ben greenberg

<p>I will be visiting Washington and Oregon soon to photograph the natural beauty of these two states. I am wondering if I am too late in the year to find wildflowers in the same shot with snow-capped mountain peaks. Does anyone know if I am not too late and, if so, where I should go to find them. Thanks for any help folks could give me. </p>

<p>Thank you all for the benefits of your experiences. You have added to my knowledge and have given me ideas to consider and pursue. Tom, thanks again for some wonderful advice. Bob, thank you for your kind comments. I have worked hard to make my web site one that provides people with a good overview of my images and photographic interests. Now if only I could update it more easily. I have worked hard in the last year, particularly in Virginia to expand my state portfolio, but it can be so difficult to do what I need to do to prepare my new photographs for my site. Ed, thank you for sharing those dramatic images of yours. You have demonstrated what hard work and talent can succeed in doing in such a place. And I am definitely looking forward to the Captain's Galley. I love crab soup. John, I absolutely agree with your statement. That is why I work so hard to research and study the tremendous amount of information I accumulate about the places and the subjects I want to photograph. If you saw my library of information and materials I have accumulated over forty years of photography, I think you would have a better understanding of the level of my commitment and hard work.<br>

Unfortunately, I was told today that the snow geese are late in heading south this year due to the warm weather and they haven't seen that many as yet. So, I will be working hard to locate subjects and gain a better understanding of how to photograph them in this habitat. This, of course, comes with the territory. It reminds me of my 12 days touring New England looking for fall color in a year that has to be the worst fall color in the history of the region.<br>

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Despite the news, I know I will be treasuring this experience, which I suspect will be one of many at this beautiful location.<br>

Ben</p>

<p>Tom, thank you for understanding what I was trying to say and defending my honor. More important, thank you for wanting to help me. I have helped others on this forum and, when I have needed some help, I have almost always found contributors to be generous in offering the benefits of their experiences, and I treasure the help I have received. I feel the same way when I have helped others. It works that way in the field as well. I have had the pleasure of meeting many photographers over the years and we have shared information to help each other. I am pleased when the competitive aspects of what we do (who got the best shot?) don't interfere with the opportunity to share. After all, we share a bond by what we do and that bond enriches us all. </p>

<p>I am geting ready to go to Chincoteague Island and the Assateague Island National Seashore to experience the many wonderful photo opportunities there, but especially the snow geese and waterfowl that migrate there in such great numbers this time of year. I will be planning to shoot the wild horses as well. I would appreciate any advice there may be regarding locations, techniques and the like to maximize my results.<br>

I am a landscape photographer of some reputation and experience who is now learning how to photograph wildlife. I have rented some equipment to assist me, including a 200-400 mm lens that I plan to put on a camera body that will give me 300-600 mm reach. I already have other lenses that go from 14 mm to 300 mm.<br>

Thanks for your help.</p>

<p>Zvia, I thought I had posted a thank you for the detailed information you provided me, but I just checked and found I had not. So, let me express my appreciation for your help and assistance. You and I must think alike because I have already obtained some of the information/books you identified and I have also planned to focus much of my time on the Tetons. I am curious about one more thing. My budget will be limited and I was thinking of staying outside of the parks in less expensive accommodations. Will that work in terms of the distances I will be traveling to the places I will want to photograph very early and very late in the day? Don't feel like you have to respond if you are not familiar with this approach. Thanks again. Good luck in your travels. Ben</p>

<p>Zvia, I hope you don't mind but I would like to ask you a few questions, since you were there during the time period I am considering. Were there wildflowers out when you were there? Was Spring evident in other ways, such as the trees blooming and the like? How about the wildlife? Can I assume that the tetons were snowcapped? How were the crowds? I appreciate any details you can give me. Thank you so much. Ben</p>

<p>I forgot to compliment Zvia for her beautiful image of the Snake River Overlook at sunrise. An absolutely wonderful version of an iconic image. Congratulations.</p>

<p>I want to thank everyone for their sage advice. I am always moved by the generosity of Photonet contributors and I try to participate and provide input when I can.<br>

This is a real tough decision for me. I don't have the resources to visit a location like this more than once. I love shooting in Spring and Fall (sorry, but my work schedule makes it almost impossible for me to visit in the winter, as several people suggested). Having been taking landscape photographs for decades (see www.bengreenberg.com), I certainly understand how difficult it is to plan the timing of such a trip, especially for fall color. I once planned a fall trip to New England for six months and ended up going at a time when it ended up being the worst fall color in the history of the region (my conclusion). This year, I saw the fall color in Shenandoah National Park along Skyline Drive go from looking like it was going to be a great year to an almost complete bust in only three days after a big storm blew through, and I stayed in the park for several days at a time when it is traditionally peak color. What a disappointment.<br>

