Beneath - landscape photography

Under the Clark Bridge
Photograph by Tom Atwood

What I remember about taking this photograph beneath the Clark Bridge is flying carp leaping out of the Mississippi River near West Alton, Missouri. It was spooky enough without that.

Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/7.1; ISP: 400; Focal Length: 85 mm

Beware of Dogs - landscape photography

Green Hedge Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

What you can't see in this photograph are the dogs. It was actually very dark on Green Hedge Road, and late at night, when I took this picture. While I was waiting for this 56-second time exposure, the dogs on the farm began barking, not happy. The baying in the dark kept getting closer, so I packed up my tripod and left this peaceful scene.

Shutter: 56 seconds; Aperture: f/5.6; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 100 mm

Point & Shoot

4th of July
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Photographing fireworks involves luck and planning. Since I am not a very good planner, it's mostly luck for me. The only planning is really in the camera settings (below):

Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/20; ISO: 160; Focal Length: 18 mm

The Vanishing Night

Weber Road
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Darkness is a thing of the past. Even on a country road in the Midwest, far from any towns or cities, the sky is lit up at night, not by stars, but by our scattered light. Farmers have yard lights, cars have headlights, billboards have floodlights. The result? The night sky that has inspired people for thousands of years is disappearing before our very eyes. Even on Weber Road.

Shutter: 30 seconds; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 400; Focal length: 18 mm

Metadata

Self Portrait, New Years Day
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I ran across this old photo this morning in an online gallery of mine. I had forgotten about it, everything except for how cold it was. So, I checked the metadata embedded in the photo file, an eternal source of information. Turns out this was taken at 11:04 p.m. on New Years Day, 2010. I'm standing on Pin Oak Road, not far from Strasen Lane near Marine, Illinois. The memorable barn behind me has since collapsed completely, and has been cleared away. I am still standing.

Shutter: 25 seconds; Aperture: f/4.5; ISO: 200; Focal Length: 18 mm

Light Pollution

44 Halogen Floodlights
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I remember when the Gateway Arch wasn't lit up at night. It stood proudly as a shadow against the St. Louis skyline. Now, 44 halogen floodlights illuminate not only the Arch, but the clouds, passing airplanes, and the rest of night sky, which is increasingly obscured by scattered light.

Shutter: 13 secs; Aperture: f/13; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 18 mm

Ten Seconds

Ten Seconds
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Here's the secret(s) to photographing fireworks: 1) use a tripod 2) use a high aperture, at least f/14, preferably f/18 3) try exposures of between 8 and 25 seconds and 4) make sure you have something interesting, like an arch, below the fireworks. No charge. These tips are on the house. Details for this photo, taken on the 4th of July in East St. Louis:

Shutter: 10 secs; Aperture: f/14; Focal Length: 18 mm; ISO: 100

The Cold Hour

The Blue Hour
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Some photographers call this the "blue hour." I call it the cold hour. I don't remember the temperature when this particular photo was taken. I just recall my fingers were so numb I had trouble adjusting the settings on the camera. The time was 5:56 a.m. The location - a thin place between earth and sky along Strasen Lane near Marine, Illinois.

Shutter: 38 secs; Aperture: f/5.6; Focal Length: 27 mm; ISO: 200

The View from East St. Louis

Old Courthouse
Photograph by Tom Atwood

Accidents happen. Like this photograph for example. I was in East St. Louis to shoot long exposures of the St. Louis skyline. Suddenly, during this shot, fireworks erupted behind the Old Courthouse. A brief, small display. It was November 20th, not the 4th of July. I never did find out what the celebration was about!

Shutter: 15 secs; Aperture: f/20; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 55 mm

Scattered Light

The Black River
near Piedmont, Missouri
Photograph by Tom Atwood

I went to the Black River looking for darkness, but found all kinds of light in this photograph taken beneath the spillway at Clearwater Lake. The Milky Way glows like dust above the clouds, while the clouds themselves are lit from below by scattered light, most of it out of nearby Piedmont, a small town several miles away. The hillsides are lit by flashlights shining in the hands of hikers, walking the paths along the river in "darkness."

Shutter: 25 secs; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 3200; Focal Length: 18 mm

Wisconsin Blur

Skyscraper
Wisconsin Dells, Wisc.
Photograph by Tom Atwood

It's amazing what 25 seconds can do to a photograph. That's how long the lens was left open on this time exposure taken on a summer night in Wisconsin. The Skyscraper, a ride that carries two people at a time high into the air and upside-down, is not nearly this impressive when viewed in real time. This is photographic sleight of hand.

Shutter: 25 secs; Aperture: f/18; ISO: 100; Focal Length: 18 mm

Darkness

Milky Way above the
Garden of the Gods
June 17, 2012
Photograph by Tom Atwood

The Garden of the Gods is one of the darkest places in Illinois. One of the few areas where you can see the Milky Way on a moonless night like this one on June 17, 2012. In the photo above, the sandstone rock formations were lit by a flashlight during the 25-second time exposure. (The flashlight also caught some trees, which you can see in the lower left corner).

Shutter: 25 secs; Aperture: f/3.5; ISO: 5000; Focal Length: 18 mm

We're Back

Self Portrait

After a year or so away, Photo of the Day returns with more portrait and landscape images from Tom Atwood Media, including this photo which is both: a self portrait and landscape taken on the Big Thompson River in Rocky Mountain National Park at moonrise. 

Shutter: 20 secs; Aperture: f/3.5; Focal Length: 18 mm; ISO: 200