Photos in the Coast Redwoods | Tips

Continued from: Coast Redwood Information and Photos

2010 - 2011 by M. D. Vaden

 

Here are a few suggestions for taking photographs in the Coast Redwood forests.

• Carry or have extra batteries on hand
• For every horizontal redwood photo, maybe take another vertically
• The wet season, October - June, is the best season for redwood photography:
  • View corridors are more numerous because leaves have fallen
  • Mosses and lichens moisten and the greens seem to look their best
  • Rain moistens needles on the ground, intensifying colors
  • Trunks become more colorful
  • Dust has been washed off evergreen leaves and ferns
  • Colorful fungi and mushrooms are more abundant
  • The number of seasonal brooks flowing is greatly increased
  • Less visitors, making photography in popular locations easier
• For size comparison
  • Standing to the side of the redwood instead of the center ... or try both
  • Circling trunks holding hands makes it look smaller
  • Don't skip the fun of circling, but repeat with just 1 person.
• Many best redwood photos were due to right place & right time
  • Fog may or may not be present in a Rhododendron patch
  • Lady Bird Johnson grove does not get rays of light every day
  • So ... do not expect the best ... just look for the best you can find
• On some cameras, Auto Scene Presets like 'Sunset' can be a nice cheat to side-step manual settings
• Some folks like circular polarizers to lessen white gleam on wet leaves
• Sometimes, using a 2 second timer can reduce camera movement
• The average visitor should probably capture 5 times more pics than they might typically take
  • For the 2009 National Geographic, Nichols took 10,000+ photos, using a mere handful
  • If 5 times the number of photos, why not also 5 times as many poses
• The farther back you stand, the less the lens should exaggerate trunk taper
• If you can't get the whole redwood in one shot - try a photo stitch
  • Photograph the redwood trunk in sections
  • Overlap the frames
  • If you don't have the program, get the photos, and find a program later
• On some cameras, an Auto Scene Preset like 'Sunset' can be a nice cheat to side-step manual settings
• Some folks like circular polarizers to lessen white gleam on wet leaves
• For cameras equipped, a wireless remote is a superb gadget because some photos need 1 minute to get in position
• Many people aim cameras upward at the canopy. If there is mist, remember to clean the lens between those photos
• If you put your lens cap in a pocket, put the lens side away from your body / sweat
• A tiny compact umbrella may be your ticket to nice photos on many rainy days

On some cameras, an Auto Scene Preset like 'Sunset' can be a nice cheat to side-step manual settings

Some folks like circular polarizers to lessen white gleam on wet leaves.

HDR / High Dynamic Range Imaging in the Redwoods ??

In the Redwoods ... I can't recall one that has been better than the better non-HDR redwood photos I've seen.

HDR is something I plan to play with someday, but think twice about using it in the redwoods. It came to mind recently as I was standing in Stout redwood grove taking photos of people and the redwoods there. I was watching the trunks change from being sunlit to totally shaded in a matter of minutes and back again. Shadows on trunks from moving limbs were moving continually as much as 6 to 7 feet. Twigs and foliage were moving around swaying in the wind. Tiny twigs like compound leaves were falling to the ground: golden yellow and orange.

So I'm watching all this change and movement occuring every few seconds all through the grove, and thinking, what a mess trying to handle this with HDR. What two frames would really be similar aside from exposure, let alone several of them. It seems much more practical to visit a grove during it's best hours of the day, or to hike and keep an eye out for the photo opportunity that presents itself.