Yosemite Valley Rainbow

Taken with a Panasonic Lumix LX 5, this beautiful scene unfolded after a day of intermittent snow and rain. Lesson, after a rainstorm at day's end the patient find rainbows!

Yosemite Valley

Just returned from a terrific photo workshop with Phil Hawkins (http://yosemitephotoworkshops.com) over Memorial Day. Phil is a great teacher and knows Yosemite like the back of his hand. He knows the all important matter......the light, when and how to capture it. This and the next 7 images were all taken with the iPhone 4, using True HDR to capture and Photoforge for minimal editing. Even Phil was amazed at the quality of these photos! As I develop images from my "real cameras". the Maxxum 7D DSLR and the Lumix LX5. I'll post them shortly. Enjoy, Jeff

Tulips in B&W

Originally yellow and red, I thought that this image taken with a Panasonic Lumix LX5 would look more dramatic in monochrome. I processed it first in Topaz Adjust- Charcoal- then Photoshop CS to create this slightly sepia toned flower image. Absent color, one can focus more on the flow of nature's design and tonalities. Enjoy, Jeff

Great Smoky Mountains

Originally, a color image taken years ago with a Canon G2 digicam. I am exploring further the artistic ability of using an iPad to further develop my images with the number of creative Apps available. This image was edited in Camera+, Photoforge and PS Express till I found the look that I liked. This is the joy of digital photography, that in a 20-30 minutes you can "develop" an image to your liking without chemicals and burning through expensive sheets of paper. Enjoy, Jeff

HAIR- Let the Sunshine In!

Hair, The classic 1967 pro-peace, anti-war musical played at Proctor's theatre last night. At the show's end the audience is invited up to dance with the troupe and just have fun. Knowing this, I brought my Panasonic Lumix LX5, preset the exposure and caught this shot angling the camera over head! I had to fiddle around with the white balance in post processing even though I shot in RAW. There were multiple colored lights at various temperatures. I love the joy, emotion and shear freedom the shot represents. Enjoy, Jeff

Great Light

Great light. That is what it is all about! Just shot this going to Procter's. This low horizon sunlight created warm tones. Coupled with the dark storm clouds creates the dynamic opposite that we look for. Shot with iPhone 4, using Camera+ App. Always have a camera with you. Enjoy, Jeff

HDR Albany, NY

True HDR App. Taken tonight in downtown Albany. Handheld iPhone .

Love it. Jeff

Dream Harley

I love Harleys. I dream of Harleys. Thus this dreamy App Dynamic Light created this image from a straight iPhone shot. Enjoy! Jeff

Tulip in the Rain

Those photographers who stay indoors during rain are really missing an opportunity for outdoor image making. There are plastic bags and designed waterproof camera covers to protect your equipment as well as rain gear for you. I took this image today in Albany's Washington Park during moderate rainfall. The technique used for this was a DSLR Maxxum 7D with a Minolta 2.8 70-200 lens, ISO 800, F2.8, and Tv of 1/300 sec. Shot in RAW/JPEG with WB set to Cloudy +1.

There are many ways to shoot flowers and unless you are creative, seeking great light (thus going out today) and experiment with composition, depth of field, and so forth, you risk your flower photos looking like those of everyone else. To get this narrow DOF, a SLR is required. Compact Point and Shoot cameras can't accomplish this. I chose f2.8 for a shallow depth of field to throw the competing leaf background out of focus. The image was "developed" in Topaz Adjust to create a little more contrast and definition. Enjoy, Jeff

A tree in Israel

A tree in Israel. Taken with a Canon SX 10 camera but developed in three Apps on my iPad. First softened in Dynamic Light, watercolor and oil paint applied in Photoforge and then framed in PS Express. The lesson here is that there are so many artistic tools to add emotion and expression to your images. Jeff

PS. Did you spot the deer?

The old car.  Saw this beauty through a window. With a little iPhone magic and Photoforge something artsy was made. Jeff

HDR

Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center in Wingdale NY, now long abandoned and left to ruin. When I drove by this place last month, I vowed to come back to do a little photography. It's on Rt 22 north of Pawling and sits on hundreds of acres, largely abandoned buildings. There is juvenile center in the back and of course trespassing is not welcomed.

This image was taken through a broken window used as an offset frame, framing the decay and disarray inside. Despite the grunge, I noted the color left and thought that this would be a good HDR subject. Perching the camera on the window ledge, I shot 3 exposures, one stop apart and combined and tone mapped them in Photomatrix Pro. I like the result. Jeff

HDR Wing with iPhone 4G

True HDR, probably the best HDR app for the iPhone 4 and 3Gs. Handheld, one exposure was taken of the lighter sky, the second of the darker wing and the program combines the two in a few seconds to create a true High Dynamic Range Image that preserves details in either end of the histogram. In Photoforge I boosted contrast using Curves and added a white frame in PS express. I know, I like the iPhone! It really allows for those creative fluids to come out and mix. What fun! Jeff

Willow and Fog iPhone 4

The iPhone again! This time with iPhone 4 and its 5 MP sensor. Driving around in the fog a few weeks ago, on the way to the office, I spotted this weeping willow in a frozen, brackish pond, backlit by fog. Having a camera always with me

