Landscape Photography – Contrast

Happy Monday everyone!

Here is another image taken last week at the McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas. I decided to finish this image using Nik Software's Silver Efex Pro plug-in for Lightroom. Sometimes a simple black and white image captures the essence of a place.

McKinney Falls Black & White
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/11 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2 using Nik's Silver Efex Pro plug-in. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 50D, Landscape Photography

Wildlife Photography – Why So Serious?

Are you familiar with the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs? Have you ever looked at a Sparrow or Dove and thought "no way that can be right"? Remember how the Velociraptor looked in the Jurassic Park movies?

Well, I captured this Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron from about 25 feet with my EF 300mm f/4 IS USM + 1.4x extender. He was just standing at the edge of the water watching an alligator swim on past. As I began shooting, he quickly turned my direction and flashed me this look. That evolution theory sounds fairly reasonable now, doesn't it?

"Yellow Crowned Night Heron or Velociraptor?
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon 50D set on aperture priority (Av), using an EF 300mm f/4L IS USM with an EF 1.4X II extender mono-pod mounted. The exposure was taken at 420mm, f/6.3 for 1/200th of a second at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional UDMA digital film. All post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 50D, Wildlife Photography, Yellow-Crowned Night-Heron

Nature Photography – Leaves

Here's another image taken a few months ago during a quiet walk around the Mercer Arboretum. I'll be heading to the Armand Bayou Nature Center this weekend to (hopefully) capture some raptors.

Leaves
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 105mm, f/4 for 1/45th of a second at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done entirely in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 50D, Nature Photography

Landscape Photography – An Interesting Perspective

I'm planning a little scouting trip for the week of June 14th. I'll be driving to the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin, Texas and spending the week scouting locations for a photo safari in the fall. This is the same area of the state that I shot the image below and I'm looking forward to documenting some of the great landscape locations in my favorite part of Texas.

This is my first extended trip since my lower back problems developed in 2007 and I'm really excited about following in the footsteps of our official Texas State Photographer, Wyman Meinzer. If you've never seen his beautiful landscape and nature work you should pick up a copy of Texas Highways magazine and take a close look. You can also follow his work on his blog and web site.

And yes, I jumped from rock to rock with my camera and tripod just to get this shot.

An Interesting Perspective
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/18 for 1/25th of a second at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done entirely in Lightroom 2. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 50D, Landscape Photography

Landscape Photography – Late Afternoon Heat

We were having a rather pleasant spring this year but as they say, all good things must end. In just a few short days we went from 80F (27C) / 50% RH to 95F (35C) / 99% RH, leaving everyone hot and sticky. And it's not just us here in the south. Chase Jarvis (pardon my blatant name dropping) tweeted earlier that it was over 90F in Seattle. Well, in honor of a summer come early I thought I'd post this image taken in the late afternoon heat.

Late Afternoon heat
Copyright 2009 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 50D set on aperture priority (Av) using an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM tripod-mounted. The exposure was taken at 28mm, f/11 for 1/50th of a second at ISO 100 on Lexar Professional digital film. Post capture processing was done in Lightroom 2 using Nik Software's Color Efex Pro plug-in filter. Click on the image above for a larger version.

Posted in Photography Tagged: Canon, Canon 50D, Landscape Photography

Texas Hill Country Photo Safari Scouting Trip

I received a wonderful email a few days ago from a reader asking where were my favorite locations in Texas for landscape and nature photography. Since I'm right in the middle of planning a Texas Hill Country Photo Safari for the fall, I thought I'd use Google Maps to give you an idea where I've taken some of the shots you've seen on this blog.

Click on the map above to view the actual Google Maps I've set up for this scouting trip.

Texas boasts some of the most beautiful and well maintained state parks in the country and I've spent many happy hours wandering them with my camera in hand. Some of my favorites are:

• Monument Hill State Historical Site - La Grange, Texas
• Buescher State Park - Smithville, Texas
• Bastrop State Park - Bastrop, Texas
• McKinney Falls State Park - Austin, Texas
• Pedernales Falls State Park - Johnson City, Texas
• Longhorn Cavern State Park - Burnet, Texas
• Inks Lake State Park - Burnet, Texas
• Colorado Bend State Park - Bend, Texas

These are some of the locations I'll be scouting the week of June 14th and most will be included in the Texas Hill Country Photo Safari planned for this fall. If you're a landscape or nature photographer located here in Texas and would like to join us for this scouting trip or for the safari in the fall, just drop me an email!

Posted in Photography Tagged: Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Texas State Parks

The Winter Solstice at Stonehenge

A reveller wearing a golden cape celebrates as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, and the longest night of the year. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A reveller records people as they celebrate the sun rise during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A reveller celebrates as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Druid Arthur Pendragon celebrates as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers enjoy a moment as they celebrate the sunrise during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A reveller celebrates as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Revellers celebrate as the sun rises during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

Druid Arthur Pendragon leads incantations as revellers celebrate the sunrise during the winter solstice at Stonehenge on Salisbury plain in southern England December 22, 2014. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

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Shark Island in Central Indonesia

This picture taken on November 8, 2014 shows students from Singapore snorkeling at a coral reef in the waters off Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. Sharks are hauled ashore every day at a busy market on the central Indonesian island of Lombok, the hub of a booming trade that provides a livelihood for local fishermen but is increasingly alarming environmentalists. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 8, 2014 shows students from Singapore snorkeling at a coral reef in the waters off Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 8, 2014 shows students from Singapore snorkeling at a coral reef in the waters off Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 8, 2014 shows a student from Singapore snorkeling at a coral reef in the waters off Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 7, 2014 shows a vendor carrying fish as the sun rises near a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 7, 2014 shows students from Singapore visiting a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 9, 2014 shows sharks for sale as a man (back ) removes the fins at a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 9, 2014 shows sharks for sale as a man removes the fins at a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. Hundreds of sharks are hauled ashore every day at a busy market on the central Indonesian island of Lombok, the hub of a booming trade that provides a livelihood for local fishermen but is increasingly alarming environmentalists. The fins are sold to other Asian nations, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan, where shark-fin soup is considered a delicacy. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 9, 2014 shows sharks for sale at a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 9, 2014 shows sharks for sale as vendors wait for customers at a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 9, 2014 shows vendors selling freshly caught sharks at a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 7, 2014 shows shark fins laid out to dry near a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

This picture taken on November 7, 2014 shows a man holding dry shark skin up for students from Singapore to see as they visit a traditional market in Tanjung Luar in Lombok, West Nusa Teggara. (Photo by Sonny Tumbelaka/AFP Photo)

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