Autumn Color

I got out in the autumn colors today, from a vantage point at Bear's Den overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, less than an hour from home.  Here's the overall scene (don't forget that it's interactive - you can zoom and scroll around in the 360 degree panorama image if you click on image):

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

And here are my favorite shots from the day, all shot with my Nikon D810.  The first two with the Nikkor 200-500mm, the rest with the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4 (amazing lens!).

A Morning Out Birding as Winter Approaches

Yesterday, I joined a bird watching walk at my nearest wildlife preserve, which is called Banshee Reeks. The walk happens monthly, and is sponsored by the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. (Click Here) to read about the organization. They host quite a number of interesting events.

 

I realized that the walk was happening at 7:35 AM; it started at 8:00 AM. I quickly grabbed my Lumix GX7 and 100-300mm f4-5.6 OIS lens and headed out the door. A quick stop at Peets for my Saturday morning coffee, and away I went. I arrived just in time to join the group.

 

 

I really am a telephoto guy at heart. Though I've expanded my skills to include normal and wide angle lenses, from the start I've loved shooting long lenses. The 100-300 Lumix lens is a fantastic combination of long reach (600mm equivalent) and compact size. Because of the OIS vibration isolation, it's even more reasonable to use handheld.

 

Considering that it's winter, and the majority of migratory birds have already gone, we saw quite a range of birds: white throated sparrow, bluebird, fish crow, American crow, flicker, hawk (didn't get a good identification, but probably either red tailed or red shouldered), an immature bald eagle, mockingbird, plenty of robins. It's always great to go with someone like our tour leader Joe and his sidekick Del, who can spot and identify birds well beyond my capabilities.

 

Knowing that I had to get back home, after about an hour with the group I just wandered off into the forest and sat down. After a few minutes, I heard a single bird call. Then, I heard a different bird answer, much closer to where I was sitting. Within a few minutes, a small group of tufted titmouse had been drawn to an old hay bale, rolled off into the woods next to me.

 

I sat and enjoyed watching them for another ten minutes or so, and then got up, got the blood back into my legs, and began the walk back to the car.

 

I shot a few more pictures on the way back.

 

I think that telephoto lenses get underrated for their use in landscape photography.

 

Finally, coming around a corner in the trail, I got a quick shot off of this Mockingbird, against the blue autumn sky.

 

 

It was a very nice way to spend just a couple of hours on an autumn Saturday morning.

 

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Japanese Maple in Autumn - Nikon Df

I'm enjoying my new Nikon Df a lot. Here's a shot of the Japanese maple outside my office.

 

Japanese Maple in Autumn, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 50mm f1.4D AF Lens

iso 100, f1.4, 1/125 sec.

 

The 50mm f1.4 AF-D lens is now well out of date in the Nikkor lineup. It has always drawn criticism for lack of sharpness wide open, which I suppose is true. That doesn't keep me from using and enjoying it.

 

That said, the new Sigma 50mm f1.4 ART lens is the hot thing out there these days. My friends who have them approve. Much larger than the AF-D lens, these new Sigmas really seem to deliver amazing image quality. The updated Nikkor product, the AF-S 50mm f1.4G is another option, but both the Nikkor and Sigma lack aperture rings, something I'm unhappy about. This means that I can't use them on my old Nikon film bodies, or even adapted to Micro 4/3 for that matter.

 

As it stands, I can carry my older AF-D lens in the bag with any of my Nikon SLR bodies, from the 1959 model F to the 2014 model Df, and it will work just fine with any of them.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Signs of Autumn

I went out for a hike with my lovely wife, and with my Nikon FM2N and Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8 lens. We went to a local nature preserve, which is unfortunately only open on weekends. But, at least we could get in. In the past, it had been closed to visitors completely, due to lack of volunteers to staff it.

 

Autumn is fully underway here in Virginia. Here are a couple of shots I made on Walgreens 200 speed film (processed at The Darkroom) that I think signify the fall season pretty well.

