For Mom

This one is for my Mom - who is a professional artist. She will always be a professional artist, whether she has a paintbrush in her hand or not. During her "hey day", she had galleries throughout the USA - New York, Boston, Maine, Florida - oh snap - I don't really know - as my Mom was and is just "Mom". But back then - she always cheered me on in photography - and she was always keen on color, composition, light and textures. 

And today - she still cheers me on.

Anyway - this is a single image from a Sony A7R II with the Sony/Zeiss  16-35mm f/4 lens taken a few days ago in North Carolina on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

In this image - I wanted to focus on color complementary hues/tones, and set an image which was balanced both visually and dynamically. The processing, I did last night while being stranded at the airport - and, well - I "kind'a got into it" - pushing some of my boundaries in post-processing.

The original image was taken on the Blueridge Parkway - and it was processed from a single RAW file. Brought into LR, then PS - oh dang  - I can't tell you everything I did to it, as Mozart was playing in my earphones and I kind'a got lost into just "working" it at between about 1:30 - 3:30 AM this morning in the airport...

Anyway - thanks Mom...

This one is for you.

A Short Walk to Whaleback Lighthouse

This was taken mid-morning this morning at Ordione Point, Rye NH USA- low tide on the coast of New Hampshire. While I have a few I'm working on - this one allowed me to play with various things I've learned in only the past week or so in The Arcanum.

And yes - the weather really is this dark and grey today - and the fog is real, as there is a 10 degree temp difference only yards from the shoreline... I left the house with only a light shirt - and was in a coat while shooting for three hours this AM... You have to love New England when "Spring has almost Sprung"...

Sony A7R2 - Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm.

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

Mist, Snow and Fog

We awoke early this morning to new snow, with a quick changeover to sleet and freezing rain - all of which created a wonderful fog over the coast. As the tide was coming in, and expected to peak in the next few hours, I packed up my gear and headed to the coast. While the wind was brisk on the beaches and inlets (to say the least,  I was thankful that I brought my cold weather gear.

There are a few challenges in shooting in weather like this with the first - staying warm while it is blowing cold rain and mist into your face. The second is trying to keep the fron element of the lens dry enough during a long exposure (such as above) to not blur the image. As a lens hood won't fit (and probably isn't long enough) - I sacrificed my warmth to use the visor of my cap to shield the ND filter long enough to finish the long exposure.

I'll try to post more from this mornings shoot in the next few days, but for now, this was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II, the Olympus 12-40mm f/2,.8 Pro lens and a 10-stop ND filter. Post processed in Lightroom and Photoshop.

Spring Break

What a terrific day today - it is finally feeling a bit like spring.  Taken today in the late morning in an estuary.  Given the weather, I was surprised that no one was in the 120 acre refuge.

Sony A7R II with a Sony-Zeiss 16-35mm. I used an 10 stop ND filter to show the motion in the water. 

Coastal December

Taken today, and someone told me it is December in New Hampshire? I don't believe it - the temperatures are in the 40s (F) or or near 10 (C). It creates wonderful fog coupled with cloudy days - makes for spectacular shooting conditions.

Anyway - this was taken at the Great Bay Wildlife Management Area in Newmarket NH USA earlier today. Given the overcast day - I had the place to myself - eerily quiet and dark with the fog hanging in the air. This was taken with my Sony A7R with the Sony 10-18mm f/4 lens as a full-frame image @ 15mm. Post processing was simple - brought into Lightroom as a RAW file - it was exported into Photoshop for the final edits.  One cautionary note if you are processing images with mist/fog - be really careful of any sharpening,  as it will create artifacts in the final image...  Hmmm - which reminds me - a couple of you have asked for me to tell you my work-flo? I really should do that...

Anyway - thanks for looking!

Fallen Sentinel

Walking the shoreline of Audubon Tract recently on a cold misty morning, I came upon this old fallen oak tree. The reflections helped construct the image, as I'd not seen Great Bay this calm for quite some time. The mist and drizzling rain only added to the impact of the scene.

Taken with an Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II and the 12-40mm f/2.8 lens, this is another high-res image. Shot in RAW, it is a 64 megapixel image that dwarfs the size of my Sony A7R full-frame camera. I also find the resolution of the higher resolution Olympus images simply stunning as there is so much detail and information contained in that single RAW file.

Fall's Forgotten Places

There are times I just feel like I have to get out and shoot - and yesterday was one of them.. This was taken at Odiorne Point State Park, New Hampshire on a day that started out overcast, but tried clearing out late morning, giving the sky some wonderful detail and colors.

This was taken with my Sony A7R and post-processed from a single RAW image in Lightroom and Photoshop. You have to really appreciate the the information contained in a single RAW file..

The Stillness of Fall

This time of year is simply amazing for a photographer, as the colors becomes more muted and the daylight hours not quite as severe as during the summer months. Yesterday, I was out in rather cold and dreary weather - but, without a breath of wind, it was an opportunity to work on longer exposures and reflections cast in a small pond. What got me was the dead tree stumps on the right in the image - with only a bright spot of red from a small tree further down the shoreline.

This was taken with my Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II with the 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro Series lens.

