High Noon | Williamsburg, Virginia
Few weather conditions can be tougher on a photographer than a cloudless sky at midday. That’s exactly what I got on a recent visit to Colonial Williamsburg in Williamsburg, VA. Where the other lenses in my kit fall short in these conditions, my 8mm Rokinon f/3.5 does a phenominal job with direct sunlight. I don’t know what it is, but colors come out well exposed and the sunflare rocks when shooting at f/16-22 on the lens. For this shot, the trees lining the walkway to the Governor’s Mansion provided just enough cover to diffuse the sunlight a bit and were able to cast really nice shadows reaching toward me.
The shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm f/3.5 lens. Two bracketed exposures, hand held. Manually masked together in Photoshop and finished with a Glamour Glow using Nik Color Efex Pro.
Saturday Sun Dogs | New Bern, NC
On a few occasions, I’ve noticed the little rainbow spot to the side of the sun at sunset but didn’t realize this phenomenon had a name…nor did I have my camera at those times. Sun dogs, as they’re known as, can appear as a spot on one side, both sides or as a ring the whole way around the sun.
This weekend I was shooting the sunset in New Bern with my friend Brad of Brad Styron Photography when the sun dogs appeared. I can remember a few instances where I’ve seen one spot, but not two. Luckily I was able to get it on camera.
The shot: Nikon D90, 18-105mm Nikkor VR lens, 3 exposures, HDR. Masked back with the original exposures in Photoshop. Finished with Nik Color Efex.
Waves in the Sand | Fort Macon, North Carolina
It’s a very foggy morning here in Eastern NC, so I thought I’d bring some clearer skies to your monitors today. This scene was shot at the end of last week at Fort Macon, NC. From late afternoon all the way through sunset; I don’t think that I’ve had the privilege to shoot in more perfect light.
This was shot with what is currently my favorite and most useful landscape lens in my bag- the 8mm Rokinon ‘fisheye.’ It’s classified as a fisheye, and rightfully so at 8mm, but there’s nothing fishy about it. At the right angle, there is little to no distortion on the edges and it is sharp as a tack. I shoot everything with it at f/16 and up and it produces the sharpest landscapes I’ve made. And at around $300, it’s an absolute steal! Keep in mind, it’s 100% manual, but it’s fun and liberating to not be tempted to fall back into what the camera thinks is best.
The shot: Nikon D90, Rokinon 8mm lens, tripod held and remote fired. f/16, 1/200 sec., ISO-200. 2 exposures, manually masked in Photoshop. No color correction.
©2012 Zach Frailey
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The Wait | Pittsburgh, PA
During my last visit to Pittsburgh, I got to take in the city from a new vantage point- The West End Overlook. Dave DiCello, of HDR Exposed Photography, and I traveled up to get a good view of the city. Unfortunately it was windy, rainy and COLD. The wind was blowing the clouds across the sky very quickly and we knew that eventually an opening in the clouds may shine a beam of light onto downtown. At least that’s what we thought. In the distance, we saw a gap in the clouds and knew it was only a matter of time. We waited and waited, then waited some more. Finally the gap, now a tiny sliver, reached the city shining a singe ray of light on the the right side of this frame. It just missed the city. The wait was over, but at least we got some material to take away from our trip up to the overlook.
©2012 Zach Frailey
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Sneak Peek at my book, Sky Chasing, vol. 1!
I’m currently taking pre-orders. If you’d like to order, please email me at zach@uprootedphotographer.com or shoot me a message on Facebook for more details. All pre-ordered books will be signed and dated!
I’ve been working hard at this for several days now as I try to complete it. Very much planning on having this in hand by Christmas, at least that’s the goal. We all know how that can change :-)
The plan was originally for this to be simply a photo book. As I’ve been working on it, I find myself adding tips and other tidbits of photography info in there. By no means is it a how-to manual for photography, but I feel that it can offer something for anyone, whether you just want to look at some images or if you want to learn something.
The images in the book all involve Eastern North Carolina. When I was planning the book, I had a hard time deciding if I should include shots from places I’ve traveled to this year such as Pittsburgh, PA, Colorado Springs, CO and Chincoteague, VA. I decided to concentrate on my new home area for the one though. The photos range from the Outer Banks of NC all the way down to Wilmington, NC. That being said, most of the book is not of landmarks, but of the skies, sunsets, sunrises and scenery of the region.
I’ll share more info as it is available, enjoy the early sample!
