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 | 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
by successfulbob | lighting, Lumix GH4, Lumix GX7, photography, photography education, photography lighting resources
We all use social media to promote our photography business. But, I ask how do you show up? Do your have a professional portrait that shows that you value professional photography? Or, have you posted a snapshot, or worse, a cellphone selfie?
I’ve made many self portraits with the camera mounted on a a tripod and triggering the camera with a remote or worse yet using the timer and running back to get the photo. It takes lots of effort. And, while it has a professional look I haven’t always ended up with the ideal expression.
I have an idea for you. Get together with a fellow professional photographer and take each others head shot. I guarantee you’ll have a good time, learn something new, (‘cuase we all lend to light a bit different) and end up with a portrait you’ll be proud to use for the next year…*
Here are some results from working with my friend Silvio of Silvio Portrait Design.
This was photographed using a wide open garage door as the light source. A black fill was used camera right to add some dimension. Captured with the Lumix GH4 and the 35-100mm Lumix Vario f 2.8 lens
Here’s a different look clothing and pose same lighting.
And here’s one that has a totally different lighting scheme. This was done with three Pro Photo B1 lights ** and a white reflector. The main light was camera left and encased with a 36 inch Octobox. The fill light was an umbrella bounced into the white ceiling of the 8 foot garage. A third light was used to add a background light. You can see when you craft the light you can get lots more depth to the photo.
* Notice I said next year, not the rest of your life. If there’s one thing that’s worse than a crappy selfie it would be one that is out of date…
** The Pro Photo B1 lights were pretty sweet to work with. Very powerful and versatile. They are battery powered heads meaning no cords to be tripping over and these were matched to the TTL of the canon camera that Silvio uses.
by successfulbob | black & white, Lumix Lounge, photography
Heading to Denver tonight to do some speaking at Mike’s Camera stores Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Photo Expo. I’ll be talking about the Lumix 4K video capabilities and some of the new cameras Panasonic is putting out. It’s some pretty amazing stuff. If you are in the Denver area stop by Mike’s and check out the new Micro 4/3rds 4K video gear!
Here’s the the stuff I’ll be touching on…
Fine Art, Commercial Photography and 4K Videography
Program description – Fine Art and Commercial Photography is a specialty of Lumix Luminary Bob Coates. 4K video capture is a specialty of the newest cameras in the Lumix line. Bob has been working on ways to use the 4K video capture to enhance his commercial and art captures by pulling stills for processing into artistic images. Bob will also share some of his ideas on using Photoshop to max out the potential of the capture possibilities.
Friday in Boulder. Saturday in Park Meadows. Sunday Colorado Boulevard store.
Had to add some photos to the post so I thought a couple details from the Denver airport would do nicely…
Took away the clarity and most of the color in post…
The brushed metal and slick floor called for the exact opposite treatment and all color was removed and more sharpness added.
Images were captured with the Lumix GH2 and the 14-140mm lens. This is the gear set-up that got me excited about the Micro 4/3rds system. And it’s only gotten better!
Yours in creative Photography, Bob
