by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, people photography, photography, photography education
On the riverboat cruise at the TNPPA Convention last week I happened across these blue eyes of a child sitting on his father’s lap. I was breaking in my use of a new lens to me, the Lumix G Leica DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm/F1.2 Lens. It is a sweet piece of glass. Enjoying the shallow Depth of Field These images are pretty much straight out of the Lumix GH4 camera with a small exposure adjustment. Be aware of beautiful light moments with wonderful subjects… But remember to ask if it’s OK to make the image.
Dad’s blue shirt and his plain grey shirt along with the tight crop allow his eyes to take center stage.
He was getting a bit of extra direction from grandpa and others so we started to loose expression but I still think it’s cute.
He was very cooperative but I’ll bet he was a bit on the tired side. He enjoyed seeing his photos on the back of the camera.Yours in Photography, BobPS I’ve lost my formatting on the upgrade to the latest version of WP. I’ll work on getting the old look back ASAP.
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography, photography education
I was working with a new lens the Lumix G Leica DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm/F1.2 Lens and is it sweet and fast. In this play session after a couple days of judging and presenting at the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association convention thought I’d try some fun stuff with Sarah Wykhuis. She was a great subject. It started in the hall when she was standing near a light. I set the camera for a high contrast black and white look.
Sarah in the hall. Kind of a Julia Roberts look don’t you think?
Then we went outside to shoot in the dark to see what we could see. It was pitch dark so we used the building lighting and fellow photographer and presenter Pierre Stephenson used his IPhone to add a bit of fill light.
I shot in RAW plus jpeg so I could get to all the info presented to the camera and was surprised at how much detail I was able to pull form the file. Camera was Lumix GH4.
I always advocate getting out to play. You learn the limits of your equipment, sharpen your skills and discover new ways of doing creative imagery.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, people photography, photography
It was a blast creating images for the Greenfield/Weems real estate team photo session. While they need to project professionalism they want to add personality to their ad campaigns. Here’s an image that is just a bit different going all out for the personality!
Jolynn, Robin and Jackie from Greenfield/Weems Real Estate office.
I work in a fairly small (16’x16′) shooting studio so I take advantage of that and use my walls as lighting modifiers. In this shoot there’s one Paul C Buff light with a 7 inch reflector just to camera right pointing to the corner and ceiling of the room. This is metered to be about 2/3rds of a stop less than the main light. Another PCB light is forward of camera left just in front of the clients and pointing straight toward the wall. The reflecting light from these surfaces gives solid modeling and very soft shadow edge transitions. If I was photographing males or wanted a more dramatic lighting pattern I could lower the power on the fill light or increase the power on the main light or both. Since these images are going to be cut out I used a Super White background paper from Savage. Camera was the Lumix GH4 with a 12mm-35mm f2.8 Lumix Vario Lens. (24mm-70mm 35mm equivalent)
The clients were stripped out from the background and a soft drop shadow added.
Yours in Photography, Bob
by successfulbob | architectural photography, commercial photography, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography
The Hilton Phoenix Airport Hotel is going through an eight million dollar renovation. New colors. New decor. Some new layouts. Very bright, modern and soothing which will be a totally different look from the southwest theme that’s been there for years. I think you’ll like it!
Pool area at the Phoenix Airport Hilton Hotel.
New room decor with all new colors and furnishings. My wife walked in to the office while I was working on these photos and said, “I like that!” She stays there a lot when we travel for pleasure too.
These images are a bridge for the web site use while they continue the renovation. After the renovation is complete there will be a complete advertising and marketing image shoot to show you the entire new look. In the meantime this is a sneak peek into the all new color scheme at the Hilton Phoenix Airport.
This was photographed with the Lumix GH4. Easy to make multiple exposures for blending the various lighting situations throughout the room. There’s light from the exterior which skews toward the blue spectrum. Light from the lamps were florescent which skews toward yellow/green. Using multiple exposures and blending the color from the different exposures helps make the room look like it does to the eye. One exposure would never allow you to see the detail in the shadows and the highlights. There is an extra stop of light with the GH4 which also helps in this situation.
I stay at this property all the time. I call it my home away from home. Living in Sedona I usually need to be in Phoenix the night before a flight so I don’t get caught in any traffic problems. Staff here is extremely friendly and helpful and always greet guests with a smile… Check it out next time you are in the Valley of the Sun in Arizona.
by successfulbob | fine art photography, graphic design, Lumix GH4, Lumix Lounge, photography education
The salesman for neon signs in Austin, Texas could sell ice to Eskimos in their Igloos!
At the very least he or she is very good at what they do. The neon in and around Austin’s downtown area is very creative and plentiful. When I came to town to meet with fellow Panasonic Lumix Luminaries for a brainstorming session after dark I hit the streets to see what I might capture.
Here’s the Heritage Boot sign just down the street from my motel.
This was created using three separate exposures and layering them together in Photoshop using masks and blend modes. I really like the feel of this… bright and warm yet it has an old time feel at the same time.
If you are ever in need of some beautiful boots this is the place! They are stunning.
Tripod is from the MAC Group MeFoto backpacker model. Easy to pack and surprisingly stiff with a nice ball head. Goes for around $150 bucks. Folded it’s about 12 and a half inches. (OK 12.6 inches) and will expand to 51.2 inches. Camera Lumix GH4 with 35-100 f2.8 with three different exposures and some zooming for extra interest.
Yours in Photography, Bob
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by successfulbob | black & white, Lumix GH4, photography education
I was asked the question how do you a black and white image conversion. To steal a quote from Willy Shakespeare, “Let me count the ways…”
That’s kind of like asking ‘What film do you use?’ Or, ‘What are the settings on your camera?’ I use multiple methods depending upon the image and ultimate use of the image. Is it for a fine art landscape? Portrait of a person? Architecture? What are the different colors within the image? Is it being printed on canvas, photo paper, in a magazine or newspaper” All have a different feel and needs… We can now touch every single pixel in an image and control it’s tone Ansel Adams would have been in heaven!
I have an action that incorporates using the LAB mode. Covert to LAB throw away the A and B Channels. (that’s color info) convert to Greyscale. Convert back to RGB. Add a curves bump to taste.
Black and white converter in Photoshop.
Channel mixer.
Hue saturation.
NIK Silver FX Pro 2. Wonderful software!
Combinations of some of the above methods mixed together for different areas of the image.
Now my Lumix mirrorless cameras have presets that give me results that are repeatable and quite interesting. I shoot RAW plus jpeg to have the information that was presented to the camera and sometimes I will take the camera BW jpeg and also process the RAW and mix them together to get the look I want.
In Austin Texas with the Luminary team. Went to a BBQ place last night. Illustrative Art setting
pushed to black and white on the Lumix GH4
Don’t forget there are more tweaks that can be made to specific areas of an image by dodging and burning. (avoid using the dodge/burn tool in Photoshop! It mashes up pixels. Instead create a soft light layer and paint with black at a low percentage to burn. Another layer paint with white to dodge)
Their could be a whole field of study here just on this subject. I have a two hour program talking about this and could probably do a two day class on this subject called ‘Inspired by Ansel’
Here is a link to some blog posts on black and white shooting. https://chd.lzi.mybluehost.me/category/photography/black-white
