Sunrise on Haleakala

 

Sun Worship, Haleakala, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

Long drive up to 10,000 feet of elevation to witness sunrise at Haleakala, Maui this morning. Up at 3:30 AM, back at sea level six hours later.

 

Shooting directly into the sun with the LX100 produces unavoidable flare; I decided to go with it rather than fighting it.

 

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Sunrise on the Potomac

Sunrise Paddle on the Potomac, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

I'm on vacation for the next two weeks. I plan to keep blogging, but prepare for some brief posts! I'll be focused on relaxation, and will be back in earnest soon.

 

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Back Bay Sunrise - Newport Beach, California

No words today.

 

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Newport, California - Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve

We arrived last night in Newport Beach, California, where we're attending the wedding of a close family friend.

 

I awoke early, being on East Coast time, and decided to find a nice place to take a sunrise walk. Pulling up Google Maps, I immediately found the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, just a couple of miles from our hotel. While the web said it didn't open until 10:00 AM, I took a chance, and was rewarded with an open, yet empty parking lot. Here are a few scenes from the morning walk, all shot with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Series II 14-42mm kit zoom.

 

 

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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.

 

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Morning in Jackson Square, New Orleans

Morning in Jackson Square, by Reed A. George

Leica M6 Titan, Summicron 35mm f2 v.3 Lens

Ilford Delta 3200 Film

 

As I sit writing this morning in my local Starbucks, this image reminds me of the wonderful coffee and chicory I had just enjoyed at Cafe Du Monde a few minutes before I shot it. I like Starbucks; I loved my Cafe Du Monde coffee that morning.

 

Morning is very quiet in the French Quarter; most of its denizens are at least semi-nocturnal. I always enjoy seeing new places early in the morning, to get a different perspective.

 

The sunlight was just coming up over the bank of the Mississippi River, which would be on the right in the photo above. I like how the edge of the light follows the intersection of the two sets of stairs, going off at different angles. While the steps in the lower section are fully light, those in the middle have light only on their edges. The pigeon at right is similarly edge-lit, which gives it a bit of a focal point in my opinion.

 

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From My Morning Walk in Tokyo

 

Tsukishima Boat, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Carl Zeiss C-Sonnar 50mm f1.5 Lens

iso 400, f2.8, 1/750 sec.

 

I am in Tokyo today as I write this. One good thing about the jet lag I'm suffering with - it gets me out for sunrise walks and photography.

 

This morning, I took the morning train one stop from where I'm staying, to Tsukishima. It's a nice little island section of Tokyo, with some nice boats and morning reflections. I hope you enjoy the view. This is a jpeg directly from the camera.

 

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When the Magic Happens - Howard Grill's Sunrise

Image Source: http://www.howardgrill.com/imagestorypages/pittsburghparks/528sunriseivstory.html

This is what I love about photography. You can go to a place many times, but only occasionally do you get to experience the perfect light and color to make a wonderful image.

(Click Here) to read Howard Grill's short story about the image above.

Below is one that I made in Key West several years back, at sunrise. I must admit that I used a blue/gold filter on this shot, one that I picked up in a purchase of several Cokin filters and holders. I haven't really used any of those filters since. I'm just not a filter type of guy. I occasionally use a polarizer, but usually limit myself to a yellow or orange filter for better sky contrast in black and white, and sometimes a neutral density filter to get the exposure I want.

Key West Pilings, by Reed A. George

Nikon D200, Nikkor AF-D 35mm f2 Lens

iso 100, f22, 10 sec.

 

I guess the filter really helped out in this shot.

 

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Another Long Day on Maui, Short Post

 

Sunrise at Iao Valley, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

 

I had a long day of photography today. The girls went off to shop and go to the Maui Aquarium. I hiked around the Iao Needle, then hung out in Wailuku and Paia Town.

 

While Hiking, I carried my Leica M9 (with WLL lens for August, the Summicron 35mm f2), SFTC camera (Agfa Record III), and the LX7. The LX7 was out and around my neck the whole time. I used the built-in HDR quite a bit. The LX7 is so versatile, I had to remind myself to bring out the other cameras. Each did well in its own way. I'm looking forward to seeing the Agfa Record pictures, but those will take a while to get developed.

 

Anyway, just wanted to make sure I get a post in before going to bed for the night. Maui is a blast!

 

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First Morning in Maui

We made it to Maui last night (remember I usually have a several day delay between writing and posting) late in the evening. Still on East Coast time, I awoke at 4:00 AM. So, I set up a time lapse shot on my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7. I had it shoot a series of 50 pictures, at 3 minute intervals, to cover the sunrise. Couldn't have been easier. I used an app called Stop Motion Studio to make the video below. Click on it to watch the sunrise from our lanai.

Time Lapse, Kihei Sunrise

 

My morning routine in Hawaii is always the same - fresh papaya and Kona coffee. When I have those on the lanai, I know I've actually arrived. Vacation.

 

 

 

Morning Ritual, Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5, iAuto Mode

 

Today, I'll recover from the flight, and hopefully fit in a walk around the historic town of Lahaina. Tomorrow - SCUBA!

 

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User Report: Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 Waterproof Compact

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5 Lifestyle Tough Camera

Image Source: shop.panasonic.com

 

I am pleased to be a participant in Panasonic's Early Adopter program. My first review was of the new DMC-TS5 waterproof, shock proof, wifi-enabled, GPS-enabled, compact camera. How's that for a list of features?

 

(Click Here) to read my report on Panasonic's website.

 

I thought I'd add some images and video to the mix, since that's the real result of tesing a camera, right?

 

First off, this little camera is very convenient. I took it along on a family trip to pick strawberries at the farm. The macro capabilities are impressive. Put the camera into iAuto mode, and you're good to go.

 

Berries and Blossoms, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

For a real test of the specific strengths of this waterproof, toughened camera, I took it with me on a trip to the Florida Keys. We arrived in Key West just before sunrise, so I stayed up and shot a little at the hotel beach. Here's a video of the surf coming in. At the end of the video, you'll see the camera get knocked over by an incoming wave! No worries; it's tough.

 

Click the Picture to See the Video!

Sunrise, Key West, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

To really test the camera, we took it on a scuba diving trip. Here's the ride out to the reef:

 

Click the Picture to See the Video!

Headed to the Reef, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

The seas were pretty rough on this day, with waves from three to five feet being the norm. Here's what it looked like from the water's surface, before we went down:

 

Rough Seas, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

Of course, once we were under water, waves didn't matter, just current. And there was plenty of current.

 

All Is Good, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

 

Shooting in the "Underwater Advanced" mode, I think the camera does a nice job of achieving color balance. This isn't bad for ~30 feet underwater with just the on-camera flash!

 

Snappers, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

Here's an underwater video - look for the two barracudas:

Click the Picture to See the Video!

Barracuda!, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

Here are some other shots from the Key West trip:

"Through Glass" Scene Mode Seems To Work!, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

I Can Still Feel The Humidity, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

Local, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

I'll finish with a couple of shots of one of the things Key West is famous for - sunsets. I shot these in the sunset scene mode, which also works quite well:

Sunset From The Boat, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

And finally, a sunset panorama, made completely in-camera, using the panorama mode.

I thoroughly enjoyed using the DMC-TS5 on this trip. It's wonderful to be able to carry a camera literally anywhere without having to worry about damaging it. After we got back to the hotel, I simply filled the sink with fresh water and submerged the camera for ten minutes or so. Clean and good as new!

 

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