Remembering the Experience...and Photography.

“Beaver Pond, Snowfall” is an image that exemplifies both the beauty that pulls me to mountain adventures, as well as the dramatic natural experience that I remember so vividly and moves me to carry big cameras and expose big sheets of film in insane conditions. On this particular day the snow was falling heavily. In the time it took me to set up my camera and expose my sheet of film (20-30 minutes), at least 4 inches of snow came down. As I looked out of my window just a couple of hours before, I had to laugh. It was a ridiculous idea to venture out, but I had “the mood” of an image in mind.

Needless to say, I layered up with warm under layers and Gore-tex outers, grabbed my camera pack and headed out into the storm. I wasn’t going far, but my anticipation was high. Now, while I had an image type in mind (intimate details close, soft hints of “foggy” background in the distance) I was open to the experience. I wandered through this quiet landscape taking in every detail. With the mountains shrouded in falling snow, the landscape became smaller. I literally felt within the landscape. That feeling is what I was envisioning for my image, and was reveling in as part of my life. That is what I call, the Fine Art of Nature!

That is what makes this image such a success. That, and a little artistic and technical follow up. Once I was in my happy place with the natural conditions and landscape, I was able to begin composing the scene in a way that represented what I was feeling. I knew that the whisper of large pines on the distant mountainside peaking through the blizzard would give depth and scale to my scene. Next I wanted to include subject matter that provided intimate detail of the beaver pond environment which made the viewer feel as though they could walk right in to the image. As I wandered I found this spot on the far side of the pond that made me stop. This was it. It was time to refine and compose.

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I was attracted to the leading line of the foreground log accompanied by the channel that the beavers swim through when leaving the pond to feed on Willows. The curved line of that channel was interesting, as were the snow covered grasses in the immediate foreground. I included the large boulder on the left, which added strength to an otherwise soft feeling scene. I positioned it in such a way that it both leads the eye to the center of the image, and creates a layering effect between foreground and background. The clarity of the texture and contrast on the granite adds strength to the composition. I used the clump of branches to the right side in the pond, along with their reflection to balance out the visual weight of the boulder and add further detail. As the far side of the pond (the beaver dam) was softened by the snow, it added a little middle ground detail that enabled a smooth transition into the delicate background. The silhouettes of the pine trees on the distant mountainside are what had brought me out into the storm to begin with. The background adds context and scale, while enabling the viewer to feel as though they are standing in a more intimate landscape. Due to the long exposure required (low light + slow film) to capture this scene on film, the falling snow is rendered as a fog, without detail. I believe that softens the mood of the scene and depicts the feeling of solitude I experienced and wanted to share.

“Beaver Pond, Snowfall” is one of those images that brings me a rush of quiet emotion when viewing it. I can feel the enveloping weather. I can hear the snowflakes landing on my hood. I remember standing on the edge of the pond as snow piled up on all of my gear. It was a black and white day, spent alone in a beautiful, peaceful place. I am pleased that I was able to translate all of that onto a 4x5 inch sheet of black and white film. And, I’m happy to be able to print this image, so you can experience this wonderful piece of nature on your wall.

Collectors Tip: Many collectors are intimidated by the idea of collecting black and white images if they don’t have a stark, modern space in which to hang them. The reality is, a piece of art on the wall stands on its own. It doesn’t have to blend. Furthermore, black and white photographs can be framed in numerous styles to fit your personal taste. They can even be printed on aluminum and hung without a frame! just ask one of our gallery representatives to help walk you through the possibilities!

Photographers Tip: Most often, when shooting black and white film, I will use “contrast filters”. These are colored filters placed in front of the lens that help produce tonal separation in a color landscape which we are trying to record on black and white film. However, when shooting in a blizzard where there are no color tones to separate, I use no filter at all in front of my lens. Given the low contrast nature of the scene, I will most often have to increase contrast while developing the film (n+1, n+2), and again later while working in either the traditional or modern (digital) darkroom. Capturing images while the snow falls gives us a relatively easy (narrow) exposure range to capture. We can then work on the straight forward contrast control at home.
Note: I am primarily a “cross platform” photographer. I shoot large format sheet film and then drum scan my film on my personal fluid mount drum scanner. This creates a massive (hundreds of megabytes) digital file which I them adjust in both Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop software. For black and white images, I am primarily using curves adjustment layers to set my whit point, black point and contrast levels, both globally and locally. I make my general / basic adjustments in Lightroom, and most of my local and very detailed adjustments in Photoshop.

Would you like to go out in the field and look through the lens with me? Would you like to take your photography to the next level, capture a particular location with your camera or simply tour the locations of some of my most iconic images? Take a private workshop / tour in your favorite season!

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: 90mm
Film: Ilford FP4 plus 4x5 inch Black and White film
Developer: Diafine
Filter: N/A
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

My FREE Fine Art of Nature Insider : https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ

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Sunset Evolution, Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe

Sand Harbor is a world class photo destination. Crystal clear water, granite boulders, pine trees and mountains looming above. This is a location I’ve visited and photographed many times. It is also one of the locations that my photography workshop / tour clients enjoy the most. So, approaching this location can be interesting. In general, as I did here, I had to let Mother Nature take the lead in choosing a specific location and composition. From there, the artistic approach was all up to me.

