After the Storm

Shots of the Night: Into the Blizzard

After shoveling the driveway — five times — I grabbed my camera and headed into the roaring blizzard at 1:30 a.m. The wind is fierce, and the snow is coming down at a rate of several inches per hour.

All of the following shots were taken handheld at 20,000 ISO. Keeping the camera and lens dry in these conditions is a real challenge.

Shooting in the Dark

I just wandered into the darkness of a heavy snowstorm (what may be one of the biggest snowstorms on record for Maryland), with the new Nikon D3S camera in hand.

The following shot was taken handheld with a non-VR lens, shot in near-darkness at 6:03 pm EST. There was heavy, wet snow. I couldn’t see the geese with my own eyes (although I could hear them honking), and had to guesstimate the focus. The aperture was f/2.8 with a 1/10 second exposure. The ISO was set to 25,600. (The D3S can be pushed above 100,000 ISO.)

The low-light performance of the Nikon D3S is truly groundbreaking. You simply couldn’t have captured this shot in these conditions even a couple years ago. There is slight grain in the picture, but it’s completely serviceable. Looking at this, it’s hard to believe it was shot in the dark. The D3S sees light my eyes can’t see.

Shots of the (10-degrees Fahrenheit) Night

Wanting to put my new Nikon D3S through the paces, I bundled up and headed into the cold night. These shots were taken between 9:30-10:30 p.m., with a near-full moon bouncing off freshly fallen snow.

In the following photo the light source is the moon. I set the camera to 25,600 ISO, focused on the moon, and then “painted” during an eight second exposure.

It almost looks like the sun peeking through the trees. But that’s the moon, in a 20-second exposure, f/5.6, ISO 500, 24mm.

Shots of the Day: A Cold Winter Hike

Not sure the forecasters called this one correctly; a dusting of snow turned into a dump. I went out hiking in the trails behind my house this morning, with my new Nikon D3S camera in hand. It was snowing pretty heavily as I shot the following photos; the temperature was about 14 degrees Fahrenheit.

One of the key features of the Nikon D3S is its low-light performance; it’s able to shoot at a mind-blowing 102,400 ISO, and noise doesn’t really creep in until you go beyond 12,800 ISO. (As a reference, back in the film days, an 800-ISO film was considered high-speed and pretty grainy.) You don’t need to wait until dusk or nightfall to take advantage of this low-light performance, however. In the following photo, I cranked the ISO up to 8,000 and set the shutter speed to 1/8000th of a second, freezing snowfall in flight.

Shot of the Night: Lights, Camera, Zoom

Fooling around with light. Shot with the new Nikon D3S.

Shots of the Night: Whitetail Ski Resort

On the afternoon of January 21, 2010, I tossed my skis in the car and headed for the slopes of Whitetail. After the sun set, I pulled out my camera and took the following shots. As dusk fades away, Mid-Atlantic ski resorts take on a level of quiet beauty.

All of these shots were taken with a 50mm prime lens, natural light, and were handheld (except shot #2, which was taken with the camera resting on the cold ground.)

It’s snowing. Heavily. I grabbed the camera and hiked around the lake behind my house. These were shot the morning of December 19, 2009.

Final Shots from the Summit

Some final shots I took from the Photography at the Summit workshop in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in late September and early October, 2009.

This is the view outside the National Museum of Wildlife Art, which serves as the headquarters for the workshop. I’d wager that few museums have as nice of a view.

I believe this is Jackson Lake, in the northern corner of Great Teton National Park. You can see the smoke from a wildfire on the left side of the photo. The smell was intense — like sticking your head right near a strong campfire. At times my eyes were really burning.

Some masters of photography sitting in the back row, critiquing our photos during one of the daily critique sessions. From left: Jodie Cobb, Dave Black, Bill Allard, Bill Eppridge, MaryAnne Golon, Tom Mangelsen, John Moore, and Bill Allen. It’s not often that so many photography greats are assembled in one spot. Their critiques were harsh but right on the money.

Jodi Cobb, right, shares a shot with Bill Eppridge. Jodi is a staff photographer from National Geographic, and Bill Eppridge is a photojournalistic living legend. Bill Allard is in the center, just out of view; he’s another famous National Geographic photographer.

On the final day, instructors fielded some final questions from the audience. From left: Bill Allen, who spent ten years as Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic (retiring in 2005); Jodi Cobb, National Geographic staff photographer; famed wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen (he took this famous shot, among many others); and MaryAnne Golon, who was formerly Director of Photography for Time magazine.

I knew I should have locked my car’s doors.

Heading home after the workshop, taking a detour to swing by my family’s cabin deep in the mountains of Wyoming.

Another Round of Shots from the Summit

Some more photos I shot this past fall in Teton National Park, Wyoming.

Photo notes, from top: 1: f/2.8, 4 seconds, ISO 200, 105mm. Shot September 28, 2009 at 6:44 a.m.; 2: f/13, 1/640 seconds, ISO 400, 105mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:08 p.m.; 3: f/10, 1/400 seconds, ISO 400, 105mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:18 p.m.; 4: f/8, 1/250 seconds, ISO 400, 105mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:21 p.m.; 5: f/9, 1/320 seconds, ISO 400, 105mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:38 p.m.; 6: f/13, 1/640 seconds, ISO 400, 50mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:46 p.m.; 7: f/13, 1/640 seconds, ISO 400, 105mm. Shot October 1, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.

Yup, there’s More Summit Shots of the Day

Hopefully you’re not sick of photos from my recent trip to northwest Wyoming. Because there’s more.

Even More Summit Shots of the Day

I’m continuing to review hundreds of photos I shot in late September and early October, 2009. The following photos were taken in and around Jackson, Wyoming.