filters and unlimited sharing has more than made up for the quality limitations.

#9 Aerial of clouds over the Everglades in Florida.

Reluctantly last year, I signed a two year contract for a new (albeit old model) iPhone 4s so I could fulfill my obligatory texting duty with other parents. Reluctant, because I was already feeling overwhelmed with media dealing with video and time-lapse photography. Quickly I realized that the iPhone was more of a practical camera than a fancy phone and it fulfilled that “instant gratification” of sharing my photography. However, the iPhone will never replace that “perfection” that DSLR cameras produce to appease my professional clientele.

#8 Shadows in Ojai Meadow Preserve, Ojai.

Seven thousand plus clicks later, I have found the iPhone an indispensable piece of my professional camera equipment. Not only does it work as a social gadget with Facebook and Instagram but it also serves as one of my more practical devices that will predict sunrises, entertain you kid in a pinch or shut out the world with headphones. It also checks email, displays breaking news, finds your way home and even makes calls.

#7 Vintage look of a girl decorating a Christmas tree.

My top 10 images were selected for the subjects being really close and lit with well balanced natural light. The camera is a simple fixed 4mm f/2.4 lens on the iPhone 4s and the image quality seriously degrades if you digitally zoom or use in low light. The HDR feature is really cool and works well in contrasty conditions. Panorama and Square features added to the iOS7 operating system were great improvements and created lots of fun double exposures. The new “square” option has been practical for social media.

#6 Heart shaped rock on Espanola Island in Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Perhaps the most useful applications for managing iPhone media is “Image Capture” which is included under Applications in the Mac OSX . A simple software that allows you to select the destination of your media being imported from your phone to your computer. It also allows you to batch delete unlimited amount of media from your phone. (CAUTION: You can inadvertently delete all you media with the wrong check box.)

#5 Lindblad Expedition’s Chief Mate at the helm with Johns Hopkins Glacier reflecting in the window in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska.

Other practical “Apps for That” I regularly use:

The Photographers Ephemeris (TPE) is one of the most useful photography tools with a GPS locator and a moon/sun calculator. Great for scouting locations months in advance and hundreds of miles away.

Miniatures is a silly but simple tilt-shift time-lapse app that creates cartoonish miniature time-lapses.

Snapseed allows you to add filters, spot focus, crop and frame your images.

Squaready simplifies cropping your images square for Instagram.

#4 Galapagos Sea Lion sleeping on Gardner Beach on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos National Park, Ecuador.

Enjoy my favorite ten iPhone photos from 2013 which were selects out of 5,000 still images that covered the gamut of subjects and locations. I am very thankful to National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions for assigning me to teach photography in wonderful worldwide destinations. The iPhone has been an integral part of sharing media during our Photo Expeditions and great entertainment for the guests.

#3 Fourth of July patriotic girl in the Push and Pull Parade in Ventura, California.

Please join me on one of my future National Geographic Photos Expeditions.

#2 Galapagos hawk flying at Playa Espumilla on Santiago Island in the Galapagos Islands National Park and Marine Reserve, Ecuador.

Below is my favorite iPhone image of the year and was taken at sunrise on Easter Sunday on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The perfect light was reflecting off of the building and water as a couple strolled down an empty palm-lined beach. Visually it all came together but what really made this special was I was on vacation with my two favorite ladies in paradise. Happy New Years and may 2014 be a wonderful year.

#1 Easter Sunday sunrise service on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Top 10 iPhone Panoramas

Top 10 iPhone Panoramas of 2013

The following are my top ten iPhone panorama photos from this year and a few lessons learned after 6,000 plus attempts….

• A steady hand and smooth panning will achieve the best results.
• Great light is everything when your dealing with a fixed 4mm f/2.4 lens.
• Composition includes anchoring your sides and looking for symmetry.
• Double Exposed works best when your subject is about 10 feet away.
• Set your focus and exposure on a neutral tone somewhere in the center.

Special thanks to National Geographic Expeditions for assigning me to these incredible locations. Image are from the Galapagos, Hawaii, Washington, California and Alaska. Enjoy. Rich Reid Photography

Panorama of Santa Barbara from the Courthouse Observation Tower in Santa Barbara, California.

