Top Photo moment of 2015....

#1
A cold day in the Icelandic sun....

I didn't have to ponder too much about what was my favorite photography moment of 2015. Two years ago, my favorite moment was a picture I took while photographing my brother's wedding. Family moments typically are the most memorable moments of ones life. When you combine your passion for photography with your love of family it usually results in some pretty memorable photos. So of course, my favorite moment of 2015 happened on a sunny yet cold day in Iceland with a part of my family. This time is was with my wife.

She carried on her wedding dress on our Icelandair flight to Iceland and we finally found the perfect location to take photos in this amazing country. I also brought the suit I wore on my wedding day for some fun photos we took of ourselves. We actually set up a video camera to record everything and captured some pretty neat behind the scenes moments. It was a fun day to say the least.

So here are just a few images from those awesome moments in the chilly Icelandic wind....and here's to many more beautiful moments for 2016.
-cg

Probably my favorite. It was featured in Huffington Post as well. 

A 75 megapixel pano that is just amazing on the big screen. It was about 35 degrees by the way.

5, 4, 3, 2,....Photo Moments of 2015

So in 2015 I was lucky enough to visit Iceland twice. It is my favorite place to photograph and I plan to return there at least once per year. It's just that amazing. So it's no surprise to you then, that most of my favorite photo moments occurred there in 2015.

#5 
Vesturhorn-

Vesturhorn, often called "Batman Mountain," is a beautiful mountain (454 m/1450 ft high) where very steep cliffs meet a flat, black sand beach. In my two previous trips to Iceland, somehow, I skipped this magnificent view. Either weather or timing got in the way, but in September 2015 there was no way I was going to miss this shot. The third time was the charm. I battled some pretty stiff and freezing winds and this was the result. Here are a series of images from a few different view points. Clearly this was one of my favorite moments in my life.

This is a panoramic view as the Super Moon rose above Iceland. 

------------------------------------------------------------

#4
Winter Wonderland in Yosemite

A place I travel to every single winter is Yosemite. I think this National Park is at it's most beautiful state after a winter snow storm. Last year, due to the drought, that snow storm didn't appear. But despite that, I still had a favorite image make it to last year's list so that should say something about why I go there right? This year, however, Yosemite was a winter wonderland. And it was even more special because it was the first time my wife got to see snow fall from the sky! And it was a lot of snow let me tell you! We shot in 18 degrees of temperature for 3 straight days but when the storm's subsided, it gave way to a dreamlike scene that can only be made at Yosemite.

Shot with a Canon 5DS that Canon let me borrow, this two image pano was the last image I captured at Yosemite this year. When I saw this on a 4K screen, my jaw dropped. Taken at night with a Full Moon above.

Tunnel View, one of the few view points in the world that never gets old to a photographer. 

 

I always wanted to shoot a star trail image on the Valley floor. So I finally checked this off my bucket list. 

    ---------------------------------------------------------

#3
Waterfalls of Iceland...
So my list is not really a Top 10 List of photos right?...haha. I had countless bucket list moments visiting the various waterfalls of Iceland. So at my #3 spot I want to share this as a collective moment. Ya, I'm cheating, this isn't a true top ten list I know, but you have to give me the benefit of the doubt. It's been a pretty awesome year. So here's the waterfalls....

 

---------------------------------------------------------

#2
March 17th-18th, 2015
I love the Northern Lights. In fact, I'm obsessed with them. I've researched them exhaustively and learned that in the days before and after the Fall and Spring Equinoxes the chances of magnetic induced auroras are the greatest. There is no reasons as to why, but the numbers don't lie. So I timed both of my trips to Iceland during the Spring and Fall Equinox.  As luck would have it, the Sun happened to be very active in March 2015. So active that on the evening of March 17th a Coronal Mass Ejection struck the Earth directly from the sun. Combined with a high solar wind, the Spring Equinox, and a New Moon, it was a recipe for a once in a lifetime experience. Luckily, my brother and I were there to witness it.

To date, the CME that struck the Earth was the largest to strike in the current Solar Cycle. It was the strongest in about 12 years, and the auroras caused by it were nothing short of amazing. Here's just a handful of over 1200 photos (timelapse included) I took that night.

This image is possibly my favorite of the night. It was featured by the European Space Agency, AstronomyNow and Huffington Post among many others that covered the story regarding the CME impact. 

 

My brother enjoying the view.

KP9 colors....

This is the image at the top of my photography bucket list. The auroras reflecting in the iconic Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.

Auroras are typically green but when a storm of this level occurs the colors really vary. The extremely rare purple and reds become prominent. 

This was the last stop on the morning of March 18th as the storm subsided. 

Probably my favorite "selfie". :-)

So that's almost my whole list.
Any guesses as to what is my number one photo moment of 2015?

I will share it tomorrow. -cg

2015 Best Photos: 10-6

It's safe to say I don't keep up with my blog anymore. But it's for good reason. In 2015, I took more photos than any other single year of my career. So that means I spent more time shooting and less time writing. However, there is another reason I've neglected the blog. Instagram.

