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On The RoadDecember, 2005
My emphasis in this article is that sports can involve many things. I was sent to the most beautiful golf course in the world and I saw golf within magnificent Landscapes. I captured many other images while at Pebble but wanted you to see this side of sports photography. It is easy to get caught up in specialization within sport, but, I want to encourage all of you to investigate additional ways of seeing your subject. I am not a Landscape photographer but I have been involved with many workshops that featured great Landscape photographers. I listened to them and learned so that when the opportunity arose I was ready to apply the fundamentals along with nice light and had a wonderful time capturing some beautiful pictures. Try not to let specialization keep you from learning. Well,...that wraps up another year On The Road. There are over 15,000 of you who come to the On The Road and Workshop at the Ranch articles each month. I have enjoyed the E-mails of encouragement many of you have sent me. Until next time On The Road...............................Adios, Dave
August,
2008 (click here)
July,
2008 (click here)
May,
2008 (click here) |
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Image
#1 Dawn at Pebble Beach...Ground crews begin their day at
5:00am and so did I. By 6:17am the 8th fairway was receiving
a perfect grooming. I used one Nikon SB 800 with i-TTL to
illuminate my subject from silhouette. The sun breaking
over the horizon helped reveal the 418 yards of fairway
and the Pacific Ocean background. I exposed for the blue
sky by taking a shot and taking a look on my Nikon D2X LED
screen. The flashing highlights indicated that the sun was
over exposed (no worries with that)... and that the deep
colors of green and blue were perfectly saturated. I clamped
the SB 800 to my Bogen monopod with a Bogen 175F Clamp.
I extended the monopod to about 4 feet and held it over
my head. The SB 800 had a power output of +2 and a warming
gel which provided a perfect amount of warm light on my
moving subject. Nikon D2X, ISO100, 1/640 at f4, WB 4000K,
Nikon 10.5mm Fisheye Lens, Master SB 800 and one Remote
SB 800 at a power output of +2 with Warming Gel, Bogen Monopod
and Bogen 175F Clamp, Lexar 4G Flash Card. If not for the
guy mowing the grass this image would make a nice landscape.......this
was my plan. Find beautiful landscapes that included the
element of golf.
Image
#2 Early Risers...I had finished my coverage of the ground
crews and encountered my first golfers of the day at the 7th
Hole. This par 3 is 106 yards that stretches along the Pacific
coast. Nikon D2X, ISO100, 1/200 at f11, WB 5000K, Nikon 12-24mm
Lens, Lexar 4G Flash Card. I set the White Balance at 4800K
to keep the Pacific Ocean a deep blue. Cloud coverage shadowed
most of the ocean while the sunlight illuminated the Green
and my golfers. These conditions lasted only a few seconds
after which the sun became obscured by a thin layer of clouds.
The success of this image has more to do with the basics of
composition than knowledge of golf. I do not profess to be
a Landscape photographer but I do understand some basics..........The
Rule of THIRDS.....Foreground, Middleground and Background...and
nice light.
Image
#3 Storm Clouds Over #6...Late afternoon brought a brief
threat of stormy weather. I was at #10 but had a golf cart
at my disposal so I headed off to the 17th Green for a picture
overlooking the inlet to the building clouds over the 6th
Green and 7th Tee. I did not want to have the peninsula
fall into the shadow of the clouds before I could capture
a frame...(Thirds again...foreground, middleground, background
...and nice light.) The Landscape and weather dominate the
scene of people playing golf. Nikon D2X, ISO160, 1/500 at
f9, WB 5600K, Nikon 70-200 VR Zoom Lens, Lexar 4G Flash
Card. 
Image
#4 Long Shot...Pebble Beach Golf Links is a difficult course
especially if you try and cut the dog leg on #8. Our Rule
of Thirds is used again along with a nice lighting situation.
In this case there is some thin cloud cover that is shading
the ocean while the golfer remains sunlit. Nikon D2X, ISO100,
1/500 at f8, WB 5600K, Nikon 200-400mm G VR Zoom Lens, Lexar
4G Flash Card. The winds were gusting up to 35mph off the
ocean at the time I took this picture so I used the golf
cart as a brace and activated the VR mode to eliminate any
possibility of camera movement. 
Image
#5 Sunset at Pebble...The sun setting is always a treat to
photograph no matter where you are. This particular evening
at Pebble was spectacular to say the least. I used a White
balance of 10,000K to add a golden touch to the sky the same
way an Amber filter is used with film to saturate an already
golden sunset. Again, this is a Landscape and again the classic
Rule of Thirds with great light makes this image successful.
Nikon D2X, ISO 200, 1/60 at f8, WB 10,000K, Nikon 80-200mm
Lens, Lexar 4G Flash Card. 
Image
#6 Twilight at #6...I have learned from past experience photographing
lightpaintings at sunset that the camera will continue to
record the burn of the sun setting on the horizon for several
minutes after my eye cannot see any color at all. This image
is a Landscape and once again contains the basic Rule of Thirds...Foreground,
Middleground and Background...and nice light. Nikon D2X, ISO400,
1/30 at f4, WB 10,000K, Nikon 12-24mm Lens, Lexar 4G Flash
Card. I shot several frames as the sun set but liked this
one the best as the flag is quite visible thanks to a slight
breeze.