Traditionally, I would have been facing the opposite direction, toward the sun, during sunset, standing amongst the boulders on the far shore. However, the sky had very little interest to the west and, obviously, the monumental cloud to the northeast grabbed my attention. So, I positioned myself in an elevated location that enabled me to face the cloud, include interesting parts of the landscape in the middle ground (which are unique to this area) and highlight the clear azure water in the foreground. Then I had to wait for the light. Now, let me share my thought process about each of these elements.

To begin with, I wanted to make the massive cloud the main subject. So I chose a vertical composition and a wide angle lens (90mm on my 4x5). Second, I chose a slice of landscape and mountain (middle ground) that added a sense of this unique place and didn’t feel chopped off at either end. It needed to remain balanced. It also happened to create an overlapping pattern with the cloud and sky that added depth. Third, I included enough of the clear water to show off this amazing aspect of the location, but not so much as to create a big empty space in the image. The light reflections and boulders under the water also added interest, as well as patterns (leading lines) that draw the eye into the scene. With the composition chosen, there were a couple of items remaining.

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Now that I was set up and waiting for the light, I had some artistic decisions to make. I didn’t want a standard sunset shot. I wanted to convey a greater sense of drama than I am accustomed to seeing here. I wanted to imbue the emotion of an entire sunset in this place onto one sheet of film. To do this I chose to place a 10-stop neutral density filter ( This is a dark filter, neutral in color, that blocks the light entering the lens. No color is added with this filter. ) in front of my lens. This enabled me to leave my shutter open for 6 whole minutes, capturing a blend of the color that painted this scene during the entire peak of the sunset. This extreme exposure time also softened the edges of the cloud and surface of the water, as any motion was blurred away into a painterly silk.

I began my exposure with just a hint of warm sunset light remaining on the middle ground. As the sun sank below the mountains to the west, the light left the landscape and lit the cloud in an amazing progression of pastel colors that ranged from yellow to pink and red. These colors reflected down onto the foreground landscape, painting the entire scene into a dreamscape. This image not only captured an iconic location, but it encapsulates the wave of emotions I experienced throughout this 6 minute long natural light show. And, thanks to my big sheet of film, I am able to share “The Fine Art of Nature” with you to experience for yourself.

If you are going to be in the Lake Tahoe and are considering becoming a collector, or adding to your collection, I’d love to meet you personally at the Marcus Ashley Gallery in South Lake Tahoe and give you a personal tour of my my work they have on display. They are one of the top galleries in the country, and I’m proud to be the exclusive photographer represented here, amongst another 40 or so fine artists. You can visit their website HERE as well.

Collectors Tip:
After 14 years in my own gallery and 5 years in Marcus Ashley Gallery with many art shows, I have heard the question, “Is it ok for me to buy this piece I love even though I’ve never been there?” the answer, invariably has been, yes. To begin with, if a piece of art makes you feel something, it’s right for you. Another benefit of collecting a piece like this is, as many of my collectors have shared, that it becomes motivation to visit a place you’ve never been, and may very well change your life forever.

Photographers Tip:
Landscape photography is an art. As photographers we have many tools at our disposal. As I did with this new image “Sunset Evolution, Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe” (above) I chose to use my 10-stop ND filter to capture the image creatively in camera, as opposed to making happen in photoshop. While I use Lightroom and Photoshop to fine tune my images after I drum scan my film, I like to “do my art” in the field. In general, you’ll end up with a higher quality image as an end result. Take your time, envision the final image your composing in the field and be thoughtful with the process of “taking pictures”.
Would you like to go out in the field and look through the lens with me? Would you like to take your photography to the next level, capture a particular location with your camera or simply tour the locations of some of my most iconic images? Take a private workshop / tour in your favorite season!

If you’d like to improve your images captured with Provia 100F film,
get my FREE Provia 100F Cheat Sheet

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: 90mm
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch transparency film
Filter: Lee Big Stopper (10-stop Neutral Density)
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

My FREE Fine Art of Nature Insider : https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ

Fall, On the Rocks

Fall, On the Rocks, Carson River

December 10, 2019

Fall is an amazing time of year in the mountains. Temperatures cool, weather becomes a bit more dramatic, the fly fishing improves and, of course, the colors begin to change. This brings me back to where my photography career began 20 years ago.

I began this photo excursion by scouting…fly rod in hand. I worked my way along a little more difficult section of canyon, rock hopping and fishing small pools amongst the boulders. I relaxed, let the business world behind, landed a couple trout and settled in to that feeling that originally brought me to landscape photography. I was surrounded by rugged, mostly vertical terrain. Boulders were strewn everywhere. The water rushed roared as it worked its way through the canyon. And there, amongst the rocks, was an aspen tree. A lone survivor in this inhospitable place. Beautiful.

I had found my subject and began my own transformation from angler to photographer. I traded my fly rod for my tripod and large format film camera. With calm excitement I set up my composition. One tripod leg fully extended down into the river, one compressed as short as possible on top of a boulder where I crouched, the third on the sand. It never seams to be easy, but it is always worth the pursuit of that passion I feel when composing. Whether or not my image is successful, that creators feeling in nature is a prize. The realization that I see, feel and experience such moments in nature is amazing. And when I nail the shot and am able to share it with the world, that’s ok too.

