Sweet Stillness, Mt. Tamalpais

Sweet Stillness, Mt. Tamalpais, originally uploaded by Della Huff Photography.

Mt. Tam is incredible for a million reasons, but one of my favorites is the sense of peace and calm on the slopes of Bolinas Ridge. On a balmy summery evening, the only sounds are the gentle breeze rustling the grasses, and the faint sound of surf crashing on the Marin coastline a couple of thousand feet below. With a glowing, pearly moonrise on a July evening, it's perfection.

Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 24-70L, f/10 @ 1/8, 1/2, 2s (blend), ISO 50. No filters.

Note on processing: I usually try to avoid blending exposures (it's a pain!) but with probably 20 stops of dynamic range in this image from the shadowed trees to the bright fog and sky, it was necessary. Other than blending the three exposures in Photoshop, there's minimal processing here... just a bit of curves and a touch of vibrance.

Redwood Magic: Humboldt County, California

Redwood Magic, originally uploaded by Della Huff Photography.

The giant redwood forests of Humboldt County are one of my favorite places in California. They're just magical. It's easy to imagine fairies or elves running around in the wood sorrel and ferns carpeting the forest floor.

It's also incredibly lush and green. This photo was taken last summer when California's drought was particularly severe.

Photographing forests is tricky because of the dark shadows and low light. You definitely need a tripod, and the best time to photograph is soon at dawn and dusk to get as even lighting as possible. A really overcast day can do the trick, too. Either way, you'll probably need a long exposure, which means you'll need calm winds if you don't want motion blur in your image.

Canon 5D, Canon 24-70L, f/16 @ 8s, ISO 50. No filters.

Christmas Gift

Christmas Gift, originally uploaded by Della Huff Photography.

[click on the image to view larger.]

Usually I don't go for Photoshop tricks like this, but a client requested a San Francisco panorama with only the Golden Gate in color. I have to admit that I kinda like how it came out! :)

This panorama was taken during the holiday season last year.

Twilight Reflections, Fort Baker

Twilight Reflections, Fort Baker, originally uploaded by Della Huff Photography.

Another from the other night's sunset at Horseshoe Cove at Fort Baker in Marin County.

My absolute favorite time to photograph is the transition zone from day to night - twilight. While it's often called the "Blue Hour", in my experience the peak window for photography really only lasts a very few minutes, and if you use long exposures to heighten the twilight effects (like I do), that means that you only have 2-5 frames to really get it right. I'm happy with how the light and color came out in this one - I hope you enjoy it too!

See more at:
www.dellahuffphotography.com
www.dellahuffphoto.blogspot.com

Canon 5D, Canon 24-70L, f/10, 30sec, ISO 50. No filters.

Published! "From Delhi to Bali: Travels in Southeast Asia"

Well, self-published, anyway :) I just finished my 62-page book of photographs from my 3 months of travel in Southeast Asia. You can preview the book by clicking on the link below.

I used Blurb to put my book together and even though I haven't seen the finished product yet, I recommend them highly. I've used a couple of other self-publishing services and Blurb has the best, most user-friendly, and most versatile software that I've seen. There are virtually no limits to what you can do... just your creativity!

I can't wait to see the book in print! I'll post an update when it arrives.

If you're interested in ordering a copy of the book, let me know. I might make it "buyable" if there is enough interest.

Enjoy!

From Delhi to ...

Photography by Del...

By Della M. Huff

Book Preview

My 10 Favorite Images of 2008

In no particular order, these are my top ten favorite images from 2008. Thank you to Jim Goldstein for suggesting this exercise! It was fun to go through the archives and pull out my favorites. I hope you enjoy them! To see more, please visit my website or my Flickr photostream. Happy shooting in 2009!

[Click images to view larger.]

A beautiful sunset in Pebble Beach during the last few days of 2008.
"Lone Cypress Sunset"
"Griffith Observatory Moonrise"

I'm going to count the next two as a single image, since they pair together.
"Sunset/Moonset, Golden Gate Bridge"
"Priest Valley Spring"

"Violet Fog and Golden Gate"

"Downtown Los Angeles Twilight"

This is a portrait I took of my dad in July, just a few months before he passed away in October. I'm so happy I have this photo of him.
"Griffith Observatory and Los Angeles Skyline"
"Badwater Salt Flats" - Death Valley National Park
"Baby on Board" - Capuchin Monkeys in Manuel Antonio, Costa Rica
I got to try my hand at wedding photography this year when my good friends Christy and Scott tied the knot!
"Christy and Scott"

And lastly, an early favorite from 2009 ;) - "Moonrise, Joshua Tree"

Envisioning the Shot | Griffith Observatory & The Hollywood Sign

One of my favorite cityscape techniques is using a telephoto lens to juxtapose buildings or landmarks in ways that are not usually seen. Several weeks ago, I wondered if there were a vantage point from which I could juxtapose two of Los Angeles's most famous landmarks, the Griffith Observatory and the Hollywood Sign.

