Red Rock Canyon, Reimagined
Boris Tahmasian uses his arsenal of Tamron lenses to capture landscape photos in Nevada’s iconic conservation reserve.
Author: Jenn Gidman
Images: Boris Tahmasian
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Boris Tahmasian uses his arsenal of Tamron lenses to capture landscape photos in Nevada’s iconic conservation reserve.
When Boris Tahmasian first got out of high school, he wanted to be an architect, and he even worked for an architectural firm for two years. “After arriving in Boston, I tried to apply to the Boston Architectural College,” he says. “But at the time, I wasn’t yet a US citizen, so there were logistical roadblocks to getting in to that school. I went to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design instead and later obtained a business degree from Emmanuel College, which changed my professional trajectory completely. If the requirements to get in to the BAC had been a little less stringent, I’d be an architect today, not a photographer.”
Now living in Las Vegas and with decades of various photography genres (wedding, commercial, product, etc.) under his belt, Boris has turned his attention to fine-art and landscapes, most specifically via his “Red Rock and Joshua” project—a 90-page online book found on his website that details the stunning beauty of Nevada’s Red Rock Canyon and its resident Joshua trees. With his work shaped by the classic influences of Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Edward Weston, Boris traveled to the canyon in the Mojave Desert 32 times over almost a year and a half to create images for his book, concentrating on presenting familiar scenes in unexpected ways.
Boris turned to an all-Tamron lineup of lenses—seven in total. Five lenses were used predominantly to document the canyon. Taking center stage in the project were the Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD ultra-wide-angle, 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD ultra-wide-angle lens, 28-75mm F/2.8 Di III VXD G2, the 70-180mm F/2.8 (now available in a VC G2 version), and 50-400mm Di III VC VXD, all for his Sony mirrorless camera system. On each day in the field, Boris would take just one lens, letting that lens dictate the day’s results and challenge him artistically.
“All of these lenses are versatile and sharp and offer me the range I need for a day in the canyon,” he says. “The F2.8 aperture on the faster lenses ensures I can shoot even in low light, and the VC feature on certain lenses means I can tamp down on camera shake during my hikes. Most of my Tamron lenses are lightweight and compact. The 20-40 and 70-180 in particular are ideal for when I want to pack light and have a nice wide range of coverage. I’m not going to compromise on quality when I shoot. I consider myself an unofficial ambassador for Tamron, because I tell every photographer I meet how terrific their lenses are.”
BORIS’ QUICK TIPS
Scout your location and take some establishing shots.
When you’re photographing a natural landscape, especially a location that’s vast or remote, consider scouting the place and taking some establishing shots. In this case, the photo of the Overlook Trail sign serves as a visual reference point, helping viewers orient themselves in the environment. I’m on the periphery of the canyon here, and the sign points to the trail that leads you to the most spectacular part of the canyon—the view from the overlook. Plus, showing a man-made object like this against the natural landscape reminds us of the human element that has infiltrated these once-unexplored areas.
The decision to shoot the Joshua trees ‘portrait style.’
Each tree, rock, or formation has its own “personality”; no two are alike. For this particular project, when I photographed Joshua trees, I shot each picture as if I were taking the tree’s portrait—meaning I’ll intentionally shoot at wide apertures to put the scenery in the back, like the mountains, out of focus and keep the Joshua tree sharp and separated from that background. I shot this photo at F3.5 because I didn’t want the front branches to be in focus and the back branches not. It was a balancing act between a shallow depth of field at F2.8 for better bokeh or stopping down a bit to allow more of the main subject, the Joshua trees, to be in focus.
The ‘right light’ can come in many forms.
That could mean capturing a serendipitous sunburst, like I did here on “20-40mm day.” I loved the backlit vegetation here, so I dropped down so my camera was about 4 or 5 inches off the ground to best capture that. I wanted the mountains slightly out of focus, with the eye drawn to the backlit vegetation and that cool sunburst. I didn’t want to shoot higher than F/11, however, because at that point the diffraction would’ve kicked in, causing me to lose some sharpness.
Don’t be put off by lighting on overcast mornings, either, like this photo of the rock formations enveloped in mist. I love the layering and mystery of this scene. I’d underexposed it a bit, and the scene was very gray as originally shot, so I very subtly pulled out some colors in Photoshop, being careful not to overdo it.
Revisit the same spot for different takes.
It’s not just the lighting in Red Rock Canyon that can transform a scene—it’s the clouds. Dramatic skies can elevate a composition from beautiful to breathtaking. That’s what this valley shot for me was all about: clouds that are massive, textured, and almost surreal, like something out of a storm-chaser’s reel. I visited the canyon dozens of times and only saw this particular scene, with these types of clouds, once. That’s the magic of revisiting a place like Red Rock Canyon: Keep going back, even if the forecast doesn’t promise perfection, because you’ll capture a different photo each time.