in the mind's eye

Smoky Ridge Light. Great Smoky National Park 2007

The mind’s eye. . .
and the filter that launched this image

As artists and photographers we all pre-conceive to some degree. If this were not the case, we would not invest in all the gear and dedicate all the time and energy the process demands. We all share the hope that something highly pleasurable will come from this investment. As Norman Maclean wrote in his outdoor classic, A River Runs Through It, “Even as an old man I stand in the big river in the hope that a fish will rise.”

I often see workshop participants talking at the end of a day of shooting—usually in anticipation of the next day—describing in detail sometimes what they would like to see happen and just exactly how it would look and take place. I always relate to such anticipation as they paint the air with fingers pointing to a night sky that now represents an imagined waterfall and then just as quickly with palms down at knee level swooping that imagined cascade of a creek’s runoff. Again now raising their shoulders and looking up at the vast clouds that have turned amber in the setting sun of the same imagined frame! “Yes,” we all agree, “as long as we are all going to be there with you, we’ll shoot that too!”

I believe such anticipation of something more is the essence of why we do fine art landscape photography. It has a lot to do with the mind’s eye. Many of us begin this journey intending to “document” the landscape. I started with simple travel pictures that looked a lot like what I saw. These images were mostly of popular spots taken about noon on “picture perfect” days. It was quite a bit later that I realized this documenting process was for me anything but perfect. . .the eyes saw but the mind did not!

This was a leg of my journey, however, which I feel was well spent. It provided a chance to learn what the camera recorded in relation to what I saw. Once I
understood the technical part of photography, it became easier to concentrate on achieving something more unique and personal. For most of us, that becomes the giant step from “then” to “now;” and how we arrive at our “now” is what makes us all incredibly interesting as artists.

Looking for more

No matter how much the process of photographing landscapes may fascinate and excite me, I now believe that each one must begin with careful consideration of what my camera is seeing—and then to opening my mind’s eye in search of
further possibilities.

The unfiltered initial set up of the Smoky Ridge image.

So let’s have a look at this initial, unfiltered image I recorded on a recent July afternoon in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We see how the cross lighing
illuminates the foreground trees along Smoky Ridge giving nice detail to the new spring growth and the floral plants at its base. In this initial image the sky has yet to have any values that add to the composition, but I thought it had to be included nonetheless. The foreground trees seemed to have the focal point I needed and the composition was then tightened to emphasize those desired elements. The next issue was exposure. Certainly the specular highlights on the tree leaves had to be exposed correctly. They were truly the composition’s best feature!

Next was the matter of holding detail on the mountain ridges behind the trees. In order to do this my “filter toolbox” was opened wide. Because the middle of my frame—where the afternoon sunlight was not filtered though the clouds—would be the brightest part of the image, I chose to contol it with the 4 x 6-inch Singh-Ray 3-stop Reverse Neutral Density filter. Then to hold color and detail in the clouds, I added a 2-stop soft-step Neutral Density filter to my handheld “stack.”

At this point, my mind’s eye was open wide. The image I was visualizing was starting to take shape, It was now technically correct for the exposure I needed and was nearly a direct interpretation of what I was seeing.

Now I wanted to accentuate the strong points of the image. For accentuating color subtly and “naturally,” the Singh-Ray LB Color Intensifier filter is unmatched in my opinion. It’s not so much a saturation tool (this can be done in post processing) as it is a discreet way to build up the earth tones in my images, especially the greens. Fo me, the green tones are the hardest of all to manipulate later.

At this point, the foreground trees would “take to life” and the sky now had the color that my initial exposure only hinted at. My next thought was that I might be done. But my mind’s eye was now looking for the smoke—as in Smoky
Mountains?

The final touch—a very specialized filter

With the word “smoke” now buzzing in my mind, I decided to replace the LB Intensifier with the LB ColorCombo—which combines both the intensifier plus the warming polarizer—because I wanted to add a bit more filter density to slow my exposure just enough to blur the cloud movement slightly.

Then came the final touch from somewhere in the back of my mind’s eye and the bottom of my camera bag. I carefully added my Singh-Ray Tony Sweet Soft-Ray Diffuser and I just had to smile. My mind’s eye was pleased. Moving the stack of
4 x 6-inch ND filters during a sequence of many exposures delivered the frame at the top, the one that was conceived in the mind’s eye!

Now, wasn’t that easy?

In art generally, and in landscape photography specifically, it seems to me that the easier a successful result looks in its final form, the harder it was to “make happen.” I think when all the elements of creativity are brought together successfully, the result almost completely hides that complex creative process. This is especially true for me when I’m using filters. I have two filters I do not use a lot, but when used to my satisfaction they can flat out make the image! One of these filters is “an old friend,” the Singh-Ray Gold N’ Blue Polarizer and the other is the Tony Sweet Soft-Ray Diffuser that I used for this Smoky Ridge image.

I’ve long admired the photographic work of Tony Sweet, a professional musician turned fine-art landscape photographer. It would seem that we share a common bond in the belief that those two art forms are closely related. Nevertheless, I find the diffuser bearing Tony’s name is very hard for me to use consistently in the field. It differs from the conventional diffuser or soft-focus filter I have tried and put aside in years past. I’m still not sure just what this filter is, or for that matter what it does technically; but I do enjoy its unique—almost magical—effect in certain situations. The filter seems to allow detail and yet soften without diffusing the strong light. This filter needs strong light! The hard part is, unlike most filters, I really can’t judge the full value and effect of this filter when I’m in the field. The viewfinder is not a good place to measure its success! I’m now learning to see and use this filter in my mind’s eye!

“Smoky Ridge Light” was just the time and place I had been waiting for to
unleash the subtle power of this very special filter!

The mind’s eye. . . and the filter that launched this image

The mind’s eye. . .
and the filter that launched this image