Enjoy The Silence

IMG_3419Canon EOS 6D (24mm, f/22, 1/30 sec, ISO250)

In May it’s not easy to leave before sunset but thanks to my jet lag I woke up early. To avoid loosing time we packed our bags the evening before and went to the McDonalds drive in and had breakfast while driving. Very american.

IMG_3393Canon EOS 6D (24mm, f/4, 1/30 sec, ISO2500)
IMG_3411Canon EOS 6D (200mm, f/5.6, 1/160 sec, ISO100)

So we stood up early and ate in the car just to get here at sunrise. The light is just different early morning. This is especially true in May and June where the light can get very harsh and flat during the day. So here is my travel photography top tip. If your focus is on photography don’t go on vacation in May, June or July. Unless you want to take pictures of the wildlife in Alberta and British Columbia. Then you have to go in June.

IMG_3425Canon EOS 6D (88mm, f/13, 1/50 sec, ISO100)
 SONY DSCSONY NEX-5 (18mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO200)

The panorama above is taken by my wife with the Sony NEX 5. It was my most used camera during my first trip through the South West of the USA 3 years ago. I still miss it’s panorama function which is truly great.

I used the N-Grade function in Lightroom to make the sky darker and increased saturation to get more punch but just enough to make the picture look like what I have seen when I was there.

What you can’t see of course is the silence. As soon as you stop the engine of the car there is absolutely no noise. No noise! Nothing! This is maybe the rarest thing today. A quiet place. I wish I could take that silence with me so that I can have it whenever I want. Maybe I just found the perfect product that almost everybody needs today: “Silence in a can”. Now I need to find a way to produce it in large numbers.

Location: The entry of Death Valley coming from the west.

IMG_3430Canon EOS 6D (200mm, f/16, 1/60 sec, ISO100)
IMG_3438Canon EOS 6D (70mm, f/14, 1/60 sec, ISO100)