Bill Hatcher Photography

Is a Color photo more realistic than a B&W photo?

This week I returned to Saguaro National Park to rephotographed one of the cooler looking saguaro I had photographed last month. Here's a select from this recent shoot. I nearly always publish color images, but after looking at the color image on my home computer I thought the white flower and the cool lines of the saguaro ribs might have more punch if I converted it to Black and White in Photoshop.

But I am in a quandary here because I didn't originally shoot this image in Black and White and when I shot the image I was intent on a shooting a color image. So the question I ask myself is shouldn't this image remain in the original color? 

I've often written and promoted the idea that in wildlife, landscape and news photography the photos should be kept as true to the original moment as possible. This means no excessive photoshop or editing to remove items other than dust from the photo. This concept is really just for images whose intention is to depict a real scene. Of course for creative sake an image can be manipulated to the extreme if the intention is to create an art work. I guess that's the threshold I crossed when converting this color image to Black and White.   What do you think, did the Black and White alteration I made change the original intent of this photo? My answer is probably not by much, but it is a very different photo from the original.

That got me to thinking that most news photographers publishing black and white images are usually shooting in color with digital cameras then converting the image to Black and White for publication. This is the case with many landscape and wildlife photographers as well. The reason many still produce images in Black and White is not only a style choice, but the fact that a photo in Black and White will often depict a subject with more power and emotion than a color image. Is this kind of radical alteration to a color image true to the moment? It is if the intent when the photo was shot was to make a B&W image.  The difference between what I did in altering my saguaro photo and what the B&W publishing photojournalist and wildlife photographer is doing, is their original intention is seeing the final photo as Black and White.

Late Spring in Saguaro National Park

The saguaro cactus is the iconic cactus of the Sonoran Desert. Locals are saying that with the mild warm winter in the American Southwest the saguaro is blooming early. Yesterday I saw thousands of saguaro flowering in Saguaro National Park outside Tucson, Arizona. 

These cactus can grow over 40 feet tall and live more than 200 years. Most visitors view the cactus from ground level. I used a special wireless camera rig that allowed me to look down on the saguaro from above. I've discovered there's always a unique perpective with aerials. 

 

 

 

Oops, dust above the bee's left wing. When you're out shooting for a few weeks the camera sensor collects more and more dust. This photo is shot on my Nikon D-3s. The sensor was cleaned just before the shoot and this is after 2 weeks in the field.

Grand Canyon smoke and light

Smoke from a control burn near Tusayan on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park contributed to some soft light for this sunrise photo of Isis Temple. This pic was taken last week from nearby Shiva Temple below the North Rim. A long walk in, but well worth the effort.

 

Rising Oceans

In an article in today's New York Times  about rising water levels on the East coast of the U.S. I was reminded of a shoot I did last year in Australia to document the same subject. Taken in Sydney, Australia my photo illustrates where normal ocean levels will be by 2050. I shot this photo during a King Tide event. Amazing to imagine 35 years from now, during a similar high tide event, the ocean water will completely submerge this outdoor pool.

Grand Canyon Serendipity

There's a lot of chance that plays into getting interesting photos in remote locations especially when you let the unfolding events control your shots. What I've discovered is on some photo outings nothing happens; the skies are clear, the company is dull and the location sucks no matter how stunning the place might be. Then on other trips great events unfold, great light happens and making nice photos is as easy as pointing the camera in the right direction and letting the shutter fly.

This point was made clear to me again on a recent multi-day hike off the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I was joined on the trip with two botanist, Glenn Rink and Steve Till, as well as another avid canyon explorer Bob Dye.

I was in the Canyon on a scouting trip for a future story. The others had no set determined goals so the hike quickly unfolded as a casual romp in the Park to explore some new country and have some fun. And of course I brought a camera should anything interesting happen.

I liked this shot of Steve exploring the art of flying. If I claimed that this sort of activity is a hot new sport craze, it would have the Park managers of GCNP sleepless with worry, but it's only Steve enjoying some flight-time.

