Notes from the Field (Joseph Rossbach)

Island in the Sky

I would like to share this first image from my trip to Great Smoky Mountains National Park with friend and fellow team member Ian Plant. On a very wet and rainy day me and Ian where working waterfalls along Roaring Fork River when we ran into a park employee bringing a trail of lamas down from Mount LeConte (the second highest peak in the park). Jokingly I said to him “socked in fog up there eh”. To our surprise, he informed us that it was in fact quite clear on the summit. We immediately packed up and rushed to Clingmans Dome (the highest point in the park)  in time to shoot sunset from the summit. During the course of this 30 second exposure, the clouds quickly moved across the mountains only allowing the very tips to poke through. Being right on the edge of light, the sky was radiating in a warm yellow glow on the horizon and the deep blue sky above reflected in the clouds.

Prong of Light

For this shot of the Middle Prong of the Little River, I waded out across the river to a large rock where I could set up my tripod for the shot. Looking down the stream and into the setting sun, I waited until the last glow of light illuminated the trees providing a warm explosion of color. I used the small rock in the foreground to anchor the image and the lines of water wrapping a C curve around it to move the viewer through the image. I cropped this shot to 4×5 ratio to remove the unwanted clutter on the far banks of the river.

Long View on Blackrock

Taken on the second morning of my Shenandoah Spring Workshop, I lead the group up to the talus slope of Blackrock Summit in hopes of good light. We were not disappointed. Blackrock summit is one of the premier rocky summits in Shenandoah National Park. The talus slope is littered with boulders and rocks, some the size of small cars! For this image I got in very close to the triangular rock with an ultra wide angle lens. The wide angle lens made the rock look much larger in the photo than it does in real life and its power shape really moves the viewers eye deep into the composition.

Falling Waters in White Oak Canyon

I must have went up White Oak Canyon on at least five separate occasions this May looking for new images. In years past, I only really focused my attention on the three big waterfalls in the canyon. On these trips I decided to explore new areas which often involved a little bushwhacking, climbing down steep slopes or simply rock hoping up and down the river. For this image, I got in the water about waist deep to get my camera as close to the waterfall as possible (about 2 feet away). The use of a ultra wide angle lens really make the cascade look dramatic and still shows the lush spring foliage in the background.

Fallen Oak Falls

In order to stand out in nature photography you must learn to break the rules. For this shot of a waterfall in lower Whiteoak Canyon, I broke the rule of thirds by placing the fallen log directly in the center of the frame. The strong leading line of the tree really pulls the viewer into the image and the soft overcast light and light rain helped to soften the shadows and increase color saturation.

Sunstar Crabs

I finally got some good images from the annual Horseshoe Crab spawning that takes place each spring on the Delaware Bay. If you have been reading Ian’s recent post then you will already know all about it. This was a tough image to produce. There was an extreme amount of contrast in the scene and the crabs just wouldn’t hold still for very long. I shot a 2 exposure blend very quickly. One shot for the sky and the second for the water and the crabs. The images were then blended manually in Adobe Photoshop CS4.

The Great Congregation

Thousands of crabs as far as the eye can see on Kimball beach, New Jersey. because the beach was roped off for the migration, I had only a limited space to line up a  composition. I got in very close to the crabs with my wide angle lens  as many of them crawled over my feet looking to spawn, a really creepy feeling. A 3 stop graduated ND filter kept the sky in check while exposing for the much darker crabs and water.

Allegheny Sunrise

Often times I will skip the convenience and comfort of staying over in a motel to be in remote locations when the good light is happening. For this image of sunrise over the Allegheny Mountains I camped in the back of my jeep to be able to hike out across Bear Rocks at first light.

Second Falls of Shays Run

The water was running just perfectly this last visit to Blackwater Falls State Park. It was high but not so much that you lose shape of the falls and texture in the water. I got close and went  wide by fording the plunge pool to create this dramatic image of one of West Virginia’s most beautiful waterfalls.

Bear Rocks Dawn

This was the final image I made this spring while on top of Bear Rocks, Dolly Sods Wilderness,  West Virginia. The wind was howling as the light set the sky on fire. Man I love my job!

~ by mountaintrailphoto on June 1, 2009.