Amateur Nature Photographers
View allAll Photos Tagged statepark
"This monument is erected by Colonel and Mrs. Anthony R Kuser
to the glory and honor and eternal memory of New Jersey Heroes by land and sea and air in all wars of our country"
(1930)
Built on the highest point in the state of NJ, this 220ft obelisk can be seen for miles all around, especially when lighted at night.
Deadman's Lake - Pilot Knob State Park
I find the dry leaves to be almost sculptural as they glow in the sunlight. The bright colors are now fading, drying in the strong autumn winds!
The transition of seasons is progressing as the days now get shorter, and the bright colors are a fading memory! Sigh . . .
Copyright 2015
My Portfolio and Photography Services
Press L to view large - it looks so much better on black
Lake Tahoe has many beautiful places along its shores, but for me Sand Harbor is at the top of the list. The way the white granite boulders merge with the beautifully clear, turquoise water is simply incredible. On this night I was shooting a sunset that started off without a bang. In fact it was so boring I began to pack up my gear to leave. But as I turned around to head back to the car, the clouds to the northeast began to light up with beautiful pink and purple hues. Tearing my camera back out of my bag I set up a composition which highlighted the clarity of the water, the white granite, and the reflection of the beautiful light show happening above the mountains in front of me. With the beauty of the scene, and a complete lack of any wind, it seemed as though Tahoe and I were both left breathless.
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Tech Notes on this Photo
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Nikon D300s
Tokina 12-24 mm
ISO100 - To help stretch out the shutter speed
f/10 - as always I started out at f/8 since that's the sharpest spot on my lens and it helps me defocus scratches, drops, and dust on my filters/lens. In this case I wanted to increase the shutter speed a little bit to help smooth out the water as much as possible. Turns out there wasn't much difference to the smoothness in the end, but this shot at f/10 had the best light.
6 sec
12 mm on a crop sensor
Lee 3-stop, 2-stop, and 1 soft GND Filters, handheld at a very slight angle to help darken the horizon on the left.
Post-Processing
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In Raw Converter (Nikon Capture NX2)
- Processed single raw file twice, once for the majority of the image, and another time at +0.3 ev to blend in to upper-right corner to remove some darkness there
- Global contrast for added pop
- Slightly darkened and added contrast to the sky to add oomph
- brightened and added contrast to darker rocks on left
- slightly darkened and added contrast to brighter rocks on right
- increased brightness, contrast, and saturation of foreground rock and turquoise water
- straightened horizon by 0.2°
In Photoshop:
- Noise reduction via Neat Image
- gradient blend of 2 tiffs to lighten upper right corner a little
- Selective sharpening of rocks and mountain ridge
- Curves layer to slightly brighten submerged rocks in foreground, mid-ground rocks, and upper right part of the sky
- Decided I didn't like the extra pinkness in the foreground rock so I used a hue/saturation layer to tone it down
Thanks for looking!
~Josh
I can't remember which state park this was. This was taken during a side trip I did exploring upstate NY. Its a surprising mix of natural beauty, rundown old towns and quaint little places.
An old threshing machine still stands in good shape at Cottonwood Canyon State Park. Cottonwood is a former cattle ranch that was sold to Oregon State Parks several years ago when owners — the Murtha family — decided that the place should be shared with the general public.
Starvation Creek is a small Rest Stop / Park near Hood River, Oregon in the Columbia River Gorge.
I found the park, and the creek, by accident while hunting waterfalls and was shocked at how photogenic the creek is. I highly recommend visiting if you are in the Hood River, Oregon area.
This section of creek is right below Starvation Creek Falls.
NOTE: My other posted pictures of Starvation Creek can be found here:
Starvation Creek - Mini Waterfall
My other posted waterfall pictures can be found here:
Photo taken at Letchworth State Park which is commonly referred as the Grand Canyon of the East. The Genesee River flows through the park & the valley floor is 600+ feet below. I like how you can see all the layers of rock in the sides of the cliffs.
A national state park in San Juan Puerto Rico. This picture is currently in the 2016 Smithsonian photo contest.