by successfulbob | landscape photography, Lumix GX8, Lumix Lounge, panorama, photography gear
Photography in the Marsh in Delaware
While the weather during the time I was on a family visit was less than stellar I thought I’d give you an overview of the scene from my mother-in-laws backyard. Photos of some of the wildlife from another post.
These two panoramic photos were captured with the Lumix GX8 and the Vario 12-35mm f2.8 lens. Very lucky to have this area as a playground when visiting.
View from the front. Panoramic Mode with the camera oriented vertically. Settings 1/1000 sec f4.0 ISO 800 18mm (36mm in 35mm equivalent)
View from one side. There’s a similar view on the other side with even less evidence of man in the view. Settings 1/2000 sec f4.0 ISO 800 35mm (70mm in 35mm equivalent)
The in-camera stitching on the GX8 is pretty amazing. In straightforward situations it makes a great pano. If you have highly complex subject matter like trees and/or patterns you might want to take two or three passes and check the details before moving on. If it is something very important I will make the in-camera panoramic and the I will also shoot the individual images in RAW for later stitching if I want super high quality. Many times I’ve been pleasantly surprised that I didn’t need to use the RAWs but I always like to back myself up.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | photography - art quote, photography education
Photo/Art Quote – Abhijeet Sawant
Take the time to think about today’s photo/art quote…
I have noticed a lot of photographs as beautiful subjects that don’t quite make it in my book as a beautiful photograph. Why because the maker didn’t wait for a fantastic lighting situation to push the shutter. Photography is ‘painting with light’ and many today are in too much of a hurry to work a scene to it’s fullest potential.
I believe this has a lot to do with many things. Our electronic age, the instant gratification of digital cameras and the instant display of images via social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter among others.
Ansel Adams was happy if he felt he created one solid image a month and I talk to photographers who are disappointed with their work if they haven’t produced a wonderful image today… on a regular basis.
“Patience is the essence of clicking great photographs!!” Abhijeet Sawant
If you would like to create memorable images may I suggest you take a deep breath, slow down and smell the roses, so-to-speak with your image capture and your post-processing.
Invest time in your craft. It’s worth it!
by successfulbob | bird photography, black & white, Lumix GX8, Lumix Lounge, photography, wildlife photography
Shooting the Birds – Delaware
My wife says the great blue herons all run for the hills when they see our car pull up as I have been stalking them on this property for years. I love those big birds.
Was visiting my mother-in-law this past week with my wife on our annual visit the family trip. It’s a great time to work on my wildlife skills. I thought I’d try pairing the Lumix GX8 with the 100-300mm Lumix Vario G f4.0-5.6 lens and boy I was happy. The GX8 has a fast capture rate which was great for sequences. I enjoy capturing birds with different behavior rather than just beauty portraits. As my MIL’s home is on the point with surrounding marsh there’s lots of wildlife on display for my camera.
The birds that gave me the most opportunity to study during this trip were snowy egrets. Most of the time it was raining and blustery winds coming from the northeast.
I enjoy how this egret appears to be dancing in this image. ISO 800 1/3200 sec. +1 exposure compensation Aperture Proiity f5.6 300mm (600mm 35mm equivalent)
This combination of lens, ISO and camera lend itself to a slightly grainy (aka noise) look. Because this is a small piece of the overall image I’ve pushed it here to emulate tri-x push process. The processors have given the noise in an image more of a film grain feel. ISO 800 1/1600 sec. Aperture Priority f5.6 300mm (600mm 35mm equivalent) Processed in NIK Silver FX Pro 2 (which you can now download fro free if you hadn’t heard the news!)
Geese are another ever-present bird on the marsh. ISO 800 1/3200 sec. +1 exposure compensation Aperture Priority f5.6 246mm (492mm 35mm equivalent)
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – You’ll notice that there are no great blue herons among my captures. That has nothing to do with me but a hawk family moved into the neighborhood and chased all the nesting herons from the area a couple weeks before my arrival.
by successfulbob | photography
Landscape Photography Magazine
Exquisite images of achingly beautiful places are found in this magazine produced in Scotland.
I’m not sure where I stumbled across this beauty, but extremely glad I did. Landscape Photography Magazine is a subscription-based online magazine that you can download to your computing device. Depending on your subscription level you can download all the content that’s available including all back issues, you would like or up to 12 current issues in a 365 day period.
Landscape Photography Magazine Banner for the current May issue
There is lots of free content available if you just want to go poke around. That’s how they got me! The free content was so good I wanted to go deeper in the pages of the magazine and download them onto my computer for the more in-depth views and articles.
Here’s the genesis of the magazine in the words of Editor Dimitri Vasileiou
“In 2011, when I founded Landscape Photography Magazine, I could only have imagined how popular it would now have become. As a landscape photographer, I always felt the need for a bespoke and unique magazine dedicated to the wonderous art of landscape and nature photography – in all its forms.
Now, five years later, LPM has gained worldwide recognition. With a rapidly growing following and subscriber base we can now proudly claim the title of the leading online landscape photography magazine.
Published every month, LPM and its accompanying website has over 300,000 unique visitors in more than 190 countries, making it a truly international photography magazine for the digital age. Packed with refreshing content, exciting features and stunning imagery from around the world – all provided by innovative professionals and enthusiasts who share one passion – that of landscape photography.
As LPM enters its sixth year, we have exciting plans in place to continue to move the magazine forward and cement its position in the marketplace. Watch this space and join us as we take you ‘Outside – On Camera – Online’.”
Click here for subscription rates
Hope you enjoy this magazine as much as I do.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | inspiration, photography, tuesday painterly photo art
Tuesday Painterly Photo Art – Helen Yancy
Tuesday’s on Successful-Photographer, now dedicated to the art of converting images beyond that of a photograph and converting the image in a more Painterly/Artistic direction. We’ll be taking to look at the artist/photographers who are forging their way forward in creating a new art form with photography at its base.
First up is a photographer Helen Yancy.
If you are a member of Professional Photographers of America (PPA) you have probably heard of Helen as she has been a stalwart of the organization having served on the Board of Directors and as President, and as a PPA Approved Juror and Jury Chair for many years. Helen has earned all the degrees and most awards offered by PPA.
Helen embraced Corel’s Painter Program to takes her images into the artistic realm and has been an instructor sharing her knowledge with fellow photographers ever since. Let’s take a look at some of Helen’s work.
Here is a before image
Here is the image after Painter. Helen said the panel of judges that viewed this were not for this treatment. When we are entering painterly images, we have to remember that art is very subjective.
This painted photo is Helen’s granddaughter captured during a senior portrait session – Painter portrait in the traditional style – high key
Your subjects don’t have to be human. Pet portraits are good in this market. (Heck the subject doesn’t even have to be alive. I’ve done art pieces of buildings for businesses. ed.)
Cat portrait painted by Helen
“Creating exquisite paintings from our images to a discerning clientele raise the perception of a photographer to that of an artist because the paintings truly are art pieces that will be a treasured investment for generations. There is certainly a learning curve, but learning to paint is possible for any photographer that has the desire. I will have a class soon in my camera room, very limited, and my book – Ordinary to Elegant: Painting with Photographs (or something like that) will be available for pre-sale on Amazon (published by Amherst Media) very soon.”
Helen
Helen Yancy Commissioned Portraits
Where the camera is only the beginning…
See more of Helen’s work here.
I hope you enjoy the new Tuesday Painterly series.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
