Autumn Color

I got out in the autumn colors today, from a vantage point at Bear's Den overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, less than an hour from home.  Here's the overall scene (don't forget that it's interactive - you can zoom and scroll around in the 360 degree panorama image if you click on image):

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

And here are my favorite shots from the day, all shot with my Nikon D810.  The first two with the Nikkor 200-500mm, the rest with the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4 (amazing lens!).

Wood - Shot With the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

A series of photos of trees, close up, from my trip to The Desolation Wilderness in Northern California. All shot with the LX100.

 

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Summer Leaves

There's something about trees. They have this incredible range of dimension, from the microscopic detail of leaf structure, to the sometimes impressively large structure of the trunk and root system. There's a lot going on inside this one living organism, and even more just outside.

 

Photographers, including me, love to shoot the autumn leaves. I found this tree, which happens to be at its peak summer health, equally interesting

 

Summer Leaves, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 28mm f1.8 AF-S G Lens

iso 3200, f5.6, 1/125 sec.

 

I spot metered a point on the gray tree bark to get this exposure. Of course, that meant blowing out the highlights in the white sky around the leaves, but that's okay.

 

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Cottonwoods Blooming on the Potomac River

On my most recent kayaking trip on the Potomac River, I shot this image of a cottonwood tree, blooming and losing its blossoms to the river surface.

Cottonwoods on the Potomac, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS5

iso 160, f3.3, 1/160 sec.

 

As you can see, I made this image with the compact, waterproof Lumix DMC-TS5 camera. It's a great companion on kayaking trips, as it's really well-protected against water, dirt, sand, and shock. I think it makes very nice pictures for a compact point and shoot.

 

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How to Get Better Pinhole Images

Bull Run Creek, by Reed A. George

4x5 Pinhole Camera

 

Today (the day I'm writing this, April 26, 2015) is World Pinhole Day.

 

(Click Here) to read about World Pinhole Day. You've missed this one, but read up and be prepared for the next one!

 

My friend, Bill, and I went put and shot pinhole images today at the National Arboretum in Washington, DC. I used my 6x17 panoramic pinhole camera for black and white. But, since there were so many great colors there because of spring, I also shot quite a lot with a pinhole body cap on my Nikon Df. I'll be posting some of those in the near future.

 

(Click Here) to read about the Reality So Subtle 6x17 panoramic pinhole camera that I use a lot these days.

 

After returning this evening, I did a web search to read a little more about pinhole techniques. I found a post on The Phoblographer (Click Here to read it), listing five keys to better pinhole photos:

 

1. Shoot in black and white
2. Use a tripod
3. Use high contrast film
4. Compose to guide the viewer through your image
5. Use a lightmeter

 

I agree with most, but not all of these points. As I've already said, I do like to shoot color as well as black and white in my pinhole cameras. Also, I strongly recommend using a smart phone app, instead of a light meter. Personally, I use a great one called "Pinhole Meter" on my iPhone. It is very simple to use, and doesn't require me to mentally calculate anything. Better than a traditional lightmeter.

 

I had a great time shooting on World Pinhole Day. Now to process film, select a single image, and get it posted to the website!

 

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Live Oak Tree - Lousiana Plantation - From Raw Image to Interpretation

I just returned yesterday from the LHSA (International Leica Society) Spring Shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana.

 

One of our (brilliant) activities was a visit to Belle Haven Plantation, which has been closed to the public for many years. We were extremely lucky to get access. The enormous live oak trees on the property were so beautiful. Here's a raw image that I took of one of them.

 

Live Oak, Starting Image, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Summicron 35mm f2 Lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/60 sec.

 

I walked out into a huge puddle of standing water to get this shot. I exposed to keep the highlights from blowing out, knowing that I could recover detail from the shadows with the M9 file. Right out of the camera, it looks underexposed.

 

I decided to do a quick edit on the image in Snapseed, on my iPad. Here's the result.

 

Live Oak, Interpretation, by Reed A. George

 

I'm sure that I can make a nice straight image from this file, but I kind of like this manipulated version. I purposefully added the vignetting around the edges, simply because I like the look.

 

Maybe I'll post the same image processed in Lightroom with much less manipulation. It will be interesting to see which version I like best.

 

If you're interested in the LHSA, check us out by (Clicking Here).

 

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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.

