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Stony Brook Crown Reserve - 2013
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 2:05 am    Post subject: Stony Brook Crown Reserve - 2013 Reply with quote
Well once again my buddies and I won the draw for a stretch of Crown Reserve salmon water.

(Several big stretches of prime salmon river are owned by the province (i.e. the Crown). Every spring, New Brunswickers can enter a lottery to get a stretch of salmon river for 48 hours. )

We also won a stretch last year, pics here:
http://forum.mflenses.com/stony-brook-crown-reserve-on-the-southwest-miramichi-river-t52012.html
http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,1252952.html

I've always wanted wider, wider, wider lenses to try to photograph this area. This spring I acquired a Mir 20M 20/3.5, a temperamental beast, but I wanted to capture the "feel" of things with my widest angle, if there are optical flaws so be it.

The weather was hot, the sun was strong. Tough shooting conditions for a notoriously flare-prone lens.

I did most of my postprocessing with Luminence HDR, but these are all single shots, no exposure bracketing. I underexposed many of these to keep sky and water detail, but this software seems to easily bring out both light and dark areas. I like the rendering, but it might be controversial Razz

Any and all comments/critique welcome. Places like this are a big reason I got interested in photography, I really want to bring a little of the woods and water back home with me.

1) dusk


2) the hike down here is brutal but we come every year


3) the histogram looked OK but the gravel beach is badly burned out. I still like the shot, it may be worth more elaborate PP when I get time.


4)


5) oh yeah, there was fishing too!


6) Hexanon 28/3.5, at dusk with just a hint of colour in the sky. That was the nicest sunset we had Evil or Very Mad


7) rugged country


8.) I'm not sure why there's a soft glow along the bottom, I suppose there was a twig or blade of grass right in front of the lens. I don't feel it greatly harms the image...


9)


10)


PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I remember your first photos of this subject which I think were of two years ago (?) and these are a definite improvement over those!


PostPosted: Sun Jul 21, 2013 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Orio wrote:
I remember your first photos of this subject which I think were of two years ago (?) and these are a definite improvement over those!


Thanks, I feel I'm making progress but it's good to have validation!

Hanging out here has been hugely educational.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 3:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
It looked like tough conditions in heavy shade and bright light.The #8 shot might have been water on the lens or thumbprint? I like the story and the subject...now for the important question did you catch any fish? Laughing


PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 11:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
It looked like tough conditions in heavy shade and bright light.The #8 shot might have been water on the lens or thumbprint? I like the story and the subject...now for the important question did you catch any fish? Laughing


No, we caught nothing at all. The water was too warm for the salmon, and in fact the following week they closed several stretches to fishing because of low water levels and high temperatures . Crying or Very sad

But frankly the fishing is only part of why we go.


PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:57 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
That would have been disappointing, but as you point out there is a lot more there than just the fish.

Do you have a Flektogon at all? That would be a great lens for a trip like this.I only have the Flek 35/2.8 but if you could grab a wider one I think it would be beneficial for a fishing place like this.It is not a cheap lens but it produces the goods in images.
The Mir seems just a little too temperamental to be reliable....not unusable but you know what I mean.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Wow.

Lovely scenes captured, and the processing seems to make the most of low-light details.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 1:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
That would have been disappointing, but as you point out there is a lot more there than just the fish.

Do you have a Flektogon at all? That would be a great lens for a trip like this.I only have the Flek 35/2.8 but if you could grab a wider one I think it would be beneficial for a fishing place like this.It is not a cheap lens but it produces the goods in images.
The Mir seems just a little too temperamental to be reliable....not unusable but you know what I mean.


As it happens I've got the Flek 25/4 as well as the 35/2.8. I'm on the lookout for a bargain on the 20/4 but that seems... unlikely!

Here's some film shots from the same area with the 25/4, in the second shot you can see it's not immune to flare Laughing : http://forum.mflenses.com/viewtopic,p,1252952.html

I've since gotten a hood for the 25/4 which would have helped.

I certainly wished for my Flek 35/2.8 because I found a bunch of carnivorous plants along the rock face you can see in #9 and #10 and it would have been a cool shot. But the place is only accessible by chest waders, and the area in #2-#5 is at the bottom of a frankly harrowing climb, I felt foolish burdened with one camera/lens/tripod never mind a full bag.

I knew going in that the Mir 20 would be challenging and flawed but I've been attempting these rivers and brooks for years now, always with the vague feeling that wider angles would capture a better sense of place. And I consider a picture like #5 a qualified success, there's a sense of the rugged country and the rushing water and the pounding sun and yet the peaceful feeling you get being in this wild place. To me at least Rolling Eyes

Technically I have a few options for my next attempt at shooting rivers. I'll improvise a hood for the Mir 20, I'll seek rivers during overcast weather, try shooting negative film again (although of course that has it's own learning curve), try stitching panoramas (although I'm not sure how well the constantly changing water will stitch). I played around with a polarizing filter also, just test shots, not worth showing, but maybe next time it'll plant the seeds of an idea.

There are so many beautiful streams and rivers around here, as long as I'm improving I feel rewarded and motivated. If I ever felt that I'd mastered composition and processing and my problem was only gear... I'd liquidate some lenses and save up for a Distagon. But I've got quite a ways to go before that.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 2:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
I think part of your continued learning curve, will be finding the right camera angles that suit the type of terrain you are trying to capture.When I was in NZ I found the same thing,frustration in trying to capture the depth of color and beauty of what the naked eye could see.
So many challenges but it's part of the fun, getting fresh ideas of what to try next time, then when you have gone back and applied those ideas to see what works and what doesn't.

Wow you certainly went to some lengths to capture these! I do like 4 and 5,4 because its just rocks and wild water,5 because you get a sense of scale with the fisherman....and the curve of the stones he's standing on.I am probably not explaining myself that well...perhaps I should just say "I like the composition" in #5. Laughing

The perspective in #1, I like as I have always wondered about taking a photo mid river. Very Happy


PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 11:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
mo wrote:
I think part of your continued learning curve, will be finding the right camera angles that suit the type of terrain you are trying to capture.When I was in NZ I found the same thing,frustration in trying to capture the depth of color and beauty of what the naked eye could see.
So many challenges but it's part of the fun, getting fresh ideas of what to try next time, then when you have gone back and applied those ideas to see what works and what doesn't.

Wow you certainly went to some lengths to capture these! I do like 4 and 5,4 because its just rocks and wild water,5 because you get a sense of scale with the fisherman....and the curve of the stones he's standing on.I am probably not explaining myself that well...perhaps I should just say "I like the composition" in #5. Laughing

The perspective in #1, I like as I have always wondered about taking a photo mid river. Very Happy


I cheated in #1, I was at a curve in the river with the tripod in the water but I was dry on shore Laughing

Wading out midriver actually isn't that hard, depending on river conditions. Seek a spot where the river widens out, that water will be slower and shallower. Take each step with care, if it takes 30 seconds to find a foothold you trust that's perfectly fine.

To me knee-high feels perfectly safe, mid-thigh can be alarming depending on the current, and waist-high can be darn scary.

If there's a strong current, I tend approach at a diagonal, let the river push me a little downstream with each step. Better to come ashore a few yards downstream then to wear yourself out fighting a truly irresistible force.


PostPosted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Easy to do without a camera, but I think nerves of steal are required when taking the "little one"(in my case it would be the K-01) swimming or not swimming in this case Laughing
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