Posts Tagged ‘Glacier National Park’

May
05
2012

Postcards from Glacier National Park

Looking towards higher ground from the Going-to-the-Sun Road.  HDR image recorded on July 23, 2011 at around 09:45, using the Nikon D3s and theAF-S NIKKOR 16-35mm f/4G ED VR lens at 35mm.  Exposure was f/11 with five source images bracketing +/- 2.o EV, +/- 1.0 EV, and 0.0 EV.

Looking eastward from the Going-to-the-Sun Road.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 10:00, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 38mm.  Exposure was f/16 and 1/60s, ISO 200.

There was extensive construction along the upper sections of the Going-to-the Sun Road in the summer of 2011.  The automated signal rigs shown above were a common sight.  Image recorded on July 23, 2011 at around 10:30, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 24mm.  Exposure was f/11 and 1/125s, ISO 800.  Handheld.

We found this billy goat just above the Going-to-the-Sun road at a spot below the Garden Wall where we had to pause for road construction.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 10:30, using the Nikon D7000 and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens at 400mm (600mm in FX).  Exposure was f/8 and 1/200s, ISO 1600.  Handheld.

Mountain Goat calf near Logan Pass.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 17:30, using the Nikon D7000 and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens at 200mm (300mm in FX).  Exposure was f/9 and 1/1250s, ISO 800.  Handheld.

Nanny goat near Logan Pass.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 17:30, using the Nikon D7000 and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens at 200mm (300mm FX equivalent).  Exposure was f/9 and 1/1600s, ISO 800.  Handheld.

A Glacier Park Inc ‘Red Bus’ is shown parked at the Logan Pass Visitors Center.  These 1930’s vintage renovated convertible buses operate throughout the park.  Image recorded on July 23, 2011 at around 11:15, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 28mm.  Exposure was f/11 and 1/640s (+1.0 EV), ISO 800.

The view north from Going-to-the-Sun Road into Lunch Creek and Piegan Mountain.  Image recorded on July 23, 2011 at around 11:30, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 24mm.  Exposure was f/16 and 1/125s (-0.67 EV), ISO 200.

Near the north end of St. Mary Lake we encounter this log jam.  Image recorded on July 23, 2011 at around 13:15, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 24mm.  Exposure was f/16 and 1/160s, ISO 800.

 

Heavy Runner Mountain (left) and Reynolds Mountain from the Going-to-the-Sun Road.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 11:00, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 24mm.  Exposure was f/11 and 1/125s (+0.33 EV, normalized in ACR), ISO 200.

The view west from Sun Point on St. Mary Lake with  , from left to right, Citadel Mountain, Fusillade Mount, Reynolds Mountain, and Heavey Runner Mountain,  in the distance.  Image recorded at around noon on July 23, 2011, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 36mm.  Exposure was f/16 and 1/3205s (+0.33 EV, normalized in ACR), ISO 800.

Steel sighting-map at Sun Point.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 11:00, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 36mm.  Exposure was f/16 and 1/100s (+0.33 EV, normalized in ACR), ISO 200.

West bank of St. Mary Lake from the green side of Sun Point.  Image recorded at around noon on July 24, 2011, using the Nikon D3s and the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED lens at 36mm.  Exposure was f/11 and 1/500s, ISO 800.

We found this bighorn sheep ewe along Swiftcurrent ridge near Lake Sherburne in the Many Glacier region of the park.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 14:00, using the Nikon D7000 and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens at 400mm (600mm in FX).  Exposure was f/8 and 1/200s, ISO 1000.  Handheld.

Finally, two images of a black bear sow (above) and her three cubs (below) navagating the shoreline of Lake Sherburne.  The foliage on the lake around Lake Sherburne is extremely mature in spots, and this bear family had to go amphibious to get around some significant obstacles.  The young bears seemed to have no fear of the water, and followed their mother without hestitation.  The color of the black bears in the Many Glacier area is remarkably variable, with many cinnamon-color animals.  Image recorded on July 24, 2011 at around 14:00, using the Nikon D7000 and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II lens at 400mm (600mm in FX).  Exposure was f/8 and 1/800s, ISO 800.

The images included in this picture-postcard summary represent only the briefest overview of the photographic possibilities present in Glacier.  The images were recorded on July 23 & 24, 2011, and are included in a more or less geographically organized fashion, in the way that you would encounter places along the Going-to-the-Sun road from west to east.

Copyright 2012 Peter F. Flynn.  No usage permitted without prior written consent. All rights reserved.

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Posted in Adventure, National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Photography | 4 Comments »

Mar
26
2012

Glacier National Park Beyond 830nm

It’s a long way from anywhere to Glacier National Park.  From Salt Lake City to Apgar, MT, it is about 650 miles, 11 hours travel time.  It’s about the same story to go from Portland to Apgar.  The distance is a bit shorter from Seattle to Apgar, about 550 miles, which can be done in about 9 hours.  Denver to Apgar is 970 miles, which will take about 15 hours.  Like I said, a long way from anywhere.  The good news is (obviously) that the long distances from large metro areas keeps the number of visitors down, but make no mistake, it can get remarkably crowded at times.

Naturally, once you get to the Park, you want to maximize the experience.  For the photographer-expeditionary, this means getting up at dawn and not quitting until after the sunset.  For many though, there is a big gap from about 11am until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon.  Some (slackers) use this time for siesta, others use the time to get into position for the afteroon or sunset.  In my view the very best way to spend the noonish hours is to keep right on shooting.