Milkweed Gone to Seed, by Reed A. George

 

 

Golden Afternoon, by Reed A. George

 

Haven't tried The Darkroom yet? (Click Here) to give them a try. You'll be pleased with their professional and fast film processing.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Mimo Khair - Artistic Fall Photos, Shanghai

Fall Games - Shanghai, by Mimo Khair

Image Source: http://mimokhairphotography.com/2013/11/25/the-inevitable-change/

 

Mimo Khair's is one of the blogs I try to keep an eye on. She has posted a beautifully creative set of autumn pictures, from Shanghai.

 

(Click Here) to see the complete set of photos and some words on Mimo's blog.

 

In this case, Mimo has combined several aspects of fall, and of her chosen city, to say something about the season. Very nicely done.

 

Mimo ran her blog as a 365 project for one year, the second year was a photo per day as well, but from her archives (rather than shooting one every day). 2013 was her third year, and she dropped the strict 365 (a photo per day) requirement. While I think about where I want DMC-365 to go next year (my third year), this has me thinking. On one hand, I think the consistency of a post each and every day is good for me, and perhaps for my readers. On the other hand, I'm not sure it's stimulating creativity on my part the way I intended. No decisions yet, just thinking.

 

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Different Takes on Autumn Leaves

As I wrote earlier in the season, I've tried to avoid taking the same autumn leaf pictures that I (and many other) photographers take each and every year. For example, I used the kit zoom on my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 to add some motion blur to shots that would otherwise have been quite static. I made threes separate posts about that:

 

(Click Here) to see my first post on leaves in motion.

 

(Click Here) to see where I developed the concept a little further, with a set that make me feel like I'm being pulled through the treetops up into the clouds.

 

And finally, (Click Here) to see my favorite of the series, where I attempted to get the best combination of detail in the leaves, blur from camera motion, and color.

 

Well, today's images take a less drastic departure from "normal" fall color photography, but I hope still show something a little unique. As in all three posts above, I shot these with the DMC-GX7 and the much-improved 14-42mm Series II kit lens.

 

On my way to have lunch with my lovely wife, I looked to the side of the road and saw this tree. The most important element that drew me to photograph it was not the tree, however, it was the way the leaves on the ground appeared. Because the ground slopes upward behind the tree, the fallen leaves provided a partial background for the image.

 

 

Ground As Background, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Lumix Aspheric 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Lens at 14mm

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec.

 

I like the shot above, but it's quite conventional, other than the ground sloping up. Looking for a different perspective, I used the rotatable finder on the GX7 to get down low. I took several shots that way, but nothing that really looked different to me. Finally, I started playing with selective focus from the low angle. Here's an example of what I came up with:

 

Drawn to the Front, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Lumix Aspheric 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Lens at 24mm

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec.

 

This shot has only a narrow band of leaves at the very bottom of the image in focus. Personally, I like how it sort of asks a question of the viewer. At first glance, it just looks like a blurry picture of a tree, and at that point, some may stop looking. Looking closer however shows that the leaves at the bottom are perfectly sharp. This draws the attention to the leaves on the ground, which were the element that drew me to the scene in the first place. The tree itself takes on only secondary importance. One could argue about which image is more "pretty," if either fit that bill; I can say that the second shot better communicates how I felt about the scene.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

City Street in Autumn

 

Autumn in the City, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Canon 135mm f3.5 LTM Lens

iso 400, f6.7, 1/180 sec.

 

This shot was one that actually required a telephoto lens in the city, not such a common thing. I noticed the scene from across the street, a busy street with cars going by fairly frequently. The black fence and gorgeous fall leaves behind made this beautiful backdrop for a shot of passersby. In order to get the shot, I needed a telephoto to keep me out of the street.

 

So, I popped on my Canon 135mm f3.5 lens, a Leica thread mount (LTM) lens that I picked up for a very low price, and waited. This is one nice lens. Sharp as can be. The only problem I've ever noticed with it is some purple fringing in very high contrast situations. Otherwise, it's top notch.

