Photography in the Field: Giant Boulders & Mountains in Alabama Hills
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2024
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From black and white westerns to Iron Man, Alabama Hills has been used as a backdrop for hundreds of television shows and movies. And when you see it, it's easy to see why. A valley of dramatic, unusual boulders, flanked by the gorgeous Eastern Sierra mountains. In this video, I look for unique images and compositions within this iconic landscape, and offer advice for photographing it.
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Thank you for taking us along on your trip and thank you for showing both the beautiful photos that worked and the ones you felt didn't.
As a traditional landscape artist who paints outdoors, I am smiling as I think the algorithm has finally brought me something worth watching. Your work is gorgeous! Wow. I always say that I took up painting because it was easier than photography. Subscribed. :)
13:31 perfect time to think B&W!
love your attention to detail
I am not a photographer but really enjoyed the video
Every time I watch your adventures it makes me want to go out again and shoot!
Great! I feel the same watching similar videos from others.
Once again sir you have a brilliant eye.
And great advice.
Cheers from
San Diego Calif 619.
Thanks for taking us to the Alabama Hills. I love the hills and the surrounding areas to include the town of Lone Pine. I also love the area of Horse Shoe Meadows. It is a lovely area for hiking and landscape photography. Good pictures!😊
Thanks so much. I've really grown to love Lone Pine as well. Such a nice little town.
Todd, love your channel and photography style. FYI, i was just in the Alabama Hills and there are signs, although not very obvious, that say drones are not permitted. Of course i found them right after flying mine there
I love the Hills and all the photographic opportunities in the neighborhood. Headed back in September.
Thanks so much for also including the photos you’re not happy with. I learn at least as much from that as the ones that do work for you. E.g. the sunrise photo: I really liked the idea. The light (also on the rocks in the valley) was really gorgeous. But your critical voice encouraged me to stop for a moment and get a better feel for the photo and what it is about it that may or may not work.
That's great to hear. Wish I could have pulled something out of that image but it just wasn't working. Maybe someday I'll try again.
Also, regarding people staying by the side of the road: I'd say that another reason people do this is safety. Unless I'm with a buddy to watch my back, I'm not entirely comfortable exploring alone. You're right, though -- the best views sometimes take a hike to get to.
Thank you for motivating me to get outside today to take some photos. Love your videos! YES! Too many people stay on the side of the road instead of exploring the landscapes.
Todd - I enjoyed the video. This area is famous for all the arches around it. There are several excellent guides or books on them.
Excellent. Another no disappoint photography adventure....
Stunning. You would love the Cederberg mountain range here in South Africa for photography.
Excellent music choices Todd (as always).
Thanks - tried to go for something western-like but not TOO western, if you know what I mean.
Wonderful documentary!
Excellent video as allways
Great video. As a beginner I have so many questions, like what's the exif data on these pics? Aperture? Where do you set your focus point, or are all these focus stacked? How do you choose your white balance? Perhaps you've covered these in other videos and can point me towards them?
Also, the pic at 12:18 (that you hated) is probably my favorite one of the bunch. Go figure. I love the colors in the sky and the way the foreground overlaps background in a way that *really* makes me want to walk into the scene and see whats around that corner.
Your White Sands, NM video was great too, btw. I'm headed there myself in a few weeks.
Nice - glad to hear a second opinion. :) I don't hate that photo, just...frustrated I couldn't get the photo I saw in my mind. Anyway, I use AWB on the camera (cause I shoot raw), then adjust a little in LR to remove any color cast. As for focusing, it depends on the image. If I want sharp detail from front to back, I'll focus stack and blend in PS. But I usually try to create single images with stopped-down apertures. On my GF 32-64, I'm almost always shooting b/w f/8 and f/16 cause that's the sharpest range on the lens. I'll make a mental note to share more about this in a future video.
Hey buddy, I see you're on Glass also, but wanted to drop you a message (Glass has no DM, boo!). Thanks for the inspiring videos. They make me want to get back out there and shoot some frames, and I appreciate you for that!
