Welcome To Behind the Image

Before we get going on Behind The Image Blog #02; I would first like to welcome you, and also introduce myself. My name is Alec Tucker. I am a landscape photographer based out of the gorgeous state of Oregon. I am self-taught and have spent thousands of hours learning, growing, and working in an attempt to one day master the craft of landscape photography. Well.. we all know that is not possible, but c’mon; let a man dream... My journey started 6 years ago in high school. I can confidently say photography has saved my life, and I mean that. Being out in the landscape capturing nature's beautiful scenes is an experience words can't describe; true bliss and one I will never take for granted.

ABOUT THE BLOG

My goal with this blog is to build a community, meet other photographers, share stories, and maybe even teach you a few things along the way. For now, each week I will feature an image of mine and break it down in every way possible. From the location, composition, on-location technique, and even any post-processing that was done. Because after all, the photograph is just a small part of the entire experience. The real stories are Behind The Image.

Behind the Image- Blog #02

The Story

This week's blog kicks off in a gorgeous region of Oregon, known as Central Oregon. A little place called Scott Lake. A location I stumbled upon not too many years ago, endlessly searching the internet; location scouting. Boy is this place something else. Just off of McKenzie highway 242, an epic view of the three sisters' volcanic peaks awaits. Each peak extending over 10,000 feet which puts them 3rd, 4th, and 5th of the highest summits in Oregon. These mountains sit directly above Scott lake, casting gorgeous reflection, and creating an atmosphere we landscape photographers dream about.

This trip was a couple of months back, in the middle of peak fire season. Multiple times throughout the week I debated if going was a good idea because at the time Central Oregon was hit with loads of smoke and poor air quality. As the week came to an end, and my final decision on whether I was going or not needed to be made; I checked the weather one more time. Smoke? According to the weather, no. Later we will find out, that was certainly not the case. Anyway, I pulled the trigger and went; by 3:30 Friday afternoon, I left in an attempt to capture an epic scene of this gorgeous location, known as Scott Lake.

McKenzie Highway 242 is one of those roads that is utterly beautiful, but not at the same time. It’s full of epic views, and unfortunately an absurd amount of switchbacks. In a fully converted 98 Chevy Astro van, that makes things a little more of a challenge; to say the least. As I climbed elevation and approached my final destination; the smell of smoke filled my nostrils, and haze covered the sky… at that moment, I thought to myself there was absolutely no way I’d be able to catch sight of the mountains and capture that image I had imagined. Even though at this point my chances of getting the light I hoped for was very low, I continued on and found a place to set up camp. As I got settled in, I grabbed my gear and wandered down to the lake. Usually, I will arrive at a location a few hours early to when I plan on shooting; mostly sunsets, or even sunrises, yes those sunrise shoots begin extra early. The reason I do this is to give myself plenty of time to observe the scene and find a well-thought-out composition. As I approached the lake, everything that I thought might be the case, unfortunately, was. Haze, and crap light with no view of the three sisters' peaks. Nothing left to do other than simply wait. An hour went by, and things were starting to look promising. As I framed up my shot and dialed in my settings; the light was at its peak and that is how this photograph was captured.

The Composition

Composing this scene was an interesting one. The only framing and thing I had to consider was the foreground, the rest; well that was all up to Mother Nature. At the time all that was in my bag was a wide-angle lens, so I was restricted in some sense on shooting the grand vista, rather than with a telephoto I would have been able to pick out specific parts of the scene. I knew right away when I arrived that I wanted to incorporate the rocks in the lake as I framed my composition. There were intermittent gusts of wind; which was a blessing, and also a curse. The gusts of wind blew the haze out and exposed the peaks, but also killed the gorgeous reflections; I fixed this by shooting a long exposure using an ND filter. My test shots were starting to look good but the overall composition was missing something, and I’ll explain that next.

FRAMING

My intent in composing this scene was to utilize the rocks sitting beautifully in the lake as a leading line into the center of the image. This way you are introduced into the photograph with what is essentially a pathway for your eyes. Other than that, the rest of the composition didn’t need any of my assistance.
Now let me talk about the issue I had with the composition. As the rocks lead your eye into the frame, there are 2 in the foreground, and 2 in the mid-ground. This all is great, except for the empty gap in between the sets. If I use the same pathway analogy as in #1, think of that pathway to be broken, collapsed, blocked off, however, you wish to envision it; bottom line I believe that it obstructs the flow of the image, call it an eyesore. This could be adjusted with possibly shooting lower to the ground, which would then minimize the empty gap, or like in this case just have Mother Nature fix that problem for you.
Just when I started to reposition things, and adjust my composition, the last of the haze was clearing out, and exposed this brilliant cloud you see in the sky, but also more importantly in the reflection on the lake. It not only filled that gap that I explained in #2, but also shaped, and curved perfectly around the rocks. It was unreal, everything happened at the perfect time, in the perfect conditions, and all that I had to do was click the shutter.

Landscape photography is such a patience game, and this is a perfect example of that. I arrived with crap light and disappointment. An hour later, I captured an image that will be in my portfolio for years to come that I couldn’t be more pleased with.

Specs

This image was shot at 21mm, ISO 50, F/14 with a 15-second shutter speed. To allow me to shoot such a long exposure, an ND filter was certainly involved; an ND64 to be exact, which is a 6 stop reduction. In windy conditions, attempting to shoot reflections is frustrating, but an ND filter can be of great benefit. Though not the same as a smooth, beautiful, glass-like reflection; it works well in this case, and gets you by if you absolutely need those reflections!!

Post-Processing

First let’s address the elephant in the room, black and white landscape photography. A particular style that I am no pro in, or shoot too often; partially because of how challenging it is to execute well. When you strip away color in a scene you rely on how the light hits the landscape using values, and certainly a powerful composition. Usually when I see a scene, and conditions that might work well in black and white I typically will shoot with that intention in mind; rather than it being an afterthought in post-production. In this case, I think black and white works brilliantly. With so many shades of grey in the trees, the haze that creates tonal mountain layers, reflections, and textures you have a dramatic and dynamic photograph that creates an incredible atmosphere of Scott Lake, OR.

Next, I will briefly explain how I went about post-processing this image, with some visuals. Yes, focus stacking was used once again to ensure complete focus on the rocks in the foreground, as well as the background. As far as Lightroom adjustments, lots of masks were involved. Brushes, gradients, and everything in between. Creating powerful and dramatic black and white photos is all about values, and contrast. Being able to bring out the whites, and darken the blacks was important in this case. The approach I take when using masks is to find areas in the image that I would like to magnify and bring forth in the photograph. Being able to control specific parts of your image, rather than making global adjustments I find has completely changed my photography, and aids in creating a dynamic final edit.

As you can see in the before and after mask adjustments visual, most of the masks that I applied are very, very subtle. Other than the sky, which is a dramatic adjustment, the rest is quite small. All of those tiny mask adjustments might seem pointless, but when they work together; It gives the image a tad more punch and emotion.

Wrapping up

This shoot was one for the books. Not only was it an epic adventure, but I also witnessed incredible conditions that allowed me to capture a portfolio image. Times like these remind me to just go out and quit worrying about the weather. I often find myself backing out of planned shoots because of the weather not being exactly how I want. Now, I try to go without any hesitation with the hopes of capturing conditions like no other. Sure your chances might be low in actually getting a decent photograph, but it’s that small possibility that keeps me going back.

Be sure to grab a print of this image HERE. Trust me when I say this; this image printed is absolutely stunning. Order yours today!

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Until next week, happy photographing!

Thanks for reading,

Alec

Behind The Image - Blog #02 - Scott lake, OR.