Serene shooting

About a mile from my house exists a small nature area that is part of a larger cemetery called Wintergreen Gorge Cemetery. My parents went there following their wedding more than 20 years ago, but I’ve only been there a few times since we moved to this area four years ago.

So a few weeks ago I decided to grab my gear and head over to see what beauty I could capture just a few miles outside of downtown Erie, Pa. Below are the photos I made that day, and you can also click two images below to watch two short stop motion videos that I put together.

I started out by testing the depth of field on my 50mm 1.8 lens. I’m a big fan of the speed of this lens’ aperture, especially when basketball and hockey seasons roll around. In other situations during the summer months, it works very well as a portrait lens or to isolate a real tight focus on certain subjects.

Below are comparisons of photos taken at several different f-stops, and while the compositions aren’t ideal, you can get a good idea of how shallow this DOF can be.

Canon XTI, 50mm, f1.8, 1/3200, ISO 200

Canon XTI, 50mm, f11, 1/60, ISO 200

Canon XTI, 50mm, f20, 1/100, ISO 800

I had to bump the ISO up on this last one, as it was a pretty windy day and at f20 there would have been significant motion blur if left at 200 like the others.

As I was leaving this purple loosestrife flower, two bees flew up to it and I caught them in flight with a slightly wider angle lens.

Canon XTI, 38mm, f5, 1/500, ISO 200

Then I went for a different perspective on the cliche-up-the-tree angle shot with a wide angle vs. 50mm lens.

Wide angle:

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/200, ISO 800

50mm, Shallow DOF:

Canon XTI, 50mm, f1.8, 1/800, ISO 800

Continuing with shallow depth of field, this time achieved through a telephoto across the still pond surface:

Canon XTI, 300mm, f4, 1/2000, ISO 1600

Below are several different takes on one of the waterfalls that flows through the gorge.

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/800, ISO 400, Panorama stitched with Windows Live Photo Gallery

The foam at the base of the falls reminds me of a clip from Tom Guilmette’s demo reel.

Canon XTI, 18mm, f4, 1/80, ISO 200

Canon XTI, 200mm, f4, 1/1250, ISO 100

A few tight shots of the rocks as water cascades down and around:

Canon XTI, 55mm, f18, 1-second exposure, ISO 200

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/250, ISO 1600

Click the following image to watch a stop motion video of water dripping underneath a rock outcrop.

Canon XTI, 50mm, f1.8, 1/4000, ISO 1600

As I was enjoying the waterfall and surrounding area, it was interesting to note that right behind me was busy Norcross Road with cars and trucks speeding by. I was just glad to not be shooting video and having to capture audio.

Finally, I ran into what little wildlife that Wintergreen has to offer. The first sign…

Canon XTI, 180mm, f4, 1/1600, ISO 200

Roughly three dozen Canadian Geese make the area their home for much of the year. I’m sure that many of the people passing through on their way to the cemetery or on a hike throw them food scraps, so the geese are very friendly toward passerby, even if they are carrying a large camera lens.

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/40, ISO 100

Canon XTI, 300mm, f4, 1/500, ISO 100

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/200, ISO 100

Canon XTI, 200mm, f4, 1/400, ISO 100

I must have caught them during a feeding session–many kept diving down to grab vegetation floating just under the water.

Click the next image to watch one in action.

Canon XTI, 300mm, f4, 1/200, ISO 100

I usually hate shooting in harsh, direct sunlight, but the glare across the water’s sparkling surface with the flock of geese in the background actually made for a nice photo on this particular afternoon.

Canon XTI, 18mm, f3.5, 1/160, ISO 100

Finally, as I was leaving I saw a few fish swimming about near the water’s edge. Using my longest lens, I was able to capture a decent detail shot of the colorful pair.

Canon XTI, 300mm, f4, 1/320, ISO 100

Check back in the next few weeks as fall sports season gets closer, as I should have a few sports photo assignments to chronicle as July comes to a close.