Younes Bounhar Photography

Delicate

In lieu of the “why and the how” feature, I will rather go simpler this time as the subject matter of this photograph calls for just that.

It is very tempting as a photographer to always go for the big, bold, dramatic and all inclusive scenery. However, when one stops to look around, beauty can truly be found just about anywhere. So on my way to Eunice Lake in Washington state last week, I stumbled upon this plant (frankly don’t ask me what it’s called) that immediately jumped at me. I immediately saw some patterns and cools light/shadow plays that really looked appealing. As I worked the subject further, I just kept simplifying and simplifying some more until I ended up focus on just a single tip of a leaf.

At this point, I could have used a wide open lens at f/2.8 to single out that tip, however, I knew that doing that would basically render a featureless image. I also knew that it wouldn’t take advantage of the neat accordion-like leaves of the plant. From then on, it was simply a matter of stopping down the lens a bit more (f/9). In this way, I managed to bring the shadows back only enough to show, but without being completely in focus, thus adding some much needed texture to the image.

So, how did I do? I would love to hear your thoughts (even if you think I failed miserably ).

Posted on July 21st, 2009 in The Why and the How | 4 Comments »

Milkin’ it all the Way

It was about 11pm when we arrived back at our car on the way down from Eunice lake (see yesterday’s post here). After a long day, all we were thinking of was the comfort of a bed, yet, when Jay suggested we stop for some star trail shots, I immediately acquiesced! My excitement only grew when I noticed that the Milky Way was out in full force! To add to the magic, a planet (not sure which one, but clearly visible to the left of Rainier) was lined up just at the right spot, and an eerie and barely visible light painted the mountain top.

The following shot was made with a Nikon D700, Nikkor 14-24 at 14mm, f/2.8, iso 2500 for 30s. I used a high iso and wide open lens here to minimise the exposure time so that I could capture the milky way before star motion was visible.

The next one, was with a Nikon D700, 70-300 VR at 70mm, f/5.6, iso 800, 256s. In this one, I went to the complete opposite compared to the previous shot as I wanted to capture as much motion in as little time as possible, hence the longer focal length (an even longer focal length and exposure time would have been better, but I was constrained in this case.

Posted on July 20th, 2009 in Images Photography Tips Travel | 9 Comments »

Younes at Eunice

On Thursday, Jay Goodrich and I headed out of Seattle for a little hike around mighty Mount Rainier. Art set us out with directions to Eunice lake and off we went. What was supposed to be an easy, breezy 2.5 mile hike turned out to be more of an adventure than expected. Not only were the bugs outrageously voracious (I still have welts the size of a quarter 4 days later), but we the trail was still covered in snow as high as 6ft in some places. After the long hike up, we also find out that the lake is mostly frozen. This is where Jay and I lose it and revoke Art’s guiding and photography permits. The decree has yet to be approved by Congress, but we are confident that it will pass .

More seriously though, once we got around the lake, we finally saw what Art was leading us to:  a great view of the towering peak, nicely complemented by a beautiful reflection in Eunice lake. This shot is a stitch from 5 vertical shots merged in photoshop CS4 and is better enjoyed in large format (click on the picture for that).

Later that evening, after hiking down in the dark, we stopped for some star trail shots on a moonless night. More on that in my next post.

I have just returned to Ottawa as I am writing this (Sunday) and will resume my regular activities time allowing.

Posted on July 19th, 2009 in Images Travel | 6 Comments »

Ridges

As promised yesterday, here is a new image I made on the way to Hurricane Ridge. The light that morning wasn’t really suitable to photograph the beautiful wildflowers (lupins, indian paintbrushes, avalanche lillies and others), so we turned to an alternative subject. The mountain ridges were nicely silhouetted by the rising sun making the perfect backdrop for this layered composition. By the time you read this I will likely be  driving back from Mount Rainier. I will catch up with you next week when I return home. Cheers.

Posted on July 16th, 2009 in Images Travel | 1 Comment »

More Palouse

Bad weather has forced us to change our plans…no coast yet again (I am really beginning to believe that I am cursed!). So after an improvised camping night up at Obstruction Point at Olympic National Park, Art, Jay and myself headed back into town (that’s a total of about 15h of driving in the last 24!!). We will get some rest, then Jay and I will try our luck at Mount Rainier tomorrow.

In the meantime, I got a chance to catch up with some post-processing. Here is another shot, from my second day at the Palouse on the way up to Steptoe Butte. I’ll have another picture posted tomorrow, until then…

Posted on July 15th, 2009 in Images Travel | 5 Comments »

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