 

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Japanese Maple in Autumn - Nikon Df

I'm enjoying my new Nikon Df a lot. Here's a shot of the Japanese maple outside my office.

 

Japanese Maple in Autumn, by Reed A. George

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

iso 100, f1.4, 1/125 sec.

 

The 50mm f1.4 AF-D lens is now well out of date in the Nikkor lineup. It has always drawn criticism for lack of sharpness wide open, which I suppose is true. That doesn't keep me from using and enjoying it.

 

That said, the new Sigma 50mm f1.4 ART lens is the hot thing out there these days. My friends who have them approve. Much larger than the AF-D lens, these new Sigmas really seem to deliver amazing image quality. The updated Nikkor product, the AF-S 50mm f1.4G is another option, but both the Nikkor and Sigma lack aperture rings, something I'm unhappy about. This means that I can't use them on my old Nikon film bodies, or even adapted to Micro 4/3 for that matter.

 

As it stands, I can carry my older AF-D lens in the bag with any of my Nikon SLR bodies, from the 1959 model F to the 2014 model Df, and it will work just fine with any of them.

 

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More UC Berkeley Trees

A couple of days back, I posted about the tree sit-in protest at Berkeley from 2006-2008. You may or may not think the protesters crazy for living in the trees for so long, but you have to admit that the landscape on the campus is beautiful and is worth protecting. Here's a shot I took on my walk around UC Berkeley.

 

Berkeley Trees, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1, Lumix 20mm f1.7 Lens

iso 400, f1.7, 1/640 sec.

 

This is an unedited image straight from the camera. I shot it wide open to render the leaves in the foreground sharp, and slightly blur the trees in the background.

 

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Hangin' Around in Berkeley - Quite Literally

While walking around the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, I met these young fellows.

 

Hanging Out in Berkeley, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1, Lumix 20mm f1.7 Lens

iso 400, f5.6, 1/100 sec.

 

Hanging out in trees has a dramatic history at UC Berkeley. History's longest tree sit-in, a protest against the university's decision to cut down a grove of 42 native trees to make way for a new athletic center, took place there. From December 2006 to September 2008, protesters literally lived in the treetops, getting supplies brought in, and waste taken out by volunteers. In the end, the protesters lost and the trees were cut down.

 

(Click Here) to read more about the tree sit-in on wikipedia.

 

These guys were doing nothing of the type, and I would guess were waiting for their parents who probably work at the university.

 

Gotta love Berkeley. At least I do.

 

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Belizean Palm

 

Belizean Palm, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1, Lumix 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Kit Zoom

iso 800, f11, 1/125 sec.

 

Getting up at sunrise on the final day of our vacation in Belize, I was rewarded with this image. It could only be taken at dawn or dusk, as the contrast would have been excessive at any other time.

 

The Series II 14-42mm kit zoom is really quite impressive. Paired with the diminuitive GX1, they can really deliver in good light such as this.

 

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Goodbye Minerva Lake

Backlit Leaves, Minerva Lake, by Reed A. George

Nikon F, Nikkor 28mm f3.5 Pre-AI Lens

Kodak Tmax 400 Film

 

My aunt and uncle are moving out of the house they've lived in since I was a kid. In Minerva Park in Columbus, Ohio, it's a place I spent a lot of time as a kid, going to the pool in the summer with my cousins. This may be the last time I ever have the occasion to walk around Minerva Lake. This picture will remind me of the place forever.

 

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Live Oak Tree, New Orleans' Audubon Park

Live Oak, Audubon Park, New Orleans, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 35mm f2 Lens

iso 200, f16, 1/60 sec.

Edited in Snapseed

 

On one day of my trip to New Orleans, I took the streetcar line to Audubon Park. Actually, due to construction on the streetcar system, I had to make part of the trip on a bus. In any case, the park is lovely. The light coming through the branches of the amazing, enormous live oak trees there was amazing, even mid-day on a clear, bright day.

 

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High Work

I don't know why, but I seem to be intrigued with people doing work at high elevations - window washing and things like that.

 

(Click Here) to see some shots I made of window washers high up on a glass building with my Agfa Solinette II (part of last year's Skeletons From The Closet series).

 

Here's a shot of guys doing tree maintenance in New Orleans, Louisiana last week.

 

 

 

Palm Tree Maintenance, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summilux 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 200, f11, 1/180 sec.

