Autumn 2005 Photos - Copyright Gregory J. Scott Click on any category photo here to see the index of all the images in that category. Click here to return to the GregScott.com home page.			People
Mountain Views	Waterfalls	Farms, Homes, Etc.	Hydroelectric Dam on US 129
Leaves		Critters	Rainbows, clouds, fire
Wide Format Landscapes

This autumn I had wonderful blue skies and white clouds to photograph.
I worked with three techniques to attempt to capture the sky and the earth together.
I bought a gradated filter, which I sometimes used to darken the sky.
I used a circular polarizing filter to darken the sky, also.
I bracketed exposures, so that a single exposure might capture the optimal balance between Earth and sky.
Using a single exposure with the RAW file, I saved two images, one adjusted for the earth exposure, and one for the sky. I blended these in Photoshop.
because I usually shoot landscapes using a tripod, I could shoot to images, one exposed for the sky, and the other for the earth.
even with a single image, in Photoshop, I can select the sky, adjust that, invert the selection to get the earth, and adjust that.
when using these techniques, learned to work in layers, and to blend the layers for more subtle transitions between manipulated regions.
These manipulations are not pleasing to me. The results don't quite capture what I remember, and the colors seem muddy. Pushed to the saturation, and in many of my images to effect a somewhat garish. I would prefer to wait and capture the right light. However, what I really prefer is often to shoot the photograph and move on, hoping to be in an even better location on the light is right. in that sense, I believe that these are scouting trips, and hope that study and providence will converge in excellent photographs.

I will never create photographs as great as the creation I observe. However, photography is a discipline which stops me and makes me look at and look again and look again and think and look again. As I do this, I can ponder what I see, what it means, and how to show up properly. As I struggle to do this, I believe that my ability to see is improved.