Since I have started back to hiking through the red rocks in Sedona once again, I’ve had a great time making images that show the best part of hiking. For these images, I was using the Lumix G9 and the 12-60mm Leica DG VARIO-ELMARIT f2.8-4.0 lens. This combo has a substantial reach and weighs in about three pounds which is hugely manageable on trails that are considered wilderness by the forest service. Wilderness trails mean clambering over, up and down medium size rocks, so the weight is a factor.
Wilderness area trail photo of the back side of Courthouse Butte – Sedona, AZ
As the trail moves toward another iconic feature called Bell Rock
Meet my twisted friend the juniper.
Lots of interesting junipers litter the sometimes otherworldly landscape of Sedona. Fun fact – the seeds need to pass through a bird to germinate.
This from an article on Lubbock Online by ELLEN PEFFLEY who taught horticulture at the college level for 28 years, 25 of those at Texas Tech, during which time she developed two onion varieties. She is now the sole proprietor of From the Garden, a market garden farmette. You can email her at [email protected].
“The fruit botanically are cones but, unlike pinecones that are dry and open, the fleshy and fused closed scales of juniper resemble berries, thus the reason fruit of juniper is usually referred to as a berry. Berries mature over 18 months, at first green and turn a dark-blue purple or bluish color as they mature. Berries are visible during the winter months. Each berry develops six triangular, hard black seeds, which are eaten and scattered by frugivorous birds.
“A word for the word jar: frugivorous, defined by Merriam Webster as fruit-eating. Fruit is the preferred food for frugivorous birds, which swallow the fruit whole, digest the fleshy scales, pass the hard-shelled seeds through the gut and disperse the seeds. This is why seedling junipers pop up in unusual surroundings.” http://www.lubbockonline.com/life/2017-01-09/peffley-juniper-berries-sought-birds-food-flavor-base-gin
I am incredibly fortunate to live in a picturesque area filled with red rocks, blue skies, and bounteous wildlife. I carry a camera with me wherever I go. I used to try to do this in the past but found myself parking my camera when I wasn’t officially working because the weight was uncomfortable. As a Panasonic Lumix Ambassador, I find that I have a camera with me at all times because the gear is lightweight and gives me the quality I need.
Path down to Bell Rock in Sedona made with FZ2500
My quest for lighter weight gear was prompted by my wife Holly who pointed out that I was hauling thirty-five pounds of photo gear with me on personal trips. When I said, “What’s your problem? You aren’t carrying it.” She replied, “Neither are you as you often leave the gear in the room because it is so uncomfortably heavy. My wife is a brilliant woman who knows how to pierce my sometimes thick skull.
Today I’m featuring the Lumix FZ2500 which is a prosumer camera. It can do almost everything as it is an all-in-one with a zoom range of 25-480mm and tons of features. The FZ2500 is a little under 2 1/2 pounds. The beauty is that it can focus in macro mode almost as close as you can get the camera to the subject. With the built-in f2.8-4.0 power zoom lens, it has a reach of 480mm optical. That’s a long way!
Detail of Courthouse Butte
One more thought is that many times a crop of the photo can be much stronger image and tell the story in a better fashion. Here’s square crop of the top photo in the post.
A stronger rendition of the top photo with a square crop.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – Take ten bucks off Luminar or other Skylum software with the coupon code – COATES
Photographer Muse – Part Two (or Deux if you prefer)
I shared how much I enjoy working with Pash. I can’t give her enough credit for coming up with concepts she would like to pursue that lead me to new imagery. She knows how to move, and hold a pose, when necessary. Both are equally powerful skills. See my original post about my muse here.
Learn more about Pash and her work with modeling, mask making, performance and more here.
And now to the images.
This image is pushed to high exposure.
Going very high key with the exposure of the image with the ND filters in place allow the wind to play a part giving an even more ethereal feel to the image as the leaves and cloth wrap blow gently.
ND filters are by Tiffen. It’s the Pro100 package which includes the holder, a 1.2, and a 1.2 graduated filter. For this shoot, I had a 3.0 and the graduated filters. You can buy much less expensive filters but in ND you get that for which you pay. These are very thick optically pure glass filters.
This one turned out a bit spooky!
All the images were photographed in the same space, but all have a different feel.
A different view of the creek and the amount of space my model Pash takes up within the frame makes for a very different look for all the photos. Let me know which one is your favorite and why. It would be interesting to see the various responses.
All images were created in Infrared made with Lumix G6 converted by LifePixel.
A 14-140mm (28-280mm 35mm equivilent) lens was used. This allowed for the significant changes in framing without spending time swapping out lenses. Files were processed with Adobe Photoshop and Skylum’s Luminar 2018.** Some images were givin a little extra glow. I set up a preset in Luminar to get the image close to where I wanted then tweaked from there.