 

I photographed several people walking by, but this one came out best. Even with the telephoto, I had to crop the image to remove two very distracting car bumpers, one at either side. Hence the tall 16:9 frame.

 

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NYC Sidewalk Compositions - My Mini-Project - Lumix DMC-TS5

As I write this, I am attending a meeting in New York City. I'm very lucky, in that my hotel is within walking distance of the meeting venue.

 

This morning, I decided not to carry a larger camera with me. So, I put the diminuitive Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 in my jacket pocket.

 

On the way to the meeting, I looked down at one of the places where trees gain access through the sidewalk to grow in this city. Here's what I saw:

 

I thought this was pretty cool, so I continued to shoot interesting compositions at the sidewalk level for the remainder of my walk. Here are the others:

 

 

 

All of these are direct from the DMC-TS5 (jpegs shot in iAuto mode) with no editing or adjustment. I was also able to connect wirelessly from the camera to my iPad to transfer the files. Very cool.

 

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Autumn in "The City" - NYC - and Some Thoughts on Wifi Cameras

I took my morning walk in the city this morning, on the way to my meeting. I walked by Madison Square Park, rather small urban space at 25th Street and Madison Avenue. Fall colors are still with us here as I write, so I captured a few images with my pocket camera, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5.

Fall Leaves, Madison Square Park, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

Flatiron Building in Fall, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

The Flatiron Building has been here since 1902, two years before my hotel for this week was built. (Click Here) to read about the building on wikipedia, as well as learn the origin of the phrase "23 skidoo."

 

Now, a little about photographic equipment. When I've wanted to go light on this trip, I've been carrying the diminuitive TS5 in my pocket. Last night, while out with a friend in a dark restaurant/bar, I wished I'd had the TS5 instead of the M9 I was carrying. A little flash, or even night shooting mode would have gone a long way. It's a little ironic to be limited in what I can shoot with such a higher priced camera. But, we all know the M9 isn't good for everything; it's just really good at what it does do.

 

The TS5 has wireless (wifi) connection to my iPad. Now, I would have thought this to be more of a gimmick than a really useful feature. However, not having to fumble with the Apple "Camera Connect" plug and shuffle SD cards between the camera and iPad is very nice, especially on travel. I uploaded these pictures during a break in my meeting without bothering anyone.

 

The combination of last night's limitations with the M9 and the advantage of wifi have me thinking that maybe I should begin to focus more on my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, which has all of the features I'm thinking of, a superb set of lenses, and great image quality. At least for normal travel purposes. I'm considering options for what I want to do with this blog during the coming year (2014), after I've finished my Whole Lotta Leica and Skeletons From The Closet projects, at least for one full year. The GX7 could play a big role next year.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Autumn's End

 

Autumn's End, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Aspheric Series II Lens (at 40mm)

iso200, f14, 1/40 sec.

 

It seems that autumn has nearly run its course. There's a possibility of our first snow tonight.

 

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Another Autumn Leaves Series, With Motion

This will mark my third small series of fall leaves in motion. As I said before, I did push myself to keep pursuing the idea, tweaking it as I went, to see how far I could push it. Of course, it could go further, but I think the following three images represent something of an accomplishment for me.

 

These shots were all made with the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II kit lens. What I feel I've learned so far in this exercise is to play with the level of realism and abstraction, which I actually think I came close to in my previous mini-series (on November 1). I really like those previous images, but did push a little further.

 

This time, I paid more attention to color. The shots from the previous post are pretty bland, color-wise. I think these below pull together my intention in terms of both the level of abstraction and in fall color. I know these won't be attractive to everyone, but I am somewhat satisfied with where the exercise took me. Now you can judge them for yourself.

 

Color and Motion 1, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Kit Lens

iso 200, f22, 0.4 sec.

 

Color and Motion 2, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Kit Lens

iso 200, f22, 0.2 sec.