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As I loaded my film, and waited for the last warm rays of light, I took a moment to soak it in. The sounds, smells and entire surroundings. Just before the sun dipped below the mountains I metered my scene and exposed one sheet of film. The light then disappeared, the canyon cooled, and I packed my gear. As I hiked back to my car I reflected on the experience, the process and whether or not I got it right. Fortunately, I did. And i think it’s a good one.

That is “The fine Art of Nature”.

 Click Here for assistance in adding this new release to your collection. Fall, On the Rocks, Carson River is available in several sizes on both photographic paper, as well as aluminum.

Collectors Tip:
Occasionally collectors will share that they love a piece but, “ it isn’t what we were expecting to buy”. Art is an important part of your home experience every single day. Most often it makes sense to go with a piece that makes you feel something special. There is no right or wrong in choosing art. It should make every day a little better. Go with your emotions.

Photographers Tip:
I am someone that doesn’t use filters often, but i keep them handy for when they are needed. The image above had shiny wet surfaces (rocks, leaves and water surface). I used a circular polarizer to eliminate surface glare and reflection, which enabled me to capture the richness of colors throughout the scene. This also gave a little more depth to the darker water. A final benefit was the need for a longer exposure time, as the filter blocks about 2-stops of light from entering the lens. The longer exposure gave a slight blurring effect to the moving water, softening the scene and giving a greater sense of motion.

If you’d like to improve your images captured with Provia 100F film,
get my FREE Provia 100F Cheat Sheet

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: 150mm
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch transparency film
Filter: Circular Polarizer
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

My FREE Fine Art of Nature Insider : https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/
Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ

Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overlook

Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overlook, Lake Tahoe

December 2, 2019

Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place to live, visit, experience and, occasionally, photograph. You see, after being in Lake Tahoe for so many years, I don’t feel the artistic desire to go out and capture “just another pretty shot”. I want to compose images that move me and make me feel the beauty of this place. Those are the images I find worthy of a big sheet of film. Those are the images worthy of space on a gallery wall. Those are images worthy of sharing with my collectors. I believe this new image, Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overlook, is such an image.

This composition is one I have visited many times, and photographed just a few. And while I enjoy experiencing this vista every time I visit, the natural conditions need to be spectacular in order to warrant the exposure of big film. The evening upon which I composed Golden hour, Sand Harbor Overlook had the magic combination of calm wind/water, distant cloud with nice structure and beautiful warm light bathing the pine trees. The timing was perfect. As the last colorful rays of light warmed the foreground, they also shined upward through enough atmosphere to turn the clouds above pink.

If you’d like to improve your images captured with Provia 100F film,
get my FREE Provia 100F Cheat Sheet .

The angle of light provided nice highlight/shadow contrast in the trees, while the combination of warm and cool tones of colors created contrast in the water and sky. While I often lean toward subtle, quiet landscapes, this color image quietly yells for attention. The colors are vibrant, but still soft enough to relax with. They truly highlight the clarity of Lake Tahoe’s waters, and accentuate the grandeur of her mountains, lake and expansive pine forest. This was a spectacular moment in a very beautiful place.

 Click Here for assistance in adding this new release to your collection. Golden Hour, Sand Harbor Overlook is available in several sizes on both photographic paper, as well as aluminum.

Collectors Tip:
Through my gallery experience of almost 20 years now I’ve assisted thousands of new collectors. Many worry about whether a particular image “will fit” in their home, relative to color and theme. The conclusion, long term, has almost always been: Go with the piece that you love viewing. If the colors or theme of the image don’t specifically fit the location you can either add framing to enable it to blend, or visually separate from the space (I am happy to share input), or simply view it as a window to the outdoors. This is much easier with the larger pieces I’m know for producing, as they can more easily stand on their own. In the end, art does stand on its own, and the art you hang has to make you happy.

Photographers Tip:
As you look at a color composition, remember that there are two main types of contrast: The contrast between light and dark (highlight and shadow), and the contrast between colors, which we perceive as light and dark. You may have one or the other in a particular image, or both, as I have here in the image above. With either, it is important to understand that they exist, and when captured at the right time, and controlled in the darkroom (traditional or digital), these forms of contrast can add strength, punch, or subtle “life” to your image. For the image above, I used a polarizing filter to clean up the reflection, clarify the blue water and solidify the contrast between the warm pink reflection and cool blue water. When you’re conscious of the details of what you’re seeing you’re able to include those details in your composition in a meaningful way.

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Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: Caltar IIN (Rodenstock) 90mm
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch transparency film
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

Finding Calm Within the Storm

Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River

November 15, 2019

Being a large format film photographer is an interesting avocation today. I came to shooting big film with the desire to produce large, beautiful, clear prints of the natural world. The outdoors provides me with more than subject matter. When I go “out” I am provided an energetic escape. As I like to say, I go to a beautiful place and, if all the conditions come together, I am moved to compose an image of one small, spectacular piece of that place. This has always been my source of creativity, escape, energy, rejuvenation, and ultimately, my art.

Occasionally, I get caught up in the world. I won’t delve into the details, but I lose my excitement, or motivation, or belief in the art that most often fuels me. When this happens, I find that pushing through difficult situations in the name of art can bring me back to a place of passion and creativity. The image above, “Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River”, came to life during such an experience.

