Why do I specify “afternoon lightning”? Because evening lightning is coming soon in a future blog post! You can see in this photograph that the canyon is well lit by afternoon light. I was standing on the porch of the North Rim Lodge, watching the darkening clouds for a stroke of lightning over the South Rim when this image was captured. A custom-made lightning trigger helped.
Enlarge this image on your screen to see the lightning best.
My first attempts to capture lightning in a photograph have met with success, thanks to some spectacular storms firing across the Canyon from my vantage point, and a sophisticated device that triggers my camera shutter in time to capture it.
It was after sunset last night, and the canyon below us was getting quite dark. Check out these lightning forks.
My summer travels are taking me from the Atlantic coast of Cape Cod to the Pacific coast of California. As I write today from San Diego, I am sharing the scene from atop a high dune in Wellfleet, Massachusetts on Cape Cod. It’s a sunny and very windy morning. The dune fence in a state of disrepair tells the story of surviving the harsh winter weather.
What do you like best about this image? Are your eyes drawn to the ocean?
Stay tuned to this photography blog, as I’m headed to the Grand Canyon tomorrow.
My recent trip to New York City and Little Island inspired me to capture some new infrared images. Before I pull out the infrared-converted camera, I look for dynamic compositions that are simple and feature strong shapes. I also like to include both foliage and sky, if I can.
Looking from Manhattan’s Lower West Side toward New Jersey, I liked the composition framed by the concrete supports of Little Island and featuring the converging lines of the pilings in the Hudson.
I processed the Super Color image today to render the water in blue and the foliage in a golden yellow. What do you think?
As freezing temperatures grip the Northeast United States this week, we are reminded that a frozen landscape offers a new kind of beauty. The colorful palette of autumn leaves are nearly gone, and winter’s snow introduces a new aesthetic.
This image is one of 12 featured in Cathy Kelly’s 2022 Wyoming Nature calendar. There is still time to order one for the holidays. Email Cathy for details.
Does a blue sky automatically lift your spirits? Do you feel more energetic and happy on sunny days? I do!
One of the cool features of “Super Color” Infrared Photography is the way you can combine a bright blue sky with a black and white image. The black/white portion of your image can emphasize texture and shape and feel a bit timeless, while a blue sky paints in the happiness.
As you look at this photograph more closely, you will notice that the black/white jungle isn’t like a typical black and white photo. The foliage is white! This Sony camera captures infrared light, and one way to process the image is to convert the foliage to white. The result is kind of surreal, but I like it!
For best results, take your infrared photographs on a bright sunny day and make sure your subject is in the sun, not the shade.
What are your weekend plans? During COVID times, we need to choose an activity that is both safe and restorative. My husband and I are taking walks.
Depending on where you live and what climate you have, you might be walking in the snow, in the city, in the woods, the park or something else. What’s in your neighborhood? In Florida, we are often walking along the edge of a lake. In late afternoon, we find a walk in Nature to be restorative. Along the edge of the lake, we observe the colors and reflections of dusk.
Having admired the landscape photography of Clyde Butcher, I love to create my own photographs of tropical Florida with high contrast. Infrared photography is one method to use in making high-contrast images.
An Infrared photograph can be processed in many ways. It is the artist’s choice to use white, yellow or magenta for the green foliage, and to dial in a light or dark hue of blue or cyan in the sky and water. Of course, the image can also be rendered in pure black, white and midtowns. Does this recipe work for you?
Last year at this time, I was looking forward to a couple’s trip to Sedona, Arizona. While I have only been there four times in my life, Sedona is one of my favorite places. I just love to hike there and admire the ever-changing views of the sunlight on the red rock. Catching a glimpse of Oak Creek at the same time makes me feel even more serene and balanced.
I have included this image in my Landscape Photography calendar for 2021. These calendars will be available soon for holiday gift giving. Send me a message if you are interested in buying one, and I will reserve one for you.
I’m challenging myself with learning a new discipline in photography. The first step is having a digital mirrorless camera converted to capture infared light, and I’m learning about the techniques for capturing and processing these new types of images. But the camera won’t be back in my hands for a few weeks.
In the meantime, I was daydreaming about the places I would love to photograph with the infared camera — like the Florida Everglades and Joshua Tree National Park in southern California. With the limitations on travel during the pandemic, those excursions will come to pass down the road.
The scenery of Joshua Tree is fresh in my mind, since I visited the park in 2018. I decided to process one of my color photographs in black and white, as a first step in my journey to see in black and white. What do you think?
Blog: Cathy Kelly Photography 