Snowy President's Day in Virginia

 

 

Valentine Flowers in Snow

Nikon Df, Carl Zeiss 85mm f1.4 Milvus Lens

iso 800, f5.6, 1/250 sec.

 

I have the great fortune of trying out two of the Zeiss Milvus lenses, the 85mm and 50mm f1.4, on loan. They are absolutely gorgeous.

 

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Perfection Lost

 

Near Perfection, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 135mm Hektor f4.5

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec

 
I've written before, recently, about the challenges of photographing often-photographed subjects. Yesterday, I decided to re-familiarize myself with an old lens, now that I have a Leica M9 that accepts older lenses without demanding a lens code and UV/IR filter, or cropping the image by a factor of 1.33x, as the M8 did.
 
All images in this post were made with the Leica Hektor 135mm f4.5 (ca. 1955). I think it's front-focusing by a small amount, but by f8 it looks pretty good. It certainly has character.
 
I went to my local Buddhist temple, which has a gorgeous set of small ponds with lotus flowers. The image above is the one that I think anyone would take. The amazing shape of the blossoms, along with the incredible colors and the repetition of the shape three times make for a nice, standard composition.
 
I wanted something more, something that may not appeal to everyone, but required a different perspective from me as an artist. The following images are what emerged - I call them "Perfection Lost."
 

Perfection Lost Number One, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 135mm Hektor f4.5

iso 200, f8, 1/250 sec

 
You see, as Buddhism would teach us, all things are temporary. The blossoms achieve perfection only to be destroyed, to "go to seed," as some would say. They maintain beauty, just not perfection. And going to seed just starts the cycle over again.
 

Perfection Lost Number Two, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 135mm Hektor f4.5

iso 200, f9.5, 1/90 sec

 
 

Perfection Lost Number Three, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 135mm Hektor f4.5

iso 200, f8, 1/125 sec

 
 

 

Perfection Lost Number Four, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, 135mm Hektor f4.5

iso 200, f6.7, 1/180 sec

 
You see, life is not linear, going from start to finish. It is circular. It goes in cycles. That's comforting to a person a little past mid-life.
 
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On Style, and Photographing Over-Photographed Subjects

 
 

Lotus Leaf and Water, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4 at 85mm

iso 100, f/16, HDR

 
I read a nice little post on thefixedfocus.com this morning about style. Specifically, it deals with flower photography.
 
(Click Here) to read the post on thefixedfocus
 
I remember several years back saying to one of my photographer buddies that I should stop taking flower pictures. My reasoning was that it had been done so much, so well. Does the world need any more flower pictures? Even good ones? Well, I think if they're REALLY good, then the answer is "yes."
 
I still shoot flowers and other overly-photographed subjects, like lotuses (above). I just think the hurdle to making a successful shot is higher with these subjects.
 
So, yes, I was wrong. I still shoot flowers. I even shoot pets on occasion, which I think is even more over-done.
 
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Panasonic Lumix and National Geographic Collaboration Report - Counting Species in India

As I've reported in the past, Panasonic and National Geographic have formed a collaboration, which is super exciting to me. They have just issued a brief report about working with a researcher who studies biodiversity in India's Pakke Tiger Reserve.
 

Image Source: http://panasonic.net/avc/lumix/nationalgeographic/earthswitnesses/india/report.html
Hornbills Are One of the Most Important Seed Dispersers in the Indian Rainforest
 

(Click Here) to see the first episode, which includes a link to a four page pdf document.


The Lumix team worked with Dr. Aparajita Datta, who has spent over a decade studying and working to conserve the tropical forests in Northeastern India. Her research focuses on the "phenology" of the forest, which is the flowering and fruit bearing behavior of trees, to understand the baseline patterns of the forest, and detect any changes. The phenology includes study of trees whose seeds are spread by mammals, birds, and wind. Following is a quote from the report:"“Understanding connections and interaction between animals and plants is the part of my work I find most exciting,” Dr. Datta says. The area is home to five different species of hornbills, and Dr. Datta studies their role as seed dispersers. In tropical forests, 80 percent to 90 percent of tree species bear fruits that animals disperse so these birds are critical to the ecosystem. In addition to her scientific work, Dr. Datta has a passion for educating the next generation of engaged citizens. She has co-written two books for children on hornbills and rain forests and produced other educational material to foster a greater awareness and appreciation of Indian wildlife among urban and rural children." In addition to a short video with Dr. Datta, and eleven still photos, the site includes a second gallery of images from India.

I very much look forward to the coming episodes two and three, which promise to include many more exciting images from the collaboration.
 
Working in Science and being an avid photographer (and Lumix fan), I can't imagine a better match-up of my interests.
 
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Here's a Post to Keep Your Eye On - Lumix Macros

 

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f88/some-my-macro-shots-my-lumix-going-post-23297/

User StudioHeraBell on mu-43 started a new macro image post. Using a legacy Pentax macro lens and DMC-GH2, this looks like it could be interesting.

The image above is a closeup of tulip petals. I find it very attractive.