( the iPhone), I composed and took a shot of the willow. That evening, I leisurely "developed" it to my artistic liking in Photoforge. A frame was added in PS Express Mobile. An 11x14 print from Smugmug just arrived and it looks great. Jeff

The Stairway of King Carlos

Depth of field. Sometimes you just have to have it to make the image work. When I saw this staircase of King Carlos V palace at the Alhambre in Granada, Spain. I knew this was a depth of field shot. That's where my pocket Lumix LX5 came in perfectly. The smaller, yet pro level new compacts are capable of great focal sharpness from a few inches to infinity when the lens is set properly. I set the lens to f6.3 and placed the camera, hand-held on the base of the rail, focused about 1/3 of the way up and carefully depressed the shutter to get three bracketed shots. I converted the sharpest one to a dramatic black and white in Topaz adjust and was most pleased with the result. Jeff

Bounce Lighting

Abe, our grandson. A handsome intelligent 4 year old. I took this portrait this weekend while Abe was sitting on the couch, using a Fuji S3 Pro and a Nikon 55-200 VR lens at f5.6, ISO 400 with a Nikon 600 Speedlight bounced off the white ceiling. I converted the image to B&W in Topaz Adjust, using Portrait Smooth and dropping the saturation to zero. Bounce light uses a ceiling or wall as a giant softbox, creating soft, non-harsh light that evenly illuminates the subject. Bounce light is an inexpensive way to create beautiful portraits, with out the unpleasant flash glare that is created using direct flash. Jeff

Window Light Portrait

The ultimate in window portrait lighting- an airplane window. Flying to Spain, sitting next to the window was this lovely young lady from Luxembourg, Nathalie. I noted as we were starting approach she was gazing out the window in deep thought ( ? anticipation ). Quietly I got up, set my Lumix lx5 to ISO 400 and metered off her face, composing and silently fired the shutter. Window light can provide dramatic light due to its fall off and creates a beautiful portrait. Jeff

El Ristorante, the gig was up.

Stealth street photography, Seville Spain. There we were finished our Tapas lunch and on the way out I passed by these two men. The whole scene made me think I was in 1955. I went back setting my Panasonic Lumix LX5 to "Film Grain " mode to emulate the Ilford 3200 ASA films of the era. With the camera hanging from my neck, lens at 24mm,

f 5.6 , I just pointed my self at them about 4-5 feet away. Looking elsewhere, I just quietly depressed the shutter and out of 5 shots, the last, when the gig was up , was the best. I smiled a cheery "Hola" and went on my way. Jeff

The Roof of the Mezqitta

In Spain last week and saw this unbelievable mosque in Cordoba. Built by the Moors about year 1000-1100 and then added on as a church starting 400 years later when the Moors were driven from Spain. I saw incredible delicate architecture with great light coming in. So what to do when it is dark, you don't have a tripod or DSLR and you want your images to be sharp. One set the ISO to 800, 2) find a firm surface to steady the camera, in this case- a rail and 3) set the camera to take 3 bracketed exposures 1/3 stop apart. So, steady the camera, compose and depress the shutter. The first image will likely be blurry from camera shake with depressing the shutter. But.......the next two will be sharp as the camera takes these shots without shutter depression-shake. An alternative is to use the self timer button set at 2 seconds and still bracket. Taken with a Panasonic Lumix LX5. Jeff

Street photography

This shot using Hyperfocal focusing as described in the post below. I used a Sony F828 digital camera with the lens set to 28 mm at f22 equivalent. I found this app called Old Photo Pro that can give an image a old picture look which I though was appropriate for these Chasidic boys at the Fair. Jeff

Men at Work

Great day for wandering around with a camera. Some ventured into the woods and creeks to shoot snow nature landscapes, as I did on Sunday. Today was about the urban scape and snow. Shot in color with a Fuji S3 Pro, ISO 400, 24 mm Nikon lens, f22 set to hyperfocal distance so everything from 1.5 feet to infinity was in focus, then converted to B&W in PS CS. If you don't know about hyperfocal distance for street shooting, you need to.

Check out:http://www.dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html

There is a lot written about it. Basically it allows you to eliminate autofocus and the lag that will occur with AF systems when you depress the shutter. By setting focus to manual with a wide angle lens, putting the lens in its hyperfocal setting, everything with in that focus zone will come out sharp. In essence, you urn your camera into the fastest point and shoot around. This is essential for street photography at times. Jeff

Trees and Snow

We had a great fluffy snowfall last night. The kind that coats the trees and creates beautiful B&W images. I was out cross country skiing with my good friend Cliff today and came across this grouping of trees. I used an f-stop of 5.6, ISO 400, RAW on a Panasonic Lumix LX-5 camera and composed with main focus on the forward tree to the left. With all of these cameras, snow will be exposed a mid tone grey unless you do one of two things. You must open up the exposure in camera by 1-1and 1/3 stops if you don't process your images in the computer, or adjust the exposure histogram toward the right in levels or curves to show the proper color of the snow. If you shoot in RAW, white balance can easily be adjusted in processing. If not AWB may work but it's better to choose the proper scene balance in camera. For this image it would have been "cloudy". Alternatives to compensate for the color changes that can occur on cloudy, overcast days are to shoot a Custom WB off the snow or set a proper Kelvin temperature in camera to compensate. Jeff