slices of sublime moments

slices of sublime moments

Slices of sublime beauty wait in the wetlands of Sedona. The more time I spend in nature the more gifts seem to come my way. I have found however, that I have to be open to the experience.

Open to the experience

Pursuing dragonfly images in the wetlands is joy to me. Having to slow down and observe moments and behavior allow my brain to take a break. Sometimes I have the end in mind to such an extent that I forget to leave room for happy accidents.

This day was not one of those.

Reeds from the wetlands in Sedona, AZ form beautiful shapes curves and lines

Gear

An Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III was fitted out with the new ** M Zukio 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 lens with an MC 20 2x extender. The long lens compresses the scene and helps create a shallow depth-of-field. The camera rested on a FotoPro Eagle E6L tripod. The built in gimbal head makes it easy to maneuver the camera lens combo.

Back button focus

Because I use back button focus when photographing wildlife the camera only changes focus when it is engaged. Because I have to search for the wildlife through a long lens the focus was slightly off as a scanned the reeds. What I saw was a little slice of magic. That serendipitous moment led me to try this as a technique. Light and shadow in yellows and greens played soft silhouettes in my viewfinder.

I worked the scene and share a couple of the resulting images here.

Post processing

Very little post-production was done on these photos. A little spot cleanup here, a tiny dodge and burn there were all that was needed. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do.

Yours in Creative Photography,     Bob

PS – if you have any questions let me know

** I am testing the 100-400mm lens. Release date is September 15th, 2020

Artist for 32nd annual festival of the cranes

Artist for 32nd annual festival of the cranes

Getting ready to head to New Mexico next week for the Festival of the Cranes held in Socorro and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve. (11/20-11/23) As the cover artist my crane art image will grace the cover of the brochure. In addition, it will be available for sale on T-shirts and coffee mugs. Sales of those items help support the friends of the Bosque and support the festival.

I’ll be on site with wildlife and avian art for sale, including prints of the cover art.

festival of the cranes art

Cover for the Festival of the Cranes

As always I’d be happy to chat with you about techniques, photography, and/or commissions. You can see more of my work by checking out my art site. coatesart.net

Yours in Creative photography,     Bob

art show opening first friday

art show opening first friday

First Friday in Sedona
Featured Artist at The Gallery of Modern Masters

I told you I had some news… And here it is.

I’ll be the featured artist at The Gallery of Modern Masters for the month of September. First Friday in Sedona will mark the opening of my new work being displayed. September 7th you are invited to join us for some wine and light hors’ dourves from 5 PM til 8 PM.

There will be new pieces on display for the first time. It turns out I must be in my ‘Gold Period’. Most of the new imagery features golden tones. Didn’t really think about it it just kind of turned out that way. Must be in honor of the fall season. I chat with Tom Taback of KAZM about my art and process for its creation. You can listen to the 20-minute KAZM Radio show Tech Talk from August 28th below.

 Tech Talk on KAZM August 28, 2018

canvas prep for new show at gallery of modern mastersNew work being prepped for Gallery of Modern Masters Show

Friday, September seventh 5 PM – 8 PM
Gallery of Modern Masters
671 State Route 179
(Hillside Sedona)
Sedona, Arizona 86336
928-282-3313 Toll-free 888-282-3313

Yours in Creative Photography,      Bob