Last winter the Lake Tahoe area, where I live, received massive amounts of snow. During one particular storm, all roads were closed, and we didn’t leave our home for four days. While the snow dumped, I geared up and headed out on foot. When I saw these trees silhouetted in the distance, I left the road and trudged, first through waste deep snow, then through chest deep snow, until I reached a clearing near the river. I slowly walked in a small circle until I had compacted enough snow to create a dense enough platform upon which I could set up my tripod, large format camera, and myself. After composing my image, loading a film holder into the camera and metering the scene, I waited until the snow fell heavily and the wind blew hard, creating true whiteout conditions. Then, I clicked the shutter release and exposed one sheet of color film.

The image is quiet, seemingly still. I think that is because I was able to convey how I felt in this place, in these conditions, when I experienced this scene and composed this image. With the world around us moving at a crazy pace, full of divisiveness and buried in unrealistic expectations and minimal attention spans, it is interesting that the one place I can find tranquility is within a storm. I don’t wish to mirror the world by providing images in technicolor conjured up in the computer in order to hold a viewers attention for 8 seconds and earn a “like” on social media. I want to share the power of the natural world as a remedy to those things. I hope to compose images that collectors will escape to when the world is overwhelming. These images can be both serene and powerful. I hope images like “Blizzard, Cottonwoods, River” speak to you as they do to me. The magic of big film is that it enables me to make these moments eternal. My experience, in that moment in time, can be shared and experienced forever.

After I’ve completed my photographic process in the field, I pack everything away, hoist my pack, and toil back through the conditions that originally motivated me to find beauty. As I trudged through the snow, I wondered if I had gotten it right. Was my exposure correct? Was the lens free of snow? Did the camera shake? I question my sanity, realizing I am wet, cold, tired and have along slow hike ahead of me. After several weeks, I received my developed film. The exposure was good, details / focus clear, my memory was awakened. As I drum scan my film and work in my modern digital darkroom, I question every subtle detail. I leave and come back. It takes days. In the end, my collectors will judge my vision. If you are moved as I was during the creation of this image, it was worth suffering for my art.

That is “The Fine Art of Nature”.

This image is ready to be released and is available for your collection! Please contact me directly and I will help make your purchase possible. Click Here for assistance!

Details:
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field Camera with 4x5 Film Back
Lens: Caltar IIN (Rodenstock) 90mm
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch transparency film
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

DON'T MISS OUT ON WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL LINKS:

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ
My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

Winter Musings of a Large Format Photographer

I have taken a bit of a break from sharing here on my blog. It seams that I am inclined to share only when I really have something to say. Perhaps I need to push harder in order to share more regularly? I enjoy the process of sharing, but often get caught up in the day to day aspects of business and bog down.

Fortunately, I just took part in one of the best learning processes anyone can have. I taught. I lead a private workshop with a client who was extremely open to getting out in non-ideal conditions and very much wanted to learn and create. The tone of our experience was wonderful. While he was hoping to photograph billowy white clouds in a deep blue sky above the calm blue waters of Lake Tahoe, we took what Mother Nature offered up and created the beautiful images that were possible.

With a winter storm just starting to break, we were faced with dark choppy water and layers of separating cloud under thin cloud. The first location we visited offered up a simple, somewhat minimalist composition. In order to put the focus on the small island and trees and ad a sense of calm, I had him use a very dark, 10 stop neutral density filter over his lens. This enabled him to lengthen his exposure time dramatically, creating a smoothing effect on the choppy water and softening the clouds. The resulting images were tranquil and moody, conveying how my client felt more so than how the literal scene appeared.

As we worked our way through the process of composing, critiquing, asking and answering questions, shooting and discussing results, we both felt the joy of the process. My client was extremely pleased with the refinements I helped him make. As most aspiring photographers I work with are, he was impressed by the huge impact a few very minor adjustments in position, perspective and composition can have on the resulting image. It was motivating to see how I was able to add such a spark to his creative process and enable him to refine his results in such a short time.

In the end, after just a morning of helping a fellow photographer refine their craft in the field, I became excited to get back in the field, here in Lake Tahoe, with my large format cameras. The process of working through another artists “sticking points”, and seeing their success, invigorated my desire to get out in the field and work through my own creative process. I am welcoming the experience of seeing through the lens and composing images that move me. Images that are refined, elegant and capable of having a positive impact on people’s lives.
This is “The Fine Art of Nature”.

Enjoy the View!