This past Saturday was a glorious, clear, warm day in Los Angeles, so I went out in search of the view. I was so happy to find it! In reality, the Sign and the Observatory are more than a mile apart, but from far away and with a long lens, they look like they are right next to each other.

Now that I know where the location is, I plan to go back when the season (spring) and light (likely early morning) are better.

Canon 5D, 70-200L
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Los Angeles in Infrared

I first discovered infrared film as a high school photography student and loved its surreal, beautiful, and unpredictable effects. As a digital photographer, one can't use infrared film, but there are a few other options to recreate the effect digitally.

(1) You can recreate the effect in Photoshop, though I have yet to see the effect recreated perfectly using this method. Generally this involves converting your image to black and white using mostly the 'red' channel and applying glow and grain to the image.

(2) You can replace your dSLR's sensor with an infrared sensor; however, this is expensive since you need another camera body and have its sensor swapped out. You can learn more about this process here.

(3) You can use an infrared filter. This is the method that I decided to try out, and I purchased a Hoya 72 Infrared Filter. I've tried it out a few times and haven't been too impressed with the results, but I'll keep trying to iron out the kinks. I shot the image below of the LA skyline.

[click image to view larger.]

For comparison, here is an image I shot with real infrared film on a manual SLR back in the 1990s. The filter seems to create very grainy images without the lovely soft glow of the infrared film. I'll work on recreating the true effect in Photoshop and keep you posted :)

Unconventional Views | The Hollywood Sign

I really enjoy shooting familiar landmarks in unconventional ways -- such as from a new angle, with a unique juxtaposition, a different time of year, or interesting light. With these images, my goal is for the viewer to think, "Wow! I haven't seen a photo quite like that one before!"

Here are a few of the iconic Hollywood Sign. Click on the images to view them larger.

With wispy clouds in summer:

Did you know that there's a vineyard in the Hollywood Hills?

Classic California.

Framed by wildflowers in summer.
Up close and personal.

Looking down on LA from behind the sign.

Bathed in sunrise light from Griffith Observatory.

"OHLLYWODO" - A strange optical illusion from the Hollyridge Trail.

Hollywood Sign Panorama

This image speaks for itself, since the Hollywood Sign is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. I've enjoyed shooting panoramas for some time, mainly because the format allows the photographer to portray a different viewpoint on a subject, and they're great for city skylines, which I tend to photograph often.

Here's a little history on the famous letters above tinseltown:

The sign originally read "HOLLYWOODLAND," and its purpose was to advertise a new housing development in the hills above the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. The developer contracted the Crescent Sign Company to erect thirteen letters on the hillside of Mount Lee, each facing south. The sign company owner, Thomas Fisk Goff designed the sign. Each letter of the sign was 30 feet wide and 50 feet high, and was studded with light bulbs. The sign was officially dedicated on July 13, 1923.

The sign is located on the southern side of Mount Lee in Griffith Park, north of the Mulholland Highway. Its altitude is 1,578 feet.

Click on image to view larger.

Here are a few tips on shooting panoramas:

• Make sure there is sufficient overlap between photos.
• Ideally you want about 20-30% overlap between the photos so your panorama software can accurately stitch the pano together.
• Level tripod head and camera.
• Ditto above - your pano software will have a hard time stitching your pano if your shots are not level.
  
• Manually set white balance and exposure.
• If you can, set your camera to manual exposure in order to ensure a consistent exposure across the entire panorama. Otherwise, you'll end up with weird lighter or darker patches, especially in the sky.
  
• Find an interesting view.
• While skylines are obvious (and often very common) panorama subjects, try something different, such as a vertical panorama of a tree or a horizontal crop of buildings to show abstract patterns to create visual interest.
• Use panorama editing software.
• There are many editing tools out there, and many of them are free. I tend to use the panorama tool included in Photoshop CS2 and above, but I've also had great results with AutoStitch, which is a free download.
  

Chinatown and Shooting at Twilight

Twilight is my favorite time to shoot cityscapes. To get that beautiful, rich blue sky, you only have about a 10-15 minute window in which to shoot, about 20 minutes after sunset. There is still enough ambient light in the sky to provide some fill light on the buildings, and you can use a long-ish exposure to blur traffic and taillights.

These photos were taken in L.A.'s Chinatown.

Chinatown

Canon 5D, Sigma 15-30, F/5, 1/10 sec, ISO 200, tripod mounted

Click on the images to view larger.