Flight

Well - this is the first time I've shot wildlife this year. It's also the first time - I used anything but a Nikon (which I have abandoned Nikon for various reasons). It's the first time I've used an Olympus MFT to shoot anything but landscapes. It's the first time I've used a totally manual lens to shoot birds. It's the first time I've left any Sony body behind on a shoot...

Here is the story behind today...

I went to the Estuary at Adams Point in Durham, NH USA - and went to shoot a rock cliff that I've been meaning to shoot. But - I also took a lens that I used to use for birds - just in case I saw anything of interest.  So - walking the shoreline for an hour, before getting to the cliff face - I noticed an Osprey circling...  I walked through the estuary headed for where the Osprey was circling.  When I arrived - I set up..

So - while waiting - a few gulls came by, so I was intrigued as they dug up mollusks in the mud - flew up to about 50 feet - and then dropped them on the ice to crack the shells...  As one flock of 10-15 birds left, another flock moved in to resume where they left off...

These are from today.  Simple seagulls in an estuary. Taken with an Olympus OM-D MFT.  

Looking West

The weather over the past week has been a bit silly.  Either bright blue skies without any detail, and sunrises and sunsets of the same - or incredibly cloudy skies without any detail. But, today - was a bit different, as some clouds started moving in after sunrise.

This was taken earlier today with my Sony NEX-7 and the 10-18mm f/4 Sony E mount lens. Post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop, it is from the Audubon Tract in Dover NH USA which is an estuary that is fabulous. While the weather today was incredible - there wasn't another single person out during the three plus hours I was shooting at this location. That was a bonus, for sure...

Sunrise

I've always viewed photography as an art form -but, I've always constrained the post-processing by what was contained in the original image. Yesterday, however - I began to be pushed in a mind-bending exercise to try something new. And the image above is the result.

I always liked both of my two images - one of the lighthouse and the other of a sunrise in Haiti. And learning some new techniques from the library at The Arcanum - thought I'd try to creatively join the two images.  I can say, as this is "new to me" - it took a long time to explore, learn, fail - and then try again...

I have to add - while this style isn't something I'm hooked on - it's interesting to explore areas of photography we don't know - until we give it a try.  Is it for everyone? I don't know - but taking an "artistic approach" is a road that perhaps teaches us how to do our "in camera" images perhaps that much better?

Just Hanging Out

I've always been fascinated with how nature works it's magic... Walking along the shoreline this past Sunday during low-tide (the only time the shoreline can be walked), I came upon this weathered tree - magically clinging the the granite cliff face. As I stared in awe, I could only image the strength of the the roots were dug in to keeps its precarious position for so many years and through so many storms.

This was taken with my Sony A7R Mark II  and Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 and post processed in Photoshop using numerous layers and masks. While I tried it in monochrome, a good friend and fellow photographer (Richard Adams) and I concluded that the color version works best.

First Snow

I was fortunate to have run across a You Tube video by Sam Abell - a recently retired staff photographer for National Geographic. The video was both wonderfully presented and he stressed several concepts. Those included compose the main elements so that they are separated and distinct. As well, composed from the back plane (above, that is the snow wooded shore in the background), and then compose from back to front, again, leaving the lines of each element separate and distinct. 

The image above was further post-processed using curves and layers in Photoshop - credit to that work-flo is the artist/photographer I mentioned yesterday - Peter Eastway.

Sony A7R II with the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm , Durham, New Hampshire USA taken yesterday.

The Shore at Adam's Point

I'm just going to say this first...  The Arcanum rocks! What's The Arcanum?  Just go here:  http://www.thearcanum.com/  poke around - and unleash your mind. Anyway, as a Student, I had a critique from my mentor the other day - and it was a mind-blowing experience. He introduced me to another photographer's work, Peter Eastway from Australia - whose work is incredible.

Anyway - this image is the fifth frame ever taken on my new Sony A7R-II I received last evening - taken today in Durham, NH USA. It was post processed completely using the workflo that Peter Eastway espouses - using sets of layers and curves in Photoshop. I find his methods incredible, if you have in mind the final image before pressing the shutter button.

Thanks for looking - and I'm processing a few more from today in the same workflo just to see where they land...

Frozen In Time

The pond at Bellamy Wildlife Management Area, Dover NH USA. Taken last week with a Sony Ar7 and the 16-35mm f/4, only a few days previously, this small isolated pond was unfrozen and was the waterhole for the areas wildlife. But, after a quick hard freeze, even the surface was dappled to where it appeared that the ripples on the surface were "frozen in time".

This was processed from the following workflo:

1) Imported into Lightroom for a few basic adjustments including exposure, highlights and shadows;

2) Imported as a DNG file with LR adjustments into Photoshop;

3) NIK Color Efx Pro 4  and added several filters including Pro Contrast, Bleach Bypass and Brilliance/Warmth;

4) Copied a new layer and pulled several color curves to pull down several key tones;

5) Copy a new layer and added a high-pass filter using the "Overlay" blend mode for final sharpening; and finally

6) Back into Lightroom for final adjustments and export to the web 

The Calming

An image from a couple of weeks ago that I finally liked the processing on. Taken in Rye NH, USA with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the Olympus-Zioke 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens - it was a challenge to place the lighthouse correctly, wait for the wave to crash onto the larger rock - and smooth the water with a longer exposure.

I want to thank a few folks in my cohort in the Arcanum who suggested removing some sea grass on the left most edge - as that's exactly what the image wanted while retaining the overall feel.

This image was processed from a single Olympus RAW image in High-Resolution mode, yielding a 64 megapixel file. Post processed in both Lightroom and Photoshop, I liked the final results. I hope you do as well...

Incoming Tide In the Estuary

Strange day for shooting. We awoke to a light dusting of snow, then it stopped, then started, and then a light drizzle started up - which returned again to snow. The clouds were heavy and the estuaries were abandoned to any visitors, which - to me - is the perfect time to take my camera and walk for miles in the forests and along the shore.

The image above was taken earlier today during an incredible high-tide that submerged parts of the estuary that one can typically walk upon. Not today. As the incoming tide buried the sea grass and shoreline alike, it trapped the ice underneath releasing incredible amounts of surface bubbles and miniature ice-floes.

The image was taken with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the Olympus-Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 pro lens in high-resolution mode (64 megapixels in RAW). Post processed in both Lightroom and Photoshop, the detail in the original is spectacular. I'll be posting more from today's shoot over the next week or so - as I get time to see what else I might like from today... 

Granite Shore

View of the shoreline at Adam's Point WMA - Durham, NH USA. Taken just a few short weeks ago during unseasonably warm weather, this is a terrific walk through the woods to get to the shoreline. I've been asked what I did to the reflection in the water - and the answer is really nothing. The bay-side of the point was serenely still during the late afternoon that day.

Taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the Panasonic-Lumix 7-14mm f/4 lens in High-Resolution mode, the original RAW image is 64-megapixels in size.

Salt Marsh

Taken today with my Sony A7R in Bellamy WMA, Dover NH USA. With the snow freezing weather lately, walking along the estuary shore and flats requires ice crampons of some sort. The difficulty with this image was not only reaching the area I wanted to take the shot, but the gentle slope from the forest leading into the area was difficult to get to as well.

The specifics of the image are Sony A7R with the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4. The exposure was 1/160 @ f/11, ISO 100 at -1 EV. Post processing was in LR then exported to Photoshop. In PS, I used NIK EFX Pro 4 with the ProContrast filter, added a bit of warmth with another filter - then bring the final image back into Lightroom. As snow cover takes a bit different approach to exposure and processing, I'm looking forward to shooting over the next few months in the "White Stuff".. ;)