Jon

https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/youtube-channel/

My 50th Birthday Landscape Photography Celebration

Well, I hit the half century mark. 50 years on the planet. And to celebrate, my family allowed me to drag them out for some high altitude camping to a place I've wanted to visit for many years, the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. Located in the White Mountains of California between 10-11 thousand feet in elevation, the most ancient trees on the planet are amazing. It was well worth the trip.
Now, our first day was primarily a driving day. We left Lake Tahoe (our home) and drove for almost 4 hours to our camping location at 8,500 feet. After setting the tent up, we quickly drove another 5 miles up to 10,000 feet, and the location of the Schulman Grove of Ancient Bristlecones. Given our late arrival, we hustled along to the four mile loop trail hike, which ended with the last mile of hiking in the dark...cool adventure.
The highlight of our hike was the section of "forest" which contained the eldest of the trees. We were literally able to FEEL the energy in this place. The trees are gnarled, twisted, mostly without bark, and just hanging on to life. The oldest of these amazing beings is over 4,500 years old. I actually felt young here:) This type of experience, where I literally feel the power of nature and its ability to endure, is where my passion for photography was born. It also happens to fuel my passion for life. This emotion is why I do what I do, and share it with the world.
After our late adventure, we returned to camp, had a quick dinner and happily crawled into our sleeping bags for the night. The following day was spent exploring at a relaxed pace. We drove up to 11,000 feet and casually explored the Patriarch Grove of Ancient Bristlecone. It was beautiful, a bit cool, and a nice escape from "the world" we've created back in civilization. The family time was fantastic. We followed this up with a lunch excursion in the town of Bishop at the world famous Erik Schat's Bakery. I recommend the stop if passing through.
After lunch we returned to camp and relaxed for a short while. Then, it was on to my desired photo location to scout for the evening shoot. We all did the short walk to the trees I wanted to photograph. I hadn't had enough time to find any distant lone trees on this first visit, so I chose a well known, and still extraordinary pair of trees for the occasion. I then took everyone back to camp to relax and sleep while I ventured back to my photographic subject. The plan was to capture a Milky Way image with my Nikon DSLR, and an all night exposure with my large format film camera.
I had my spot picked and composition set up long before dark. This gave me plenty of time to focus, strategize and plan. For the shot you see above, I took one shot during the blue hour of light while there was enough ambient light for a low ISO, small aperture shot. This provided great detail in the trees and foreground with no noise, and just enough soft light to intimate that this was nighttime. 45 minutes later I took a second exposure for the sky. Here I used a very high ISO along with a wide open aperture in order to "collect" enough light to define the Milky Way. I processed each image in Lightroom CC 2018 and blended them together manually in Photoshop CC 2018. The result is a dramatic, harkening back to a time when these ancient trees were able to soak in the starlight in complete solitude. I believe the resulting image is a fitting tribute to that time, and perhaps to my short 50 years here with them.
The Plot Thickens:
Well, just after I made my (would be) final exposure of the night, I heard my 13 year old son's voice calling to me in the dark, "Jon Paul, are you there?". While my wife can hammer the trails at high altitude, she occasionally has trouble sleeping up high. While I was shooting, she became extremely ill. Altitude sickness is horrible! Nausea, splitting headache, and progressive loss of rationale. Louise knows how to handle bad situations, and to act before they become very bad. She and Toby hitched a ride up to the trailhead we had scouted earlier and hunted me down in the dark at over 10,000 feet. I packed my gear, and down the mountain we went. After breaking camp in about 4 minutes, we headed back to the valley and made the long drive home. I can happily report that Louise felt much better by morning. Amazingly, her only concern was cutting into my birthday celebration and photography experience.
Needless to say, I never had the opportunity to capture my all night film exposure. I'm extremely pleased with this new Ancient Bristlecone & Milky Way image, I had a wonderful time with Louise and Toby, and I look forward to another visit in search of my next film image. This experience embraced "The Fine Art of Nature", for all of us.

This image is ready to be released and is available for your collection! Please contact me directly and I will help make your purchase possible. Click Here for assistance!

Note: I am not sharing specific details about this location. Although it is no secret, it takes some effort and time to get there, which made it one of the cleanest natural areas I've visited. There was no trash, no graffiti, no loud radios, no noise, no crowds. As it should be. I was pleased and impressed. So, don't go:)

Details:
Camera: Nikon D800 DSLR
Lens: Nikon 14-24 f2.8 Shot at 14mm
Image: 2 image manual blend (as noted above)
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripd Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
 

Don't miss out on what I have to share. Here are some helpful links:

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ
My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

When a Landscape Subject Screams to You

With Fall approaching I thought I'd share a new (yet to be released) gallery image that is a contrast to the coming season of color. I hope you enjoy the story...and the image, of course.

In June of this year I was commissioned to create a volume of forest images for a forestry investment company. Given the massive amount of land covered, and the required number of images, I did the entire project with my Nikon DSLR. However, I did pack my large format film gear, as I had a great distance to travel both to and from locations, as well as to and from home. While I only had one occasion to use the big camera and expose one sheet of film, it was well worth bringing the extra bag.

As I traveled between the coast and Mount Shasta, I crossed a bridge above a forested ravine. As often happens, at 60mph, this tree screamed to me. In a blur, I was struck with emotion. I knew I had to stop. Just past the bridge was a dirt turnout that I quickly pulled into. After waiting for a logging truck to pass, I ran onto the bridge to inspect what had caught my eye. The contrast of this fir tree skeleton draped elegantly in pale moss, against the dark green of the conifer forest was extraordinary. I knew I had to capture this moment, quickly, while not endangering myself. 

I ran back to my car, set up my 5x7 field camera with the 4x5 film back, attached the 210mm lens, attached the cable release, put my focussing loop in my pocket, hung my light meter around my neck and attached the dark cloth to the back of the camera. After a lone truck passed, I ran back out the location I scouted and carefully positioned myself on the 3 foot wide ledge on the "safe side" of the guard rail. Carefully, I composed and focussed the camera. The scene was in open shadow, so the exposure was relatively easy. I loaded my film holder, exposed one sheet of film and ran back the car safely and satisfied.

