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A
California Portfolio
- by Lon Overacker
NOTE: this exhibit
appeared in September 2000. Click here to visit the
current showcase.
All other
exhibits: Click
here to access
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El
Capitan in the Mist
Yosemite National Park, CA
It may take a few visits to make your way past the
cliches in Yosemite, but the opportunities are
endless. I'm fortunate to live only a couple of
hours from this wonderful park and I never tire of
it's awesomeness and beauty. During the spring
months, the valley is typically en cased in fog
during the morning hours - it's just a matter of
choosing your location. It's easy to be humbled in
the grandeur of Yosemite Valley and it's a special
feeling to capture a scene like this where a 3,000
foot granite monolith can be shown as a gentle
whisper appearing through the fog.
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Frozen
Dawn
Lower Klamath NWR, CA/OR
images like this can be found just about anywhere
the rising or setting sun meets a frozen winter.
This one happened to be captured along the
"wildlife auto tour" within the Lower Klamath
National Wildlife refuge. Moments before the sun
hits the horizon, the sky is filled with colors
that explode on the landscape. Fortunately the
waterways in the refuge were only partially frozen,
leaving the shoreline a mix of open water, paper
thin ice and snowfall from the previous night. This
combination of water, ice, snow and color from a
glorious sunrise make this one of my favorite
images.
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Branches
& Snow
Yosemite National Park, CA
Lessons learned and visions developed. I have
always been taught that to be good at something,
you must learn from someone who's good at it. Thus
it is with photography and I have always sought and
admired the works of great photographers. While
visiting the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite, I
came upon a print by Charles Kramer. This was a
huge 20x30 EverColor print. This was the most
beautiful print I had ever seen. It inspired me.
Although the viewpoint was unique, I knew the exact
location he had taken the shot. I wanted to
duplicate it. As you might guess, my shot failed
miserably. But a lesson was learned - I had found a
new way to see parts of Yosemite I had never seen
before. And I thank Charles Kramer for that. The
"Branches & Snow" image seen here is my lesson
learned and I carry the same feelings about this
image that I did when first viewing that shot in
the Ansel Adams Gallery. For those not familiar
with Yosemite, the backdrop behind the tree
branches is the face of El Capitan.
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California
Poppy
Livermore, CA
In contrast to the "subtle" poppy, this image is
bold, bright and colorful. Again, it is difficult
to capture an image of a poppy without repeating
what has already been done. Capturing this image
from this perspective however wasn't so easy. With
the camera mounted upside down by reversing the
center column, I laid with my ear to the ground and
enough room to get my eye to the viewfinder. The
rest was a game of patience; waiting for the wind
to subside. And a little help from Velvia.
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Indian
Swamp
Yosemite National Park, CA
The winter of '94 and spring of '95 produced so
much run-off that Yosemite Valley was ravaged with
floods not seen in 100 years. The effects of this
flooding are still being felt today. Despite the
natural tragedy, the over abundance of water in the
valley provided great photographic opportunities.
Indian Swamp, located on the North Side drive just
below the towering El Capitan, typically holds
water every spring. This particular May found more
water than usual and a delightful late-spring snow
on the valley peaks. The image was captured on 4x5
using a 90mm lens while literally standing in the
water. The morning fog was lifting revealing the
scattering of snow on the valley walls beyond.
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Rural
Winter
Tule Lake, CA
Photography is all about capturing light. Light is
constantly changing as a result in changes in
seasons, time of day and the weather. This can be
frustrating when you're at one location where the
weather and lighting socks you in and around the
bend, magic is happening. This image is a case
where it wasn't happening and I went "chasing the
light." The sun was going down, fog rolling in, and
frustration mounting as I drove frantically
thinking I would miss it. Finally coming upon these
sprinklers in the snow-covered fields, I literally
slammed on the brakes got out without the benefit
of a tripod and snapped the image just before the
sun disappeared in the on-coming fog. I remained
frustrated about that shot - until I got the film
back.
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Oaks
in Spring
Mount Diablo State Park, CA
Valley and Blue oaks cover much of the landscape at
Mount Diablo State park. There are many grand
scenics like this along the twisting, turning road
that leads to the 4,000ft summit. I love this area
during the spring months when the hills turn from
brown to green, the poppies emerge and the
deciduous oaks sprout new greens. The hills and oak
woodlands as the sun drops towards the horizon turn
a golden color even Velvia has a hard time
matching. The use of long lenses, such as 200mm
here, allow a photographer to pick and choose
landscapes out of grand scenic views.
