I had the pleasure of being able to test something outside my comfort zone as a photographer in the beginning of January. My fiancé is Director & Choreographer of Libertina Dance Company and she invited me to view the audition for new ballet/contemporary dancers for a coming performance of the company.

It was almost as shooting birds. Very easy to shoot shots of sitting or stretching dancers, rather difficult to get good shots of dancing. Since this then again was inside it requires either fast shutter-speed or high ISO, or creativity like paning, etc.

Here are some of the shots I think went okay and are not among the once where everyone is standing still.

I have long discussed with myself what it would mean to my photography to have a lens with a wider angle then my Canon EF 24-70mm F2.8L lens. Not that my lens actually lets me zoom all the way. Something isn’t right with it, and I should of course have fixed it, but then I have to be without it… So I keep using it as my work-horse even if it doesn’t let me zoom to more them 27mm.

I looked all over the net and read a lot on forums and reviews to find what lens I wanted as my wide angle lens. Some that popped out was Canon’s 16-35mm in F4 and F2.8. Shooting landscapes I didn’t think it was any point to look at the prime lenses, as I dont need the fast apertures of these lenses. Quite different from when I do bird or animal photography I really love the 2.8 aperture of my 300mm or as it gets a 420mm F4 with a teleconverter.

Well I ended up with looking at the two 16-35mm from Canon. And I ended up purchasing the F4. All the tests I read told me it is sharper corner to corner then the F2.8 version. And since I shoot landscapes with aperture values from 9-16 I do not really need the 2.8 fastness I think.

I am looking forward to test it in the field.

I was out testing the new lens. Sadly there was no sun outside, it was a clouded day with, where things where rather grey when it comes to light. Most of the lakes and the shores in the fjord are frozen with ice and snow on the top. So it was a rather white day so to say. I was trying to find a place where some open water would brake up the monoton colors. I drove to a lake called Semsvannet, which is in Asker. I lived here as a kid and know the area quite well. I know there is a little stream running out of the lake and creating what is called “Askerelva” or the Asker river.

Here the stream was open and I was able to get some shots off.

There where fences on both sides of the stream, but luck struck as it was possible to go down on the left side. I was able to get down to the shore of the stream with ease as I had high shoes on my feet.

It is often said that you need a sturdy tripod for landscape or nature photography, and even though you have lenses with IS (Image Stabilisation) you need the tripod when you want to slow nature down. I love to use ND filters to ensure I can put the camera on low ISO, and choose low aperture to have high level of sharpness and detail, and at the same time ensure that water is smoothed and fast pacing things, like humans on the bridge phased out.

I did take two shots (or call it subjects, did more then one shot of each). I decided to use the Big Stopper from Lee Filters, which is a 10 stop filter. I could have used the Little Stopper which is 6 stops as well. But the choice went on this.

I am happy with how the photo turned out. If the sky had been blue and there had been some sun, it would have been even more stunning. Now it is  a good shot of the waterfall at the bridge. Choosing such a long exposure time removed me having to worry about the factor that there where a lot of people passing on the bridge, whom I didn’t want in my shot.

I turned the tripod and took a shot down the stream as well.

I was happy with the turnout of this too. My comments is the same as with the first. A different sky would have made this more exciting.

I am so far very happy with the lens. It is much easier to work with then the 24-70mm I have mostly used before. As it both let me attach the filters on the lens that stays still vs where the other one where it is an outward zooming lens. Which means when attaching filters it is very easy to shift the focus. I am also very happy with the difference of angle and details I get in the difference of 16 vs 24mm. The sharpness and detail this lens gives is also very good. I am looking forward to use this lens much more.

Today I was out to take some shots at the beach, was looking for stones that would obstruct the waves and create exciting movements. Today was the first day in about a week where there wasn’t a cloudy sky.

The water was much higher today then usual. Perhaps due to the close to full moon we have now ?

