HDR sunset

I used the program Photomatrix Pro3 to do this photo. Using a tripod I set the camera to Auto-Exposure Bracketing (AEB), select the Continuous Shooting mode, make sure the camera was set to Aperture Priority, and select an exposure increment of +/-2 stops.

First I checked my GPS program to see the sunset compass direction and sunset time. Then I checked Google Earth to find a long stretch to photograph the sunset. I’ve found out in the past that I need to be far away from a mountain to allow the sun to set close to the horizon. Too close to a mountain the sun is blocked before it can set far away and show its colors through the atmosphere. This HDR photo was taken just past Piru on the 126 and then left on Torrey Rd. by the bridge.

Sea Biscuit

A cast of hot air thousands during the filming of Sea Biscuit. 12/12/2002

I was the stand in for William H. Macy.

This image, I took up in the Sierras last Fall. It has a lot of meaning to me, it reminds me of that little sense of serenity that truly does exist in such a hectic world we live in. There's something about Nature that really just blows me away. Growing up with parents who love to travel have really made me appreciate Nature, and all of its beauty. Being able to experience the beauty of Nature from not just the state of California, but from every single state on the west coast of the United States; you really begin to appreciate the difference and the individuality every bit Nature has to offer. The impact Nature has on me is greater than any word or group of words could describe. This photo I took just means so much to me.

dear, los angeles.

I love Los Angeles. I love photographing Los Angeles. I love living in Los Angeles. It's my home. It is a part of me.

The DCH is a puzzler of a building. It sits in the middle of Downtown where modern and classic collides; where the business professionals walk alongside the homeless; where the city becomes interesting.

I enjoy photographing LA because it is unlike any other city in the world, for better or worse. Unless you're a native Angeleno, you're oblivious to the luster of a place that can be both ugly and beautiful. Los Angeles has an amazing urban landscape that I choose to spotlight. I don't care to look at its mountains, trees, or streams. Those elements are not unique; they exist in every environment. But the people and culture in this city can exist only in this city. Thats what I want to show.

THAT PEACE OF MIND

Wishing I was back there again. Shot pool side at Ocho cascade Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Landscape in my eyes

To me landscape is:
Land with something interesting or beautiful....outside, nature etc.

I wish I could post my favorite but they are watermarked with my name and wish to remain anonymous here.

Land and sea scape

I love photography and I am grateful in having the opportunity to take this class with like interested photographers. These are landscape with water.

The only "landscape" picture I have taken that I like, a lot.

I guess I should make this post a little bit longer. I said before I really feel like this blog can get to be something really big, and from the posts below this one now really prove that.

I have a problem stretching what I am used to, and where my "box" is. When I think landscape I think of your typical shot of a mountain or river, but I'd like to be able to think of other things as "landscape". I guess this shot to me is sort of my interpretation of landscape just a few months ago. I hope to expand from this.

PERSPECTIVE

I like experimenting with perspective using DOF, camera angle and low light conditions. While in Bath, England I took a lot of pictures - most were just ordinary. But I thought this image was interesting because of the depth of field and camera angle. I was shooting with my Canon 40D in full automatic. Since we were touring I didn't want to spend a lot of time adjusting in manual mode.

Montmatre Paris, FR. November 2010

Once you reach the church at the top of the hill, hundreds of stairs past the carousel and the Moulin Rouge, past Amelie's enigmatic clues, you turn around to see all of Paris below you. It is a sprawling urban landscape shaped by both history and the arts. This was my first attempt at creating and shooting a seemingly panoramic picture using Cs4 (it took 9 pictures maybe?). Shot on my RebelT2i. And surprisingly I didn't use a tripod!

Towsley Canyon

These are all the same photograph taken with my iPhone here at our very own Towsley Canyon. I really enjoy the 5 mile loop when my knee isn't given me problems. This photograph was actually taken on the low lands. It is amazing to find what we have here in the Santa Clarita Valley.

Tourist in my own town

I love to travel but I am currently exploring the concept of being a tourist in Los Angeles. Although I enjoy exploring the world I realize there are plenty of interesting sites right here at home. Last week I enjoyed the New Year's celebration in Chinatown.

When I hear about landscape photography, my first thought is of nature shots. However, I also think it applies to buildings, and urban scenes. All those things that surround us when we are outdoors.

photARTgraphy

I've been really inspired by an artist named Kesh, simply because she infuses all the wonderful qualities of art and photograpy, for example passionate and bold colors, line, repitition, innovative composition, etc. She definately has added to my own personal list of think outside the box in(a)spirations, and hopefully she can inspire someone else.

-tk.

What is landscape?

I was extremely excited after listening to what the landscape class entailed. The idea of landscape being more of a story than just an image motivated me to post this image.I've always been fond of lighthouses, especially those with an intact Fresnel lens. These structures which are usually found dotting our coastline are a representation of an era gone by.

This particular lighthouse, Pigeon Point, also was once a Coast Guard facility. It is now a Hostel which welcomes visitors from around the world. I took this image when we visited recently. To me this image is also a representation of landscape - maybe not traditional, but landscape nonetheless.

pic

Pics can come from anywhere even driving home from a long dirt bike ride. Driving down the 138 after a great day

The Beginning...

Timothy O'Sullivan

Tufa Domes, Pyramid Lake, Nevada

1868

Collodion glass negative printed on albumen paper

I am sure that there are earlier examples of landscape photography, but none as memorable for me. Timothy O'Sullivan was a portrait photographer by Matthew Brady and ended up traveling south to photograph the Civil War in the 1860's. When the war was over he joined one of the four great United States Geological Surveys to help document the American West of the Mississippi. It had been photographed before. He was simply there to document the land, but he did more than that, he created a series of the most spectacular photographic landscapes the world had ever seen. One hundred and fifty years later his work still rivals the more modern work of Ansel Adams.

I started with O'Sullivan because his style of photographic images are the pinnacle that most beginning landscape photographers stive for. Yet the field of landscape photography and documentation is so much more diverse than perfectly composed shots of the American West.  How do you define landscape and documentation? Are our definitions too narrow?

So students... a true experiment. I would like you to respond to this image with your own images and thoughts. Let's see where this collaboration heads. Every couple of weeks I will likely throw in some more history about photographic landscape and ask you to again respond with your own images and words.

There are only a couple of rules:

- This site is public and rated for a general audience. Please keep that in mind. I will moderate the comments for the first couple weeks and let you know if I have any concerns. I want you to feel free to explore creatively but keep in mind that you must respect others.

- Each student must originate a post every two weeks. That post should include an original photograph. The photograph can be taken with any type of camera - digital, film, point and shoot. Please discuss your image, the making of your image, why you chose that image, a concept you are thinking about, reference to history, etc. In other words post a paragraph or two that gives us insight to your process as a photographer. The image should consider "documentation and landscape."

- Each student should comment on a minimum of three other students' posts

- Have fun. Don't worry, fret, or get stuffy. If you have an interesting idea, run with it.

And, off we go...