Edited in Snapseed

 

 

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Andy Bell's Forest Series, Chawton Park Woods

Chawton Park Woods #9, by Andy Bell

Image Source: http://www.deceptivemedia.co.uk/?s=Chawton%20Park%20Woods

 

UK photographer Andy Bell has posted an impressive series of forest photographs from Chawton Park Woods, in the South of England. It's a series of 9 images (so far?), but covers a lot of range in such a small number of pictures.

 

 

Having just received good yet critical feedback in a critique of my Muir Woods images, I really respect what it takes to get images like Andy's.

 

(Click Here) to take a look for yourself.

 

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Leica in Nature - LHSA (International Leica Society) Muir Woods Photo Tour

I'm writing while I'm on the flight back from Northern California, where I attended the annual meeting of the LHSA (International Leica Society). One of our photo outings was north of San Francisco in Marin County, at Muir Woods, an amazing redwood forest in the coastal mountains. I've been here many times in the past, so I was hoping that I'd be able to bring a new perspective to the pictures I'd capture there. In addition to my familiarity of the place, which can be a blessing or a curse, we arrived at mid-day, when the lighting was strongest yet most harsh. However, the forest provides lots of opportunities to find good light.

 

By the way, I'm only sharing the digital images I made on my M9; the film is on its way to The Darkroom for processing now. And, my post-processing was all done on my iPad using Snapseed. Also, I don't have a way to view the EXIF information, so I'm only including what I can remember. You'll see that three of the five shots in this post are shot with October's Whole Lotta Leica Lens, the venerable 50mm Summicron f2 version 3.

 

Let's see how I did.

 

Sunshine Through The Canopy, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 50mm f2 Lens

 

 

Now, I think this is a fairly predictable image. I was able to take advantage of the backlighting on the stump, and really like the burst of light at the branch at the top of it, along with the sun itself. I also enjoy the stripes of light in the forest behind. But, again, pretty pedestrian.

 

Redwood Detail, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 50mm f2 Lens

 

Here's another from the same spot. Here I decided to open the aperture wide (f2.8, I believe) and isolate the redwood branch at left from the surrounding forest.

 

 

Dark To Light, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Carl Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8 Lens

 

I love the way this shot shows the transition from the deep darkness of the forest understory to the bright midday sky above. The backlighting on the branches at the bottom are also nice. I decided to crop this image significantly to focus the interest where I want it. The Zeiss Biogon is a wonderful lens, and I can even say that I like using the bright 25mm Voigtlander accessory viewfinder. It makes composition a different and enjoyable experience.

 

Then, I decided to focus my attention on one particular subject, a redwood stump that was bathed in wonderful, subtle light. I set up my tripod and got to work. Most people walked by looking for an invisible bird or other subject that I must be photographing. I mean, who would spend so much effort to photograph a stump? Well, me, that's who. One person actually came up behind me and grabbed a snapshot of my subject with his handheld DSLR. He probably got home and thought, "now what the heck is that a picture of?" Here are my favorite two shots so far:

 

Study of a Redwood Stump, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Leica Summicron 50mm f2 Lens

 

This is one of those examples that once again prove to me that we don't photograph subjects, we photograph light. I am also learning to try to photograph how a scene makes me feel, not how it looks. This shot achieves that at a certain level. I absolutely love the colors and tones. I also like the spotlight on the leaves in the stump.

 

Redwood Stump With Context, by Reed A. George

Leica M9, Carl Zeiss Biogon 25mm f2.8 Lens

 

This final shot shows a little more of the context around the stump. This shot could use some more post-processing to emphasize some areas of the stump. I'll work on that. To be honest, I much prefer the more closely-composed shot above.

 

So, what do you think? Did I succeed at getting some different perspectives on this much-photographed location? I sure enjoyed my time in the forest, and hope that I'm developing some new skills in making unique images.

 

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Pulled Skyward - Autumn Leaves With a Twist (Lumix DMC-GX7)

I've been feeling that I'm at a creative plateau for quite some time. I'm trying some things that are new, if not to the photographic world, at least to my portfolio.

 

Autumn leaves are not so impressive in my part of the world this year, at least not yet. So, I decided to try adding some motion to those same old fall pictures I take every year. On October 30, I posted a set of five images of leaves with motion, starting with simple lines, then moving on to rotations.

