Hank – Page 77

June 9, 2010January 14, 2013

Henry Coe State Park

Oak And Hiker Silouette — A backpacker is dwarfed by a large oak tree growing over the trail, Henry Coe State Park, California

I recently went on a weekend backpacking trip with my friend Steve. We had wanted to get up into the Sierra, but because of the VERY late snow melt, we had to do something at low elevation. Being quite large and close to the bay area, Henry Coe State Park was a good fit. This park features miles of back country, huge oak trees, and fire roads steeper than I though were possible to build.

Coyote Creek winds through green canyons filled with oak, Henry Coe State Park, California

We overnighted at Mississippi Lake, about 11 miles from park head quarters. Our trail out to the lake featured many climbs and descents (no trail is flat in the park), and a slog through a creek canyon. We soon gave up trying to stay dry – it was much easier to wade through the creek, as the trail crossed it at least 10 times. Once we got to the lake, we were happily surprised to see not only a bathroom, but a garbage can, picnic table, and even a pergola built over the table. It may not sound like a lot, but given we were backpacking and expecting nothing, this felt like living in luxury. We had the entire northern end of the lake to ourselves.

Wildflowers adorn a grassy canyon, Henry Coe State Park, California

The wild flowers were coming to their end, but given the amount of rain we’ve had this winter, the grass was very green, and very overgrown. On the second day, the trail out of the lake lead through a seldom-used canyon filled with oak trees. In places, the trail was hard to find due to the spring growth and lack of use.

After the canyon, we climbed to a ridge and followed it in true Henry Coe ups and downs. Finally we dropped down to a creek which flowed into the canyon we came up on the first day. This time we counted over 25 creek crossings. Once again, we ignored the trail in places and waded down the center of the creek (which in its high flow had completely consumed the trail). Overall we hiked over 10 miles in wet boots that day.

Oak Frame — The gnarled branches of an oak frame a smaller oak neighbor, Henry Coe State Park, California

Wildlife was abundant in the park. We saw 2 rattle snakes (one of them was huge and gave us a little shake of its rattle), a turtle, several wild turkey, a female wood duck with chicks, many deer, very loud killdeer, and quite a few red-winged blackbirds.

Oak And Trail — A giant oak tree dwarfs the fire road running next to it, Henry Coe State Park, California

Over the two day trip we hiked about 26 miles. The weather wasn’t too hot, and green still dominated the park. It was a great warm-up trip as we anxiously anticipate the High Sierra opening up.

June 6, 2010January 14, 2013

Reflection At Dawn (Photo of the week)

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a good opportunity for a minimalist portrait of a black-crowned night heron in beautiful light. It was dawn and I saw this heron perched in the middle of a small pond on top of a rock. The water was very still, accentuating the quiet of the morning. The background was the water behind the bird, which would blur into a pure solid. The placid surface created a nice reflection. What drew me to this composition was the lack of habitat (other than the rock on which the heron perched). I couldn’t have created a more fundamental portrait if I had posed the bird in a studio.

May 30, 2010January 14, 2013

Dowitcher At Sunset (Photo of the week)

I photographed this dowitcher just as the last light of the day was hitting the marsh. He was busy with dinner, but paused long enough for me to create a portrait. I like this shot because it shows some of the bird’s habitat along with the entire body. Although crisp bird portraits with blurred backgrounds of solid color look great, sometimes we strive to isolate the subject from its habitat just a little too much.

May 26, 2010March 29, 2017

Instant photo correction – always watch your back (ground)

Have you ever taken a great photograph, been really excited about it, only to get it onto the computer and see that some distracting background element ruined it? I have learned this lesson too many times. Yes, you can spend time in photoshop and mask and clone and clean and and and…. It takes a lot of time (and photoshop skill).

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to actually modify my behavior based on this lesson. I was photographing snowy egrets by the water, and had my tripod legs low and splayed out, so as to get my camera close to the ground. I saw a juvenile black-crowned night heron perched atop a short fence, and took the following picture.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron. A small strip of sky is visible at the top of the frame.

I was really focused on its head angle and exposure, and was pretty happy with the result, when I scanned the entire frame and noticed the background. The shallow depth of field gave me a nice solid green, except for a sliver of blue at the top of the frame. While the photo was still good, the sky at the top detracted from the even background. No problem – luckily I had noticed this issue while I was still behind the camera. A quick adjustment to my tripod legs raised my rig to eye-level with the bird, eliminating the sliver of sky, and improving my photo. The resulting image is below.

By moving the camera up, I was able to eliminate the sky, and create a solid smooth green background.

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No matter what type of photography you are doing, it always pays to stay attentive to everything in your frame. Usually by simply moving up, down, left or right, you can improve the shot and save yourself a ton of work on the computer.