Milkweed

I spent many hours this morning going through the Bellamy River Wildlife Management Area in Dover NH - and while I have a few shots I like, this one particularly fit the B&W Conversion process I'm now using (my thanks to Richard, Chris and Svein in my cohort in The Arcanum for bringing the conversion technique into view. Anyway, I control the grey-scale through the primary color curves, and depending on the image, it is wildly effective. As I still shoot B&W Film - I think the techniques I'm learning rival the results from film

A River Runs Through It - The Journey of a Single Image...

Every once in a while - you just have a "do-over", and this is one of those images "done over".  It was originally taken in Western Mass, USA about a year ago.  When I first processed it it looked entirely different than what you see above and it was "OK" - not "great", but - just "OK"..

Then a funny thing happened - I was selected to join The Arcanum -  a rather mind-blowing experience. It's not unlike Julliard School of Music, but rather - for photographers. Check it out - you won't regret it..  Anyway, I popped the previous version of this image into my group ("cohort") - and out came a huge number of suggestions and opinions that really helped shape this final image. At that point, I included it as part of my critique with my Master/Mentor (Glenn Guy), and he had a few more superb observations and "How To" suggestions - which really put the finishing touches on it.

The moral of the story behind all this?  Just when you think your images are just "OK", don't be afraid to take a second look and them them on their own journey to improve them. In my world, photography is all about the journey - and less about "arriving there" - and the journey with this image has been a terrific learning experience.   

Shooting Stained Glass Windows

Tiffany Stained Glass Window c:1902 - Chapel, NY

This past week, I had the opportunity to shoot several stained glass windows made at the turn of the century. The challenge was, retaining the brilliant colors while giving them context within the stone arch frames - a huge disparity between "light and dark" for sure, and typically well beyond the dynamic range in even the best of sensor technology. So - here are a few tips, that seemed to work well for me:

- Shoot in manual mode so you can over-ride the camera's "what you should shoot" mode;

- Spot meter the highlights - and remember what they are;

- Spot meter the shadows in the darkest area of the frame;

- Next - you are going to set to the average of the two readings - and then, set your EV to -1. This protects the highlight detail and presumes you can bring out the shadows in post-processing. As the shadows are in the final vignette (see the above image), I wasn't too worried about inducing any noticeable noise in the shadows.

In the actual execution of the shot - try to shoot late afternoon (golden hour) or very early morning without the sun directly coming through the window. A soft light is your best bet. In the inside of the building, ask for the interior lights to be dimmed or extinguished altogether, for optimum white balance and to induce a natural vignette around the bright window casement. As well, try to shoot in  RAW mode.

I'll try to continue to add some images from last weeks shoot as I can, but, in the meantime, I hope this helps!

  

The Grandeur of it All...

From yesterday and still processing over 300 other images?  Yikes!

Anyway...   In this image, I thought I knew what I wanted when I pressed the shutter on my A7R. These are organ pipes in a small chapel - a tripod setup just underneath.  I took three exposures at +3/0/-3 and joined them in Photomatix Pro. From there - into Lightroom, and finally edited in Photoshop where the monochrome was applies through Nik. Played with the opacity in that new level, just to leave a hint" of color. I put this up on The Arcanum in my cohort run by Glenn Guy.

If you are not a member of The Arcanum - you can check it out here: http://www.thearcanum.com/

Just home...

Sunrise Awakening - Reflecting Pool at The Vanderbilt Mansion

A terrific three days of shooting in the Hudson Valley Region of New York. I had the opportunity to get access to a number of properties and buildings that are simply outstanding. I'll try to post more images over the next few days.

For the image above, it was taken sunrise in the gardens at Vanderbilt Mansion. I liked the steam rising from the pond at the first sun's rays hit its surface. This was taken with my Sony A7R and the Sony/Zeiss 16-35mm lens. While the ISO was a bit higher then I usually shoot, it was needed to capture the a slighter smaller f/stop for the DOF I was looking for at the time. Also, I took a slightly higher point-of-view to center the reflection of Aphrodite in the dark pond water.  This was post-processed in Lightroom, then finished off in Photoshop.

Fireworks Over Portsmouth

I was told that if I started writing a blog - I would be instantly catapulted into incredible fame and instant notoriety..  Nawww - I don't believe it either ;)  What I do believe rather - is that I would like to share some of my images from in and around Portsmouth NH - and related a bit about how they were taken and processed - and a bit about my personal choices in post-processing.  So a blog seemed like a terrific platform..

The first image - of course with the July Holiday season - is an image of fireworks over Portsmouth. The exposure data is 13 seconds @ f/11, taken on a tripod - and manually focused before hand.  I wanted to show enough detail in the buildings (and spotlight behind North Church), while at the same time - capturing the fireworks themselves and smokey sky. The trade-off in doing this, is that the core of the fireworks loses some detail in the highlights, but, at the same time - what we really remember are the colorful lights from the explosion as they shoot out anyway - so, a great trade-off to be able to actually see the city of Portsmouth with fireworks overhead.

To get a better vantage point - I also shot this from the Sarah Long bridge using an 80mm telephoto lens. I found the focal length just about right, as some fireworks displays go higher than others - and 80mm seemed just about perfect - allowing enough detail is I needed to crop a little closer during post-processing.