dirty dozen photograph

“This is scary!” Said my wife when she saw this photo.I understand. I call this the Dirty Dozen.

This is an illustration for a class about being able to change different areas of an image by locking the camera down on a tripod and making multiple exposures. This can be helpful with large groups of people to get good expressions and body positions. It can be useful when doing outdoor portraits and clouds are scudding across the sky leaving their shadow impressions on the landscape. A good background capture can be made and then concentrate on getting the people looking good without worrying about the rest of the photo. Sometimes you want to get the light source closer to the subject for a better lighting pattern yet it would then be in the frame. You can shoot with the light in the frame and then remove it in post. Very cool stuff indeed.

I captured the images with the Lumix GH3 mounted on a tripod and connected my phone with the on-board WIFI. Control of the camera is with an APP from Panasonic. In addition to tripping the shutter you can control almost all the functions on the camera including shooting modes and see the image on the phone or I-pad.

dirty dozen photoCourthouse Butte in Sedona, Arizona with twelve Bobs

photography and design on spec

The animals spoke to me….

Well not literally. But, I felt the need and desire to work with the images to see what I could come up with. One bird you’ll even recall from a previous post spread it’s wings to a mental request I sent it. (OK maybe it was just coincidence…) This led to a personal project to design colorful, dynamic t-shirts on speculation for the Sarasota Jungle Gardens in, you guessed it Sarasota, Florida.

I felt the back lit palm fronds made a gorgeous colorful background for the birds. I added some texture files to add some depth. While still in Florida I went there to share a couple ideas, received an excellent reception and a request to do a few others. We are in negotiations now to see if the spec work pays off in cash. It already has paid dividends in the learning cycle of improving my graphics work.

photography graphic design for t-shirt imageBlue Gold Macaw T-Shirt design for Sarasota Jungle Gardens – Sarasota, Florida

photography graphic design for t-shirt imageOne of the stars of the show the Pink Flamingo

photography graphic design for t-shirt imageMacaw T-shirt design

photography graphic design for t-shirt imageYou’ll recognize my cooperative macaw from a previous post…

Raw images for the designs were captured with the Lumix GX7 my current favorite camera for travel and all-around photography work. It is a solid workhorse camera and paired with the 35-100mm f2.8 lens worked great for this visit to the gardens.

lumix G6

Taking a couple weeks off for vacation slows you down a bit when it comes to staying up with regular posts… I’ll add in the Holidays to take the blame but enough excuses! I’m back on the horse!

Santa dropped off a package using the local Fed Ex driver… OK it wasn’t Santa but it sure feels like a present. The Lumix G6K is in my hot little hands and I gotta tell ya things just get better and better as each camera comes out. This is a Pro-sumer camera that has all the features. Great video with a fully articulating screen. Touch screen focus. A great chip and processing engine. Almost all the features of the Pro camera Lumix GH3 plus a few more. Yep it’s got the in-camera panoramic feature that I really enjoy. (just ask my fellow Luminaries!) The only thing that keeps this out of the full on pro realm is the fact it’s not built on the magnesium frame. But wait that makes it even lighter if you want to have a camera with you all the time. With a 2.8 12-33mm lens (35-70mm 35mm equivalent) this camera weighs well under 2 pounds! It’s on Amazon for just under 500 bucks with a 14-42mm lens. Freakin’ amazing!

panasonic Lumix G6

the sea hagg inc

She started her life as a character in a Disney movie and now the huge face presides benovolently over the sales counter at the Sea Hagg, Inc. in Cortez, Florida. According to the information shared by the clerk behind the counter she apparently likes her new place of residence as she gets a lot more attention in her new post.

If you happen to be in the Sarasota area you might want to take a little wander by the Sea Hagg, Inc. as it’s a target rich environment for the creative photographer. All things nautical, and some not so much, inhabit the shop just off Cortex Road West. There’s a fun playful atmosphere with mermaids, witches, floatsam and jetsam scattered throughout. Ask to have the container of eyeballs jostled on the front counter and you’ll get the idea…

Sea Hagg in cotez, florida photoShe hangs in the corner presiding over her new domain after being retired from the movies. The Diva lives on.

floats at Sea Hagg in cortez Florida photo

Floats of glass and foam are everywhere waiting for the right composition.

floats at Sea Hagg in cortez Florida photoMermaids abound throughout the shop in metal, wood, bronze and brass. Illustrative Art setting on Lumix GX7. You can shoot in jpeg to get this rendition or as I do also shoot RAW at the same time for post processing options.

rusted typewriter photographI just get the feeling that this typewriter has some serious history… I wonder what was written with it? A novel? News stories for a paper? Sales invoices?

scarlett macaw art

Suddenly the wings of the Scarlett Macaw spread… which was rather bizarre because in my mind I had just said to myself, “I sure wish the bird would do something different.” (parking spaces seem to appear out of nowhere for me too) I took the RAW capture into Adobe Photoshop to see what I could see. Here are a couple versions with a twist on each.scarlett macaw fane art image

Scarlett Macaw over fan palm. Version Three.

scarlett macaw fane art imageVersion Ten.

scarlett macaw fane art imageVersion Five

Images and textures captured with the Lumix GX7 and GH3. Macaw photographed using 35-100 f2.8 Vario lens. RAW 1/1250 sec;   f/2.8;   ISO 400 @42.0 mm (in 35mm: 84.0 mm)

Worked with Adobe Photoshop blend modes and other photographic texture images for effect.