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Backlit
Rose
Livermore, CA
Much of the time we cannot always travel to far
away places to seek out images and must be content
with things close to home. This hybrid rose was cut
from the front yard and laid horizontally near a
sun-lit window. A simple image captured with a
105mm macro lens with some extension. Although I
prefer to be in the great outdoors with a camera,
the possibilities are endless even right at
home.
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Foxtail
Barley
Mono Lake State Reserve, CA
The hours near dawn at Mono Lake's South Tufa's is
something to be experienced and highly recommended.
The autumn mornings can be downright cold, the walk
to the tufas in the dark is silent and eerie, and
if you're lucky, the sunrise spectacular. But in
less than 30 minutes after the sun breaks the
horizon, the harsh light washes out the tufas.
After numerous visits though, you soon begin
seeking out the subtle and less obvious
opportunities this unique area has to offer. The
Foxtail Barley along with other grasses and plants
make for great subjects. Although the sun had
washed out the tufas, it was still low enough on
the horizon to be able to isolate this barley stalk
against a dark background.
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Mono
Lake
Mono Lake State Reserve, CA
The image here of the shores of Mono Lake taken in
late afternoon light is a great example of
"capturing a moment in time." It can be said that
this image is completely unique and can never be
duplicated. Why? because the shores of Mono Lake in
this image are now completely under water(salt
water that is.) In the 1940's, four out of the five
streams that fed Mono Lake were diverted to
Southern California to provide water. Mono Lake has
no outlet and the lake slowly began to evaporate. A
few years after this image as taken in 1993, the
streams were re-directed to flow in to Mono Lake
and the water level began to rise. Today, many of
the images you have seen of Mono Lake are long
since gone - only to bring new and challenging
opportunities to photograph a constantly changing
landscape.
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Egret
Taking off in the Rain
Fremont, CA
Most photographers might agree that there is an
element of "luck" in a great image. But we would
also agree and point out that without planning,
perseverance, knowledge of the subject, being
prepared, and "being there," we wouldn't capture
those images. This Great White Egret was captured
at the moment of flight as a light spring rain
began to fall. The timing was just right, the light
was great and a little rain provided the element of
luck. And what many would never know was how many
hours were spent watching egrets; their behavior,
the habitat, how to approach them and that for many
months I carried a camera and 300mm lens with me in
the car for just such an opportunity. Luck?
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Trunkfull
of Aspens
Silver Lake, Eastern Sierra's, CA
California certainly isn't known for it's fall
color like the Northeast, the Great Lakes, or even
Colorado and Utah. But there a plenty opportunities
for scenics of aspens set against the dramatic and
rugged Eastern Sierra Nevada's. While great
expanses of aspens are few and far between, small
groves of aspens are plentiful and provide endless
choices and you can shoot all day long. These aspen
trunks were captured at a picnic area alongside
Silver Lake on the June Lake Loop. A relatively
shallow depth of field created a soft background of
orange and yellow. Lot's of images of aspens, aspen
trunks and leaves over the years and I've always
liked this one.
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A
Settling Place
Lee Vining Creek, Eastern Sierra Nevada's, CA
Yes, the leaf images you see here were not natural
occurances; I helped the composition along by
placing the leaf. To me, the leaf does a number of
things for the image, mostly to give the image a
center of interest. So I'll count myself out as a
"purist." What I will never forget about this image
is that two years after this image was taken, I
returned to the same location, the same rock, and
found a leaf on the rock - naturally. Somehow I
felt that this was nature's way of showing me she
could do it to.
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Gateway
to the Valley
Yosemite National Park, CA
This is a classic scene in Yosemite taken from the
last pull out before leaving the valley. "Gateway
to the Valley," it is called, offers a spectacular
view of both Bridal Veil falls, El Capitan and even
Half Dome. During the winter when the Merced river
is at its lowest, "snow muffins" form atop the
rocks in the river after a snowfall. Many a
photographer, including myself have spent many
mornings and evenings at this locations just
waiting for that special light that hits the walls
of Yosemite Valley. Despite it's popular location,
you would be amazed how few people stop during
those special times around sunrise and sunset.
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California
Poppies and Sky
Livermore, CA
The California Poppy, the California State flower,
is found in abundance throughout most of the state
from early spring through early summer. At the
Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve near Lancaster, you
can see entire hillsides covered in Poppies and
various other flowers. Coverage and bloom will vary
from year to year depending on the amount and
timing of rainfall during the winter. This
particular image was captured along the road in my
hometown of Livermore. Whispery, Cirrus clouds
provided a dramatic backdrop to an otherwise
ordinary Poppy image.
