Yosemite

I made a mad dash up to Yosemite with my cousin Jon this week. Jon just graduated from college and is staying with us while he gets to know the Bay area and find a job. It's been a lot of fun showing him around and it's been helping me to reconnect to the city and remember why I love the area so much. Unfortunately, the party is going to end as Jon is going to find a job soon. I couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Tuolumne this season and with November filled up with trips for Polar Bears and Albatross and the pending departure of my new partner in crime... I knew it had to be done sooner than later. So off we went - one night in the Curry Village tent cabins and a wonderful long day cruising the park, watching coyotes and mule deer, smelling the incense cedars and enjoying the warm sun.

I was more focused on just drinking in the majesty that is Yosemite than I was on capturing memorable images. Then I thought of a friend of mine who is always using his fisheye lens to get unique perspectives. I decided it was time to haul mine around too. I think this is my favorite shot from my experimentation with the lens. I love how it makes the sunburst even at f/10!

After we had a picnic in Tuolumne meadows, watched the Northern Harrier Hawk hunting the grasslands, we headed through Tioga Pass to Mono Lake. What a treat - there were TONS of Eared Grebes and ruddy ducks swimming about. I had meant to shoot some landscapes but became engrossed watching these little birds hunt and capture the brine flies.

Orton Imagery

Thursday night I went to my camera club, Photochrome, and as always, I enjoyed viewing and was inspired by a wide range of photographic talent and styles. ChrisK displayed a lovely example of Orton Imagery that provoked a good deal of discussion within the group. Orton Imagery is a technique pioneered by Michael Orton for slide film. Two images are taken of the same scene, the first in focus, tack sharp and over exposed by 2 stops. The second image is out of focus and overexposed by 1 stop. By sandwiching these two image in the same slide mount the final image appears properly exposed with a dreamy, painterly quality.

If you shoot digital don't fear, this look can easily be recreated in Photoshop. Once you have opened your image in Photoshop select Image --> Apply Image. In the dialog box which appears change the Blending Mode to Screen and leave the percentage at 100%. This will give you the properly over-exposed sharp base image. Next, in the Layers menu, right-click on the background layer and select Duplicate Layer. Apply a blur to this duplicate layer by selecting Filter --> Blur --> Gaussian Blur. Experiment with the pixel radius between 2 - 50 pixels depending upon your taste. I usually settle somewhere in the 30 pixel range. Change the blending mode of this layer to Multiply and the lovely impressionistic image will be revealed. Flatten the image and you are ready to debut your new work of art.

Orton Imagery is typically thought of as a landscape technique I have used it on some of my wildlife photos to varied levels of success. The main trouble with using it on wildlife is that the eye needs to be sharp and bright or the resulting image looks more like the product of a taxidermist than a living breathing creature. I solve this by cutting the eye onto a separate layer above the blurred layer.