Macro is one of those types of photography you can do anywhere, any time. It's fun to play with lighting approaches, and make ordinary items seem anything but.

I have subscribed to the thread.

I did some macro photography of my own recently, of the new spring blossoms and flowers. I'll have to post some...

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Love Gun! Something in Common to Laugh About With a Stranger.

 

Love Gun! by Reed A. George

Panasonic DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 45mm f2.8 Macro-Elmarit

iso160, f2.8, 1/320 sec

I've told you before that one of my objectives is to better connect with people in the places I visit. Well, here is an example.

Japan is not the easiest place in the world to meet people casually. This guy was the exception. We met in Hibiya Park in Tokyo, where we were both admiring the spring bloom (see the background). He was happy to practice a little English, and was surprised to find that I could speak a little Japanese. "You have shocked me," I believe was his expression.

Anyway, in quickly looking for things we may have in common to talk about, he brought up the rock and roll band "Kiss." He then proceeded to sing me the lyrics from their song "Love Gun," which I had all but forgotten. He was a little shy about letting me take his picture, but by the second exposure, above, he had gone back into his Paul Stanley (Kiss guitarist and vocalist) act.

It brightened my day to have this little conversation, and get this picture of him. We walked away not knowing each other's names, but both with smiles on our faces. Good fun.

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Manipulated Images - "Grunged Japan" by Reed A. George

I warned you - this post contains manipulated images. I just arrived home from Japan. For most of my trip, I had weak or no internet connection, so you can expect to see several posts about Japan now that I'm back and reconnected. On the airplane ride home, I experimented with some fun manipulations of Lumix images I took on the trip, using an iPad app called Snapseed.

 

(Click Here) to find out more about Snapseed.

 

Here are some examples:

 

Grunged Japan #1, by Reed A. George

 

 

Grunged Japan #2, by Reed A. George

 

 

Grunged Japan #3, by Reed A. George

Grunged Japan #4, by Reed A. George

Grunged Japan #5, by Reed A. George

 

Grunged Japan #6, by Reed A. George

 

Now I know these are not my normal images. That's the point. I wanted to do something a little different. Snapseed was just the ticket to accomplish that. I've used a pretty stochastic approach to these, and didn't follow any recipe. They include combinations of "Vintage Film," "Organic Frames," "Center Focus," and "Grunge" (hence the name of the series).

 

They are so manipulated, I think it suffices to say that all are Lumix photographs, taken with either a DMC-G3 or DMC-TS3.

 

Grunged Japan #7, by Reed A. George

 

I hope you don't mind indulging a little break from my normal style with me. I wouldn't want to use these effects every day, but they were a nice little diversion on the flight home.

 

Let me know what you think!

 

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And The Weather Report Told Me To Stay Inside! Cherry Blossoms in Washington, DC.

 

Jefferson Memorial, by Reed A. George

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

iso160, f11, 0.3 sec

 

Well, it is a rainy weekend here in Washington, DC. But, I knew that overcast weather would make for some nice diffuse lighting. And, since I will be out of town soon, I don't have many more opportunities to see the cherry blossoms in DC this year. So, I decided to brave the weather, and be there at sunrise. I hope you'll agree that the trip was worth it.

 

By the way, it is the 100th anniversary of the original gift of cherry trees from Japan.

 

 

Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 45mm Macro_Elmarit f2.8

iso400, f4, 1/30 sec

The foggy morning light really allowed the subtle colors of the cherry blossoms to pop. In fact, I had to tone them down a little in post-processing, as they looked a little cartoonish to me.

Cherry Blossom Bouquet, by Reed A. George

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

iso160, f2.5, 1/40 sec

I think the image above is my favorite of the morning. Those blossoms on the tree trunk were completely natural, but looked like a florist had arranged them there. Of course, as I was shooting it, another photographer walked right up with his DSLR and snapped it over my shoulder. Oh well, I guess I don't own DC, do I? Actually, I hope he got a nice shot.

Petals in the Tidal Basin, by Reed A. George

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

iso160, f16, 1 sec

 

In the shot above, the water looked very grungy. So, I changed the white balance a little blue to compensate; I may have gone too far.

 

 

Contrasting Reds, by Reed A. George

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

iso400, f5.8, 1/50 sec

In the image above, I enjoy the way the tree trunks in the boke in the background form a leading line. Without that, this image would be very flat.

Vintage Postcard Look, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3, "Pinhole Camera" scene mode

On Camera Flash, iso640, f5, 1/60 sec

I also took the opportunity to play with the DMC-TS3 this morning, using a preset called "Pinhole Camera." This made the image have a dark vignette around the edges, which I replaced in Lightroom with white. I like the effect. Not to be used every day, but kind of cool in this case.

 

 

Soft Pinks, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica 45mm Macro_Elmarit f2.8

iso400, f2.8, 1/500 sec

I like how this image shows blossoms that range from right at their peak bloom to those already missing their petals. I also love the soft pink colors, and the nice out of focus areas. That is why I chose this as the closer for this post.

I sure am glad I didn't listen to the weather report's advice! This was a couple of hours well-spent.

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