Now, I envisioned this scene as a black and white from moment one. However, I only had color film with my on the trip. So, I exposed my one sheet of Fuji Provia 100F with the purpose of printing a black and white image. I did not have a large contrast range, but knew I could expand the contrast as desired after scanning my film. I also know that Provia 100F holds beautiful shadow details. So, I exposed my film for the light colored moss, making sure my highlights were safe, and stood out nicely against the darker evergreens in the background. I envisioned a subtle, elegant image, and knowing my equipment and media (film, processing, development, printing processes) enabled me to bring this vision to fruition.

This image is now available for your collection, but has yet to be displayed in the gallery. If you are interested in purchasing one of the first prints, contact me directly so I can connect you with the perfect art consultant!

The details:
Aperture: F32
Shutter Speed: 2 seconds
Camera Movements: none
Camera: Canham 5x7 Metal Field w/ 4x5 film back
Lens: 210mm Caltar IIN
Film: Fuji Provia 100F 4x5 inch Transparency Film
Filters: none
Tripod: Gitzo 1325 Carbon Fiber
Tripod Head: Really Right Stuff BH55 Ball Head
BTZS Dark Cloth
Light Meter: Sekonic R558 Digital Spot Meter

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Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

I Ordered (BIG) Film For Fall Photography!

Well, the nighttime temperatures are dropping here in the mountains and that means one thing, Fall is on the way. Although I'll be happy to hang on to perfect bike riding weather for as long as possible, the photographer in me is excited to compose images of natures greatest show. So, in anticipation, I ordered FILM! Big film (8x10, 4x5 and 6x17).

I'm sure you're curious about which "flavors" of film I stock up on for the fall season. To be honest, it's the same film I use any time of year. I like to keep things simple, repeatable and dependable. I primarily use two specific color films, Fuji Provia 100F Transparency Film and Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film. Let me explain.

To begin with, Fuji Provia 100F is my primary film. I shoot this stock for 90% of my color work. The qualities of this film make sense for my style and the outcome I desire, extremely large (measured in feet) gallery prints that are true to life. I am quite conscious of the fact that people viewing my large gallery prints describe them as "clear", as opposed to "sharp". Provia 100F has extremely fine grain, saturated but realistic color rendition and can handle extremely long exposures. So, if the exposure latitude (range between highlights and shadows) is "reasonable", and I believe that I can capture the entire exposure range in one shot, I use Provia 100F. Period.

I expose Provia 100F using an average meter reading, but I am most concerned about exposing the highlights correctly. If those are lost, there is no recovering them. The shadows, on the other hand, retain detail beautifully if not horribly under exposed. This film also scans extremely well, so we are able to fine tune our image in the digital darkroom with great accuracy. From there, given we are using large film and quality scanning, we can produce enormous prints with wonderful detail. Fuji Provia 100F Transparency Film is my film of choice for Fall, as well as our more subtle seasons.

The second color film I carry is Kodak Ektar 100 Color Negative Film. This film has extremely fine grain (Kodak calls it "grainless"), is saturated and, most importantly for me, has a much greater exposure latitude (greater exposure range from highlight to shadow) than slide film. Why don't I use this 100% of the time you ask? Because I find that it is much more of a challenge to correct the color after scanning than the transparency film.

Now, the film scans very clean, relative to grain (it's actually designed for scanning), but I just feel as though I battle to bring my scanned file back to what I actually saw in the field. That said, if I can't capture the full exposure with my Provia 100F, Ektar 100 can often make that one exposure possible. Now, opposite of the transparency film, color negative film holds highlights amazingly well. Shadows, not so much. Therefore, I expose with total attention on maintaining shadow detail and have faith that the film will save the highlights.

To sum things up, I primarily shoot large format color film, scan that film and produce huge prints. The two films I choose to carry are Fuji Provia 100F Transparency Film and Kodak Ektar 100 Color Negative film. Both of these films enable me to capture the images I compose in the outdoors with the quality, and qualities, required to produce huge prints with the detail, color, contrast and subtlety I require in my gallery prints. They each have their strengths and weaknesses throughout my artistic process so I use them accordingly, depending on the natural conditions presented. In the end, I capture my images with one exposure on a big sheet of film. Keeping it simple enables me to focus on my artistic practice in the field and not worry about a plethora of technical choices.

I hope you find this helpful. Feel free to comment below or leave questions. Look for a corresponding video on my YouTube Channel as well. Now get out there and expose some film!

Enjoy the View!

Jon Paul

Don't miss out on what I have to share. Here are some helpful links:

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ
My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

Finding "ME", The Large Format Photographer.

I thought it might be insightful to share the pinball like direction I've been bouncing around in lately. In an effort to share myself and my art with the world, I have been producing Youtube videos. This medium is a great way for me to communicate and share experiences from the artist/human perspective, motivate aspiring photographers and share tips and insights about photography. Since video is relatively new to me, I've watched how other people have been producing their videos. This is a good thing for video creation but, inevitably, I let their subject matter affect me. I wander into realms of information, types of photography, technical methods, etc., that aren't "ME".

