Cherry Blossoms, Light Painting, with the Nikon Df

I have the opportunity to shoot cherry blossoms every year, usually in both the Washington, DC area, and in Tokyo. Very different opportunities, of course, but each very nice.

 

I find that when a subject becomes routine to me, I am challenged to make pictures that are interesting to me, and probably to anyone else who's looking. A few years back, a friend and I started to experiment with light painting the cherry trees (using flashlights to artificially light the trees in the dark). I feel that I've gotten better at this over time. Here's the first shot I was happy with from a quick outing last night with the Nikon Df.

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 131 secs exposure

 

Having gotten the first shot I had in mind, I started playing around with other ideas. First, I tried adding some red light (two small red light flashlights, one in each hand).

 

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 231 secs exposure

 

Okay, I guess, but nothing special. Then, I got an idea. I've always wanted to photograph the blossoms falling from the trees, or at least represent that concept. So, I grabbed a small branch of blossoms and used the flashlight to light it as I simulated it falling from the tree. Here's what that looks like.

 

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35mm f2 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 202 secs exposure

 

Then, I decided to try more of that, switching from the 35mm to 24mm Nikkor.

 

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 24mm f2.8 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 435 secs exposure

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 24mm f2.8 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 384 secs exposure

These are kind of cool, and probably my favorites from the evening.

 

Then, I decided to put it all together. Maybe it's a bit much, but here it is.

 

Light Painting, Cherry Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 24mm f2.8 AF-D Lens

iso 100, f11, 486 secs exposure

 

This was an interesting evening of experimentation. It gives me ideas for some further exploration, but I have to do it fast; the cherry blossoms won't last long.

 

At least these aren't just like every other cherry blossom shot I see every year.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Belizean Sunrise

I got my butt out of bed at 5AM this morning to catch the sunrise here in Belize. I shot several images, and plan to work on them when I get home, including a plan to try some subtle high dynamic range (HDR) processing. Here's one that I like pretty much as-is:

Belizean Sunrise, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1, Lumix 20mm f1.7 Lens with 3-Stop ND Filter

iso 160, f16, 1 sec.

 

I liked how the shoreline formed an S-curve, ending at the thatched dock shelter at the horizon. I edited this image in Snapseed on my iPad.

 

More to come.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Cheap Pinhole Cameras Can Be A Lot of Fun

I like to play with pinhole photography once in a while. I have a nice 4x5 film pinhole camera that takes pretty decent images. Here's one I love:

4x5 Pinhole Image, by Reed A. George

 

However, there are many less expensive pinhole cameras, including some nice kits where you actually build you own camera out of thick paper. Here's mine, the Kikkerland, which shoots pinhole images on 35mm film:

 

 

With the smaller negative size of 35mm film (as compared to 4x5), you cannot expect the same results. The resulting images are always unsharp, but can still be pretty cool:

Unsharp Knife, by Reed A. George

Kikkerland Paper Pinhole Camera, 35mm Film

 

(Click Here) to read a nice post about another paper pinhole camera, this one a "Sharan," by

Andrea Taurisano on Rangefinder Forum. Several nice images are included.

 

So, if you find yourself obsessing about sensor size, noise reduction, or lens sharpness, grab a cheap little pinhole camera and allow yourself to enjoy a low tech image or two. Works for me!

 

There's a link to the Sharan model on Amazon below. If you feel really adventurous, you can google for DYI pinhole camera ideas.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Worldwide Pinhole Camera Day - My Results

I've been out shooting my 4x5 film pinhole camera lately.

 

(Click Here) to see some of my recent shots.

 

I recently took part in Worldwide Pinhole Day, which occurred on Sunday, April 28.

 

(Click Here) to read about Worldwide Pinhole Day, and browse the gallery of results. There are some really nicely done images there, shot in everything from coffee cans to expensive cameras like the Ilford Titan. Click the Amazon link at the bottom of the page to see the Titan. I want one, but haven't decided to spring for it yet. It's a lot of money for a lensless camera, but the design is quite cool.

 

Anyway, here are my results from shooting on Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day:

 

White Horse, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera, Arista Edu 100 Film, 30 sec.

 

Dark Horse, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera, Arista Edu 100 Film, 30 sec.

 

Rushing Water, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera, Arista Edu 100 Film, 60 sec.

 

Still Water, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera, Arista Edu 100 Film, 180 sec.

 

You are only allowed to submit one image to the Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day gallery. Here is my selection:

 

On the Water, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera, Arista Edu 100 Film, 30 sec.

 

I like how the rushing water at the lower right contrasts with the sharp structure of the bridge. The canoe on the water in the background is the perfect addition to my composition.

 

I had some issues in developing the 4x5 sheet film. You can see the artifiacts of those issues in the first image, and maybe some others. However, that's part of the allure of shooting this way. It's truly low tech and messy. It's interesting to me how you can get a thought or message across, even using the most basic of tools - basically a wooden box with a tiny hole in it.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

gotak from Mu-43.com Shares a Cold Toronto Winter Morning

 

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f57/5am-9am-downtown-toronto-39093/

 

Mu-43.com member gotak has posted some images taken in Toronto this winter, all between the hours of 5:00-9:00 am. These were shot on the Olympus OM-D.

 

(Click Here) to see them all on mu-43.com, including the iced-over docks at Toronto Harbor.

 

gotak tells us that the OM-D was a lightweight selection, and that it was good, since the icy docks come with some danger of slipping into the water.

 

These pictures make me feel cold just looking at them. Slide into that water, and it's all over, I'm afraid.

 

It's nice to see some images from so early in the morning - definitely not your average tourist shots. The OM-D seems to do quite well with long exposures.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com