 

I really enjoyed looking at those images. I could hear the photographic mentor in my head saying:

 

Good. Nice start. Now go spend some time with it. See how far you can take it.

 

So, I went out for another session. As I was walking out to the small stand of trees that are my subject, I started thinking about the degrees of freedom I could play with in motion while the shutter is open. I came up with several: f-stop, shutter speed, lateral (x,y) motion, angle (of the sensor, in-plane rotation), and angle of view (zoom). So, I played with them all.

 

Here are three images that show one theme that came out. I call it "Pulled Skyward." The threads of white (there was no fog; it was a perfectly clear day) remind of a spirit being pulled up through the trees.

 

Pulled Skyward 1, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f22, 0.4s sec.

This first one is very nearly completely abstract. For me, abstract means that you can't really tell what the actual subject was. And, for me, it's a little too abstract to stand on its own. Hopefully the next two will give it some context, and help it to remain in the collection.

Pulled Skyward 2, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f20, 0.4s sec.

Number two clearly shows that we're looking up into the treetops. The white streaks show nicely.

Pulled Skyward 3, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm Series II Kit Zoom

iso 200, f20, 0.4s sec.

 

Number 3 is my favorite of this set. I feel like I am being pulled up through the trees. The white streaks are just prominent enough to connect me to the treetops. However, I do feel that all three go together well.

 

If you know my photography, hopefully you'll recognize that this is a real departure for me. I'm somewhat of a photographic realist. I enjoy razor sharp images of interesting subjects, or street scenes where you can see multiple things going on. These are much more symbolic than my normal work.

 

It's good to stretch the mind.

 

I have a different set of images from this session, with a different color palette. I'm still working on those.

 

To those of you looking for how technically well the new DMC-GX7 and Series II kit zoom work, how sharp they are, sorry. I feel drawn in this direction at the moment, and the sharp, realistic images will have to come later.

 

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Mark Hirsch's Tree - 365 Days Project

 

Burr Oak, Platteville, WI, by Mark Hirsch

Image Source: http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2013/05/08/that-tree-a-photo-a-day-by-mark-hirsch/6021/

 

Photographer Mark Hirsch took on the challenge of shooting an image of a single tree, every day, for a year - with his iPhone. He posted his images on facebook, and they became extremely popular. Every day from March 24, 2012 - 2013, Mark trudged to the tree, regardless of weather, mood, or anything else.

 

Mark reports that this has taught him to slow down, to be "contemplative" in his photography.

 

(Click Here) to read about his project on the Denver post blog.

 

His project meant a lot of different things to different people. He reports how viewers associated specific pictures with what happened in their lives on that particular day.

 

Over 300 people showed up on-site for his final picture of the project.

 

Mark is now producing a book of all of the images.

 

I once thought of an extremely similar project - shooting a cypress tree near where I lived in Tampa, Florida. Of course, thinking and doing are two different things. And, Mark's tree got a lot wider range of weather than my cypress would have.

 

In any case, I can identify with this project. It's extremely well-done.

 

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Mesmerizing Tree Photo by Andy Bell

Blue Tree in Fog, by Andy Bell

Image Source: http://www.deceptivemedia.co.uk/photoblog

 
I find this image, well as I said above, mesmerizing. I have always been partial to tree photographs. I think for me it's got something to do with scale - from a trunk whose diameter can be measured in feet to tiny branch ends, as small as you care to measure, and spread all across the field of view. There's sort of a built-in mystery in a picture like this, even without the fog.
 
This one just wraps it all together so well. No distractions, significant vignetting, but in a way that adds to the composition.
 
Andy made this shot with a Panasonic DMC-GF2 and Lumix 45-200 f4-5.6 lens.
 
(Click Here) to go to Andy's site for more.
 
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Foggy Morning Over the Potomac

 

View From the Bridge, by Reed A. George

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

iso 200, f8, 1/30 sec

 
I had a meeting get cancelled at work this morning. So, I took a quick walk around the property. Here's one of the three shots I got, the one that I like.
 
I recently read something about rhythm and tension in composition. I like the rhythm of the trees along the shore, the round little island, and the triangular patch of light reflected on the water. The white tree and leaves leaning over, and reflected in, the river give some tension, in my opinion. The foggy atmosphere made for a low contrast image, which I also like.
 
I'm glad I got a chance to walk out and see this scene.
 
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