by successfulbob | bird photography, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, wildlife photography
I’ve always had a hankering to photograph birds… Not sure where it comes from. Perhaps the thought of the freedom of being able to fly away at a moment’s notice. I know I always enjoyed going fast. Loved windsurfing and the freedom that gave… It was on a par with flying. in fact sailing uses the same physics as flying. But, I digress.
Went out to photograph the Sandhill Cranes this morning.
Feeding as the sun rises. Sandhill Cranes in silhouette in Sarasota, Florida
A couple cranes dancing with each other in the sunrise in silhouette. I often look
for a bit of behavior other than feeding or standing to add some action to the image.
Tips on photographing birds…
Arrive about 45 minutes to 1 hour before sunrise. The birds will start to become active a little after first first light. If they see you coming in they will tend to split.
Try to set up so you are downwind of the birds or at an angle to the wind so they fly across your field of view. They are going to take off flying into the wind. If you are upwind you’ll get lots of bird butts.
Try have the sun behind or slightly to the side of you for best light on the subject. (or prepare to work with silhouettes as I’ve done here)
Of course a long lens is very helpful. For these I used the Lumix GH4 and the 100-300mm Lumix G Vario f4-5.6 lens. A faster lens would have been better but the reach of this is quite good (200-600mm 35mm equivalent) At just under $500 this is a pretty nice lens to chase waterfowl with…
More bird stuff tomorrow.
Your in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Happy Sunday!
Let’s talk about a mindset for creating photographic art courtesy of Henry David Thoreau in the book Walden.
“Only that day dawns to which we are awake.” Henry David Thoreau
Why do pop into philosophy when talking about creating art? I believe to create the best work, or to see many things to which we are exposed that could become art, we have to live and be in the moment. Many times in our lives we tend to miss out on many opportunities because we are living either in the past or the future.
“What the heck are you talking about Bob???”
How many times in the day do you put yourself in automatic mode? By that I mean as you do things are you aware that you are doing them while you are doing them? Or, are you thinking about something that happened yesterday that was a problem or worried about something that hasn’t happened yet that MIGHT be a problem? Ever driven home and wondered how you got there? Do you always brush your teeth exactly the same way? Eaten a meal but not tasted the food? These are all signs you are not in the moment and might be missing out on your life.
It is the brain’s job to create thoughts. Tons of thoughts. When chatting about this with another photographer she said, “I know what you mean! I call it my ‘circus’ when I can’t get my brain and inner voice to be quiet!” It’s also the brain’s job to do things automatically for us like regulate our heart. Make the lungs take in air and expel it. All that is great, and quite wonderful, until we allow the brain to control too many things without being in the moment concouisly thinking.
How can we start to take back the brain and make it help us better?
Learn to meditate.
Here are some simple ideas for getting into meditation. Brush your teeth or shave with your opposite hand. Take a different route to and from work or the store when driving your car. Concentrate on one thing at a time. The idea of multitasking is a misnomer. Your brain can not do multiple things at one time it must switch modes and it will actually take longer to do the tasks.
SIT for a little while and be here now. What sounds do you hear? Take control of your breathing and be aware of it. When a thought comes unbidden let it go. There is a book that I found helpful on learning how to meditate by Jon Kabat-Zinn called Wherever You Go – There You Are It gives you exercises and ideas on learning to quiet to mind so you are here now.
Ever notice when you go on a trip you find a lot more photo opportunities? That’s an example of leaving our automatic self behind and seeing what s right in front of you. That’s what I’m talking about!
BE
HERE
NOW
As a friend of mine used to say, “I have an extremely busy day today! I better meditate for an hour rather than for fifteen minutes…”
Seems counter-intuitive but she accomplished an awful lot on a regular basis!
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | fine art photography, photography, photography education
I love textures!
If you have followed me for any length of time you know I use textures as elements in creating my photography based artwork. I started collecting textures long before I ever began using them. I would find the ‘found’ collection of elements like piles of leaves, nature grasses, peeling paint and the like and make a photo and save it to the pile. Now I have a rich stockpile of textures to choose from when creating using the process I call ‘Photo-Synthesis’.
While strolling on the beach on Anna Maria Island I happened across this sand formation. Photographed it many different times because even a small difference in the layering of the sand granules or the pattern made by the ridges can make a difference in how the texture will play with the layer below it when using Blend Modes in Photoshop.
Fine sand patterns built by the sea…
While scouting and collecting the sand patterns I found this crab skeleton and there’s something about it…
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, people photography, photography, photography education
RJ CAN WAIL!
Lots of high energy from the rockin’ blues band RJ Harman and Company! I told you I like to practice and play on my vacations. It gives me a chance to stretch and add to my bag of tricks with no pressure. Last night I went to the Blue Rooster in Sarasota to hear RJ and Company. Based in Orlando this harmonica driven band has toured all over the United States, played with many national touring acts and hold numerous titles from the International Blues Challenge.
RJ Harmon and Company live at the Blue Rooster in Sarasota, FL
Lumix GH4 with 35-100mm f2.8 VARIO lens 1/80 sec f2.8 3200 ISO
I had my trusty Lumix GH4 on hand for the festivities and it really helps to have the density range of the camera and the speed of the glass when photographing stage lighting. I used to have to shoot multiple images and blend them together in post but now with a few tweaks in Adobe Camera RAW I have details in the shadows and highlights are not blown out.
I also decided to have some fun with motion and the 12 FPS on the camera gets a nice series of images to create animated gifs.
Here’s the drummer and RJ with approximately 40 images stitched into gifs
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix Lounge, Lumix LX100, photography, photography education
FEELING GREEN…
Much like Kermit the Frog would say that’s not a bad thing. Living in the high desert as I do the predominant colors spectrum is pretty muted and in the red and brown neighborhood. And if there is green it’s on the dry side not vibrant. Contrast that with being in Florida and almost everywhere you look green pops out at you. When I am looking for personal subjects to shoot I often look for a target like a subject or a color to make me look harder for images and toe stretch. So the last day or so I’ve been looking to make images for the color green…
You just never know where it might lead you… Top two images were captured with the Lumix GH4.
I love the glowing color and wavy detail from the underside of a banana leaf that is back lit from the sun.
Lens Lumix G Vario 35-100mm f2.8 1/125 sec f4.5 ISO 200
While the prominent color of the image is in the warm tones the neon green bee jumps out…
Lens Lumix G Vario 35-100mm f2.8 1/200 sec f6.3 ISO 1600 – added 26mm of Vello Extension tubes That is one small critter!
OK let’s make a visual pun. Can anyone say ‘green-screen’??
This was shot with the DMC LX100 1/125 sec f2.8 ISO 320 I call this camera the ‘Pro’s Point & Shoot’ as all the controls for shooting settings are available outside the menus on dials with click stops like the old days… Feels pretty retro.
I find that little self assignments like this make me look harder for images, and usually, I’ll make better images than just pointing the camera and shooting. It seems to make me look harder no matter what the ‘assignment’ might be and seems to lead to better photos in the long run.
What’s your next ‘assignment’?
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
