To get this shot, it's important to do a lot of homework. A lot of elements have to be just right. First, you need to know where the milky way will be. It has to be near the object to get both of them in one picture. You can use an app like PhotoPills to find out exactly where the milky way will be at what time (obviously it has to be at night). The app also tell you where the galactic center will be. The galactic center is very photogenic. You also need to be aware of the moon. If the moon is too bright, this doesn't work well. Weather is the final element. Obviously the sky needs to be clear. When these elements are in place, you can now worry about the camera setting. You need a camera which allows adjustment of shutter speed, a relatively fast wide-angle lens and a tripod. You need to manually focus on the stars. It's usually the shorter end of infinity (if you focus at the longer end of infinity, the stars won't be in focus!...unless you are in extreme temperature). Crank up the ISO up to wherever your camera allows without producing too much noise. And, shoot with long exposure. Too long of exposure will make star trails, so I usually want to keep it below 25 seconds. You can always refer to the 500 rule (500 / lens mm on a full frame camera = Exposure time in seconds). (Sony A7RII, Zeiss Batis 2.8/18 at f/2.8, 20 sec, ISO = 6,400). Difficulty 8. Shibuya Score: 8/10
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Yosemite Valley (which is only 3% of the whole Yosemite National Park) is kind like a loop. You drive in on the right (south) side of the valley and come out on the left (north) side. Before you come back to where the loop splits on Northside drive, right on the Merced River, there is a parking lot on the left hand side. This is a popular angle and spot to take pictures but on internet it wasn't clear exactly where it was. No hiking required. This is right off the parking lot.
For this shot, I wanted to do a long exposure shot to make the water smooth. In the bright sun, I lowered the ISO all the way, use in camera and external neutral density filters and of course a tripod. (Sony A7RII, Zeiss FE 16-35 F4 ZA OSS at 20 mm, 1.5 second, ISO = 50, f/22, ND filter). Difficulty: 4/10, Shibuya Score: 8/10 Don't neglect the State Parks. Some State Parks are better than some of the National Parks. Valley of Fire State Park is one of those. Only 1-2 hours from Las Vegas, you are in this incredible landscape. From the visitor center, drive north. You will drive through this narrow valley with steep red walls. The leading pass, good contrast with the background mountains with different color/mineral content and awesome clouds made this pic unique. (Sony a7RII, Sony FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS at 200mm, f/7.1, ISO = 2000, 1/250). Difficulty 6/10. Shibuya Score: 8/10 (what is this?)
Port Aransas is a nice vacation destination...but for landscape photography, there is nothing much there. It's flat and no interesting geological formation. Here I found a puddle of water on the beach. I got really close to it with my wide angle lens, probably only several inches off the water and took this picture. With good clouds, sun rise and the joggers, all the sudden, this boring flat beach became photographically interesting. You can do this at any beach. You just have to wake up early in the morning on a semi-cloudy day. If I got little lower, I probably could make the jogger look like they were running on the water. (Sony a7R, Sony/Zeiss FE 16-35 F4 at 20mm, 1/60, f/11, ISO = 100, Vivid JPEG, Tripod, No post processing). Difficulty: 4/10. Shibuya Score 3/10 (what is this?)
Antelope Canyon is very accessible. You can park right next to it. From Page, Arizona, drive east for few miles and you can enter Antelope Canyon right off the high way. You don't need a special car. It's paved. From the parking lot you just enter the slot canyon with minimal fee for this world class photo op. Crank up your Kelvin on your white balance and just start shooting once you get in the canyon. Only lens you need is a wide angle zoom since everything is very tight in the canyon. You don't need a tripod with a modern-day digital camera. I'd rather keep shooting every angle, not wasting time setting up a tripod. Don't forget to shoot up towards the sky, either.