If you haven’t captured photos in infrared with a digital camera here is what a file looks like when downloaded in RAW to the computer.
SOOC Infrared RAW file.
The files captured in the IR spectrum need some work as you can see. The nice part of using the Panasonic camera with live view set to monochrome allows you to get a better idea of what the final image will look like. If you shoot RAW plus jpeg, you will end up with a magenta version as above and a black and white version. Can be very handy when you first start shooting IR.
Yours in creative Photography, Bob
PS – Save $10 on Luminar 2018 by using the Promo Code COATES
I gotta tell ya it is some kind of wonderful to have a creative person who enjoys being in front of the camera! I’ve never had a muse before. For those who might not know the term here’s the Dictionary definition.
Verb (used without object),mused,mus·ing.
to think or meditate in silence, as on some subject.
(in Greek and Roman mythology) each of nine goddesses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who preside over the arts and sciences.
synonyms:
inspiration, creative influence, stimulus;
formalafflatus
“the poet’s muse”
2.
a person or personified force who is the source of inspiration for a creative artist.
Having a person who is an artist in their own right is a gift. Pash has ideas, shares them with me and then lets the chips fall where they may. We start to make photographs with her thoughts in mind then we go wherever the first situation takes us. She has an intimate relationship with the environment which is usually the starting point. Then I add a couple of thoughts to refine, and we experiment and play, and this invariably leads me to create new imagery that I find exciting.
I usually end up pushing my personal boundaries as we work together. And then, even more, when I get into post-production.
Our latest foray into collaboration led to a photo session on Oak Creek in which she had a thought of ‘creating a mermaid.’ I had the urge to play with infrared and had her do some warm-up posing on the rocks with a dress, flowing cloth and au’ natural.
This Photo has the feeling of a Greek Statue to me. Infrared made with Lumix G6 converted by LifePixel
As the session went on, I added Tiffen neutral density filters to extend the time that the shutter would be open.
The neutral density filters extended the time allowing the wind to register in the trees.
This image reminds of one of the classic painters.
Living in Sedona is quite a blessing. When I want to experiment there is no lack of obvious subject matter. The red rocks all have different shapes and appear different at differing times of day and night leading to a veritable plethora of images that can be photographed with additional techniques and shared.
On Sunday morning I was up just before the sun made its appearance for the day. I grabbed my tripod. Well, if I must tell the truth, I grabbed my camera (lumixG9) and some lenses, rushed out the door, jumped into the car and headed off to catch the rising sun and quickly coloring clouds. Then I turned the car around and went BACK for the tripod wasting beautiful light in the process. But that’s why we are considered pros. We can come back from a less than perfect situation and still have some nice images. ( or… I guess a real pro would have had the tripod to begin with. But, I digress)
I took a different road than usual. I made a five exposure bracket with the camera on a tripod. I used three of the images processed in *Aurora HDR 2018. This angle made the red rocks feel rather majestic.
Today’s savior was the ability to bracket images and extend the range of light the image can show. Without HDR and the processing software in my tool-bag I would have had a pretty bland results. As it was I found some interesting angles and areas that in which I don’t often shoot.
Another not so frequented road let me see this rock formation with trees issuing forth. Again processed with Aurora HDR software from a three exposure bracket.
The back side of Cathedrlal Rock with the rock outcrop. Three exposure HDR with one stop oveand one stop under.
Without the hdr system the trees which were in shadow would have been very blocked up and noisy. Making multiple exposure allows the photo to repliatewhat the eye sees. The eye constantly is changing ‘exposure’ with the pupil opening and closing depending upon the brightness of the scene.
In a couple days I’ll show you the hero shots of the backside of Cathedral Rock.
Yours in Creative Photography, Bob
PS – I was using the Lumix 12-60mm LUMIX G LEICA DG VARIO-ELMARIT PROFESSIONAL LENS
This lens has a great range from wide angle to medium zoom and covers a lot of my needs. There is also a kit lens with this range that is not as fast.
* Save $10 with the coupon code ‘COATES’ on AUrora HDR or other Skylum software
For infrared conversion of my cameras I use LifePixel. Infrared allows you to put an older camera to use and opens up a new time time of day for productive image creation.
Fotopro tripods are well worth checking out. You can learn about the ones I use and recommend by clicking on the Fotopro Tripods link at the top of this page. If you want to see what other tripods might fit your needs check out the Fotopro.com website. Check back with me before you buy as a Fotopro Ambassador I’m able to get you discounted pricing including complementary continental USA shipping for my followers that you won’t find through retail outlets.
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Platypod has become a great resource for being creative in getting your camera gear easily into unusual places. As an Platypod Pro I get to work/play with the gear even before it comes out. Head over to Platypod, subscribe to the newsletter and you will get special discounts reserved only for subscribers.