 

Number 2, above, is probably a little too swirled to stand on its own, in my opinion. In the context of the other two, I think it works.

 

Color and Motion 3, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Kit Lens

iso 200, f22, 1/8 sec.

 

If I had to pick one (I don't have to), I'd pick number 3. I love the color. I think it's right at the edge of complete abstraction, but it still says "autumn" to me. But, I think the three in this series hang together pretty well.

 

One thing I'm learning right now is to give my images time before being done with them. I've been playing with this project quite a lot, and living with the images, thinking about them. I think I'll probably print these three, and see if I'm done. At some point, the leaves will all be down, and I'll be finished by definition.

 

One thing I think is that I could crop all three of these to square images. All of them could lose some empty space on the left side. It would change the character a lot, moving the swirl center away from the center of the frame. I'll give that a try before calling it done.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Pulled Skyward - Autumn Leaves With a Twist (Lumix DMC-GX7)

I've been feeling that I'm at a creative plateau for quite some time. I'm trying some things that are new, if not to the photographic world, at least to my portfolio.

 

Autumn leaves are not so impressive in my part of the world this year, at least not yet. So, I decided to try adding some motion to those same old fall pictures I take every year. On October 30, I posted a set of five images of leaves with motion, starting with simple lines, then moving on to rotations.

 

I really enjoyed looking at those images. I could hear the photographic mentor in my head saying:

 

Good. Nice start. Now go spend some time with it. See how far you can take it.

 

So, I went out for another session. As I was walking out to the small stand of trees that are my subject, I started thinking about the degrees of freedom I could play with in motion while the shutter is open. I came up with several: f-stop, shutter speed, lateral (x,y) motion, angle (of the sensor, in-plane rotation), and angle of view (zoom). So, I played with them all.

 

Here are three images that show one theme that came out. I call it "Pulled Skyward." The threads of white (there was no fog; it was a perfectly clear day) remind of a spirit being pulled up through the trees.

 

Pulled Skyward 1, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f22, 0.4s sec.

This first one is very nearly completely abstract. For me, abstract means that you can't really tell what the actual subject was. And, for me, it's a little too abstract to stand on its own. Hopefully the next two will give it some context, and help it to remain in the collection.

Pulled Skyward 2, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f20, 0.4s sec.

Number two clearly shows that we're looking up into the treetops. The white streaks show nicely.

Pulled Skyward 3, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f20, 0.4s sec.

 

Number 3 is my favorite of this set. I feel like I am being pulled up through the trees. The white streaks are just prominent enough to connect me to the treetops. However, I do feel that all three go together well.

 

If you know my photography, hopefully you'll recognize that this is a real departure for me. I'm somewhat of a photographic realist. I enjoy razor sharp images of interesting subjects, or street scenes where you can see multiple things going on. These are much more symbolic than my normal work.

 

It's good to stretch the mind.

 

I have a different set of images from this session, with a different color palette. I'm still working on those.

 

To those of you looking for how technically well the new DMC-GX7 and Series II kit zoom work, how sharp they are, sorry. I feel drawn in this direction at the moment, and the sharp, realistic images will have to come later.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Autumn Leaves in Motion

Autumn is coming slowly here in Northern Virginia this year, or at least it feels that way. Lots of browns amongst the yellow and orange trees.

 

I was out playing around with my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 yesterday, and decided to put some motion into my images. Nothing new here, but I think they're interesting. I started by putting the camera on shutter priority exposure (S), picking the lowest speed I could use without serious overexposure. First, I tried moving the camera linearly, upward, to follow the lines of the trees.

 

 

Leaves in Motion 1, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f22, 1/6 sec.

 

This first shot has a little mood to it, I think. While the sky was actually completely clear and blue, the blur gives it a little feel of fog. I think there are multiple smaller images within this one. I could imagine cropping to just the lower 1/3 of the image, for example. Actually, I can see three images, each 1/3 of the vertical height of the original. I think I'll give that a try.

