Don’t give up – improvise

Have you ever gone out with a particular type of photography in mind (birds, landscapes, macro, etc), only to find a perfect opportunity for something complete different? The problem is that usually when this occurs, you have the wrong equipment. However, it is better to improvise with what you have with you than to miss that opportunity altogether. Below are two examples of when I ran into this exact situation.

Although I did not have my telephoto lens, using stalking techniques, I was able to get close enough with my wide angle to capture this egret and some habitat
Although I did not have my telephoto lens, using stalking techniques, I was able to get close enough with my wide angle to capture this egret and some habitat

The photo above was taken along 17-mile drive near Carmel, California. My wife and I were out for the day with nothing in mind – just being touristy. I had my SLR and a wide/mid range zoom with me – a decent walking around lens that could work for landscapes if needed. As we were driving along the coast, we saw this great egret very close to the road in beautiful light. Immediately I cursed myself for not bringing a longer lens, but I figured I’d try to see what I could do with what I had with me. We drove past the bird and I got out and slowly stalked back along the road toward it, trying to get as close as possible. Luckily the traffic was light this early in the morning. Obviously, I wouldn’t come away with a head portrait, but maybe I could get a decent habitat shot.

I slowly crept forward, hoping to intercept the bird if it kept moving in the same direction. Every few steps I’d stop and stand still, hoping the egret would not get spooked and fly off. Ultimately it payed off – the egret ended up walking very close to my position. I fired off a few shots of the bird with the ocean in the background. Through careful stalking technique, and by not giving up because I didn’t have the “perfect” equipment with me, I was able to capture one of my favorite shots of the trip.

This panorama of Mt. Lassen was composed of 26 separate shots using a long telephoto lens
This panorama of Mt. Lassen was composed of 26 separate shots using a long telephoto lens

Recently I was up at Lassen Volcanic National Park and I decided to take a walk around Summit Lake, hoping to get some shots of some forest birds. As a result, I had only my long telephoto with me (not a great walking around lens, as the lens alone weighs 3 pounds!) As I came around to the side of the lake furthest from Mt. Lassen, I found myself in almost the exact opposite situation as with the great egret shot above. I had a long telephoto, but I really needed a wide angle lens to capture the mountain, trees and lake.

At first I tried several compositions with my lens, but it was no good – only a small portion of the mountain was in frame at one time. Then an idea hit me – by combining many zoomed-in photos of the mountain and the surrounding scenery, I could combine them into a single panorama, mimicking the angle of view of a wide angle lens. I had shot panos before, but I was still too close in for my regular panning left to right method. However, if I created several rows of images, and I used a steady hand, it might work. I metered off the sky, set manual exposure and focus, and then spot metered several different areas of my scene to make sure I would stay within the dynamic range possible with the camera.

Starting at the upper left area of the scene I wanted to capture, I started taking photos (hand held), overlapping each by about 30%. Once I got to about the same distance from the mountain on the right that I started with on the left, I moved the composition back to the left, but slightly lower than my previous row of photos. The result was two rows of 13 photos each, creating a single panorama of 26 photos, and a 140 megapixel image. Thanks to Photoshop’s fantastic Photomerge technology, creating the final image was a snap (though my machine took a little time to crunch through the processing).

If I had planned for a panorama of the mountain from the offset, I would have used a much wider angle (and a tripod). However, I was quite happy with what could be done in a pinch with a little improvising.

Emigrant Lake Reflection (Photo of the week)

Mountains south of Emigrant Lake are reflected in the early morning light, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Mountains south of Emigrant Lake are reflected in the early morning light, Emigrant Wilderness, California

This week’s photo comes from a backpacking trip I did this summer with a friend. Emigrant Wilderness is a backpacker’s gem, especially once you get out of range of day hikers. Easily accessible from the San Francisco Bay Area, it is often overlooked due to Yosemite’s popularity. Once in the southern part of the wilderness which borders Yosemite’s northern boundary, it is not uncommon to go days without seeing another person.

This morning we had gotten up early and were on the trail by 6:30. We had situated our camp so that we would cross Emigrant Lake’s northern side just as the rising sun was cutting across the water at a low angle, bathing the southern mountains in beautiful light, and giving me a nice reflection in the lake. The lush grass along the shore was a bonus – the long shadows across the grass give a real sense of early morning stillness.

Here are some other shots from the same trip:

Granite stone and green grasses lead to Emigrant Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Granite stone and green grasses lead to Emigrant Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Yellow wildflowers dominate the grasses of Upper Relief Valley, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Yellow wildflowers dominate the grasses of Upper Relief Valley, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Jagged stump overlooks the western end of Emigrant Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California
Jagged stump overlooks the western end of Emigrant Lake, Emigrant Wilderness, California

Copyright 2017 Hank Christensen