LIGHTNING CRASHES by EdwinMartinez

LIGHTNING CRASHES | North Yellowstone | 2015

This is from the series of my tour last July in Yellowstone where I was able to capture some unique cloud formation. As the story goes, we arrived there with a weather system coming in. We noticed lightning forming from both left and right of our view. Hoping to capture some, I set up my camera and dialed in just the right speed in burst mode (fast enough to capture details) and locked the remote. I made sure to use jpeg as my cf card may not handle the volume and buffer.

For that afternoon, I took 3,729 in three spots trying to capture lightning and out of that I did got around 7 successful shots. This was my favorite, for this spot I took 264 and only got 1 good take. Check out the screen capture of the series – http://ift.tt/1jnM2W8

The file needed some blending to recover details from shots without lightning.

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The MOMENT by EdwinMartinez

The component of MOMENT.

I think one of the defining components of a photograph to be memorable would be the inclusion of unique moments. Many iconic locations have been captured the same way in terms of compositional arrangements. One will stand out if he/she captured it in circumstances that cannot be replicated such as atmospheric conditions (unique clouds, aurora borealis, defining light, etc.). These moments are unpredictable and luck also plays a big factor.

Kirkjufell, Iceland – this mountain and waterfall is one of those locations that has been captured many times in the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, the best spots are always the same. But that afternoon, despite the gloomy start our group was gifted with a short opening of golden light. It painted the huge incoming cumulus clouds and also provided some theatrical lights.

Let me share that moment with you.

I hope you can join me together with Iurie Belegurschi Photography in one of the most epic photography tours in Iceland, more information can be found here – http://ift.tt/1I2ynZP

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FROZEN HELL by EdwinMartinez

Another leftover photos from my safari last January. I can’t wait to see this wonder again. These bubbles frozen under the lake may look like ice jewels, but the bubbles are actually frozen pockets of methane, a highly flammable gas.

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HELL ON EARTH by EdwinMartinez

This was taken in North Yellowstone National Park, one of the oldest national park in America. I was there on a photo safari/scouting trip. From day’s forecast, a thunderstorm was coming in from the west that afternoon and would clear in the night. I knew these particular moments would make for a colorful sunset, so we proceeded to the main terraces of Mammoth Hot springs. We got there with little sunlight as expected and huge storm clouds were starting to move from the west. Lightning was appearing from time to time so I opted to capture those first. As the minutes pass by, huge black clouds started rolling fast towards the east and I notice they were forming some unique shapes.

The rain started pouring; it didn’t stop me from photographing the scene, it was scary like a science fiction movie about the ends of the earth. At one point, I hesitated in going back the car. Nobody was left in the upper terraces except our group. Not only rain but also we had to worry about being struck by lightning. That afternoon went on like forever; in just a few hours I have experienced hail, lightning, double rainbows and a blazing sunset. Truly this image will speak about that rare moment where mammatus clouds and lightning are in one scene. Mammatus clouds are characterized by pouch-like protrusions hanging from the undersides of clouds, usually thunderstorm anvil clouds.

This photograph came from a single raw file out of the hundreds I took just to capture the lightning and cloud formation. I shot this at F16 aperture and iso 100 with shutter speed of 1.6, I used a 3 stop graduated neutral density to give more details to the sky. This was processed using adobe camera raw, increasing clarity and contrast for the sky and used the vibrance slider to increase the saturation a little. Exported to Adobe Photoshop and did a little dodge and burn to make some part of the clouds stand out.

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ICONIC JEWEL by EdwinMartinez

ICONIC JEWEL | Kirkjufell, Iceland

Most landscape photographers right now are aiming to shoot iconic locations, not just capture generic and stereotype scenes but those that are significant and recognizable by the viewers. There is nothing wrong with this, it is a positive direction and I hate photographers who say a scene is shot to death by so many. I think there are still hundreds no, let me correct this but millions of photographers who still haven’t seen or aim to visit these places that are iconic. I wish there is a statistics that would prove this theory.

Kirkjufell is probably one of those locations in Iceland that photographers target to visit and capture. I will never tire of this place. It has its own appeal that makes it photogenic. This is my shot of an iconic place with the right moment, the appearance of the northern lights.

I would like to share that moment, captured in a frame, frozen for me to relive the scene and to share the experience with you. For all aspiring landscape photographers, keep on aiming to shoot these places and capture them with your own perspective.

I think this tour is one of the best, should you plan a photography tour in Iceland. Visit their website – http://ift.tt/1AhH43D

Kindly take note that this photograph is copyrighted and all rights are reserved. No part of this photograph or image may be reproduced or transmitted in whatever means, you may link or share as long as a PRIOR and expressed permission from the owner.

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The PURGATORY by EdwinMartinez

THE PURGATORY | Main Terraces, Mammoth Hot Spring, Yellowstone National Park | June 12, 2015

Timing and luck. This plays a huge factor in capturing epic landscape photos, that extra ingredient of moment which makes your photo unique and hard to replicate. From that day’s forecast a thunderstorm was coming in the afternoon and would clear in the night. We knew these moments make for a colorful sunset so we proceeded to the Main terraces of Mammoth Hot springs in Yellowstone National Park. We got there with little light as huge storm clouds started moving in from the west. Lightning was appearing from time to time and opted to capture those first. As the minutes pass by, huge black clouds were moving fast towards the east and I notice they were forming some unique shapes.

Rain started pouring; this didn’t stop me from photographing the scene, it was scary like a science fiction movie about the ends of the earth. At one point, I hesitated in going back the car. Nobody was left in the upper terraces except our group. Not only rain but we had to worry about being struck by lightning.

That afternoon went on like forever, in just a few hours I have experienced hail, lightning, double rainbows and a blazing sunset. Truly this image will speak about that moment.

This is not HDR nor an over tonal contrasted photo. One single raw shot.

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SUNSET RAINBOW by EdwinMartinez

THE SUNSET RAINBOW | Whytecliff Park | West Vancouver, BC | June 2015

I have shot this place so many times before. From low tide to high tide and I think among all those times this is the most epic. With the sun blazing red setting in the right side, a rainbow appeared anti solar to provide a beautiful contrast to the scene. A first in my experience. How glorious that day was.

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