Taking Photos Sans People

I continually get good questions like, “How do you take photos without people in them???”  And then, even better, many people in the community respond for me, telling others how I do it!  That’s great… I really enjoy when you guys talk to one another, post links to show examples, and all this sort of thing.

Are you the silent reader type?  Don’t be!  We want to hear your thoughts and questions!

Anyway, to answer this perennial one, there are many ways.  But, in this case, I took the HDR in Aperture priority mode at ISO 50 and f/22.  By forcing these two, it made the shutter speed extra-long.  When the shutter is open a long time, people that are walking by do not even cast enough light to make any long-term difference on the sensor.  Does this make sense?  Maybe experiment a little and you will see what I mean.

Daily Photo – Old Forest After the Snowmelt

On another one of those painful mornings, I woke up early to explore all around Nikko.  Some snow had fallen during the night, and a warm morning sun helped to melt everything into reflective wet surface.  It also helped the leaves and bark to glow in an inviting way.  There are many beautiful old areas of Nikko that are separated by these long pathways through the forest.  It’s right out of a Final Fantasy game, and I could not help but stop every few hundred feet for another photo!