Panorama of Rock Creek Lake in the Eastern Sierras, California.

Panorama of fishing pangas moored in Puerto Ayora harbor on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.

Panorama of the Santa Barbara Harbor from a fishing boat in Santa Barbara, California.

Panorama of Punta Pitt on San Cristobal Island in the Galapagos Islands National Park and Marine Reserve, Ecuador.

Panorama of the palm-lined Kalapaki Beach in Nawiliwili Harbor on Kauai, Hawaii.

Panorama of the 198-foot Palouse Falls and river in Palouse Falls State Park, Washington.

Panorama of Gardner Bay beach on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos National Park, Ecuador.

Panorama of the National Geographic Sea Lion bow and Fairweather Range in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska.

Panorama of sunset over the Asilomar Coastal Trail in Pacific Grove, California.

Tour of California – Bike Race Coverage

The Amgen Tour of California is one of America’s greatest bike races and has been hosted in the state’s most popular cities and over the most iconic places in the past 8 years. Each year, the course gets more challenging and summons the best riders in the world to compete in this 8 day, 750 mile brutal test of endurance.

Fans gather at the summit of at category 4, 12% climb up Balcom Canyon during stage 6 of the 2007 Tour of California.

Since the tours inception, I have been covering the race from the inaugural prologue when Levi Leipheimer reached the top of Telegraph Hill in San Francisco in record time to yesterday’s sprint through downtown Ojai. The first few years, I covered the event for Getty Images and now I photograph the race simply for inspiration.

Five image composite of Levi Leipheimer riding to his victory during the prologue of the 2006 Tour of California in San Francisco, California.

Covering a professional road race is not easy, in fact its down right difficult. My general approach is to scout my spots using Google Earth looking for topographical features and classic viewpoints on a hill climb and the finish. Half of the entertainment is the crowd, however they pose challenges like kicking your tripod or obstructing your view. I arrive a few hours before the forecast appearance and stake my claim on a high vantage point. Even then, you can never predict the kid that’s uses your tripod as a climbing handhold or a brawl in the crowd.

Levi Leipheimer cycling to his victory up Lombard Street during the prologue of the 2006 Tour of California in San Francisco.

My objectives are always the same; get great still images and a dynamic time-lapse with only one chance in a “very” short time window. The still images are pretty straight forward but you need the subject with background and the right lens. Wide stitched panoramas incorporating the scenery to tight panning telephoto shot of a time trail are techniques I employed to add value to a static still image.

George Hincapie wins stage 5 of the 2006  Tour of California in Santa Barbara, California.

The time-lapses require a much more methodical approach and luck….yes luck. When you are trying to predict something in the future, it doesn’t always happen as planned. In most cases, I set my intervals to 3 seconds at least 15 to 20 minutes before the riders appear and then change to a 1 second interval while the peloton passes and then back to 3 seconds. Sometime, I will set my motor drive on multiple images and fire at least a dozen images while they are passing. The above technique will create a “ramped” time-lapse that starts fast, slows in the middle and finishes fast. This can also be done in post, however its much better to have the data (images) when the action happens. I refer to this technique as “stop-time-lapse” and the results can be pleasantly unpredictable.

To learn more about time-lapse photography, please visit my website for the next available workshop.

Here are a few favorite still images from the race…..

The peloton during stage 3 of the 2013 Tour of California bike race passing through Ojai, California.

Ivan Basso riding the time trial during stage 5 of the 2007 Tour of California in Solvang, California.

Thomas Danielson, Levi Leipheimer, Floyd Landis & George Hincapie during stage 6 of the Tour of California in Ojai, California.

Paolo Bettini, Gerald Ciolek and Juan Jose Haedo sprinting across the finish line of stage 5 of the 2007 Tour of California in San Luis Obispo, California.

Time-lapse Collection 2012 Showreel

My time-lapse showreel arrived a bit late this year but here it is…

2012 was an exciting travel year from Svalbard, Norway to Northern Arizona photographing polar bears to ancient Sinaguan monuments. Time-lapse challenges with equipment and software were numerous and new workflows and techniques were forged by inevitable progress.

