Page 84 – Behind the scenes info about the nature photography of Hank Christensen

March 15, 2010January 14, 2013

City By The Bay (Photo of the week)

Note: Click image below to view a larger size.

This week’s photo is a slight departure from the usual natural history themed shot. This panorama of San Francisco was taken from the Marin Headlands with a 400mm telephoto lens. Shots were taken vertically and stitched together, creating an image in excess of 70 megapixels. A low fog had settled over the bay, hiding the water and giving the city the look of floating, as it so often has.

This image worked well as a black and white, as the tonality of the fog below the city and the sky above matched well, balancing the top and bottom of the image. The high contrast of the buildings partnered with the natural feathering provided by the fog is reminiscent of a pencil sketch.

March 7, 2010January 14, 2013

Meal Time (Photo of the week)

This week’s photo was taken last month in Moss Landing, California. Sea otters can frequently be seen here floating in the small harbor, usually eating or grooming. This area is also home to the Elkhorn Slough – famous for its many birding opportunities. The Elkhorn Slough Foundation boasts a checklist of 346 species of resident and migratory birds.

Sea otters are fascinating to watch due to their displays of anthropomorphism and (sometimes comical) interactions with each other. By floating on their backs as they eat, they appear very relaxed and laid back. I always imagine a big smile on their face, as if they are about to tell a great joke.

March 3, 2010January 14, 2013

Creativity tip #1 – Shoot close to home

After The Storm — Turning orange and yellow at sunset, clouds are reflected in the still waters of the San Francisco Bay. The sky has been cleansed by a passing storm. Foster City, California.

Don’t wait for the weekend or vacations to get out the camera. Take one along with you as you go about your every day life. You never know when you might have an opportunity to capture something unexpected.

Even when I don’t have my camera with me (which isn’t TOO often!), I’m constantly on the lookout for interesting ideas for photographs. I get especially excited when I see opportunities for shots that are outside of the subject I normally shoot (nature, landscape, wildlife, etc). This helps keep my creativity going, especially when I’m stuck close to home for long stretches of time.

Moonrise Over The Bay — The moon rises over the San Francisco Bay at sunset.

While working one afternoon last week I could see out my window that there were some pretty interesting looking clouds lining up over the bay after a particularly wet winter storm had passed through. I quickly checked my tide chart and saw that it would be low tide right around sunset. It was a quick 5 minute drive out to the edge of the bay, and only 30-40 minutes out of my day. By being on the lookout for something that caught my eye during my day-to-day life, I was able to capture some beautiful colors in the heart of an urban environment of over six million people.

February 28, 2010March 20, 2019

Moonset At Dawn (Photo of the week)

On a recent morning out at the coast, I was lucky enough to have the conditions of a clear sky, a full moon, and a moonset close to the moment of sunrise. My goal had been to use my longest telephoto lens to zoom in on the moon and capture it setting over the horizon, or behind on offshore rock formation. By using my long lens, the moon would have appeared huge.

However, as soon as I got to my desired location (in the dark of course), I saw that the morning also brought with it the typical fog bank looming just off shore. Once the moon set behind this layer of cloud, it would be gone – long before ever reaching the horizon.

I now had to quickly decide what kind of image this new challenge would allow me. With the rising sun behind me, I was sure to get some interesting colors off of the fog. The telephoto lens would no longer work for this composure because with no strong elements (only moon and fog), the photo might lack interest. I looked around and saw and old fence that could serve well as a silhouetted foreground. I set up my tripod with my 24-70mm zoom just in time to capture the moon before it disappeared behind the fog.