One way to extend time behind the lens will be to to push conventional photography beyond conventional (golden hour) time limits.  I’ve written a bit about the myth of the golden hour from time to time.  If you are willing to invest the time it takes to properly process such images, this can be an effective approach.  Under the right conidtions and with the proper gear, a most excellent option is to shoot in the near infrared (near-IR).  The best way, and in my opinion the only reasonable way to shoot the near-IR is to get hold of a DSLR camera in which has the anti-aliasing filter replaced by a near-IR cutoff filter.  There are several groups that will do this – I have used and can recommend LifePixel out of Mukilteo, WA.  Folks seem to like the mods done by LDP LLC aka MaxMax as well.  Anyway, I had a Nikon D200 modified to the Life-Pixel Deep BW IR option, which is equivalent in the old-tongue to a Wratten 830nm filter set up.  The Deep BW IR provides the richest, deepest tones available in an IR modification.

Quality near-IR capture requires the presence of direct sunlight overhead.  Clouds on the horizon add essential drama to these shots, and without clouds the sky goes nearly to black.  Of course given the right sort of foreground elements, e.g., foliage, this can work well.  If clouds block the sun overhead however, the resulting image will lack the contrast that one is generally hoping for in the capture.

The first four images in this entry were recorded on at around 14:00 MDT on July 23, 2011 using the Nikon D200IR and the AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR at f/11 or f/16.  I generally like to shoot a bit closer to noon to get the most intense contrast, but things seemed to work out well here.

Although light is metered through the lens in an IR-modified camera, the meter is measuring the visible light intensity, whereas with the 830nm cutoff we are looking at something else.  Fortunately, the intensity of the near-IR light is proportional to the visible, and simply requires that you dial extra exposure to compensate (about +3.0 EV in my case).  In practice I bracket the exposure +/- 1.0 EV in 1/3 f-stop increments.

The subject of the first three images was Saint Mary Lake, while the forth image (above) was made near Lake Sherburne.

The images above as well as the following two images were made at about 11:00 MDT on July 24, 2011, near Logan Pass.  No clouds, but plenty of dramatic contrast.

 The image below was recorded at noon on July 24, 2011, at Sun Point near the western edge of Saint Mary Lake.

The final two images were recorded along the shore of Lake Sherburne at around 13:30 MDT.

Images were converted using ACR version 6.5 or 6.6 to set WB and exposure.  The bulk of the processing was conducted using Nik Silver Efex Pro 2, based on a variation of the High Structure – Harsh preset.  Additional processing was applied using Color Efex Pro 4.  Capture, creative, and output sharpening was applied using Photokit Sharpener 2.0

Did you catch the HP in the first image?  Yep, look again.

A Google Earth image of Saint Mary Lake, with Sun Point just about in the center of the viewport is shown below:

Copyright 2012 Peter F. Flynn.  No usage permitted without prior written consent. All rights reserved.

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Posted in Beyond 830 nm, National Parks and Monuments | Comments Off on Glacier National Park Beyond 830nm

Mar
19
2012

Where the Rocks Are Blue

We arrived at Glacier National Park late in the afternoon of the July 22, 2011.  After checking in to our hotel, we just couldn’t wait, and decided to take a quick run up the Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR).  It was by then after 20:00 MDT, and so we didn’t really anticipate having any notable photographical opportunities – but of course, you know what I’m going to tell you next.

Right, always be prepared for an opportunity.  Especially with wildlife that exhibit crepuscular behavior, you just have to be ready to make the shot should luck be with you.

We encountered this small band of Mountain Goats (Oreamnos americanus) at around 20:40, at a point where the roadway lies on top of locally-quarried stone blocks.  The exposed blocks provide the goats with relatively easy access to the rock surfaces, and specifically salts in the rock matrix.

Vegetation is uniformly low in electrolytes, and most vegetarian wildlife seek out supplemental salt.  Curiously, the amount of salt sought by goats (and virtually all animals) is much greater than their absolute dietary requirement.  The GTSR can be very crowded at times, but by early evening traffic is significantly reduced, providing the goats with a chance to fulfill their nutritional desires/needs in an easily accessed location.

Careful review of the image directly above (and the others to some extent) reveals that the tips of the goat’s horn are blue.  A remarkable feature of the stone in this area is that it is one or another shade of a distinctive dusty blue color.  I could not determine whether the goats seemed to favor one shade over another, but there is no doubt but that these animals were drawn to the place where the rocks are blue.

The goats didn’t seem to mind us much, and in fact a kid trotted right behind me on the way from one section of the wall to another – right down the middle of the road.

Images in this entry were recorded using the Nikon D3s (what else?!!!) and the AF-S NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G ED VR II  (mostly at 400mm).  Exposures were at f/8.0 and 1/125s, ISO 3200.  Noise reduction was applied using Nik Software Dfine.  Further processing was accomplished using Nik Viveza 2 and Color Efex Pro 4, and Photoshop CS5.  Image sharpening was applied using Photokit Sharpener 2.

A Google Earth image of the area appears below:

Copyright 2012 Peter F. Flynn.  No usage permitted without prior written consent. All rights reserved.

 

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Posted in Mountain Goat, National Parks and Monuments, Wildlife Photography | 1 Comment »

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