Springtime Snow

Woke up this morning - and we were having a Spring Snowstorm! Yea!!  Grabbed my camera and headed out with my Sony A7RII, tripod, ND filter and remote. What - really - an ND Filter? You bet..!  You see - I wanted to not see individual snowflakes, and as well, as there was a slight breeze, actually blur the trees with new hints of foliage to just "see" the color and to smooth the water. It's something I've always wanted to try, anyway..

So, above is that image.  Thirty second exposure, Sony A7RII with the Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm, ND filter taken from a tripod in Portsmouth NH USA.

Now - I'm hoping for more snow..!

Snow Capped

Taken yesterday morning during a snowstorm, this tiny plant was 14" (35.5 cm) away, and using a Sony NEX 7 with a Olympus/Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 - and shot at f1.2 - yields a total DOF of exactly 0.04" (0.02 cm) - which produces some wonderful results.

Spring & Winter

Just one of those days that "Old Man Winter" has a difficult time letting go. This morning, we awoke to several inches of newly fallen snow, and until late morning, decided to to show us one more blast. While I really like shooting in the snow, typically landscapes during the height of a snowstorm, today, I just wanted it to end and "be gone".  And apparently - I'm not the only one - as these daffodils are worse prepared than I was.

Sony NEX-7 with a vintage Olympus Zuiko 50mm f/1.2 lens. The bokeh that this combination delivers is almost surreal. Post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

The Tidal Stream

Taken this morning, this tidal stream is port of the networks of estuaries that comprise Great Bay on the seacoast of New Hampshire USA. With a light drizzle that turned into a slightly harder rain - and coupled with the higher than normal temperatures, it created a mystical and eerie feeling. 

Upon entering the reserve, there was a flock of about 50 turkeys who decided to take a "stroll" across a field and up the road I was walking at the time - and they seemed not to care that I was there.. Almost as if they were appointed my "Welcoming committee".

Later in the day, when shooting this image, a large flock of Mallard ducks passed overhead, landing in the mist and fog of the distant bay. As I was set up with a 16-35mm lens - all I could do was watch and enjoy one of the gifts of the estuary.

This was taken with my Sony A7RII and, as I mentioned - the 16-35mm Sony-Zeiss f/4 lens.

The Harbor in Portmouth

Portsmouth Harbor, Portsmouth NH USA - Taken earlier today with a Sony A7RII and the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 and an ND10 filter. Early morning in the harbor, as the light was a still soft and warm. I thought it complemented the bricks used in so many of the early building along the historic waterfront. As well, this morning, the harbor was a bedlam of activity, as one of the Irving Tankers was escorted out by two of the tug tenders. After passing, another freighter was pulled away from the wharf at Granite State Minerals by two other tugs and escorted to the open ocean.

Welcome to my blog and my hometown!

The Deafening Stillness

Frankly, I love the forest, nature and beauty of shooting in conditions that keep most people indoors - certainly true for most photographers. During this particular storm, one could hear the snow falling, the branches on nearby trees straining under the load of the wet heavy snow that kept falling at an incredible rate. As well, the snow muffles typical sounds such as faraway traffic, or call of birds - and the silence is quite deafening, in a very peculiar and wonderful way.

In this spot, which is a frozen over estuary, one has to be careful when walking upon the snow, as there are hidden soft spots of ice that one can fall through without warning. But, using a tripod as a walking stick to poke forward before the next step is taken - and turning back, simply walk back in the previous footsteps.

This was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the Olympus-Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at the NWR in Newington NH USA.

Sarah Mildred Long Bridge

I thought I'd capture this before this bridge is demolished and replaced, which construction is now underway. It spans the Piscataqua River between Portsmouth NH and Kittery Maine USA and as a truss bridge, carries both traffic and a railroad tie into the the Portsmouth Navel Shipyard.  It has been a part of the Portsmouth waterfront since 1940.

Taken with one of my Sony systems, this was primarily post-processed in Photoshop using luminosity layers with the final export into Lightroom for final adjustments

Outgoing

Very strange weather this morning - the temperatures rose overnight by 15 degrees Fahrenheit and rain was coming down "sideways" as a blustery wind whipped against everything in sight. I thought the surf might be interesting, so I grabbed my camera, wet weather gear and headed out to the coast of Rye NH USA.

As I slowly made my way out onto the rocks and through the seaweed,  the rain started to magically let up - and intent on shooting large waves in front of me, barely noticed what was coming up from behind from the seashore. It was a huge line of clouds that hung low and formed a nearly perfect line.

Above is just one of the many images I took, and I'll be post processing more as I get the chance over the next day or two.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the Olympus 12-40mm F/2.8 Pro lens, taken this morning on the coast of Rye NH USA.  

Breakwater

Breakwater. The image struck me as I was shooting, simply watching the waves and wind strike one side of the jetty while the ocean was perfectly calm on the opposite side. I could draw numerous analogies to life, people and social norms - but, I'll spare all those quotes.