I used my main body, the 1D Mark IV, with the EF 16-35mm F4L IS lens. I used tripod of course, and I used the Lee Little Stopper and 0.9ND grad filter.

The most used setup today was wide apart legs to get a low angle, and at the same time a much more stable tripod. In my opinion a low angle for the camera towards the subject is very important. And since I often emphasise on the foreground in the shot, the angle towards it is important.

To me it is also important to get close to what I am shooting. In other words if the foreground is supposed to be some rocks I need to move my camera close to them and the sea so I do not have unnecessary beach to cut away.

I try to capture the colors, the mood and atmosphere. I believe it is important to freeze the “chaos” that we see, where everything moves all the time and to move it into a setting where we experience the movements and how they as a greater collective of things move along. The best way I think to achieve this is to use long exposures.

I am very happy with the results I had this day. I have been able to increase my portfolio with some superb landscape shots – and that doesn’t happen everyday. And I have been better friends with my new lens.

Yesterday I found a book in the store that I for once felt resonated with me. There are many books about photography, but I do not experience that to many of them focus on the kind of photography I do. This book does, it also added some cool ideas I will work with in the future.

The book is called “Moodscapes” and is written by Rebekka Gudleifsdottir.

The book gives a history of her photography, suggestions what she thinks is important, a view into her methodology and art. I found it to be a great read and read all trough it the same evening.

Another inspiration has been the photo I called “Sunset III” and published on 500px Monday got for me an all time high 96.9 with almost 1300 views

https://500px.com/photo/141368217/sunset-iii-by-leif-egil-hegdal

When I was sitting at my daytime job today and looked outside the window to see the clear blue sky and the sun shining I knew I had to take an early day off. I would love to live off photography, but until that day, I earn most money doing IT Consulting work. Well I left 1,5 hours earlier then original planned.

I decided to go to the Naturism beach at Bygdøy, because it offers a bit different micro terrain then the place I was at Sunday. When I was in the Army some 20 years ago, I learned that the micro terrain was the small hills, stone and bushes that was in front of you, and that they could offer good coverage if I knew how to use them. As a photographer I am trying to use this as a foreground on my photos.

When I came the sun stood still high on the sky so I did some other / different shots.

First one with the sun in my back

And then one more or less directly to the sun

After a while the sun went down behind the horizon and the real nice light illuminated the landscape.

I am pleased with the two last photos. However I experienced that I raised the bar today and required more perfectionism from myself. It was hard finding a position that I was really happy with. However the fact that it is difficult and challenging continues to inspire me. If all photos you took where sublime, then anyone could do it and no one could make this a living.

Not my best genere. I feel that if I take photos of people I invade their lives, even though the expectation of privacy should be rather slim out in the streets. As I also have a rather bulky and large camera rig I do not come off as a random tourist either, and I tend to get reactions; Some very positive and some negative.

Well enough excuses.

What street-photography is very useful for is to learn yourself to see interesting moments, and then to frame them. To be able to talk to people and make them help you creating the expression you want to.

In the one below it was a street musician who for the easter occasion had taken on ears.

Last evening I was down at the beach at a place I like to go to. A peninsula  called Bygdøy. On the south end you have some distanse to the horizon and can often view the sun going down. This day was rather dark. However as it is with clouded days there are always, or close to, cracks in the cloud layer where sun gets trough and with long exposure this spots or cracks get more visible.

All photos here are shot with Canon EOS-1D Mark IV and Canon EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM, and Lee Filters Little Stopper (6 Stop ND filter) and Lee Filters 0.9 ND grad filter. The Grad filter is adjusted different from photo to photo. The 6 Stop ND filter is used to give me long exposures where I am then able to blur water and clouds and let nature paint patterns and structure based on the movements present.

Often when I shoot the landscapes at sunset or right after as I like to do I think they get a bit to dark blue, so I often add a layer that is a bit coloured to adjust the effect to how I do enjoy it more.

First I was shooting exposures and made some nice ones.