Thanks so much! 🙏
@@dominey More than welcome mate. I appreciate you, and the work you're doing with your channel.
How does the backpack work out? Are you happy with it?
Beautiful ! Curious on the gear many use for landscape photos and why I hear so many talk about using higher megapixel cameras. Is this just due to them wanting to pixel peep ? My guess is that most are not making wall sized posters and even then those would be viewed from farther viewing distance to warrant the need for 45-100 megapixels and most are not cropping heavily. I know cost goes up dramatically from say 24mp to 45mp and again to the medium format 100mp. I’ve not rally heard many comment on the “why” behind this camera choice.
Others will have their own reasons, but I switched to the GFX (from a Canon R5) because I wanted maximum creative flexibility when editing, cropping and printing. I always try to get images right in camera, but sometimes a crop brings out a better photo. And with the GFX, I can crop an image in half and still have ~50 megapixels, which is plenty and doesn't require upscaling, unlike my R5. Also, I just really like the "look" of the raw files from the medium format sensor. It's hard to quantify and explain, but there is something different about them (in a good way) compared to the Canon images I shot for so long.
Dude, your drone shot of the Eastern Sierra massif is centered on Lone Pine Peak. Mt Whitney is in the right-hand third of your image. The Eastern Sierra is the Mecca and AL Medina for Landscape Photography.
Yeah, wasn't intended to be literal. Just showing some broll of the mountains and valley.
The haze seems pretty intense, no filters? I have a concern, doesn't the uneven weight distribution in you pack bother your back/hips? My back gets tight just watching you hike with that lean. Thanks again for taking us along in the Alabama Hills.
Definitely. When hiking and not shooting video, I have my second tripod and camera on the other (empty) side. So it's more balanced then. I can also hang the tripod on the center of the pack if I'm only carrying that.
Always enjoy your calm videos. The colours in your images are lovely and I even like the shot @12.30. A question about selective focus, why do 99% of landscape photographers always go for maximum detail and depth of field? Detail and sharpness is sometimes the enemy of emotion, feel, and mood. This is a general question not a comment on you so please don't take it as such. I like your work.
Oh I totally agree! I think it looks strange when a distant background is just as clear, detailed and sharp as the foreground. Not always, but I usually feel that way. I think it's easy to get caught up with how sharp and detailed a lens is, etc, and not think about its emotive qualities.
@@dominey Thank you for taking time to reply. Been shooting for decades and professionally for 2 & 1/2 of those with these days snapping only for my own pleasure but I have always struggled with editing my images particularly with regards to color ( doesn’t help being very slightly color blind in reds/greens ) I admire the richness but subtly you achieve in your color work. Some of it has to do with the color science the camera employs I suspect ( I use Sony FF ) but after editing in LR or even C1 am never fully satisfied with my results. Do you have a video on color editing or if not would you consider making one. Look forward to next video 👍🏻
While this is controversial, I wish you would put your wonderful photographs on a black background. Let the colors and tones of your images stand on their own. IMO the white and grey borders set an incorrect white point and bleach colors.
Great observation - thanks :)
One thing comes to mind watching you hike in these uninhabited places, are you not concerned about snakes and other things that can do you harm? I plan on doing some of this but that concerns me the most, being far from help when the s...t hits the fan...so to speak...your thoughts?
BTW, love your work as well as the product stuff you post on the channel, keep up the good work!
Thanks. :) And yes, I've thought about that as well. I just try to be careful and pay attention to every step.
BTW, I shoot with a bunch of Fuji cameras as well as the Canon R5's for my professional work and personal work. I am looking into a GFX 100S or the GFX 100 mk ll....
@@dominey
I believe it might be because they are too afraid to leave the comforts of their car and venture out into the unknown
I am totally sick of hearing about square space from you and everyone else
Lol, I hear ya, but they're wonderful supporters of people like me and others.
really inspiration About Ur Content !! , thanks for sharing Todd 💚