I didn’t shoot very many landscape images in 2019, but this is the selection of my best work.
More with Annaliese Nobile
Teen model, Annaliese asked me to do a photoshoot with her in Nevada City this week. The 3 hour shoot included a visit to the Holbrooke Hotel in Grass Valley before it was closed for renovation. We probably had the very last photoshoot in that hotel before the furniture was sold and the wallpaper removed.
We used natural light in the hotel, so that we would not bother the people running around the hallways purchasing every lamp, chair and bed in the building.
Shot through a coffee shop window in Nevada City
Holidays in Nevada County
When the holidays come around, Grass Valley and Nevada City take the festival season seriously. Below are some pictures from Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley and Victorian Christmas in Nevada City.
City Park Series
It has been a few years since I added new images to my series of City Park photos. Grass Valley and Nevada City don't have very many parks to explore. I found this park just past downtown Grass Valley.
The colors and shapes in a park give an opportunity for more abstract images and shallow depth of field.
Nevada County Fair
One of the biggest events in Grass Valley is the Nevada County fair. The little fair in the forest. It's always a great place to capture photos of the rides, long exposures of the lights, fair food and street photography style images.
Roadside Nevada County
Nevada county has a few roadside attractions that are unique and fun to visit:
Grass Valley robot
This Tin Man and Tin Woman in Nevada City play Wizard of Oz music when you push his bellybutton.
Rough and Ready has an entire mini town dedicated to Gold Mining history.
More from Rough and Ready
Clark's in Nevada City
Old Shell station in Penn Valley (Bridgeport)
Fujifilm 80mm Macro Lens
I recently picked up the Fujifilm 80mm Macro lens and from the moment I held this lens, I knew it was special. First thing you will notice about this lens is the size. It is a pretty large and heavy lens, made of all metal and glass. The only plastic seems to come from the lens hood. Even with the weight, it seems to balance well on the Fuji X-T2, even without a grip. When I really noticed the weight was when it was in my camera bag.
As other people have said, the sharpness of this lens is insane. But even more impressive is how smooth the backgrounds are when using this lens. It is by far the highest quality glass I have used and I expect to be using it for a lot more then just close up macro photography.
The image stabilization made it possible to shoot sharp images like this without a tripod.
Shot handheld, thanks to the outstanding OIS features included with this lens.
Shot in the blacksmith shop at Empire Mine State Park.
Another handheld flower image.
Like all Macro lenses, the depth of field is very shallow, so locating the ideal focus point can be a challenge. Overall I thought the lens focused quickly when used inside and outside. Being able to work without a tripod gives me the freedom to quickly move around the subject.
Empire Mine blacksmith shop
I really like how well this lens gives you a feeling of depth, even when shooting directly at something like this old rusty gear.
Red White and Blue
I have always loved shooting rusty things and Empire Mine State Park is the motherload for rusty history. Add some snow and everything changes. I went out early on Sunday morning to try and see if I could capture the snow mixed in with the gold mining equipment, before the snow melted.
The park was closed when I first arrived, but i was able to shoot this over the fence from the parking lot. The sky was pretty dark still at this time of the morning.
When I returned 2 hours later, much of the snow had already melted.
Shooting in the snow is new to me, and the biggest challenge has been to keep the white balance as close as possible, without the snow turning blue or the highlights being blown out.
Winter in the Foothills
It took a really long time for winter to finally happen in Northern California. Between storms and bad driving conditions, I managed to find time for a few photos before the rain returned to melt the snow. These are my favorites.
The biggest challenge about winter in Nevada City is how fast the snow melts. I want to shoot the snow in 3 or 4 different locations, but I seem to run out of time before the snow is gone.
Broad Street, Nevada City
Broad Street, Nevada City
Deer Creek in Nevada City
Nevada City
Empire Mine State Park, Grass Valley
Empire Mine State Park, Grass Valley
Smith Vineyard and Winery
I joined a very cold winter photowalk to Smith Vineyard in Grass Valley. It was nice to finally get a chance to visit this beautiful property after driving past it almost every day.
A little red barn in the trees. Fuji X-T2, 23mm at f2.0
Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at 18mm
Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at 18mm at f3.2
Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at f3.2
This was my favorite image of the day. Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at f4.0
Fujifilm XF18-55mm F2.8-4 R LM OIS at f8.0
XF35mmF2 R WR at f2.0
XF16mmF1.4 R WR at f1.6
XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS at f4.0
Nikon vs Fujifilm
Yesterday I returned to the Empire Mine State Park in Grass Valley, California to test out my new Fuji 18-55mm lens. I wanted to see what a Nikon D810 image (shot last year) looks like vs a Fuji X-T2 image from the same location.
Shot with a Fuji X-T2 with the Fujifilm 18-55mm lens. Handheld with a high ISO. Edited in Silver Efex Pro. f2.8, ISO 5000, 1/60th. (testing the OIS).
Shot with the Nikon D810 with the Nikon 24-70mm lens. Tripod. Edited with Silver Efex Pro. f18, ISO 400. 15 second exposure.
While the composition and editing are a little different, I think this is an interesting comparison of these systems. I prefer the high contrast found in the Fuji image. Which image do you prefer?