Triptychs: Matt Suess

"Zion Cascade" - Zion National Park, Utah.

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:05:41 GMT

]]>On my way to another location a mile or 2 upstream from this spot the lighting and scenery was too perfect to not stop and get a few photos.

Standing in the middle of the creek with my camera on a tripod I photographed this multi-image stitched panoramic under perfect lighting conditions.

Hours later when I was hiking back out I almost missed noticing this location again - the mid-afternoon sunlight shining down completely changed the look of this location and would have resulted in a vastly inferior photograph. As I often say, photography is all about light, and composition.

"Yaki Sunrise" - Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim, Arizona.

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:05:36 GMT

]]>I was in the middle of a week-long trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon when I photographed this scene.

A cloudy and rainy day before allowed me to scout the perfect location which I went back to the following morning a couple hours before sunrise to photograph this stunning multi-photo stitched panoramic - which provides me with a nearly 180 degree view.

You can read more about this photo trip to the Grand Canyon here.

"Sunrise at Bryce Canyon" - Utah

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:04:31 GMT

]]>The sun rises at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah in May of 2007.

I had done some scouting the evening before, hiking along the rim looking for good viewpoints. I found this location that evening, made a note of the spot, went back to my tent for the evening, and hiked back to it in the dark the following morning to be ready for this sunrise.

A total of 7 photographs were stitched together to give me this nearly 180 degree view. With the countless hoodoos in this scene one can understand just how difficult it was to make sure all 7 of those photos combined together perfectly. Many many hours in my digital darkroom were consumed making sure it was just perfect.

"Storm's Coming" - triptych - Rocky Mountain National Park, Colo

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:04:22 GMT

]]>This is a multi-image stitched panoramic photographed at an elevation of about 14,000 feet along Trail Ridge Road at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, in August of 2008.

The incoming storm brought some wind, rain, and a little sleet - not what I was expecting in August.

"Sedona Varnish" - Sedona, Arizona

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:02:47 GMT

]]>I was hiking along the West Fork Trail in Sedona, Arizona a few winters ago when I came upon a clearing and saw this stunning canyon rock wall in front of me.

I photographed this multi-photo stitched panoramic and intentionally left some of the tree branches in the photo to give it a sense of scale to the image.

"Powell Point Sunset" - Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:02:47 GMT

]]>I spent almost a week photographing the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona on this particular trip in 2007. This muli-photo stitched panoramic was photographed during sunset at Powell Point on the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park.

I waited the entire afternoon and evening in the mid-summer heat to photograph this scene. This is a 3-panel triptych panorama.

I originally thought I didn't get any great photographs this particular day as there were no dramatic clouds or light at sunset. But I later realized when editing my photos that I in fact did have a striking photo from that day. Instead of high contrast and bright colors, this sunset left me with quite beautiful and soft light, giving this photo a nice pastel feel with the soft colors.

Sometimes what you get is even better than what you expect.

You can read more about this photo trip to the Grand Canyon here.

"Powell Point Sunset" is a multi-photo stitched panorama photographed with my Canon 5D and 24-70mm lens.

"Pools of Enchantment" -Zion National Park, Utah

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:02:43 GMT

]]>This was photographed in Zion National Park in Utah. It is the result of an approximately 10 mile hike - a hike made more difficult for me having just recently recovered from a bad case of the stomach flu.

Shooting in RAW allowed me to capture and bring out all of the color and detail in this striking location. It is a mulit-photo stitched panoramic. It was photographed with my camera on the tripod, careful not to move the camera at all during the mulit-exposures while standing in moving water on a slippery slope.

"Monument Valley Sunset" - Arizona / Utah

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:02:14 GMT

]]>Both of my parents came to Arizona a few years ago to visit me and see the area for the first time. After bringing them to the Grand Canyon I brought them here to Monument Valley on the Arizona / Utah border.

They were there with me as I was photographing this incredible sunset. I recall seeing another photographer there that evening - he had just missed this sunset, arriving as I was folding up the legs to my tripod and preparing to leave. What a sunset he missed!!

This is a mulit-photo stitched panoramic providing a nearly 180 degree view. It is available as a 5-panel triptych panoramic.

Mather Point Sunset - Grand Canyon, Arizona

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:01:58 GMT

]]>This is a multi-photo stitched panoramic of sunset at Mather's Point - one of the most popular overlooks on the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

It was photographed in the summer of 2007 during a week-long photo trip I did to the Grand Canyon.

You can read more about this photo trip to the Grand Canyon here.

"Land Before Time" - Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:00:55 GMT

]]>A combination of 4 photographs were used to create this milti-photo stitched panoramic of a sunset in the Vermillion Cliffs of Northern Arizona.

A 4WD vehicle and some hiking was needed to get to this extrememly remote area. This was my second visit in 2 months. I have been told by a geologist that he believes the rocks to be old sand dunes from the Jurassic Period.

You can read a story about this location on my blog here.

"Kolob Canyons" - triptych - Zion National Park, Utah

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:00:54 GMT

]]>This panoramic was photographed in Zion National Park in Utah in 2008. It is a multi-image stitched panoramic.

I found this location to photograph earlier in the day and returned hours before sunset to photograph it. I waited until the setting sun behind me created an attractive shadow in the foreground to compliment the overall composition. Split ND filters helped me control the exposure so that the shadows didn't get too dark and the highlights didn't get too bright.

"Dawn" - Colorado

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:00:29 GMT

]]>This was photographed in 2009 in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It is a 5 photo stitched image photographed with a 24-70mm lens.

I saw this location a day earlier, but a little later in the morning when the sky was brighter and not as dramatic. I decided to return to the same spot the next day - earlier this time - so I could photograph this.

"Joshua Tree Sunset" - California

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:00:28 GMT

]]>A total of 21 separate photos went into creating this panoramic image photographed at Joshua Tree National Park in California.

Seven different compositions were made as I rotated the camera to provide me with about a 140 degree view. Each of the seven different compositions were photographed 3 times at different exposure settings - one for highlights, one for midtones, and one for the shadows. I used Photoshop for the stitching and Photomatix Pro for the HDR tonemapping.

"Cape Cod Sunrise" - Cape Cod, Mass.

matt@mattsuess.com (Matt Suess) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:00:27 GMT

]]>I lived on Cape Cod, Mass. for 7 years prior to moving to Arizona.

This mulit-photo stitched panoramic was photographed at one of my favorite areas there - on Sandy Neck Beach along Cape Cod Bay in Barnstable.