Sony A7RII with the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 taken February 25, 2016.  Long exposure with an ND 3 stop filter. Post-processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Thank you for looking!

The Trail

Taken earlier this week in Bellamy NWR, Dover NH USA.  While the snow comes and goes, it allows outstanding photo opportunities as there are huge expanses of natural habitat that most folks don't go into given the recent weather. And tomorrow? We are expecting snow, sleet and freezing rain. What I saw, and liked, are the subtle tire tracks leading my eye to the incredible winter sky.

Sony A7R with the Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 lens. Post-processed in Lightroom and Photoshop

Winter Mere

Taken during the snowstorm a few days ago, this small pond ("mere") was the only open area of fresh water within the Wildlife Refuge. Numerous deer, rabbit and other tracks were quickly getting filled in by the increasing snow fall. The only sound made by the forest were the infrequent groans from branches as they struggled against the weight of the new snow. It was, for the most part - "deafening silence" for sure.

Shooting during a snowstorm is challenging enough, but to effectively post-process images I find even more challenging and complex, as I always want to show what my mind's eye captured. In this case, I processed in Lightroom - and then exported into Photoshop, where I used several layers/masks and filters to subtly bring out the contrast, lights and tones. This image was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens. 

Season Change

A few months ago - I posted an image taken from this same location. Today, however, we had our first major snowstorm, and like an mad idiot - drove to one of my favorite locations. Upon arriving on un-plowed roads, I was the only person once in the multi-acre area. That was no surprise, quite frankly - as it was still snowing quite hard and I'm sure most rational people were safe, warm and cozy at home.

After spending several hours just going through the woods, fields and shoreline - this is the first image I've post processed so far - but, I'm sure I'll share others in the near future. This was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro lens. This system is weatherproof, freeze proof and needed to be today.. 

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.  

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 

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".. ;)

Adams Point

Today was cold, blustery winds gusting to 30 mph and clouds that frequently dropped rain at the most inopportune times - most noticeably EXACTLY when I was trying to hold on to the camera bag while changing lenses... In other words - a perfect day for shooting!

While I've been called a "moody photographer" (referring to my images - I hope?) I do enjoy less than perfect blue skies and billowy clouds. The image above is one of those images. While it breaks several "rules" in composition, I rather liked the final look - and it is nearly the full frame as shot and composed in camera. The image is from the -2EV exposed image - brought into Lightroom for basic exposure adjustments, and then exported into Photoshop for my next stage of my workflo. While in PS, I usually touch the dynamic contrast, and sharpen using the High-Pass filter. Then it's back into LR for the final HSL tweaks and export.

The camera was my Sony A7R with the Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm f/4 - mounted on a tripod.

I have several other images I'm working on from today - including a remote Beaver Pond I've been meaning to get to.. I'll try to post those over the next few days...

My thanks for looking!

Looking Back

Sometimes, it takes me a while to settle on a final image. This image is one of those images...

I took this a few weeks ago as the autumn leaves were falling and the colors becoming more subtle. What struck me was both the composition and the bright red bush on the right. I also liked the line of the shore.

Technically - this was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II - on a tripod, and post-processed in both LightRoom and Photoshop from a single image.

It's just "one of those images". Nothing special in and of itself, but rather, a bookmark of a certain time and place.

Abandoned Shack On the Marsh

A good friend of mine keeps asking "..how come you don't shoot landscapes with any objects in them?.." Well - that's a good question!  So, I took this yesterday, just to see if I could compose a landscape with something aside from trees, water, sky and/or swamp grass.. ;)

As well - here is how I converted this to monochrome:

Open in the original in LR - again, I'm sort of stuck on the -2 EV image lately, but, well..??

Next, adjust ONLY the exposure, highlights, shadows, whites, and black - and keep the blacks just above the left of the histogram, rather then well inside...

Still in LR - we are setting up for the conversion - and I needed to separate the middle ground (shack) from the background - which was a case of finding the right color channels to pull..  As the shack was weather plywood (grey) and the background was green and brown - I pulled the sat channels of green/red down a bit..  I also amped the Yellow a bit (the foreground marsh grass). Next - I used the luminosity sliders to separate them a bit more...

Now into PS - and I used NIK Silver EFX.  Do the conversion - and pay particular attention to the color sliders to drive the final image.

Save and back into LR for final adjustments to taste...

Old Dog - New Tricks

Over the past month, as some know, I've been working on my post-processing. Mostly with a small handful of folks. Actually, less than a handful to be exact. So - well, OK - about three other folks exactly.. ;)

Anyway - as many know, I've been into wildlife images since buying my first digital camera. I don't show many of them - it's just the "flip side" of what I do in landscapes, I guess?

So, here is one that I reprocessed today. Perhaps I'll post others in the future rather than my landscapes images. Just every now and then.. The image above is a single image from my Nikon D600 with the 80-200mm ED-IF f/2.8 at the J.N. Ding Darling in Sanibel FL USA.

As always - thanks for looking.