French Quarter in the Rain - Leica IIIC and Summar 5cm f2

I recently attended the LHSA (International Leica Society) Spring Shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana. One of my favorite places to photograph, I was hoping we'd get some inclement weather to build some mood into my pictures. I was not let down - it rained on and off, sometimes quite heavily, during my whole trip. I loved it.

 

Here are some shots of street musicians playing in front of Rouse's Grocery on Royal Street as a rain storm rolled in and subsequently left.

 

All were shot with the Leica IIIC and Summar 5cm f2 lens. One of Leica's earliest fast lenses, the Summar is infamous for being being soft. I happen to have a clean copy, without a scratched front element, which is rare. I find it to be a wonderful lens.

 

 

Shooting iso 400 film (Kodak TMax 400), I couldn't quite get a fast enough shutter speed to capture the rain as I wanted. I hope that you can see it in images 2 and 3.

 

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Storm Approaches the Manor House - Lumix DMC-LX100 and Snapseed

I ventured out from the office today as a storm approached. Here's my interpretation of the scene.

Storm Approaches the Manor House, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/250 sec.

Manipulated in Snapseed on iPad

 

Here's the original image from the LX100.

 

The springtime seasonal allergies are killing me right now, so I paid the price for being outside. But, the clouds were so dramatic, I had to run out and get the shot. The Panasonic DMC-LX100 made that very easy.

 

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Oklahoma Tornadoes - I Watched The Storm Develop

I am visiting my parents in El Reno, Oklahoma on May 20, 2013, the day of the horrendous tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma. We knew that severe weather was coming; the local news stations had been warning for days.

 

The storm formed just to the East of us. I got in the car to see if I could safely get a shot or two.

 

The Oklahoma Tornado Storm Forming, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

 

 

Enormous Storm Cloud, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, in-camera panorama

 

I did not get close to this storm. It was just too ominous.

 

About 20 minutes after I took these pictures, we started hearing about tornadoes on the ground. The strangest thing is that where I was, we never even got any rain. Forty miles away, mass destruction was happening. I'm still struggling with the images and news we've been seeing on the television all day.

Storm Clouds Over the Plains, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, in-camera panorama

 

My thoughts go out to all those affected by the tornadoes.

 

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Frankie Torres Shows Us NYC After Sandy

 

Photograph by Frankie Torres

Image Source: http://elizabethavedon.blogspot.com/2012/10/frankie-torres-hurricane-sandy-aftermath.html

 
Hurricane / superstorm Sandy seems like a distant memory here in Virginia. We were extremely lucky, and suffered very little damage, at least as far inland as I am. I'm a little embarrassed to say that we didn't even lose power here. So, it's very easy to forget that others were not so fortunate.
 
In a post on Elizabeth Avedon's blog, Frankie Torres, Marine Corps soldier turned photographer, shows us what Sandy did to Manhattan.
 
(Click Here) to see more pictures from Frankie.
 
I was on public transportation in Washington, DC yesterday when I heard a lady talking about what it's like in NYC right now. She said there are National Guardsmen at the gas stations, and the whole city feels like it's some place else.
 
In addition to how easy it is to forget when you are not directly affected, I find it interesting that each of us turns any catastrophe into something we can understand on an individual basis. A death makes us think about what we could have done to be closer to a person, or to help extend their life. In more distant situations, our brains struggle to connect in some way or another. For example, on the photography blogs, the tsunami in Japan turned into the damage to the camera companies' factories and operations (after much heartfelt expression for the people). One of the things I'll remember about Sandy is how Adorama announced their recovery, step-by-step, on the web. Insignificant in the grand scale, these things must somehow help us to accommodate the bigger impact in our minds.
 
Best wishes to New York and New Jersey, and other places affected by this storm.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Unistock 2012 - Before the Deluge

Unistock is a local bluegrass / country / jam concert here in Northern Virginia. I could only attend on Friday evening this year - and even that was cut short. More about that later.
 
(Click Here) to go to the Unistock home page.
 

 

Unistock 2012, by Reed A. George

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

iso 200, f5, 1/125 sec

 

 
Arriving late afternoon at Clover Hill Farm, I found the place hot, sticky, stagnant, yet filled with fun, creative young people, out to have a good time.
 
 

Friends, by Reed A. George

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

iso 200, f3.2, 1/125 sec

Before the sun went down, we heard about the impending storm. It was so hot and calm, it was difficult to imagine a storm being anything but an improvement. People were doing anything to stay cool.
 

Cooling Off, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 400, f-stop unrecorded, 1/160 sec

As the sunset came and went, Jake and the Burtones laid down their tunes for the crowd, who was quite interactive at this point. These guys are old favorites around hear, although none of them are old, obviously. The stage was the flatbed of an old Chevy truck - very cool.
 
 

Sunset and the Burtones, by Reed A. George

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

iso 800, f1.4, 1/30 sec

Jack and Josh of the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 6400, f2.5, 1/80 sec

Tmony of the Burtones, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Voigtlander 75mm f2.5 Heliar in LTM

iso 400, f2.5, 1/100 sec

Fireworks were also part of the equation. I really like this picture of several dancers with fireworks, which I made using the waterproof Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3 on "Starry Sky" mode. I knew it was about to rain, so I had put my G3s in the car, relying on the weatherproof properties of the TS3.
 

Firework Dancers, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS3, Starry Sky mode

iso 100, f3.3, 15 seconds

 

 
Then came the storm. Soon after the Hot Seats took the stage, all power was lost in a flash. The dead calm air turned to a cold wave of high velocity wind. People were frantic, running through the dark, looking for their friends. I went directly to my car, having to get home that night anyway. It took me three completely different routes, the first two blocked by huge downed trees, to get home. Wild animals were panicked - I saw a deer bound across the road, jumping the roadside fence, rabbits, even a snake desperately seeking safety. The trees lining these country roads represented real and present danger. I truly feel lucky to have not been hit by one as I saw them crashing down around me.
 
I grew up in tornado country, in Oklahoma. I can honestly say that I've never felt more personally threatened by a storm than I did by this one. Some people weren't so lucky. I read an account of one person killed while trying to clear a downed tree from the road; they were hit by another falling tree. I could easily have witnessed the same, as I watched people from the cars in front of me out doing exactly the same. Or, I could have been hit in my car.
 
I was worried about what happened to the people who stayed. It turns out that they moved into a barn, and the music kept going, even through the next day. From what I can see, the power is still out at the location, some five days hence. This didn't stop their party. Oh, the enthusiasm of youth. This old man was happy to get out whole on the first night.
 
For more pictures from before the storm, (Click Here) to go to my photo site www.creativeobjective.com.
 
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

 

 

 

 

 

Ohio Storm Clouds - Lumix 7-14mm At 7mm

http://admiringlight.com/blog/the-storm-cometh/

by Jordan Steele

Now here's a place I have been - Ohio. In fact, I was born there. Ohio can get some nasty storms. I remember when the town of Xenia was basically moved from the map by tornadoes when I was a kid. Just to demonstrate that my family ain't scared of no any storms, we moved to Oklahoma. Hello, fire, we're the frying pan family.

Anyway, I found this image on Jordan's blog very striking.

(Click Here) to go to the Admiring Light blog.

The distortion in this image adds to the immensity of the subject. The exposure is also very well done, with lots of depth and tonality. Thanks, Jordan!

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Buy your lens (or anything else!) here:

 

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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