Fine-art nature and bird stock photography and prints, by Nick Chill.

New Blog Address

Nick Chill — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 00:17:51 +0000

I have a new blog, with a new address. All posts have been copied to the new address, and I’ll be posting there from now on.

The new site is: http://www.NickChill.com

Thank you, and I hope to see you there!

Nick

An adventure to Crater Lake and Lassen

Nick Chill — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:31 +0000

On July 28th I headed north, with a couple of friends, aiming for Crater Lake National Park, in Oregon. To be honest, it doesn’t matter what the destination… any trip north, through California, is bound to be full of beauty and wonder. We planned to camp along the way, and in the park, stopping to see the sights and enjoy the ride.

Three image panoramic of Lake Helen, in Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA.

Along the route, we came across Lassen Volcanic National Park, in California. It was definitely worth the stop. The main feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest plug dome volcano in the world and the southern-most volcano in the Cascade Range. The area surrounding Lassen Peak is still active with boiling mud pots, stinking fumaroles, and churning hot springs.

Wizard Island, Crater Lake National Park

Upon setting eyes on Crater Lake, you are immediately taken aback by the intense blue water-color. The water is bluer than the sky, with a maximum depth of 1,949 feet, and is the clearest lake in the world (setting a record of 140 ft visibility). The lake consists of water from snow melt and rain, resting in the giant crater of a collapsed volcano.

A warm sunset, Crater Lake National Park, OR.

The trip was beautiful, and left me only wanting more. I hope that you get a chance to see these landscapes, for yourself. Until then, I hope you enjoy my photos. Keep checking the gallery for the rest of them. Now, I leave you with one last shot.

A measuring station, on the edge of Crater Lake.

Thank you, so much.
I look forward to your comments!

Nick

Wonders of California…

Nick Chill — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 23:00:02 +0000

I took a trip to Yosemite National Park in April of this year, with Colby Brown, a friend and photographer. We were set to have a week-long stay in the park, to photograph the many waterfalls and features. A strong rainstorm moved in, a few days into the trip, causing us to pack up camp, for fear of falling branches from the very large evergreens that fill the area. My few days in the park were enough to capture a dozen great shots of some of the more prominent features.

Timeless Valley - Yosemite National Park

This is a panoramic of Yosemite Valley, from the Tunnel View area. This is the powerful image that you see as you exit the tunnel, and enter Yosemite Valley. To the left is El Capitan, a 3,000 ft vertical rock formation. To the right is Bridalveil Fall, a 617 ft waterfall that flows year round. Off in the distance is Half Dome (shrouded in clouds) a granite crest that rises more than 4,737 ft (1,444 m) above the valley floor, shaped by a glacier.

For that panoramic, I used the Nikon 50mm f1.4G Prime lens to take 3 vertical shots of the valley. I stitched those shots together using Adobe Photoshop, which did an incredible job, automatically. The shot required a bit of tweaking in Lightroom 3, in order to pull out some detail in the heavy shadows on the valley floor.

After being rained out of Yosemite, we headed to the Bay Area, to visit Inverness, CA. This was scenery that I had never witnessed before. Such gorgeous rolling green hills, and unique landscapes. I fully intend to head back that way for some more shooting. While there, we stopped at McClures Beach, on the Point Reyes National Seashore, and was treated to a phenomenal sunset.

Stormy Sunset - McClures Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

The wind made it hard to stand, the ocean was dynamic and violent, and the distant storm clouds were moving in over the Pacific. This was a powerful experience.

As with any landscape shot that includes the sky, a graduated neutral-density filter can be a very useful tool for sunset shots. Grad NDs darken the sky, while gradually becoming clear towards the center. Because of how low the sun is in a sunset scene, in relation to the horizon, normal graduated neutral-density filters aren’t quite as effective. There is, however, a tool for the job. The Daryl Benson Reverse Neutral-Density Graduated Filter confronts this issue by concentrating the tint at the center of the filter and gradually clearing towards the top. The Reverse ND Grad is my preferred filter for sunsets, and was used on the above shot from McClures Beach.

I hope you enjoy these two new images. I know I have! I cannot wait to get back out that way, it is truly an awe-inspiring place.

Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Nick

Don’t forget to enter to win a FREE 16 x 24in print of “Sun, Sand and Surf” by responding to the contest post on the Facebook page. Ends July 21st!

Welcome to my blog!

Nick Chill — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:38:13 +0000

Hello, all.

This will be my new blog for Nick Chill Photography.

Now, I must warn you, I’ve never used a blog before, so this may take some time to get used to and figure out. I would be thrilled to hear any suggestions or tips you might have for me, on how to run a blogsite.

I intend to post once or twice a week, depending on what’s going on. I will try to keep you updated on new photos, and give you a glimpse into the stories behind those photos and other adventures.