I decided as the sky was interesting and there wasn’t to much movement in it that it could be interesting to attempt a panorama. So I shut 4 frames at 34/35s exposure where I moved the camera sidewise with the tripod head so that all other settings where the same. As 35s requires bulb mode it requires some awareness. Then I used the create panorama feature in Adobe Lightroom and the four exposures where aligned next to each other. I then cut the photo so that all edges are straight.

I am very happy with the results of this.

In this blog I have tried to focus on the process behind creating my visual expressions. I want to offer a bit deeper insight in to how I work.

I see myself as an artist using photography as a medium to express what I want to express. In this lies the concept that taking the photos isn’t where the art starts.

Art starts with inspiration and ideas.

An idea gives me the ability to create a concept. With this in mind I plan the elements I want to include in the expression or expressions of the concept.

As I work with nature, I cannot always decide to the specific how I want it to be, I can decide what I want to show.  Be it motions in water, be it distorted water, be it wind, be it stillness, reflections etc.

When working with the concept or sketch as we could call it i decide the elements I want to have added in. Rocks, waves, piers, sea planes, what kind of light, what kind of absence of light, all the elements.

Based on the inspirations I then go to my surroundings or the area I want to use for visualizing this  sketch. I choose the lens, the camera, the filters, etc I have pre-decided upon that I need for the look I want to create.

When working with transferring from sketch to visiualisation or image, I work dedicated and focused. I work on finding the elements I need and use them active.

The result that you can study in a frame on your wall is the result of a process where the idea was created and transformed. The process, the thought behind and the execution of it are part of the art, not just the end result. Audience that appreciates the artistic process will be able to get a deeper experience from art.

As i work with nature I may have several projects running, as I am not the master of my surroundings. So I can switch between projects. If not I will force myself to think outside the box, how can I without the “perfect” conditions still create what I imagined.

When I work to shoot the photo, it is important to me to be able to create as close to perfect exposure with the camera. Not that  modern editing tools do not offer great features. But my experience tell me that if the shot is not optimal it is often hard to make it optimal. I have higher requirements for myself and therefor I do not settle for OK. I think the photos are like music, louder the better or larger the better, and then it falls trough if the quality isn’t there.

So after shooting I import the shots into my computer, I am first importing them as files and then I am adding the files to a secondary location. I use external hard drives as well as cloud storage. After this I import one of the external drives into Adobe Lightroom on my computer, I add tags to the shots and import it into the program. I go trough to look after the ones I like the most. I edit them first with a “Spot removal tone curve”. I remove the spots left there by my camera. Then i adjust horizons, cut out the shot I want, then change contrasts, use predefined presets to achieve different enhancements I want. Use graduated filters and other things.

I present photos on the net, mostly on either https://500px.com/lhegdal , Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hegdal.net/ or my website http://hegdal.net

When it comes to printing them, a whole new area of knowledge gets in. I can cover some of my knowledge around that area another time.

Most days are exactly what you make them. There is nothing really remarkable happening. It is only you who have the opportunity to make them differentiate from other days. It is only you who can see the beauty in the day when most just see same old.

It was a grey day. It was flat light, it was no particular waves, it was no particular wind, the clouds where high.

My thought was to use the motion on the waves hitting the beach. It didn’t become spectacular, it became better than okay.

Maybe not as grey as grey.

I am not really a fan of photos taken with a mobile camera. My biggest concern isn’t that it is a camera in everyones hand, but more the fact that the photos are not really that great unless they are presented at that screen or as a tiny web image.

On the other hand is todays DSLR’s and mirrorless cameras totally overkill for most usage, you will never really need 20+ Megapixels for presenting a 72dpi photo in normal resolution online.

Nevertheless it isn’t really the camera, it is the one taking the shots. Some days I was out doing a different activity then photo, and the weather changed fast and turned out to be a storm with thunder and lighting in the horizon. As I was playing golf, I was really hoping it would stay away. And fortunate it never got closer.