 

Here's another with upward movement, this time with some branches that go off the vertical quite a bit.

 

Leaves in Motion 2, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f22, 1/6 sec.

 

Then, I started rotating the camera around different centers in the image. Here are my three favorites:

 

Leaves in Motion 3, 4, 5, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f22, 1/6 sec.

 

I realize that these are the first images I've shared from the new GX7, and they don't help much if you're trying to see the capabilities of the camera or new kit lens. I promise to share some sharp, more traditional images soon. But for now, I can say that I am enjoying the new camera, and the lens is quite impressive for what it is.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

A Shot From Last Autumn

I am noticing that I tend to miss some nice images by reviewing them too soon after I capture them. As I mentioned before, my expectations are tough to meet, and images that don't do it tend to be ignored. However, looking back later, I often find some that are not so bad.

 

Here's an example:

Sunset, Whitefield, New Hampshire, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 Lens

iso 200, f8, 1/15 sec.

 

 

I did some post-processing on this shot. Most notably, I changed the white balance from Auto to Fluorescent. Believe it or not, that best replicates the color I remember from the scene. I also adjust the color of the reflection on the water surface, making it more like the sky. Finally, I added a brush stroke of increased clarity along the mountain ridges and tree silhouettes on the water. I hope none of that is too obtrusive, as I really feel that it now looks like I remember.

 

I have been neglecting my Micro 4/3 gear this year, in favor of other systems. This shot reminds me that I need to get back to it sometime soon.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Sunset From Mount Prospect, Lancaster, New Hampshire

While I was on a business trip to a conference in Whitefield, New Hampshire (tough assignment, but someone's gotta do it), I was happy to get away immediately after the conference ended to hike up Mount Prospect, in nearby Lancaster.
 
Weeks State Park has a paved trail going to the summit, a round-trip of about 3 miles. I was very tight on time, and made it back to the car a little after dark.
 
I've missed the fall colors up here, so photo opportunities did not abound. However, I saw this on my way back down the trail:
 

Sunset from Mount Prospect, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14-140mm f4-5.8 at 140mm

iso 200, f8, 1/15 sec (on tripod)

 
This is straight from the camera, as I'm still on the road as I write this, and uploaded directly from my iPad.
 
The bright stripe of water in the lower portion of the image makes it interesting for me. I like how you can see the pines silhouetted against the water.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Autumn Walk at Shenandoah National Park

My family and I took a walk at White Oak Canyon in the Shenandoah National Park. Rather than take the typical drive along Skyline Drive, which can tend to be drier and browner, we hiked along the creek.
 

October in Shenandoah National Park, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f5.6, 1/160 sec.

 
Since it took nearly two hours to drive out, we didn't catch great early morning light. It was still pretty good when we started the hike a little before 10:00 am, but most of the hike was in direct overhead sunlight.
 
 

All the Golds, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f5, 1/200 sec.

And Some Reds, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f4, 1/100 sec.

 
 
These conditions - bright blues skies and deep forest shadows - really pushed the dynamic range of the Lumix G3.

Looking Downstream, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f11, 1/40 sec.

 
Dynamic range is one of the aspects of Lumix sensor design that is promised to improve, most specifically with the DMC-G5 (even though it reportedly doesn't gain much in high iso performance), and more so in the newly-announced DMC-GH3.

I made an attempt at high dynamic range (HDR) imaging in one case of excessive contrast. I must say that I'm not satisfied with the result, but have some trouble putting my finger on why. Here it is:

Pool in HDR, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5

iso 200, f16, 5 Image HDR

 
Maybe there's just too much drawing the eye around in this shot? Is it cluttered with detail? What caught my eye was the band of fallen leaves in the foreground, and the reflection behind. Maybe I should have focused on just that, rather than trying to take in the whole scene?
 
Anyway, it was a very nice day in the forest. We caught the fall colors quite nicely.
 
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