Unintentionally I find myself trying to produce what my subconscious mind thinks people want. This is frustrating! I need to stick with "ME", what I do, why I do it, who I am and how I do things. Simple. My experiences and my art. Fortunately, I realize when I start to "wander" much sooner these days.

As it turns out, these wrong turns reaffirm who I am as an artist and how strongly I feel about what I've chosen to do and how I've chosen to do it. These hiccups, which we all have in life, can be a gift. I have the opportunity to stand back and realize that I like being a large format film photographer. I love the quality, and qualities, of the big beautiful prints I produce. I love the intentionality and responsibility found in capturing an exposure on a big sheet of film. And I love my ability to stay true to my vision using a modern digital darkroom to bring my experiences to life in grand scale.

I find it interesting, difficult, frustrating, disappointing (all normal), and also helpful and motivating to want to pull myself back onto my chosen path. After 20 years in business, and as a parent, I've learned the true value in mistakes, failures and deviations. We are almost always moved into a better direction with greater focus and conviction. As an artist, this reinvigorates the passion required to go beyond taking pictures and being able to produce what I call, "The Fine Art of Nature".

Now I hope you'll follow along as I share who I am and what I do with a bit more clarity. I welcome your comments, insights and requests for information you'd like me to share here and in my Youtube videos. (Corresponding Video HERE)Thanks again for joining me.

Enjoy the View!
Jon Paul

Don't miss out on what I have to share. Here are some helpful links:

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ
My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/
My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/
Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/
My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/
 

Seeing the Composition

Todays mindset is one of impatience, immediacy and reaction. It seams to be required in order to be "successful". This is perpetuated in the world of photography by the ease with which digital images can be captured. Fast to set up, automatic if we choose, cost per shot = $0. This flows over into large format photography as well. While on location in a beautiful place it is easy to think, "This is taking a long time", "I'll crop that later" or "I'll fix that later". This has led to a plethora of good images, but few that we are actually proud of.

From very early on in my photography life I have taken a care-full approach. While I can justify this with the cost of film, developing, scanning, etc., I lean toward the reality that an image that motivates me to take out my big cameras moves me to proceed with respect to my art. Being in the outdoors and experiencing beautiful, idyllic natural moments makes my life better. It makes me healthy and happy. When I choose to compose an image to share with the world (with my name on it), I want to be particular with the composition. When I am in the field seeing and experiencing a special moment, I want to create my composition based upon what is moving IN THAT MOMENT. The art happens then and there. Not later in the darkroom / digital darkroom.

In order to stay true to this aspect of my art, I carry both traditionally shaped and panoramic film formats. My smaller setup is a 5x7 metal field camera, for which I carry both a 4x5 film back, as well as a 6x17cm roll film panoramic back. My larger camera setup is an 8x10 metal field camera with which I shoot full frame 8x10 film, as well as 4x10 inch frames with an adapted (cut) dark slide. When I see a scene in a particular way, I shoot what I envision, as I envision it. Rarely will I crop a sheet of film after the fact. This enables me to move into the darkroom / digital darkroom with the composition I was moved to compose. I retain my vision, and merely need to attend to color correction and contrast control after the fact.

My home made composition cards for each of the four film formats I carry. 

One tool I use while out in the field with my large format cameras is a composition / viewing card. With my big, cumbersome camera gear safely in my backpack I keep the two composition cards (one panoramic and one traditional) that correspond to the film formats I have with me connected to the chest strap of my pack. With the cards readily at hand, I can easily assess the compositional possibilities of a scene that grabs my attention. I first react a subject that catches my eye. I then use the cards to see how this main subject might fit into a composition relative to the environment surrounding it. If this flows and I truly feel excited about it, I assess the light and consider setting up my camera. At this point, I have already decided that "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right / well". There is no thought to cropping it better later, or fixing it at home. In the field, while composing and exposing, is where "The Fine Art of Nature" happens. There is a mix of natural beauty and personal connection. The effort is worth it, and the image (often times) is worthy of sharing with my collectors.

This proved to be worth doing right! After scouting for a composition (using my composition cards) I liked on the first, and only, sunny morning of my trip to Iceland, I chose to set up the 8x10 film camera. No easy feat at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. Given the excitement I felt for the image, I then chose to go the extra mile and shoot the image as a panorama. This took more time (and physical suffering), but the image was worth it!

To sum things up, I believe there is a loss of art within the landscape photography world today. This is not due to alack of talent or ability, or even camera type. We are caught in a world of volume and speed. Even when going outdoors to pursue our passion of nature photography, we are constantly doing battle, whether we know it or not, with the technological world we are immersed in. We need to consciously remind ourselves why we are pulled to outdoor photography. We need to slow down and allow ourselves to compose art that truly moves us. The world doesn't need another 40,000 average "captures". The world, or at least I need singular moments that transport me to the simple beauty of nature.

Thank you for taking the time to follow along here. Please feel free to share constructive comments below.

Don't miss out on what I have to share. Here are some helpful links"

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel: https://goo.gl/dJXMUQ

My Free Fine Art of Nature Newsletter: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/newsletter/

My website: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/

Photography Workshops / Tours: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/tours/

My Blog: https://www.jonpaulgallery.com/blog/

Wildlife at Home!