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Floating
Leaf
Yosemite National Park, CA
This image could have been taken anywhere. I
happened to capture this one in Yosemite Valley on
a early November day that was drizzly, gray and
otherwise pretty miserable. It's times like this
when you look for the subtle, the small intimate
scenes. The lone sugar maple in the valley had lost
most of it's leaves, but the ones just fallen from
the tree were soaked in a rich red color that
couldn't be resisted. At the moment I had no image
in my head so I gathered up some leaves and tossed
them on the floor of the car. As I drove the loop
for the second or third time, I stopped at a
pull-out near Bridal Veil falls and spotted a
burned out stump of an old pine. The black,
weathered gnarled stump was a perfect backdrop for
the red leaf. Even though the leaf rested directly
on the wood, to this day regardless of whether I
look at a print or on a monitor, the leaf appears
to "float."
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Mono
Lake at Dusk
Mono Lake State Reserve, CA
Another image of Mono Lake that will never be seen
again. The water level is rising and the landscape
is constantly changing. Just after sunset when
enough light remains in the sky to illuminate the
landscape is a wonderful time to be at Mono Lake. A
20mm lens combined with a dramatic sky and a
weathered old tree branch made for a nice
composition along the shores of Mono Lake. A
graduated split neutral density filter helped tone
down the sky in order to bring some detail into the
foreground. Despite my many trips to this place, I
continue to be fascinated and entranced with it's
beauty.
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Dusk
on Mount Shasta
Lower Klamath NWR, CA/OR
You almost feel like you're in the "Big Sky"
country of Montana when you spend time in the
shadows of Mount Shasta in northern California. For
me, the sunsets here are simply gorgeous. This
simple image was taken right alongside state
highway 161. For ten years I have made a winter
trip to this area that sits on the Oregon and
California border. And for as many trips, I
continue to find beauty in an area that most folks
would simply drive through without stopping to
gaze. Winters can be brutal in this part of the
state, but for this photographer, beauty abounds
and numbs me to the cold.
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Lower
Klamath Sunset
Lower Klamath NWR, CA/OR
Very little, if anything, was performed on the
computer to enhance the color of this image. The
colors were simply intense. The image was taken
just a mile or so from the previous image along the
same highway, the year before. The quarter moon
adds a nice touch to an empty sky. Although sunsets
like this can be seen anywhere and are easily
photographed, it takes some time and a couple of
trips to be able to find and recognize the stark
beauty of this place. Mount Shasta, Lava Beds
National Monument, the national wildlife refuges
and even nearby Crater Lake provide so many scenic
opportunities that many photographers overlook them
while in pursuit of wildlife and waterfowl and
eagle opportunities (which are great by
themselves!) Should you ever get the chance to
visit the area, please feel free to contact me when
you go.
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Note:
For best viewing, set your monitor to High Color or True
Color (Thousands or Millions of Colors on MacOS) and
1024x768 pixels. These images have been carefully prepared
with a Gamma of 2.2 using the BruceRGB color space. This
should work well with high-quality Windows monitors. If you
are a MacOS user, set your Adobe Gamma control panel to
"Windows Default" or, at the last resort, choose the sRGB
calibrated profile in the Color section of your Monitors
control panel.
Please note: All images featured in this
showcase are Copyright Lon Overacker, all rights reserved.
These images are protected by U.S. and international
copyright laws and may not be used or reproduced without
permission. For licensing information, or to order prints,
please contact Lon Overacker at ljrack@aol.com
About the Exhibit:
This
month's PhotoTripUSA Showcase features Guest Photographer
Lon Overacker, presenting a collection of wonderful images
in both 35mm and 4x5, mostly from California.
Local
Color: Most
photographers might agree that there are plenty of images to
be captured close to home. A number of the images in this
portfolio were taken right in my hometown of Livermore,
California. Much of California has basically two seasons:
green and brown. Starting in February the golden hills begin
to turn green with spring. By April, California Poppies
scatter across the landscape. The poppies and oak woodlands
in spring are a wash in color and composition; calling the
photographer. The Subtle poppy and backlit rose were
captured right in my own yard. Possibilities are endless....
no matter where you live.
Yosemite
National Park: There
are few places in the world that have been photographed more
than Yosemite. And for good reason. Yosemite is a special
and awe-inspiring place; evoking inspiration to the millions
who have visited. John Muir once called Yosemite Valley the
"Incomparable Valley." Although my travels have been
limited, I happen to agree. Yosemite is less than 3 hours
from home and I've enjoyed and absorbed Yosemite's wonders
for a dozen years. And never tire of it. The photographic
challenges in Yosemite are capturing images that haven't
been captured before. This requires many visits throughout
all the different seasons, times of day and changing
weather. Opportunities abound when you're familiar with your
subject; spending time to capture it's moods, seasons, and
changing light. Sure, it's difficult not to be drawn to the
classic, cliche'd shots of Yosemite. But there is so, so
much more available if you can spend the time to look for
it.
