A Red Sunset
This was the sunset image from the same evening as the last few posts. After some great light we had an intense rain storm and then the skies started opening up just before the sun set. All the photographers left the butte except one other PSA member and myself. This image was the reward for sticking it out.
Captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix Pro S 70-200 mm, f/4 lens at 70 mm. Exposure triad: f/11, 1/125 sec at ISO 800.
Tending Fields in The Palouse - the incredible S1R
Before leaving the Palouse, I would really like to venture inside one of the giant combine harvesters that the farmers use. The are specially designed machines that traverse the steep inclines and slopes of the Palouse without tipping over. The cab is fully climate controlled and has computers that monitor and measure things like quantity of the grain being harvested, the moisture content and many other indices.
This is an image captured on Sept 20, 2019, in the late afternoon before the storm. I used the Lumix S1R with the Lumix Pro S 70-200 mm lens. I have cropped a slight amount on the top of the frame to remove a distraction. The performance of the S1R is exceptional. This was a normal (not a high resolution) capture. A severe crop of the frame just to get the farmhouse is shown in the image below. (Please do click on the images for a larger rendition).
Exposure triad: f/11, 1/15 sec, ISO 200. Focal length 200mm.
Storm Clouds Over Palouse
I arrived in Spokane, WA for the PSA Board Meetings and the Conference. It was a long flight from Boston to Spokane but I was not going to pass up the opportunity to take a ride to the wheat fields of the Palouse. The weather did not look good but then bad weather can make for some great images.
Most of the afternoon the fields had barely any light and when there was some it was flat. As the afternoon progressed there were occasional openings in the dark cloud that were letting some light come through. The was a large expanse of rain clouds that were dumping rain while the sun shone through on either side casting some warm light on the harvested wheat stalks.
This image was captured in high resolution using the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix S Pro 70-200 f/4 lens. Exposure triad: f/11, 1/25 sec, ISO 200. Lens at 70mm. The 1440 x 934 pixel image is about 8% of the original file.
Please click on the image for a larger rendition.
Cool and Warm
When the sun was setting this past weekend (Sept 7, 2019) the moon was about 60% and quite high over the horizon. As the light from the sun was all but gone, the moon shining on the water created this cool/warm juxtaposition in harmony with these old pilings.
The breaking waves in the foreground appear to be trying to blend the warm and cold together. Also, notice the split in the color temperature how the light significantly affected the shadows of the pilings on the right vs. the ones on the left.
These situations remind me of George Eastman's quote:
"Light makes photography. Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography."
Minimalism - Sunset
The weekend provided
I first shot this composition wide with lots of negative space but realized that with the rocks so small in the frame the beautiful texture was getting lost. So I composed tighter to show much more detail while the image still remained minimal. The setting sun cast some lovely light in the rocks and created a glow in the sand. Although the slow shutter speed remove the detail from the sand, I like the way the color creates a leading line to the rock formation.
The image was captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix 24-105 f/4 L-Mount lens. A Benro circular polarizer was used to reduce reflections and a Benro 10 stop ND filter was used to slow the shutter down.
Exposure triad: f/8, 60 sec, ISO 100
A not so slow shutter speed - Rocky Coast of Acadia
(please click on the image for a larger rendition)
Slow shutter speed images are interesting and many are minimalist. But by the same token the use of slow shutter speeds seems to have become overly popular. Here in this early morning capture I wanted to slow the shutter down to get the action but at the same time show the motion of the waves as they crashed on the Acadia coastline. The warm glow and blue waters created a harmonious conflict.
The image is a blend of two splashes where both were exposed exactly the same. I used the Panasonic Lumix S1R with the Lumix Pro 70-200 mm f/4 lens at
Vietnam - 2
Nam Cuong sand dunes were amazing - though there was not much texture in the sky the dunes were a beautiful sight. They were really pristine till a bunch of tourists started climbing the slopes. Managed a few shots before the decimation.
A local Cham cowherd had brought his bulls and a wagon that had truck wheels to help traverse the dunes. Lovely warm light on this man's made for an interesting candid image.
The Chăm Pa now a minority were dynasty that extended across the coast of central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd century AD. They were absorbed and annexed by the Vietnamese Emperor Minh Mạng in AD 1832. They are the poorest people in Vietnam.
Why miss an opportunity - here are his bulls that he had unyoked from the wagon.
A young Cham girl plays with simple toys while sitting on the dunes in a pile of tires.
Vietnam - March 2019 - 1
Sitting at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City waiting to board my return flight. As there is a bit of time I have started looking at some of the images from this fabulous trip. Despite the heat and humidity (both bearable), the photo opportunities are just phenomenal.
This is a late evening view of the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh. It is not a part of the main skyline but to the right as you look across the river. Access to photograph the main city skyline was closed due to major construction.
Day three we drove past some very very large fishing villages. The image below is one that caught my eye. It was in the village of Mui Ne on the coastal route from Ho Chi Minh to Phan Rang. It was interesting to see practically all the varieties of fishing vessels you find in Vietnam.
Barred Owl - Corkscrew Swamp
The barred owl, also known as northern barred owl or hoot owl, at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Florida this afternoon. The swamp has way too much water and as a result, the number of birds is minimum. This owl remained with its eyes closed for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, when the park staff came by to say we had to leave, I stopped by to get this image.
MINWR Field Workshop
January 25, 2019 - 7:00 AM field trip to Merrit Island National
This year the number of Glossy Ibis in the reserve is exceptional. I have never seen so many flocks of 20 Ibis or more.
On the other hand, the Roseate Spoonbills are not as abundant as in past years.
Lumix G9 Hi-Res Mode - Canyonlands, UT
Despite windy conditions, I wanted to test the Hi-Res Mode of the Lumix G9 in a lighting situation where there would be a minimum shadow definition. I found this location and vantage point and returned at near high noon. The clouds were interesting but as they were not interfering with the light falling on this monolith, I set up and captured this image.
The original RAW file before any crop was 10368 px by 7776 px and approx 138 MB. One for one pixel (native resolution) at 260 DPI this image will print 40 inches wide. The image was processed in Capture One and I cropped down from the top for a better composition. The reduced resolution is a 1400px by 922px file.
No sharpening or lens correction has been applied, nor has any chromatic correction been done.
To determine the detail and quality of the image I have done an extreme crop as shown in the image below.