When opportunity knocks, you've got to be ready. Living in the mountains can make this saying wonderfully appropriate. I looked out my front window just in time to see three raccoons in my driveway. as luck would have it, my wildlife setup was in my car ready to go. As I walked out the door toward my car, the little bandits came straight toward me. I waited patiently until they disappeared under my porch, then wandered over to grab my camera. 

After just a few minutes of patiently waiting for them to reappear, they wandered straight back out toward me. They certainly aren't shy. Needless to say, I stayed clear and acted aggressive when necessary. It's not good to let them feel too comfortable around humans and their unnatural food sources. They casually moved around behind my house and decided to take a detour up onto a large boulder in the yard. This gave me the opportunity to photograph them at eye level while they groomed themselves. This photo captured the beauty and confident natures of these not so little creatures. I really like the environmental portrait their vantage afforded me. The Fine Art of Nature!

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Enjoy the View!
Jon Paul

Pursuing the Elegant Landscape I've Envisioned

For years I've had a vision of what I would describe as "elegant landscapes". This vision includes characteristics such as fine, subtle detail, subdued colors or tones of black and white, calm compositions and unrivaled archival quality. This vision is based on a feeling that I experience in nature and want to convey through my work. EarIy in my career I moved to large format film photography for its ability to enforce this style in my work. The care required to compose the art, and the fine, subtle detail that came through in my large scale prints brought this vision to life. 

However, I found that I was still enabling the sensationalized imagery we are all bombarded with to hold me back from truly pursuing the elegant landscape I was conceptualizing. Honestly, I allowed external forces, at least in part, to influence a segment of my color work. I was afraid to take the risk and stray from todays norm. While I was shooting large format film instead of digital, and primarily capturing subdued natural tones, I knew there was an additional path I could follow to fully immerse myself in the pursuit of this vision. For the last several months I have been doing just that.

For almost a year I have been studying, pursuing and practicing a very traditional photographic printing method called Platinum / Palladium printing. Along with being the most archival printing method available, this black & white printing process is a craft that I control from start to finish. I expose the individual sheets of black & white film, I hand process each sheet of film, I can then choose to scan the film and print larger digital negatives, I mix my own Pt/Pd sensitizer and hand coat cotton rag paper (Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag) making my own photographic paper. I then place the film and paper in direct contact in a printing frame (contact printing) and expose the photograph under UV light within a light box I built by hand. Finally, I develop, wash and rinse the print by hand in my darkroom. I am able to control whether the print is cool in tone (black and white) or warm in tone (light to chocolate brown) by adjusting the temperature of the developer. As an end result, I am beginning to produce the elegant landscapes I have envisioned by taking control of an entirely new manual process that has an authenticity unlike anything I have previously experienced.

Not only am I excited about bringing this new process, and extension of my vision, to life as part of my fine art gallery offerings, but I am growing through the process. That is the beauty of art. Through the pain of pursuing a passion, we learn about ourselves and have our entire lives enhanced. Artists, as do most people, have ups and downs. I have allowed myself to focus on learning this process for months. I have also made the investment and taken the financial risk necessary to pursue this vision by investing in the hardware and materials required to produce tests, test prints, failed prints and finally, successful prints. I feel a sense of both pride and fulfillment in having pursued this vision, regardless of the outcome. That said, I am extremely proud of, and excited about, the amazing quality of the prints I am now able to produce.

Subscribe to my Free Insider's Newsletter and receive a 40% discount on this image. I am releasing a limited edition of only 10, 8x10 inch Platinum / Palladium prints on 11x14 inch paper. This offer enables my subscribers to obtain a rare historic print at a substantial discount, while helping me progress to producing 16x20 inch Platinum / Palladium prints. Click HERE to subscribe and receive your discount today.

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Poll Results: Black & White OR Color?

Well folks, the results are in! Last week I conducted a survey asking which image people preferred, comparing two identical compositions, shot on two separate sheets of 4x5 inch film. One was shot on color transparency film and the other on black and white print film. I was excited, and very appreciative, to see the number of responses. I also received a lot of additional information and input thanks to a glitch in the survey program I used. Given that the survey didn't seam to work on many mobile devices, quite a few people sent responses, which included further input, via social media, private message, email and social media. Clearly, this was a subject people found interest in. I am glad to have such an insightful group to share with. Thank you!
So, without further ado, the results are:

Color- 55%
Black and white- 45% 

Given the additional input I received, I would like to share the general overtone of that input.
A majority of respondents that sided with the color image felt that the chaotic, and relatively low contrast nature of this particular image, gained from the added "dimension" of the subtle color in the scene. I find this exciting, as it touches on a subject I will be writing about soon. Contrast. As a photographer that shoots both color and black and white, chooses to select which sheet of film to use while in the field, and who is strongly drawn to subtle compositions, I have been acutely aware of the two types of contrast available: light/dark contrast and color contrast. I look forward to delving into this subject more deeply very soon!

Please follow along and share your input! We can all learn something along the way.

Enjoy the view! 

The Winner is........ COLOR!

Color or black & white? Let me know

Create your own user feedback survey

Color Version of the image.

Black & White version of the image.

Thank you for your input! I look forward to sharing the results of this survey. 
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