Bells Canyon Waterfall

This HDR panorama was created with twelve images, four sets of three.

Here's my "Wasatch Impressions" poster. Printed on double weight matte paper with archival ink, this poster measures 24x36 and sells for $40. Available at Red Butte Garden while supplies last or you can contact me.
I won't be at the farmers market tomorrow. Instead, please join me at Red Butte Garden for an open house (Saturday, August 28th from 3-6 pm).
By the way, 30% of all proceeds from the show go directly to Red Butte Garden.
Hope to see you there.

Yellow Columbine, Albion Basin, Utah

I think this new image might become part of my portfolio. After more than a decade of capturing close-up images of Wasatch wildflowers, it takes something special, or at least something new, to get me excited about an image. One way to create new images is to photograph new subjects. When in the field, I usually don't want to spend my time photographing species of wildflowers I feel I have all ready captured in an artful way. I look for flowers that I've never photographed before, or species where I've never pulled off the artful image; never achieved my vision. This image goes against that norm, I all ready have a yellow columbine image I love (in my Wasatch Wildflower Close-ups gallery).

  Here's a side by side comparison between an HDR (high dynamic range) image and a single exposure.

The image on the left was created by combining three exposures using Photomatix Pro 3 software. Tone mapping was performed using the Photomatix tone compressor engine. I made adjustments for brightness, tonal range compression, and contrast adaptation. The image on the right is the best single exposure from the set. I've added a slight S-curve in Photoshop to help make it pop. I should note that I've still used my trusty graduated split neutral density filter for capturing this image. Without it, I would have needed to combine a wider range of exposures in Photomatix, and my single exposure would be completely unacceptable.

The HDR image looks much richer. Highlights are toned way down while shadow areas show much more color detail. I'm sure it would be possible to get similar results using Photoshop alone, but it would be much more tedious and time consuming. However, I do prefer the way Photoshop renders blue skies compared to Photomatix, not a big issue in this image, but as I've been working with Photomatix I've noticed some color shifts in areas of solid blue sky that I haven't particularly liked. 

North Thunder Mountain, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

Here's an image that was taken soon after I switched to digital capture.  Taken about an hour after sunset, from the side of the road in Little Cottonwood Canyon, this 30 second exposure really shows off the Nikon D300 sensor's ability to gather light without noise. Light on the mountain is from the moon, out of the frame to the left.

Twilight Paintbrush, Mt. Timpanogos Wilderness, Utah

I have finally joined the world of social networking. You can now find a facebook page for Jeff Beck Photography. Check out my photo album "Best of 2009" to see my favorite images from last year. Leave a comment and let me know which is your favorite. You can also check out my first images of the new year.

This image, "Twilight Paintbrush", is near the top of my list of favorites from 2009. It also illustrates some key components of my digital conversion. 

Sunburst, Bowman Fork, Mt. Olympus Wilderness, Utah

Here is my last photo of 2009, created December 27th. The use of a long telephoto lens and conversion to grayscale help to create a simple and powerful image from a busy and chaotic scene.

Foothill Rainbow, Salt Lake City, Utah

Please visit my booth during the 8th Annual Holiday Open House at Red Butte Garden, Saturday & Sunday, December 5th & 6th, 2009 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. For two days enjoy free admission to Red Butte Garden as well as a juried art show featuring local artists offering original, handcrafted work for sale. 30% of all sales will go directly to Red Butte Garden.

I read the November 2009 Outdoor Photographer feature article on Ian Plant with great interest. His images "Dreamscape" and "Alien Transmission" blew me away. It was fascinating to read how he deals with the issue of being original as an artist.  Plant says directly, "too often, nature photographers rely on the drama of the scenery to make powerful images ..." and..."too often nature photographers merely ‘chase the light,' waiting for that perfect sunset over a dramatic high mountain lake."
I think maybe dramatic scenery isn't the problem so much as it is, dramatic scenes: locations made famous by being beautifully photographed by dozens if not hundreds of skilled photographers.
Capturing a moment in time from a classic viewpoint, where lighting, and possibly season, are the main differences in composition between one image and another, doesn't help you grow as a photographer. That being said, I'll be the first to admit that sometimes you have to get the classic image out of the way before you can branch out and explore new ideas and new places.

Plant complains that too often nature photographers "just show up".  I would complain that too often nature photographers just show up at the classic viewpoints. A friend once told me about a friend of his who would go to Delicate Arch over and over again in order to capture the ultimate image of Delicate Arch. The same friend said he wasn't interested in taking a photograph of Delicate Arch because he thought it was cliché. I think my heart lies somewhere in between.  I know from experience, when I see a beautiful photograph of a stunning location; I want to go there not only to see it for myself, but to photograph it for myself. At the same time, every time I go out to photograph, weather in my own back yard or from the road in Grand Teton N.P., my interest is always in creating timeless art, not something derivative.