It's not a bat hike. It's just tight. There are stairs so you don't need roping. Just remember the sand stone can rip your cloths and equipment because you are consistently brushing against it. If you need the classic light column in your picture, you need to be there in summer when the sun is directly on the top and have your friend throw the sand in the air. (Nikon D800E, Nikkor 16-35mm f/4) Good landscape pictures have good clouds. A certain portion of most of the landscape pictures is the sky. The sky is boring if empty. Good clouds adds more interest. In this picture, 50% is the sky. If it were just uniform blue, then this picture was only 50% interesting. Keep looking at the weather. Or get lucky. This was taken at Toadstool, near Page, AZ. Easy hike from the paved highway 89 north of Vermillion Cliffs, south of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The closest city is Page. The hike is not technical. No paved paths but there are few signs so you won't get lost easily. The paths change all the time when rains. (Sony A7R, Sony Zeiss 16-35mm FE at 21 mm, f/8, 1/400, ISO = 100, vivid mode)
Sometimes you just have to be lucky. How often do clouds cover over Vermillion Cliffs? And no where else? Very rare. How often does it rain there? Very rare. How often does the cliff get sandwiched between the clouds and shadowed grasslands and get sunlight on the cliff? Very rare. Well you sometimes need to get lucky unless you live there everyday. On a photo trip, I constantly check weather but you still need to get lucky. I was lucky (Sony A7s, 55mm Zeiss FE, f/5.6 at 1/1000 sec, ISO=100)
This is one of the famous shots, looking at Watchman over Virgin River in Zion National Park. Though it's famous and attractive, it's extremely easy to get this shot. No hiking required. Driving from St. George, go north on IS-15. From 15 go east on 9 toward Hurricane and toward Zion. After Springdale, pay $25 to enter Zion National Park. Once you enter the park, drive about 1 mile and you will see a junction to go into the valley. People call it "Canyon Junction" but it's not on the Google Map. If you go left (or North) you will enter the main Zion Valley via Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, but hold your urge and don't enter the scenic drive (you can't go in anyways during the peak season anyways. It's only accessible with their shuttles). There is a small parking area right after the junction which fit about 3 cars. From the parking area go back towards the bridge you just crossed (it's only about 100 feet walk), then you have the view, facing south. There is not much space to stand on the bridge, so be careful with the cars. You can walk down along the river on the paved trail but you won't see any better view than this (I tried). The map below is not accurate because I can't point it to the junction but the place is past Springdale. (Sony A7R, Zeiss 16-35 mm FE at 35 mm, f/20, 2 sec, ISO = 100, JPEG in Vivid mode, with tripod)
White pocket (there are multiple pockets but it's singular) is probably the most amazing place I've ever been to. Southern Utah and Northern Arizona have the most interesting formations in the world. That means good photography opportunities. But these places are not easy to get to. For this picture, you need a 4x4 truck and really good sense of direction. People actually can get lost, stranded and die in middle of nowhere. Pictures would look nicer if water is in the pockets with all the reflexion. But it only happens few times a year. You really have to be really lucky. When rains, it's almost impossible to get there; but if you wait too long after rain, then the water evaporates quickly in the desert. I was so lucky to have this shot. To get this we had to drain 1/2 tank of gas from the 4x4 car to make the car lighter and take some air out of its specialized tires to get more traction in the mud. Despite all the trouble, It was so worth it. (Sony A7R with Zeiss FE 16-35mm at 16, f/8, ISO=100, 1/200 sec, JPEG in Vivid mode). Difficulty: 9
Moving water is fun. The best examples are silky falls and misty shore, artificially created with long exposure shots. A part of what's fun about photography is you can create something you don't see with you naked eyes. Set your camera on your tripod on a calm cloudy day and shoot water falls with more than 1/3 sec exposure. The only thing moving is the water so you get this cool effect, the silky water falls. In order to achieve long exposures without washing out your pics, you need to lower your ISO, tighten up the aperture, pick a cloudy day and sometimes need a neutral density filter. Otherwise, it will be too much light going into the camera. This shot was taken at Bushkill Falls in Pennsylvania. It's located on the west side of the Delaware Water Gap. This is the main fall not much hiking required to get there. (Sony A7R, Sony FE 24-70 mm F4 Zeiss at 24 mm, 0.6 sec, f/11. ISO = 50, exposure compensation = -1)
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