Sandhills – First & Last Light
First light in the Nebraska Sandhills in early May can be frigid. On this morning, the temperature was about 35 degrees F and the wind was gusting, I would guess, to about 20 mph. This shot was taken at the Valentine National Wildlife Refuge, about a half mile from the Little Hay Lake entrance off Nebraska Highway 83.
I like to shoot “big” landscapes with foreground, middle ground, and back ground elements. I find foreground elements help “anchor” landscapes and provide a sense of scale. Also, I feel a composition with foreground and background elements provides depth, helping to draw the eye into the photo.
It can be tricky to find such a composition in the Sandhills. There are rolling hills in all directions with not much else to give a sense of scale except for the occasional windmill and fence post. I don’t like to use these types of man made elements in my landscapes, preferring instead to find something natural. One such opportunity that presents itself in the Sandhills are the countless yucca plants.
Here, I used a silhouette of last year’s yucca pods as the focal point of the image with the Sandhills illuminated in first light in the background. I focused at the hyperfocal distance (approximately 17 inches) for the 5D Mark II with EF 16-35mm at 18mm set at aperture f/16. The hyperfocal distance provides maximum depth of field – everything from 1/2 the hyperfocal distance to infinity will be in focus. Fiddling with hyperfocal distance can be a somewhat tedious process, but it pays dividends in the form of tack sharp landscapes; front to back, assuming that is your shutter speed is sufficient to stop any wind induced motion of plants. Here I was shooting at 1/5s so the foreground elements have some motion blur that could not be avoided without reducing the depth of field.
- Last year’s yucca pods – Nebraska Sandhills
Sandhills Last Light
Here’s a shot from the prior evening, just before sunset. Different quality of light and much more interesting sky.
Big Nebraska Sky
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Date: May 10, 2011
Categories: Landscapes, Nature, Photography Technique