Okay I did have some photographic goals during the trip. I did want to make a nice portrait of Bob Dye. Bob is incredibly knowledgeable about the canyon and displays an uncanny ability to find ancient building sites and artifacts.

Glenn Rink is the ultimate energized hiker. As we walked out of the Canyon across the Powell Plateau in a blowing fog and wet snow,  I managed to get a photo of Glenn in his element. He later admitted that when I took this photo he was freezing cold and was nearly running to stay warm.

 

So like many people I enjoyed three days of photo serendipity in the Grand Canyon and I am already planning on my next trip. This last photo is what Glenn says is the ultimate scout of Deubendorf Rapids. What I saw was the beautiful curve of the Colorado River, the steep ridges dropping off the Great Thumb and more than a few reasons to return.

 

 

 

 

Hiking in Marble Canyon during the Grand Canyon Natl. Park Closure

Despite the Park closure I was able to do a four Day walk along the Colorado River in Marble Canyon on the  Grand Canyon Natl. Park boundry.I was able to do this by walking into the canyon from the Navajo Reservation side. Navajo hiking permits can be obtained for this activity from the Navajo Nation Parks at http://navajonationparks.org/permits.htm

On my walk I joined botanist Glenn Rink who is involed in doing plant collections for the Navajo Nation. Our 38 mile loop hike decended Hot Na Na Canyon to a pouroff above the Colorado River. We walked the bench above and then below the Colorado for 13 miles then exited the canyon at 29 mile or Shinamo Wash. From the top of the canyon we made our way via roads to our truck.

I found many beaches below the rapids to be littered with drift wood. The debris is the result of the big floods that have swept into the Canyon during the heavy rains this summer. We saw evidence of debris flows down a couple of the canyons and gullies from 19 mile to 29 mile.

We were surprised to find a new spring in Shinamo Wash flowing at around 20-30 gallons per minute. We figure this must also be due to the higher percipatation in area in the past few months. The spring begins near where the old Dam survey trail exits the canyon.

 

Sacred Datura blooming in Shinamo Wash               On the canyon rim I found the endangered

                                                                            Pediocactus bradyi

This was a difficult walk mostly off trail that accessed some rarely visited areas above the Coloraod River in the Marble Canyon.  During the hike I walked through some beautiful country and learned more about the regions rare plants. The last morning in the canyon I could look across to the sunrise on the North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park.

A Couple of my Favorite Desert National Parks

With a possible government shut down less than 12 hours away I am lucky I had a chance to visit a few of my favorite National Parks in the past few weeks. If the shut down happens like it did back in 1996 places like Canyonlands National Park in Utah and Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Colorado could close their gates for weeks.

Hiking up dunes patterned with dark iron rich sands containing magnetite that contrast with the lighter colored sands at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.

Expansive views from the top of Amasaback across the Colorado River from Islands in the Sky district of  Canyonlands National Park.

Do Not Be Afraid

I am used to putting my cameras in all kinds of situations that might not be too healthy for the camera. This photo was made one morning during a boat trip down the San Juan River in Utah. I took the shot looking down river with my iPhone 5. To get the photo I held the phone just above the murky brown waters of the San Juan. Was I afraid the camera would drop in the drink and never be found, of course, that's why I held it with both hands, but I also have all the data backed up and the phone is insured. After making this photo I put the phone back in it's happy river home a steel water proof and sand proof case.

 

 

Mount Arapiles, Australia under the stars

The climbing area of Mount Arapiles in Western Victoria, Australia is a stunning destination. What has brought me to Arapiles for many visits is that there are thousands of quality climbs scattered on the walls of this rock mountain. The rock is so perfect and so accessable that night climbing is an option as well. Here Jordan Webster, a climber visiting Arapiles from California, climbs the uber classic Agamemnon.

To make this shot require a fair bit of pre-planning as well as a small team to help light paint the climber and surrounding walls with light. I will write more about light painting and how I made this photo in my next column in Australian Geographic Outdoor.