Photo Art

Gateway to the Texas Panhandle

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:20:38 -0400

Folks traveling to Texas from the Western and Northwestern states often stop by Palo Duro Canyon State Park to rest a bit before continuing their long journey through the remaining 1000 miles of Texas. The canyons in the Texas panhandle may not be as steep as the Grand Canyon nor as picturesque as Brice or Zion but what they lack in definition, they more than make up for in scale.

Thousands of tourists drive through Palo Duro Canyon State Park each year but few ever hike the hundreds of square miles of trails, paths and dry creek-beds just begging to be explored. That’s a darn shame because it’s in the far reaches of these magnificent canyons that they begin to yield up their secret locations, hidden spaces and picturesque spots. I know folks that have spent 2 – 3 weeks there every year for the past twenty years and they tell me they’ve yet to run out of virgin territory to explore.

So the next time you’re passing through the area, stop by Palo Duro Canyon State Park and spend a few hours or a few days exploring the gateway to the Texas panhandle. I promise you, it’s some of the most beautiful country this side of the heaven.

Gateway to the Texas Panhandle – Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Texas
Copyright 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 17mm, f/16 for 1/20th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer and 2-Stop (Soft) ND-Grad filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Filed under: Photography Tagged: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Canon, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, Caprock Canyons State Park, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Palo Duro Canyon, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Photography, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Texas High Plains, Texas Landscapes

Made the Front Page of Singh-Ray’s Site

Tue, 21 May 2013 11:20:03 -0400

It’s amazing what impact a little warm weather photography can have on folks in the middle of the worst winter in 20 years throughout much of North America & Europe. My friends at Singh-Ray filters are some of the coolest folks in the business and I’ll take all the free publicity I can get these days!

Yes, those two images on the front of the Singh-Ray web site and their blog are two of my favorite shots from the Texas panhandle and a little something to help warm your soul on a cold and wet winter day.

While you’re feasting your eyes, take a look at the Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, the Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filters and the brand new Vari-N-Trio. These are three essential filters for any landscape photographer and the same three that I use again and again in the field.

No, the folks at Singh-Ray do not sponsor me. I just think the world of their products and customer service and you will too!

Filed under: Photography Tagged: Caprock Canyons State Park, Galen Rowell Graduated Neutral Density Filters, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, Singh-Ray Filters, Singh-Ray LB Warming Polarizer, Singh-Ray Vari-N-Trio Filter, Texas High Plains

Gorman Falls – A Rain Forest in the Texas Hill Country

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:36:25 -0400

Another of my all-time favorite spots to photograph is Gorman Falls in the Colorado Bend State Park near Lampasas, Texas. I’ll never forget my first solitary visit to Gorman Falls several years ago before the draught set in. I arrived at the park before dawn and parked my car at the trailhead (shown on the map below). The hike to the falls is only about 1.5 miles, following the trail staked out with bright orange markers, courtesy of the folks at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). The sun was just rising over the hills to the east and I knew I had to hurry to catch that perfect light that comes only in the early morning hours.

After a brisk hike, I arrived at the end of the trail at first light to find a very steep, rocky descent down to the base of the falls. The climb down always looked treacherous with only a few well defined steps carved into the rock face to guide me. About half way down, there were some steel poles and cables cemented into place and I used those to help control my descent, carrying my tripod in one hand with my camera slung over my shoulder.

At the bottom of the ravine I stood in wonder at the magnificent spectacle before me. Gorman Falls is one of our state’s most pristine natural environments and it seemed as if no one had been down here for years. The falls before me was surrounded by trees with the early morning sunlight filtering through the leaves. The green moss covered rocks and the cool spray of the falls was a refreshing sight after my long hike. Excited at the prospect of capturing this beauty I quickly setup my tripod and camera and selected a medium zoom lens for my first exposures. As I sighted through my viewfinder I knew the long hike and difficult climb had been worth it. I’d found a perfect spot to spend a few wonderful hours doing what I love the most.

