Across the Southwest » Seasons

Wild Grasses Blowing in the Wind

Adam Schallau — Thu, 20 May 2010 04:55:44 +0000

Spring is here and the wild grasses and wildflowers are beginning to come out of hiding in the Orilla Verde Recreation Are near Taos, New Mexico. For this shot I wanted to capture the movement of the grasses that were literally growing out of the cracks in the canyon wall. I used a combination of a low ISO, small aperture and a 3-stop Hoya ND filter to force a longer exposure. Thanks to the long exposure and a gentle spring wind, I was able to create the image seen here.

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 6.0 seconds, f/20 and ISO 350
Filters: Hoya 3-stop ND

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

A Winter Morning in the Forest

Adam Schallau — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:45:07 +0000

A winter morning at Grand Canyon National Park. The canyon was completely socked-in so I took a stroll through the forest.

~Tech details~
Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 1/6 second, f/16 and ISO 100
Filters: none

Notes: Processed in Adobe Lightroom

Ice Fishing Article in New Mexico Magazine

Adam Schallau — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 03:58:00 +0000

I’m very excited to share with you the completed product of the first magazine assignment that I shot. The January 2010 issue of New Mexico Magazine features an article titled ‘Ice Breakers’ by Arnold Vigil with the photos shot by yours truly.

Most people know New Mexico for it’s beautiful deserts and canyons as well as it’s tremendous Spanish and Native American cultural sites. But what a lot of people don’t know is that we also have beautiful mountains and high-altitude lakes. The mountains between Taos and Angel Fire, the Sangre de Cristo Range, have peaks reaching to over 13,000 feet above sea-level with many lakes scattered amongst them. The largest lake in the range is 2,400 acre Eagle Nest Lake.

This past February I spent a good part of an extremely cold winter day on the ice at Eagle Nest Lake State Park photographing ice-fishermen braving air temperatures in the mid-teens. People from all walks of life, young and old, were out on the ice. I could not have asked for a better group of people to be the subjects of my first magazine assignment. Everyone was very approachable and extremely eager to share their knowledge and love for the sport of ice fishing. I’d like to thank everyone who shared their day with me.

For the camera equipment junkies that might be interested in the equipment I used for the assignment, I can tell you that I primarily used a Canon 5D Mark II with the 24-105/4L lens, and the original 5D with 17-40/4L lens. Shooting with two camera bodies made it much easier to shoot. The last thing I really wanted to do was try to change lenses in the cold air and blowing snow.

A Cold Morning at the Gorge in Taos

Adam Schallau — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:21:43 +0000

Holy smokes was it cold this past Friday! I got up at sunrise to photograph the Rio Grande Gorge in early morning light with a fresh snow covering the rocks. As I drove out of town I noticed that bank sign was reading 12 degrees Fahrenheit, and the coldest part of the morning was yet to come. What a lot of people don’t realize is that Taos can get cold…very cold. To put it bluntly, we got down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit and the wind started to blow. Ugh! Enough whining from me, here the photo:

~Tech details~
Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens
Exposure: 20 seconds, f/11 and ISO 100 ( for the canyon, see notes below)
Filters: Hoya HD Circular Polarizer
Notes: I manually blended two exposures, one for the gorge and another for the sky to handle the dynamic range in this image. It was simply too cold to try to hand-hold my Singh-Ray graduated neutral density filter in front of the lens.

The Search for Fall Color

Adam Schallau — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:24:38 +0000

I recently returned from four days in Colorado in search of fall color. It was a bit more difficult this year to find good color with many areas running a bit late in turning and the color was not as vivid as it has been in the past. Did this have an effect on my photography? It did, but probably not in the way you might expect.

I had several grand landscapes in mind that I would like to have captured, but due to the conditions, I focused (pun intended) more on intimate landscapes. The image below is one such example. This photo was captured on Ohio Pass located in the West Elk Mountains between Gunnison and Crested Butte.

When the conditions don’t work out as planned, it’s important to keep your mind open to other possibilities.

~Tech details~
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens
Exposure: 1.6 seconds, f/32 and ISO 400
Filters: none
Notes: processed in Lightroom

Colorado Wildflowers ~ Lupines on Kebler Pass

Adam Schallau — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 02:51:37 +0000

Another beautiful day on Kebler Pass near Crested Butte, Colorado. Is there anything more relaxing than wildflowers and aspens in summer? Yes… wildflowers and aspens with the warm sun on your face.

This image is a blend of two exposures, but instead of the normal blend to manage dynamic range, this time two images were used to extend my depth of field from the wildflower in the foreground to the aspen trees in the background.

~Tech details~
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Lens: EF16-35mm f/2.8L Mark II USM lens
Exposure: 1/15 second, f/13 and ISO 320
Filters: none

Monsoon thunderstorm over Shiprock

Adam Schallau — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 02:40:10 +0000

Monsoon Thunderstorm ~ Shiprock, New Mexico

The summer “monsoon” took a bit of a break this month but was in full-force again this past weekend. I always seem to miss good, dynamic weather when attempting to photograph Shiprock Peak in northwestern New Mexico. But this past Monday on the drive home from the Grand Canyon the sky was full of great clouds.

This image of a thunderstorm over Shiprock Peak and another like it but in color, are available for purchase at my website AdamSchallau.com.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens

Exposure: 0.5 seconds, f/22 and ISO 50

Filters: Hoya HD Circular Polarizer

Spring on the Chama River near Abiquiu

Adam Schallau — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:00:27 +0000

Late afternoon thunderstorms have added some color to the Chama River and saturated the surrounding countryside. Near the village of Abiquiu, New Mexico and Ghost Ranch.

This image of the Chama River is available for purchase at my website AdamSchallau.com.

~Tech details~

Camera & Lens: Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM lens

Exposure: f/11, 1.3 second and ISO 100

Filters: Hoya HD circular polarizer

Adobe wall, window, and flowers

Adam Schallau — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:19:39 +0000

A bouquet of spring flowers brings life to an old window surrounded by blue shutters and an adobe wall. A common spring-time scene in northern New Mexico. Photographed near the village of La Cueva on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Red-hot poker ~ Kniphofia uvaria

Adam Schallau — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:28:42 +0000

A Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria), also known as a Torch Lily. I discovered this beautiful flower poking up through a metal grate platform next to a shipping dock outside of Mora, New Mexico. Photographed with a Canon 50D and 24-70 f/2.8L lens.

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