Eastern
Sierra Autumn & Mono Lake: While California
certainly has a wide variety of photographic subjects, many
of which are unsurpassed in the world, California is not
usually where photograhers go for fall color. However that
doesn't mean there aren't plenty of opportunities; the
Eastern Sierra Nevada being the main one. Aspens provide
color, lining the rugged eastern valleys of the Sierra
Nevada range. Although this area doesn't even come close to
the expanse of aspens you might find in Colorado and Utah,
the California aspen landscape offers unique and dramatic
scenes of aspens with a backdrop of rugged, towering granite
peaks of the Sierras. Abundant too are the creeks, ponds and
groves of aspens for intimate shots of autumn in California.
From Bridgeport to Bishop, you can see just some of the
examples of what fall color can be captured in California.
Tule
Lake and Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuges,
CA/OR: Unlike
Yosemite and the Eastern Sierra, the region just northeast
of Mount Shasta, California can be driven through without
much of a second look. Hugging the California and Oregon
borders, this area is more widely known for it's wildlife
and large population of wintering Bald Eagles. In fact I was
first drawn to the area to see and photograph the eagles and
thousands of migrating water fowl. It took but one trip to
uncover the subtle and stark beauty of an area rich in grain
fields, but otherwise pretty dull when it came to scenic and
pictorial photography. I've since returned seven times to
capture scenes of Mount Shasta reflecting in the icy waters,
the rugged beauty of Lava Beds National Monument and the
whor frost of those wickedly cold winter mornings along the
border of California and Oregon. The landscape comes alive
after a night of "Tule" fog; frost engulfing trees and fence
lines. Some of the most beautiful and dramatic sunsets I
have ever witnessed have been during winters in the shadow
of Mount Shasta.
I
would love to hear from you! Please send all comments to my
e-mail at: ljrack@aol.com
About the Photographer:
"Capturing Moments in
Time" has been the driving philosophy behind my photographic
pursuits for over twenty years. No matter when or where I
may place the tripod and capture a moment in time, I feel
completely unique in all the world that I have captured
something that can never be duplicated. Sure, plenty of
images are seemingly identical when you place another tripod
in the same location with the same lens, same film, etc and
can essentially capture the same image. However, what has
changed and can not be re-captured, is time. A moment in
time has passed and can never be re-captured. This, along
with my own visions that have developed over time, make me
feel unique in a world of millions of photographers.
The first indication
I had that photography would prove to be a life's passion
was at the age of twelve when my family vacationed in
Glacier National Park. Armed with a Kodak Instamatic, I came
home with rolls of prints with not much more than pictures
of the Rocky Mountains. My father wondered why I took so
many pictures of just the mountains. I know now as I knew
then that well, they were simply beautiful. And now, not a
day goes by that with or without a camera, that I don't
visualize beautiful scenes where ever I go.
Although I haven't
pursued a career in photography, I have taken small steps
towards bringing my work to the public. I'm currently
represented by a stock agency in Japan and have publication
credits in Outdoor California, Hewlett-Packard's "Measure"
magazine and local publications like the Livermore Chamber
of Commerce directory. I've enjoyed being active in my local
camera club for many years and have been fortunate to win
many awards from the Alameda County fair, including four
"Best of Show" awards. The most recent endeavors have been
the design and building of my first web site and getting my
work visible on the internet. I must thank Laurent for
providing the opportunity to participate in the PhotoTripUSA
Showcase. Thanks Laurent!
Equipment Info:
My film of choice is Velvia. The key to
using this film is to know it's strengths and limitations.
In my opinion, it remains the sharpest transparency film
available and is now just about the cheapest! For 35mm
equipment, I shoot with a Nikon F4 and 8008S with various
Nikon lenses ranging from 20mm to the 80-200. In addition, I
use the Tamaron 300/2.8. For the last five years, Large
Format 4x5 has been my primary focus. I use a wooden 4x5
field camera with 90mm and 210mm Nikor lenses.
To see more of my
work and learn more about some of these images, please visit
my website at Lon J. Overacker
Photography.
Find photos of
the Colorado Plateau in Land of the
Canyons, the
Photo Trip USA landscape photography guide book. |