My original aspirations for my blog was to provide some photography tips and educational material for photographers and art lovers alike. However, I've discovered I could to the same thing via Instagram and be more consistent with it. Instagram also afforded me a more efficient and easy way to communicate my photography tips, images, and insights. 

With that said, I still enjoy the tradition of looking back and counting down my favorite photographic moments/images of the year. Here's my Top 10 of 2015. 

#10

The Iceberg-
In September, I was able to finally photograph the beautiful icebergs in the sun at Jökulsárlón Beach on the shores of Southern Iceland. I've been to this area a few times but have never had the sun above. It is a sight I've always wanted to see and boy was it magnificent on that beautiful morning. 

 -------------------------------------

#9

Crystal Cave-Iceland

I spent a good amount of time in Iceland this year, so it's pretty tough for this countdown to not consist mostly of Iceland images. After-all, this is a list of my "favorite" photography moments and not necessarily my best images. This is a photo my brother took of me while exploring an ice cave within Vatnajökull, also known as the Vatna Glacier. It is the largest and most voluminous ice cap in Iceland. This special moment is one of the highlights of my trip around Ring Road of Iceland with my brother.

---------------------------------------

#8

A Kiss in the Sun

Last year I didn't include a wedding photo in my Top 10, but this year I have to include this image. It was one of many of my wedding images featured by Huffington Post Weddings this year. The starburst and kiss just made the image happen. I shoot starbursts with a Canon 16-35mm 2.8ii L lens, the best in the business for the starburst. I'm including this session at my #8 Spot simply because just a week prior to taking this image I was married at this very spot. So it was cool to capture some of my best work just days after I got married there. :-)

---------------------------------------------

#7

Sycamore Cove Sunsets

In the years past, I've spent a lot of time at specific beaches in Malibu. This year, Sycamore Cove Beach in Northern Malibu took that honor. I spent a lot of time shooting there this year. An for good reason, it has a lot of great sunset angles throughout the year to make it one of the lesser know gems of Malibu. Here are just a couple moments from this beautiful beach that deserve the #7 spot on my list. 

-----------------------------------------

#6
The Milky Way-
I've spent lots of time photographing the Milky Way over various parts of California but one photo I took this year is one that I always envisioned capturing. I just needed the perfect location. In May, I found that location and here was the result. This is a 10 image panoramic of the amazing scene that night. I placed a flashlight behind the lone Joshua Tree to highlight it.

The Gradient Filter everyone has....

This evening I went to Leo Carrillo Beach here in Malibu to photograph what I assumed would be an epic sunset. The first real rain clouds in quite some time made an appearance, hence my anticipation for bright sunset colors.

Unfortunately, there wasn't much color this evening, but the thick rain clouds moving fast along the shore created some pretty awesome rays of light as the sun began to set. But with these beautiful heavenly rays of light comes a very challenging task of capturing a full exposure of the sky and the beach. Since the clouds create a dark foreground and the rays of light create a bright background, it is certainly a challenging light situation to expose. That is if you aren't looking to shoot a silhouette.

There are a few things I have in the arsenal for this type of situation.

First, I always carry a set of ND (neutral density) filters. For any seascape or landscape photographer, a good set of ND filters is a must. Knowing which type to carry is a topic for another discussion (i.e. only buy glass filters, not plastic), but generally I use 3-8 stop ND filters.

You may be surprised to know that I rarely use graduated ND filters. I love circular non graduated filters. That's just a personal preference. I do not, however, stack them because I feel it degrades image quality.

This evening I used two filters. A 3-stop ND and a 6-Stop ND, but they don't solve the issue I started with. A dark foreground and a bright background lit by rays of light through the clouds.

So why did I use an ND. Simple. I love motion, and with any ND you can capture at least a bit more motion than not using one. The only problem is; To capture this motion you have to drag your shutter. And dragging your shutter means you will lose the light rays because they are so bright.

So while I have a beautiful foreground with that milky and silky water. The sky is pretty much white. (anyone whose wedding I've shot knows how much I dislike a white sky).

The solution.

Simple.

A gradient ND filter.

But there was one problem. I didn't have one. So how am I to get my light rays and the silky water at the same time?

Here's where I went old school.

I used the palm of my hand to cover the top portion of the lens (the top half because that's the part exposing the sky). Essentially, I was shooting a 5 second exposure with a 6 Stop ND filter for the foreground and a 1-2 second exposure for the sky. In other words, I manually covered the top half of my lens with my hand for 3-4 seconds of a 5 second exposure.

Yes. It's that simple. A black piece of construction paper or cloth would probably be better, but I didn't have to time to walk back to my car, so I improvised.

This method enabled me to get the rays of light, that would otherwise be too bright for a long exposure, into the the shot. I shot everything from 5-13 second exposures this evening using this technique. It takes some practice, but once you got it down, it's a wonderful way to expose your sky if you are in a bind or if you don't have a gradient filter.

And it's a heck of a lot of fun to see if you can get the exposure time correct on the first try! :-)

Here are a few shots from this evening. All of these are shot using the technique above.

-cg