Shiprock
Shiprock is a volcanic rock formation rising 1,583 feet above the desert on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico. It’s peak is 7,177 feet above sea level. I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to photograph this spectacular landmark over the course of two days recently. The first two shots below were taken from the south on day one, and the third shot was taken from the north on day two. All three were taken with the Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM except number two was taken with the Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L II USM.
In all cases, side lighting at sunset provides a dramatic, high contrast scene. For the wide shot (number 2) I used the hyperfocal distance focusing technique to make sure that everything in the photo, from the closest foreground element to infinity, was sharp. This technique is very useful to landscape photographers. Ultra wide angle (UWA) lenses work best and need to be stopped down, usually from f/16 to f/22, depending on the distance to the closest object in the frame. For shot number 2, the hyperfocal distance was 1.8′ (approx 11″) at f/16 with the lens set to 16mm. Therefore, anything from infinity to 1/2 the hyperfocal distance will be in focus. DOFMaster is freeware that you can easily use to calculate hyperfocal distance and learn the theory and details of this technique.
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1. Canon 5D Mark II w/ EF70-200mm at 100mm f/2.8L IS II USM @ f/8.0 1/50s iso100
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2. Canon 5D Mark II w/ Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8 II USM at 16mm f/16 1/60s iso100
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3. Canon 5D Mark II w/ EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM at 200mm f/8.0 1/50s iso 100
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Date: January 28, 2011
Categories: Landscapes, Photography Technique