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.
Improve your film photography success with my FREE Provia 100f Cheat Sheet
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/