Assignments: June 2011

This Article Features Photo Zoom

1) Photographer: Steve Perry Location: Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah Equipment: Nikon D3X, AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm ƒ/2.8G IF-ED, Gitzo tripod, 1⁄10 sec., ISO 100, ƒ/11 at 160mm Steve Perry had just finished shooting some sunrise scenes at Bryce Canyon when his nine-year-old son asked if they could hike down into the canyon and explore. It didn’t take much arm-twisting to convince him, and as they rounded a corner on the way down, they saw the light hitting these hoodoos. Perry loved how the hoodoos were nearly glowing with the morning light, so he quickly set up the camera and captured this shot.

The OP Assignments galleries on our website continue to showcase the considerable talents of the magazine’s readers. The caliber of the work is consistently impressive, and for this issue, I paid particular attention to two Assignments: Telephoto Landscapes and Macro. This is the third time I’ve run a Macro Assignment, and it turned out to be the most popular gallery ever, with more than 800 total entries. The Telephoto Landscapes gallery also proved to be well-liked.

Congratulations to the photographers featured on these pages. Make sure to keep going online for your chance to be published in OP. Check out the current Assignment and submit a photo today at www.outdoorphotographer.com/gallery/assignments.
—Christopher Robinson, Editor

2)
Photographer: Michael Warwick
Location: Yosemite National Park, California
Equipment: Nikon D90, 200mm lens, ISO 200, ƒ/18, 1/50 sec.

Winter is a special time in Yosemite. During the winter months, storms roll through the valley and clouds dance along the granite monoliths. The passing clouds play hide-and-seek with the trees and caress the waterfalls. Michael Warwick is always looking for a different view and a unique perspective. A frozen bridge at the east end of Yosemite Valley offered such a vantage point for Yosemite Falls. The clouds, the granite walls, the waterfall and the trees produced a magical winter scene. As he set up the tripod and camera and took the shot, the clouds silently blanketed the falls.

3)
Photographer: Steve Hirsch
Location: Boynton Canyon, Sedona, Arizona
Equipment: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm ƒ/2.8L IS II USM, Benro tripod

While hiking in the early fall in Boynton Canyon, Steve Hirsch found the sun rising behind him while the moon was setting in front. It was still early enough in the day to capture the rich red hues of the canyon walls before they became washed out. Hirsch rendered the exposure perfectly to get detail in the setting moon.

4)
Photographer: Carolyn Derstine
Location: Telford, Pennsylvania
Equipment: Panasonic DMC-FZ28, 17mm lens, 1⁄100 sec., ƒ/3.4, ISO 100, handheld

In December 2008, Telford, Pennsylvania, had an ice storm that covered every available surface. It was quite beautiful, and Carolyn Derstine immediately went outside to take pictures. This image of a Japanese maple tree branch was taken right in her backyard. The designs in this icicle look like glass crystal, and the red branch and bud completed the composition. Derstine did crop a fair amount to get the composition she liked and darkened parts of the background to make it pure black.