The monarch butterfly metamorphosis was the most challenging and educational. See my post on the process of capturing this impressive macro event in my studio.

The day-to-night time-lapses are the most difficult to capture smoothly and I tried several new dissolve techniques with varying degrees of success. The big tip is to know the moon phase and other celestial events that will influence your lighting. Shooting in RAW is critical.

Traffic was a new subject tested last year and I discovered the twilight hours produced the best results with a setting of a 1:2 ratio of exposure to interval. A stable platform is a must.

Astrophotography is one of my favorite time-lapse subjects and 2012 offered us a rare chance to witness a full solar eclipse which I botched due to my tripod. Lesson learned long ago was to use a two tripod or mono- tripod combo to stabilize long lenses. And good luck focusing.

My equipment performed flawless this year accept for crossing the leads on a 12v battery which melted. Always cover open battery leads! My Nikon D7000 dealt with extended freezing and hot conditions without any problems. Really hope to use the Dynamic Perceptions MX Dolly more in 2013 with planned car travel.

Some of the software used to create this showreel includes; Photoshop, Bridge, After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, LRTimelapse and Starstax.

My new favorite app is The Photographers Ephemeris  (TPE). It saved me hours of scouting for my time-lapse workshop and worked flawless when we scuttled to Plan B because of fog.

Please join me at one of my time-lapse workshops over the next few months:

ASMP San Diego Time-lapse Photography Lecture & Workshop: May 9 & 11, 2013 in San Diego, California.
Brooks Institute Time-lapse Photography Workshop: July 12-14, 2013 in Ventura, California.

Thanks, Rich.

richreidphotography.com
timelapsecollection.com
richreidphoto.wordpress.com/

Music by Alexander Maas, MUX, iStockphoto

Time-lapse Photography Workshop – Ventura, CA – January 25-27, 2013

Time-lapse Photography Workshop – Ventura, CA – January 25-27, 2013

Digital photography has opened up infinite possibilities to shoot time-lapse video with the simplest DSLR cameras. This intensive 3 day workshop provides the knowledge necessary to create advanced time-lapse videos using basic post-process workflow. Many years of trial and error mistakes will be discussed to improve everyone’s learning curve.

Join me for next month for a great weekend of photography and creating memorable time-lapse videos.

Monarch Butterfly Metamorphasis

An aphid next to a monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus egg attached to Mexican Butterfly Weed or Scarlet Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica in a garden in Oak View, California.

A young girl watching a monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus caterpillar eating Mexican Butterfly Weed or Scarlet Milkweed, Asclepias curassavica in their school garden in Meiners Oaks, California.

Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus mature caterpillar feeding on swamp milkweed in Oak View, California.

Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus chrysalis metamorphosing into a butterfly in a studio in Oak View, California.

Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus attached to its chrysalis during its first hour of life in Oak View, California.

Monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus attached next to his chrysalis during his first hours of ermerging in Oak View, California.

Its December and monarchs are still emerging from their chrysalises because of the mild weather in California. Our garden was host to dozens of caterpillars this season that metamorphosed into the migrating generation of butterflies that will eventually hibernate this winter along the Pacific Coast.
After many outdoor attempts, I finally captured two time-lapses of a caterpillar transforming into a chrysalis and then into a butterfly in my indoor studio.

Technical Details:
Camera: Nikon D7000 with a macro 105mm lens at f/8.
JPEG 5,000 x 3,200, ISO 100 at 1/4 second exposure with a single light source.
sRGB color profile and manual white balance 3200k

Basic Workflow:
I used Bridge to selected 300 out of 2200 images for the first time-lapse and 400 out of 3000 images for the second time-lapse. Opened in Camera RAW and made adjustments, batch image processed into a folder. Import folder into Final Cut Pro and then export as an ProRes 422 quicktime file.

Music:
YeeHa Banjo Bill, The Tune Saloon, iStock Audio
Spycraft, Piotr Pacyna, iStock Audio