I had the opportunity to photograph aspens in fall in Utah several years ago and got some wonderful images, so I certainly appreciate the suggestions in that regard. They are spectacular. Since I shoot so much in the fall (this year I am currently trying to capture images in my home state of Virginia where I haven't previously photographed), I think I am leaning toward a spring trip, but that is not certain. The big question is when. I am still unsure as I got input from mid-May through June. I am willing to go out early and beat the crowds to the good locations and go to the less popular places as well. And I love waterfalls, which are almost always better in the Spring, even though I have seen too much water make some falls much less interesting. <br>

So my personal debate goes on. I thank everyone again for their help. If you ever need information about my part of the country, please don't hesitate to contact me: ben@bengreenberg.com. Take care.</p>

<p>I need some advice regarding a trip I am planning to make next year to Yellowstone and the Tetons. I am trying to decide between a spring trip versus one in the fall. The timing is obviously important to me. if I choose to go in the spring, would the last two weeks in June be best for wildflowers, snow-capped Tetons and other signs of spring? Will the crowds be better in June than they would be in July and August? The other option is to go when fall color is best. Again, timing is critical and I am wondering if late September is the best time for fall color. I know the crowds will be much better then. What do you advise and, if you had a choice between the two time periods, which would you prefer? Thanks for any advice you might have. </p>

<p>Holger, I am sorry that I am just now seeing your question. I have spent quite a bit of time in Shenandoah National Park the past two weeks. I had great hopes it was going to be a banner year for fall color, but it looks like the opposite has happened. The primary color right at the higher elevations along Skyline Drive is brown now. The color at the lower elevations might still turn out well but it will be some time before that color looks good in the valley. In between there are places that look good along some of the hiking trails.<br>

We have had some rain lately so the falls have much more water flowing than they usually do this time of the year. I especially found that to be the case in Whiteoak Canyon which has six waterfalls, the top one of which is my favorite there.<br>

There are many overlooks along Skyline Drive that work for sunrise or sunset. Since Skyline Drive is 105 miles long, you have a lot of choices. There are great views of the Shenandoah Valley around Big Meadows and Skyland. There is an overlook just south of Big Meadows that works great for sunset. Another good sunset location I just found was the Miller's Head Trail at Skyland, but it will involve a hike of almost a mile back up along a moderate trail so you will probably need some light to do so.<br>

I hope this helps. Good luck. Ben</p>

<p>Anis, the fall color in north Georgia might be a little behind the color in the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, depending on the elevation. If I were you, I would contact the ranger stations and use other sources the week before you will be going to check on the progress of the fall color and then adapt your travel schedule accordingly. Be prepared for the large numbers of people who visit these mountains during this period of time. This definitely impacts places to stay, as many fill up well in advance.</p>

<p>I bring enough compact flash cards so that I won't have to reuse any of them. I then copy everything each evening onto a Sanho Colorspace Hyperdrive. So, I have two copies of everything. I have never had a card fail but I would never only have only one copy. I think two is safe, especially if one is trying to travel light, a very difficult proposition for any photographer. And I never travel without my tripod, which I remove the head of and then pack it in my one big travel suitcase. The camera bag always stays with me and is one that is designed to fit in an overhead bin. Be aware, however, that the commuter planes have smaller overhead bins and can be a real problem fitting a larger bag that would fit in a larger jet.</p>

<p>That should be a very pretty time along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia as well as Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It is also a good time in Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.</p>

<p>I know six galleries that have closed in the last eighteen months in a city that attracts a lot of tourists and that is known for its support of the arts. Enough said.</p>

<p>Cherie, you have already received some excellent advice.</p>

<p>You say that you are a beginning photographer. If that is the case, then I would urge you to slow down. I don't know what the rush is. It used to be that people learned and mastered the skills and craft of photography before they found their style and went into business trying to sell their work. Well, maybe not everyone, but i would recommend that you do so. It takes a lot of effort and time before one can reach that level. I believe that if you slow down, you won't be sorry.</p>

<p>I would also point out that sales at such shows don't just fall into people's laps. The public can determine quite easily if an exhibitor's work is amateurish. And the costs of preparing work for presentation and sale are high. One needs a lot of work to make a professional presentation and I don't know of any beginners who have an adequate portfolio to do so. Wait until you are ready. I think you will know when that is. </p>

<p>I might add that I speak from forty years of experience and I have done a lot of exhibiting and shows. </p>

<p>JMHO. Ben</p>

<p>Jessica, you are on the right track. You have received some good advice thus far. I would just like to emphasize a few points.</p>

