Laurie Excell

The greatest things ever done on Earth have been done little by little.

-William Jennings Bryan

Story behind the image…

From Wikipedia…The Grand Canyon is 277 miles (446 km) long, up to 18 miles (29 km) wide and attains a depth of over a mile (6,000 feet or 1,800 metres).^[2] Nearly two billion years of the Earth‘s geological history has been exposed as the Colorado River and its tributaries cut their channels through layer after layer of rock while theColorado Plateau was uplifted.^[3] While the specific geologic processes and timing that formed the Grand Canyon are the subject of debate by geologists,^[4]recent evidence suggests the Colorado River established its course through the canyon at least 17 million years ago.^[5][6] Since that time, the Colorado River continued to erode and form the canyon to its present-day configuration.^[7]

Late afternoon on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  I positioned myself so that I was shootingin down one canyon which lead to another off in the distance.  The trail winding it’s way through the image adds scale.  Tilting the camera downwards a bit to include foreground gives the sense of space/distance.  While the image could have been created with a single exposure, I wanted the HDR look with greater tonal range so I dialed in a five frame bracket with a base exposure of ISO 100 f8 @ 1/60 sec and processed the HDR image using Photomatix Pro and then added the finishing touches in Photoshop CS6 using NIK creative filters.    Nikon D4, AF-S 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 VR

While in Page, AZ recently we decided to take the tour of Glen Canyon Dam.  I hadn’t toured it in years and thought it would be fun to make some photos.  I attached a 16mm fisheye lens to my D4, set the ISO to Auto (we would be in and outdoors and I didn’t have a tripod), dialed in a 5 frame bracket and was ready to go.  We began the tour going down a couple of levels and then walking along the Dam itself as our guide regaled us with facts and stories…

Once indoors we travelled down some long corridors.  I waited until the last and then turned to make a couple of photos when the guard told me I could take photos.  I apologized and put my camera down.  We continued the tour and as we were returning down the corridor, he caught my attention and told me I could shoot the corridor now because he wasn’t in it.  I thanked him and fired of a couple of sequences.  So, I could photograph the Dam but not the guard.  Works for me.  Go figure…

After photographing one direction, I turned the camera and shot in the other direction…

We finished the tour in the depths of the Dam looking at the heart of the entire operation…

All images were handheld, 5 frame brackets.  Being on a tour doesn’t allow for time to set up a tripod and take long exposures.  This is where digital comes into it’s own…the ability to make an image, handheld, on the fly, at high ISO settings and realize your vision using the tools available to us in the digital darkroom.  Ya gotta love the freedom and fun digital photography provides us!

I don’t care how long it takes me, I’m going somewhere beautiful.

-Unknown-

Story behind the image…

Sunrise on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, 5:39AM, 27 degress farenheit, a slight bit of cloud cover on the horizon adds color to the sky, the light begins bouncing into the canyon exposing the vast cut in the earth, a foreground rock outcropping adding spacial distance and scale.  A five frame bracket captures detail from the brightness of the sunrise to the shadow area in the canyon where the light has yet to reach.  Image processed into HDR using Photomatix Pro and finishing touches added in Photoshop using NIK Creative Filters.  It’s quiet in the early morning hours at the Grand Canyon, a brisk walk along the rim, a few photos as the sun rises, time for a hearty breakfast before taking Bright Angle Trail into the canyon.  Image capture with Nikon D4, AF-S 24-120mm f4 VR

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.

-Winston Churchill-

The Story Behind The Photo…

This image was created in Lower Antelope Canyon recently.  A short walk takes you to an opening within the earth that we stepped into and dropped out of sight into a labrynth of twisting and turning sandstone walls descending downwards to Lake Powell.  The midday sun beats down into the canyon bouncing the light from one wall to the other making it an ideal time of day to visit slot canyons.  There are several options for making images within the canyons; one is using in camera bracketing and combining the images later into an HDR image.  The pattern and texture of the rocks drew my attention in this case so rather than work the shadow and light I went for the graphic patterns.  I made a five frame bracket in one stop increments with my base exposure of ISO 400 f13 @ 1/6 sec.  I use Photomatix Pro to combine the images bringing out detail in the darkest shadows to the brightest highlights and then finished up in Photoshop CS6 using NIK Filters to apply some creative finishing touches (Detail Extractor, Brilliance and Warmth and Classical Soft Focus…all tweaked to suit my vision).  Nikon D4, AF-S 28-300mm 3.5-5.6 VR @ 45mm