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.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Winter Bamboo

I was one of the few who made it into the office today. We had several inches of snow, and it's still coming down. I shot this from the warmth of inside, looking into the atrium.

Winter Bamboo, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f2.8, 1/125 sec.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Crows in Snow

We're having the most intense snowfall of the winter today. Forecasted at 1" yesterday, 1"-3" today, it's already well over six inches here and still coming down heavy. It even brought a murder of crows to my feeder.

Crows in Snow, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/60 sec.

 

I used the "Toy Camera" filter built into the LX100 for this shot. I think it suits the scene quite well.

 

I am / was a huge fan of the DMC-LX7, which I still have. The LX100 is missing a few features that LX7 had, but so far, the image quality from the LX100 is impressing me. Having wifi connection to my iPad is also really handy for blogging.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Delightful Weather

 

Frozen Glass, Cozy Indoors, by Reed A. George

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

iso 1400, f11, 1/250 sec.

 

Not a bad day to be working inside!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

First Snow of the Season

First Snow, by Reed A. George

Nikon F

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Ice and Snow Photo Walks

Last year, I went out after an ice storm and shot these photos. I loved the contrasting red on white or black.

 

I was reminded of this today by a post on another blog, Diane Varner's "Daily Walks."

 

(Click Here) to see Diane's winter walk images. Wonderful.

 

Now don't let the cold weather get you down. Get out there and shoot some pictures! I'll try to do the same.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Buddha in Snowstorm

Here are a couple of shots I made with Ilford Delta 3200 film in my Leica M4-2, at a Buddhist temple during a snowstorm. Both were made with the Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens, one of my favorite lenses.

 

Wat Yarn in Snow, by Reed A. George

 

I selected 1/125-1/250 sec. for my shutter speed, in an effort to catch the falling snowflakes.

 

Parasol, by Reed A. George

 

I like how the statue's eye shows up in this image.

 

I wouldn't normally use high speed film for images like this, but it was what I had with me. I think it worked out pretty well.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Spur of the Moment - Pentax K1000 in the Snow and Ice

I am a firm believer in having a camera (or cameras) with me at all times. For example, in my office at work, I keep a Pentax K1000 on my bookshelf. Completely functional (except for the dead battery), and with a 40-80mm SMC Pentax-M f2.8-4 lens mounted, this camera is ready to go at a moment's notice.

Pentax K1000 at the Ready, by Reed A. George

Photographed with Apple iPad Air(!)

 

A couple of weeks back, on a cold winter afternoon, the cabin fever just became too much. I loaded up a 24 exposure roll of Walgreens iso 200 film and went out to shoot the entire roll in about half an hour. Here are a few results from that outing:

 

 

 

All Shot with Pentax K1000, SMC Pentax-M 40-80mm f2.8-4 Lens

 

This little diversion really helped me get my head back into work. Every time I use the K1000 I'm reminded of my photographic beginnings, and the joy I've derived from it over the years.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

O'er the Beautiful Snow

It's another snowy, stormy day here in Northern Virginia as I write this. Rather than let it keep me inside, I decided to take a walk in the woods and try to capture the mood. Choosing a simple and durable setup, I grabbed my Lumix DMC-TS5 (waterproof, everything-proof compact camera) and figured out how to set long shutter speeds manually. I wanted the longest exposures I could get, so that I could get some nice motion blur as I walked.

 

In order to use 1 second (or 1/2 second in some cases), I had to hold up a 3X neutral density filter over the lens on the TS5. No problem.

 

I've set a short selection of the images (unedited jpegs from the TS5) to one of my favorite songs, "O'er the Beautiful Snow," by Melissa Wright and the Acoustic Burgoo. The mood of the song is perfect for what I wanted to portray.

 

O'er the Beautiful Snow, by Melissa Wright and Acoustic Burgoo

Images by Reed A. George

 

(Click Here) to see the slideshow set to the music (~4 minutes playing time). Be sure to have your volume up to hear the music!

 

Melissa was nice enough to give me permission to use the song for this purpose. I hope you enjoy.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Bert Stephani Shares Snowy Tokyo / Yokohama

Bert Stephani, blogger and photographer, has posted some great pictures from a recent trip to Yokohama, Japan, at the invitation of Fujifilm.

 

Image Source: http://bertstephani.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/20140214_cp+_024.jpg

 

It is pretty rare for the Tokyo/Yokohama area to get snow, especially enough to really stick and be around for a while.

 

(Click Here) to read Bert's story about visiting Japan for the CP+ show at Fujifilm's invitation, and equally important, the several images he shares.

 

Seems that Bert got some experience with Fujifilm's new X-T1, which is getting a lot of press at the moment.

 

I have to admit, I'm so far left on the equipment/time balance, I haven't kept up with this new camera (or several others). I think this is okay, as I want my focus to shift toward creative use of my cameras more and more anyway. Of course, that doesn't stop me from looking...

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Cold, Rain, and Snow - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Series II 14-42 Kit Lens

One of my colleagues came to my office this morning, saying that I really needed to get out and shoot some of the plants around our building while they were still covered in ice. That was all the motivation I needed.

 

All of these were shot with the new 14-42mm kit zoom that comes with the DMC-GX7 at iso 200.

 

 

 

 

 

Not bad for ten minutes outside with a kit lens!

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

 

Shanghai Rings in the Year of the Snake with a Blanket of Snow

 

She Battles the Snow in Her Unique Way, by Mimo Khair

Image Source: http://mimokhairphotography.com/2013/02/08/one-day-left-till-the-year-of-the-snake/

 

Mimo Khair posted this really interesting shot and a little prose on the experience of being in Shanghai on the eve of the year of the snake.

 

(Click Here) to read the post on mimokhairphotography.com

 

I went out for the Chinese New Year parade here in Washington, DC. Due to poor planning, I was there early with my daughter and my friend James McKearney. We got to see a few lion dancers preparing for the parade, but we were chilled and ready to go long before the parade truly began. So, I don't have much to show. Here's a shot of a street vendor, selling miniature lion decorations, and, of course, rubber snakes.

 

Get Yer Rubber Snakes!, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, W-Nikkor C 3.5cm f2.5 LTM Lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/125 sec

 

The W-Nikkor 3.5cm lens is my choice for my "Whole Lotta Leica" feature in February. I definitely need to get out more with it soon.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

White Christmas in Virginia

 

White Christmas in Virginia, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3

iso 100, f5.9, 1/8 sec

 
It's Christmas Eve, and we are getting a nice dusting of snow here in Virginia. So, I grabbed the weather-proof Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 and a tripod, and ran out for a few photographs. I think this one shares the feeling nicely.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 

Never Never - DMC-GH2 On Four Day Hike Through Tasmania!

 

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f56/never-never-23374/

 

I have cross-posted some of "nickthetasmaniac" 's work in the past. Tasmania is such an exotic place in my mind, and he goes to the coolest areas there.

 

This time, he went on a four day hike, ending up in a place called "Never Never." How cool is that?

 

Nick uses the Lumix DMC-GH2, Nokton 25mm f0.95, Lumix 7-14mm f4, and Olympus 45mm f1.8.

 

You will definitely want to (Click Here) to see the whole post. There are several great pictures there.

 

They even ended up with a late summer (remember, Southern Hemisphere) snow! The picture of their camp looks mighty cold to me.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com