<p>Keep shooting as much as possible and, in the process, find your style that sets you apart from others. To have a style that is recognized is significant.</p>

<p>Focus on shooting and displaying your work locally. There are a lot of photographers out there shooting the famous and iconic images, but locally is a different matter. That is where you can set yourself apart. And that is where the sales are.</p>

<p>You have gotten some input on your images that is right on.I would have said the exact same thing.</p>

<p>Follow your heart and do what moves you. Don't get into this for financial reasons. There are relatively few photographers who are successful in this way selling prints. I sell more than I ever imagined I could and, yet, profit is elusive. More important, it feeds my soul.</p>

<p>Let it do the same for you. Good luck.</p>

<p>Ben</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Karim, the only criterion that was important to me was quality, not "value and practicality", as you suggested. If the quality did not match up with my 6x7 slides, I would never have bought the camera. In fact, it exceeded it in a direct comparison test. I was the most surprised person around that it was the case. And by the way, I shot a Tiff, not raw. I now shoot only raw images, which give me other quality advantages.</p>

<p>I have enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on this issue. It is one that has been of great interest to me as well, since I had been shooting with a Pentax 67 system since the early '80s. I thought I would be a film shooter forever because of my doubts that digital photography could ever match up with what I could produce with my MF system, at least digital photography that I could afford. Then, when the Nikon D700 came out, I became curious, even though it was only 12.3 MP. It was more affordable and I had been a Nikon shooter for years before I started shooting MF. So, I decided to do a test, one that would be meaningful for me as a landscape shooter.</p>

<p>I picked a subject with a full range of tones, from sunlit highlights to deep shade. I used my tripod with a cable release for both cameras. For the D700 I used the Nikon 14-24 mm lens set at 24 mm. I used the lowest ISO, 200. For my Pentax 6711, I shot as I almost always do with Velvia 100. I used my prime lens that came closest to the the 24 mm, my 45 mm f/4.0 Pentax lens. I used comparable apertures and shutter speeds, with the aperture set for excellent depth of field. I focused on the same point in the scene, about one-third in.</p>

<p>Since I did not know much about shooting digitally at the time, I shot Tiff images with the D700. I scanned my Velvia slides as I always do with my Minolta Dimage Multi-pro Film Scanner, an excellent film scanner that I had used with great success in the past. I made matching prints with my Epson 7800 printer with the longest dimension 18 inches, even though I had printed my slides much larger than that in the past for my shows and customers. With my work, the print was the important result for me to compare. By the way, I processed the images with Photoshop CS3 minimally, only sharpening each image the same amount. </p>

<p>My results totally shocked me. I had trouble believing it when I found the D700 digital image clearly superior in the following ways, ways that were most important to me:</p>

<p>1. Resolution was the most important issue for me. That is why I went to the Pentax system in 1982. Yet, the D700 image was much sharper. It was no contest. The detail in the D700 photograph was sharper throughout. It was easily visible to the naked eye.</p>

<p>2. The tonal range of the photograph shot with the D700 was much better. I would have sworn it was several stops better. I had deep shadow areas with detail in the D700 image but those same areas and even some in less shade in the MF image had absolutely no detail. The brightest highlights were similar but I found that I liked those of the D700 better, too.</p>

<p>3. The white balance was much better and cleaner with the D700. There were color shifts with the MF image. The D700 whites were pure white (I shot with the WB on the camera set on automatic). All the colors in the image shot with the D700 were right on. That wasn't the case with the MF photograph.</p>

<p>Like I said, I was shocked. I truly never thought I would be switching to digital shooting, at least not for a long time. Well, 24 hours later I owned the D700, especially because I had a landscape shooting job that would pay for most of it. I knew that shooting and processing with the D700 would save me money and time, a considerable amount of money and time for this particular shooting job. By the way, the first lens I purchased was the 24-70 mm f/2.8 and I probably use that lens for 75% of my shooting. Its sharpness and depth of field are superb.</p>

<p>That is my story. It didn't take long for me to become a digital photographer. The final straw and the point at which I announced that I was definitely a digital photographer was when I shot the sunrise at the Five Fingers at Monument Valley several months later. Having the opportunity to see my images immediately and be able to adjust to the affects of the rising sun as needed gave this overly compulsive shooter with a reputation for bracketing like crazy a confidence that I had never experienced shooting film. I love being able to see my exposure immediately and check my sharpness throughout the image right away. I also enjoy being able to adjust the ISO and WB as needed, although I usually use the lowest ISO and set the WB at automatic.</p>

<p>I don't pretend to be an expert with the new technology. I make my decisions based upon results and my results were clear for my purposes. </p>

<p>Thanks for listening.</p>

<p>Ben Greenberg</p>