Michigan, Upper Peninsula Shoot (Comments Please)

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/13/2005 08:53:29 AM · #1

I just returned from a long weekend trip to the U.P. up in the Keweenaw Peninsula and have these shots to share. Please share any comments, suggestions, likes/dislikes about any of these. (Also, let me know if you would like any of these to be prints.)

This shot was take from the open window of an automobile at a stop sign, since the traffic in that area is unfortunately way to heavy to allow for a nice setup and the only reasonable place available, that would keep one safe from traffic, is unfortunately right on top of the stairs.

The above shot is my favorite from a handful of shots that I took at the fort. Other then bringing a quality wide-angle lense with me and capturing more of the field around the cannon, I am happy with the results.

These falls are one of the best out of the series of falls shots that I took. The majority of them came out looking like someone had tossed a bucket of thick white paint or very sudsy soap onto some steeply sloped rocks. Is there any special tricks to capturing falls to better show the flow of water without the resulting image looking like a picture of soap suds or messy white paint?

Out of all the shots, this one came out the best. Straight from the camera the image looked very close to this, the early morning shot, with the sun mostly at my back provided for the richest blue I have ever captured. I don't know if I could improve on this shot.

ShutterPug

Canon EOS-6D

07/13/2005 09:32:12 AM · #2

Thanks for sharing your photos with all of us. I especially like the lighthouse, and left you a comment on it.

Next time you're planning a trip the Upper Peninsula, give me a hollor and we can havea GTG. That goes for anyone here. Would love to meet you in person and show you a couple real nice photo spots.

07/13/2005 10:00:09 AM · #3

I will definately attempt to remember that.

The Lighthouse photo looks a ton better in a higher resolution and printed out as an 8x10. It's absolutely fabulous. I have been getting a number of compliments on it from some coworkers.

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

07/13/2005 03:41:14 PM · #4

Nobody has anything good or bad to say about these photos?

Canon EOS-60D

07/13/2005 03:53:30 PM · #5

The shot of the stairs is an interesting angle, but it makes it a bit difficult to tell what they are and where they're going...probably because of your limited ability to get in a place that you could shoot from at your leisure, like you explained.

The shot of the cannon is nice; I agree about being able to add more field around it, because it feels a bit cramped, but nice otherwise.

The shot of the falls...to make the water so nice and smooth, you need a slower shutter speed. Try using ND filters to slow it down to get that silky appearance to the water instead of foam or paint. ;)

The lighthouse shot is pretty, but I think it would be even better if (a) it weren't so centered, like by cropping out the left side and most of the land at the bottom, (b) the power lines were cloned out, and (c) the sky had some little puffy white clouds in it for more interest. The building could be sharpened up a bit more to bring out the texture of the bricks and the date above the door. Also needs a perspective shift to straighten up the lighthouse tower. Nice colors as it is though.

Those are my suggestions/ideas. Take them with a grain of salt! ;)

Good work!

edit to add a quick 5 minute take on the lighthouse shot:

Message edited by author 2005-07-13 16:06:30.

aronya1

Nikon D70

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

07/13/2005 04:04:30 PM · #6

Left you some comments on the images.

07/13/2005 05:17:43 PM · #7

Thanks for the comments.

I will post a heavily watermarked version larger version of the lighthouse, possibly later this evening, from the original shot through imageshack or maybe from my own web-site...

At higher resolution and size, the individual bricks jump out, as does the 1871 construction date. This image is also cropped quite a bit, cutting out significant space from the right and the left, which included most of a house. I set the JPEG compression rate higher on this image, then I did the other samples I posted, I am going to be "protective" of this shot.

I suppose that I should work on the appearance of the slight perspective shift on the tower as well. As for the lack of clouds...

It was the most bizarre thing, I was told. The skies were perfectly clear the entire time we were there, Lake Superior was almost like glass the entire time and the weather hit the mid-90's for three days in a row. It's 'never' like that off of Lake Superior, as I have been told.

We should have had serious wave action, heavy winds and a storm or two while we were there and it shouldn't have been so hot for so many days in a row. The weather people were apparently perplexed as well.