Tom and Cree Bol celebrate great images created on workshops by selecting a Photo of the Month. For December, we chose an image from White Sands National Park created by Julie Berryhill . We hope you enjoy Julie’s images as much as we do!
Congratulations to December 2021 ‘s featured photographer – Julie Berryhill
The Story …
The sun had already set. Brian and I were wandering around and we set up our tripods really low. We pushed out the tripod legs and were on our bellies in the sand. It was really fun. We were down and dirty.
We were underexposing because we did not want to blow out the red channel. I was also using focus peaking. After Tom recommended it, I used it throughout the workshop. I would start by using auto focus and then switch to manual to engage the focus peaking. It shows what is in focus in red highlights.
For me the three important elements of the photo are the sand, the yucca and the sky. I used a low perspective to put the yucca higher in the sky. I also wanted to keep some of the sand in the foreground. But what the image is really about is the sky.
I used the comparison mode in Lightroom to chose the best image. I was looking for the image with the best light in the sky. I didn’t crop the image at all. I was also looking for an image that was sharp. It was windy that day so I made sure that there was not any blur in the plants.
EXIF Data:
Nikon Z7 with 24-70mm lens shot at 34.5 mm
F11, 1/200 sec, ISO 400
Aperture Priority with focus peaking
About photographing at White Sands National Park
You think it is just about photographing sand. But it is amazing how many different shots you can get there.
One day it was windy and the backgrounds became almost impressionist. The down side of the wind is that you can’t easily change lenses in those conditions. The upside is that the wind erases all of the footprints there.
About the orange photo below: It was a windy evening and there were different things happening in each direction. I turned around from where we were shooting and took the shot. I got down low to get a different perspective of the sand.
Using a speed light on the yucca was really fun. I am glad Tom showed us how to do it. I get intimidated by using flash. Flash gives it a whole different look, which I really liked.
Julie’s tips for photographing at White Sands National Park:
1) Bring two bodies if you have them. It is often difficult to change lenses because of the sand. This is especially true if you are shooting mirrorless.
2) Get the permit to enter the park early (available on the park website). That way there will not be people in the way.
3) Use focus peaking. It lets you see want will be in focus in the frame.
On Julie’s Horizon
Costa Rica in April
Back to Patagonia – the light is amazing and I love to hike
Eastern Europe – Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary
Space available on our next workshop in Bosque and White Sands – Nov 2023. Click here to learn more
Coming soon: Free Happy Hour in late January -all about the new Nikon Z9. In the meantime we will be off scouting Route 66 Oklahoma and Big Bend National Park. We just returned from Louisiana and have already posted our Louisiana Bayous and Birds.
Ready to travel and looking for a workshop? Space available on our Northern Lights in Fairbanks Workshop in March. Click here for more info. Want a warmer destination? Join us in Ecuador in 2023 to photograph birds in the highlands
Thanks for reading our posts and congratulations to Julie!
Tom and Cree
Great images! Thanks for sharing…..b