#TravelTuesday Yosemite and the problem of Scale

Back in April of 2011 my wife and I traveled to Yosemite National Park. The trip itself was plagued with challenges and disappointments, but that’s a story for another time. What I want to discuss is the problem of scale in photography. We had one beautiful day in the park, and it was spectacular. I was very excited about the pictures I was taking. All I had to do was stand in one position, click, turn, click, turn some more, click ,and every view was astonishing.

Upon my return, showing the picture to family and friends, the pictures were received with “pretty” “cool” and “neat”. It was as if the cornucopia of adjectives in the English language had suddenly disappeared, and I was left wondering why, this place, that had made such an impression on me, was merely humdrum to everyone looking at my pictures.

Every time I would show the pictures I would keep saying “You HAVE to go. I can’t describe it, you have to see it for yourself.” Then I realized, they were looking at pretty pictures, NOT at Yosemite. I had failed to bring viewers to this place of wonder who’s scale and grandeur had left me speechless. This is a difficult challenge in photography as with any art, but I learn, and I think more about how to overcome that now.

Example: The picture below is of the lower section of Yosemite Falls. The Falls are truly grand in their size. It’s only when you find the photographer in the picture that you can image how huge they really are.

You Have to go!

​This is 9 images joined together in Photoshop

Canon HF20​

Image not for sale​

A big weekend for the NHRA at Maple Grove Raceway

As I said on Friday, I was scheduled to attend the NHRA drag races at Maple Grove raceway just outside of Reading Pennsylvania. What I couldn’t have known at the time was that I would witness history in the making. Jack Beckman drove his Funny Car down a quarter mile track in UNDER 4 seconds, finishing at a speed of just over 320 mph. Can you imagine how that feels? I can’t, but what I can tell you is this. I was standing roughly 40 yards in front of the starting line and about 15 yards to the side of the racetrack to take this picture. The roar was deafening when the car passed me, even with ear protection. There was a loud hum that was so deep, I felt it more than heard it. My chest felt like it’s was being thumped on by giant fists. The concussion of the soundwaves against my body pushed me back as the car raced by with blinding speed, and the heat from the fire breathing exhaust engulfed me soon after. The ground shaking power I felt can’t be overstated. It was both breath taking (literally) and exhilarating. An historic night at the races.

​Jack Beckman's 3.989 second quarter mile

Nikon D800 Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 + 2x tele @ 400mm f/5.6 ISO 800 1/1000 sec​

Image not for sale​

Auto-Plus NHRA Nationals

Each year the NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) comes to deafen the neighbors at Maple Grove Raceway, just outside of Reading PA. I understand that racing isn’t for everyone, but I love it. This is drag racing, down and dirty. Two cars approach the start line and race as hard as they can to the finish a quarter mile away. It’s about mental fortitude and timing. It’s about courage and daring. It’s about traveling from zero to very very fast in a few heartbeats. Mechanically, pistons and gears, rods and valves are moving hundreds of times each second, with tolerances less the 1/1000 of an inch. From engineering precision to personal chutzpah, this is not a sport for the faint of heart. So while you’re out enjoying the air this weekend, breath deep and you just might catch a sniff of burning rubber, high octane fuel, or testosterone coming from Maple Grove Raceway.

Little Red Corvette at Maple Grove Raceway​

Nikon D5100 Sigma ​150-500mm f/5-6.3 @ 250mm f/5.6 ISO 100 1/250 sec HDR

Image not for sale​

Recognition

Encouragement is something everyone needs from time to time. Positive feelings conveyed from friends viewing your art is emotionally gratifying. But then, sometimes, “at-a-boy’s” come from mentors, people we look up to, professionals we aspire to emulate. This happened to me yesterday. Every week Kelby training hosts an internet show called The Grid where oodles of photography subjects are bantered about. Sometimes they do critiques. I submitted a few of my pictures for scrutiny yesterday when +Matt Kloskowski asked for submissions to the show for an HDR discussion. Some of my images use this type of post processing. I will not discuss what High Dynamic Range processing is here for that is a lengthy discussion that I will save for a later date. Three of my pictures were selected (I was elated). This is the link to the show: The Grid Episode 71 The State of HDR The first 30 minutes are devoted to the upside and downside to HDR pictures, critiques start at 33 minutes 50 seconds. My reviews are late in the show at 55 minutes 45 seconds.

​This is the first of my three images

Nikon D800 Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8@ 16mm f/9 ISO 100 5 image HDR 1/160-1/10 sec

Like a slap in the face

Fall has arrived and here’s the bad news. If you’re waiting for the perfect moment to take beautiful, color blasting foliage pictures, then you’ll never get them. I have always loved the transformation the forest undergoes during the seasonal transition from Summer to Autumn. Each year I have watched in dismay as one day trees are green and full of vibrance, whistling their happy songs of summer, to the next day when they become unrecognizable gray skeletons, shaking lifeless, decrepit, crumbling leaves in the cold wind. Don’t wait! Get outside now and soak in the fleeting moments of this seasonal metamorphosis. At most there are a few days of brilliant splendor, as the blossoming hues of yellow, orange and red, sprinkle the landscape. Go for a hike, breathe the crisp air, and inhale the final breaths of long days, before the trees hibernate.

​A Slap in the face

Nikon D800​ Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27mm f/2.8 ISO 100 1/250 sec