by successfulbob | black & white, commercial photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, musician photography, photography, photography education, success education
He was wailing on the guitar.
Strangely enough it was in front of the stucco wall in back of my house. Light reflected from the red rock gravel underfoot. I kept cheering him on and on!! A crowd of one exciting the performer in him until I knew we had the intense performance look we wanted for the back of his latest guitar CD cover…
Robin Miller with his new CD Electric Atmosphere a collection of guitar music. He signed the insert with the same image, “Bob, Thank you for your awesome talent.” Robin Miller – Here’s a link to check out his music. Very cool!
But wait. This job was secured because I now have a camera that accompanies me almost all the time… I ran into Robin at work playing his music at Tlaquepaque Village (yeah it took me a long time to learn how to say that name too) In an offhand way he asked if I was available to create a musician portrait photo for his next CD. I quickly changed some settings on my Lumix GX7 camera… SQUARE CROP. ILLUSTRATIVE ART SETTING. ADJUST TO BLACK & WHITE. Fired off a few frames. Showed Robin the look I had in mind for him. A smile spread across his face from ear to ear and we agreed to shoot the final image back at my place. The rest as they say is history…
How many times have you been without a camera because it was too much of a PIA to carry around? Mine is my new constant companion because of the small size and quality of the file and glass… WAHOOOO!
Oh, and I just happened to have my camera with me to catch this shot of Robin with the finished CD…
by successfulbob | architectural photography, black & white, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge
I kept on walking in spite of the chill night. My black Adobe fleece wrapped tight. Hands alternating buried in the kangaroo pouch on the front trying to keep warm yet continue to have the camera at the ready. Still I walked because scenes like the ones below kept crying out to be immortalized in ones and zeros.
OK maybe a little over-dramatic but when the brain goes into creative mode you start to see beauty in the mundane things you pass every day. Photos captured with the Panasonic Lumix GX7
Light raking down from above add shadows from the peeling paint. Shadows create form and depth. From above it’s a bit like a horror show or impending doom coming your way. Any how it adds interest for me.
LUMIX G VARIO 35-100/F2.8
I liked the juxtaposition of the New Yorker sign tied together with the top of the iconic Empire State Building.
LUMIX G VARIO 35-100/F2.8
Sometime you just gotta look down and fire the camera even if you think it was a mistake. Was it??
LUMIX G VARIO 12-35/F2.8
by successfulbob | fine art photography, Lumix Lounge, marketing, photography, photography education, success education
Picture yourself sitting on a stage in a trade show booth in front of everyone. You have an earpiece reminiscent of an FBI agent and a microphone worthy of Madonna attached to the other ear. They start to count down… 4, 3, 2 and point a finger at your host Frederick Van Johnson. You are now live on a Google Plus Hangout.
Nervous?? “NAAH.” I used to be in radio and TV AND one of my best friends, Skip Cohen, is up on the platform with me. Better yet we are talking about two of my favorite subjects, photography and fine art. It was a great show and I learned a lot because there were three other Internet guests sharing their ideas.
I don’t want to tell you what Skip said because that would spoil the surprise but I gotta tell ya that guy can say some pretty funny things! Hear the interview for yourself.
Frederick Van Johnson host of This Week in Photo on Google hangouts, yours truly holding center spot and Skip Cohen of Skip Cohen University. Live interview broadcast during PhotoPlus Expo in New York.
You can hear the other Lumix Luminaries and their interviews from PhotoPlus Expo in New York in the Lumix Lounge.
by successfulbob | architectural photography, Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography - art quote, photography education
Pablo Picasso jumped out at me when I was poking through my quotes files when looking for a subject to chat about today… And note that it is being released on time and not a day late. Seems that you want your Sunday photo/art quote on Sundays.
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Pablo Picasso
Pablo brings up a very interesting point of view and I agree 100%. Now I don’t necessarily like all of Picasso’s creations, but he does make me see things in a different light. Which brings me to the idea your camera doesn’t see as your eye does. The pupil expands and contracts when viewing shadows or bright areas in a scene. It happens so fast and automatically most are not even aware of it. Why does this matter? Well our job as a photographers is to translate a three dimensional scene with luminance values that can’t fit on the paper we are printing into a two dimensional space… and make it look as our eye sees it. That’s why it’s important to know how the camera sees and be the translator.
Many photographers say, “I only shoot natural light!” or I would never put a filter on my lens, that’s cheating!” I actually remember saying similar things when I was first creating images – before I really started to understand a camera and lens’s limitations in reproducing the scene in front of me. Until you understand that supplemental light helps to tame the dynamic range of a scene or that filters were created to answer challenges of being able to ‘fit’ all the light into a finite printing space you will have difficulty creating images that share what you see.
HDR photography, when done properly, is one of the ultimate ways of taming the dynamic range of a scene. There are some images that have the ‘look’ that makes you say, “That’s an HDR.” Those aren’t the images I’m talking about. I’m talking about the images that you go, “WOW!” Because the scene is presented so realistically you can’t believe how beautiful it is.
The next time you come across a scene you believe will make a wonderful image think it through and make sure others see your vision and not just what a camera may happen to capture.
Do you see what I do? My excitement came from the juxtaposition of the four different architectural styles and nature all in one place at one time… Or do you see something else?
Panasonic Lumix GX7 Lumix G Vario 35-100 f2.8 51mm 102 35mm equivalent 1/50 sec. F13 ISO 500
Image © Bob Coates Photography
by successfulbob | Lumix GX7, Lumix Lounge, photography, photography education, photography gear
Since I moved to the micro 4/3rds format I’ve been looking high and low for the right bag for my gear and finally found it in the form of a Think Tank Photo Bag. The one I choose is called the Mirrorless Mover 20 and is pretty close to perfect for my needs. It has a strong build with solid material and stitching. I even like the handle on the top for when the bag is not attached to my belt.
So here’s my kit these days for most outings. Lumix GX7 camera with Lumix Vario lenses of 7-14mm f4.0, 12-35mm f2.8, 35-70mm f2.8 and either a 25mm f1.4 or 45mm macro. The camera goes on my shoulder and the three other lenses and assorted gear go into the Think Tank bag on my belt. (the bag comes with a shoulder strap too if you prefer) If I’m changing lenses a lot a nice feature is the magnetic closure on the flap. When you need to really secure everything it’s time to use the zipper to close the compartment.
The bag will hold three lenses, extra SD cards, spare battery, battery charger, card reader, small flashlight and a tripod. (“A tripod you say??” Yes I do. See the ‘splainin’ at the bottom of the post) The bag also comes with its own raincoat rolled up inside in case you get caught in inclement weather conditions.
Never have I traveled so light with this range of lenses. Gotta tell you I’m one happy camper!
This is my travel kit. All gear is on the camera or in the Think Tank Photo bag.
Note the little tripod. It may not look like much but this tripod has helped to hold the camera steady in cathedrals in Europe and the woods in America. You can set this on the floor. Hold it against a wall. Put it on a chair or table. Once you think about it a bit you see it’s a great way to get support for your camera when you are traveling and need to go light sans big tripod or mono-pod.