Gorman Falls – Colorado Bend State Park, Texas
Copyright 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 28mm, f/16 for 1.6 seconds at ISO 50 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer and Vari-ND filter. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

How To Get this Type of Shot: An image of water cascading down with that smooth, almost silky look to the water.

As with most running water, the key is the long exposure (greater than 1 second) that creates the smooth, silky look. You have two choices in how to achieve the long exposure; a) use a very small aperture like f/22 or b) use a neutral density filter.

A wide-to-medium telephoto lens is a good choice for a shot like this since it allows you to capture many different shots from one spot.

A good sturdy tripod is a must in a situation like this. I recommend a lightweight carbon-fiber tripod for this shot since you’ll be lugging it several miles under the Texas sun to get this shot.

As before, the final key for this type of shot is setting your camera’s long exposure noise reduction to “ON”.

Shooting at Gorman Falls is best done in the early morning when the light just begins to filter through the trees. Spring and Fall are usually the best times of the year to capture great shots at the falls although a few brave souls have been known to visit during the heat of a Texas summer.

Filed under: Photography Tagged: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Canon, Canon 5D Mark II, Colorado Bend State Park, Gorman Falls, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Photography, Texas Hill Country, Texas Landscape Safari, Texas Landscapes

Texas Before the Blizzard

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:35:08 -0400

Nothing earth shattering in today’s post. Just a nice image of Texas before the blizzard to remind myself and my readers that warmer days will be here soon. A little autumn grass and sunny skies goes along way when two-thirds of the country is buried in snow and the other third is in the middle of a deep freeze.

So much for global “warming”.

BTW – Click on the image below for a really big version that’s works perfectly as your computer background or desktop image. Think warm thoughts!

Autumn Grass – Fayetteville, Texas
Copyright 2010 Jeff Lynch Photography
Shot taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II set on aperture (Av) priority using a TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II USM lens tripod mounted. The exposure was taken at 24mm, f/16 for 1/30th of a second at ISO 100 using a Singh-Ray warming polarizer. Post capture processing was done in Adobe’s Lightroom 3.

Click on the image above for a larger version.

Filed under: Photography Tagged: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3, Canon, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II, Fayetteville, Landscape Photography, Nature Photography, Photography, Texas, Texas Hill Country, Texas Landscapes, Texas Towns

71-X96zbUiL._SL1000_.jpeg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:43:42 -0400

71-X96zbUiL._SL1000_.jpeg

NewImage

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:43:09 -0400

NewImage

_images_I_71yf785aBmL._AA1500_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:42:36 -0400

_images_I_71yf785aBmL._AA1500_.jpg

_images_I_71X9b9JhO8L._AA1500_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:42:04 -0400

_images_I_71X9b9JhO8L._AA1500_.jpg

_images_I_71AKBVTvZdL._AA1000_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:41:31 -0400

_images_I_71AKBVTvZdL._AA1000_.jpg

71lm0i0NUiL SL1000

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:40:59 -0400

71lm0i0NUiL SL1000

60D_07_AUS.png

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:40:26 -0400

60D_07_AUS.png

_images_I_81PnDu4O7tL._AA1500_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:39:53 -0400

_images_I_81PnDu4O7tL._AA1500_.jpg

91Ns138GTAL SL1500

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:39:21 -0400

91Ns138GTAL SL1500

_images_I_713u2gDQqML._AA1500_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:38:49 -0400

_images_I_713u2gDQqML._AA1500_.jpg

_images_I_91WSe2OKasL._AA1500_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:38:16 -0400

_images_I_91WSe2OKasL._AA1500_.jpg

_images_I_71lbwO52tvL._AA1000_.jpg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:37:44 -0400

_images_I_71lbwO52tvL._AA1000_.jpg

61W0knoTL2L._SL1500_.jpeg

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:37:12 -0400

61W0knoTL2L._SL1500_.jpeg

Untitled

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:36:34 -0400

Untitled

little merman

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:35:57 -0400

little merman

La r alit est lente, chang de direction

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:35:25 -0400

La r alit est lente, chang de direction