Zakim - Three Views
Zakim Bridge is probably the most photographed bridge in Boston. Google search and one sees thousands of views of this iconic structure. The following three are my interpretations captured on August 23, 2014. These were shot from the park below the bridge. Please do click on the images to see a larger rendition.
Where were these feet wanting to go?
Street photography can be so much fun. One can click away and get lots of street photographs but I would much rather spend a few hours observing and capture just one unique moment, mood or expression.I spent a few hours in Boston's Quincy Market last weekend while my wife and her friend were shopping. Camera in hand I was people watching. The light and shadows on the pavers was intriguing and I was hoping to capture something different. I noticed some confusion in the expression of this lady and that confusion seemed to be conveying a message that was reflected in her footsteps.
Diaphanous Flowers - Rose of Sharon
This is the fourth flower in this series. A Rose of Sharon from the yard. This one was lit from the side and the back with a low intensity cross fill. All lighting for these images have been cool LED lights, daylight balanced. Once again please click on the image for a larger view.
Diaphanous Flowers - Mandevilla
This mandevilla bloom was photographed last week. This is the third flower in this series. Currently I am working on a Rose of Sharon and hoping to post the result in a day or two. Please click on the image for a larger rendition.
India - March 2015 - Tribes of Gujarat & Kavant Fair
March 4 - 19, 2015 photo tour through the western region of India. The “Tribes of Gujarat with Kavant Fair” is a tremendous opportunity to get one of the finest cultural experiences possible in India.For details on the trip please visit - http://tinyurl.com/meq6ge8This trip will immerse you in an India that few get to see or experience. Feel free to share this with with your friends. The trip is all inclusive, round trip air fare included (from a US gateway city) and will have a maximum of 12 participants. Register ASAP as this one will fill up very fast.
Diaphanous Lily 2
This is the second image in the series. The process is the same as Diaphanous Lily with the exception of lighting. Here I used two lights instead of the single light in the first image. Please click on the image for a larger view.
Super Moon - August 10, 2014
The August 10, 2014 super moon captured in the Provincetown Dunes. Tried two other locations before settling on this one. I have moved the moon a bit lower in the frame. Shot with the Panasonic Lumix GH4 and the Panasonic Lumix Vario 100 - 300 mm lens at 300 mm (600 mm equivalence). Please click on the image for a larger view.
Diaphanous Lily - another twist on flower photography
A yellow lily from my yard. It takes a long lime to set this up but in the end it is worth the effort. Please click on the image for a larger view.
Eagle Island - Time-lapse
[video type="youtube" id="WCiMgyGEFOM" width="420"]Default Message[/video]I had posted an image stack of the stars in Eagle Island, Botswana a few days ago. This is the rendered time-lapse of the same sequence. Please view this as a 1080p HD video for the best visual experience.
Star-trails in the Southern Hemisphere
Finding Polaris or the North Star is easy in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Southern Hemisphere, finding Sigma Octantis is very difficult. The star lies in the constellation of Octans and has a magnitude of 5.5 making it barely visible even on a clear night. One can use the Southern Cross to make an attempt at locating its position but it will never be really accurate. I did my best and set up my cameras to do a time-lapse. This was the night Germany played Brazil in the World Cup.My tripod and camera must have aroused the curiosity of the night security guard at Eagle Island Camp. He kindly moved my rig to a more secure position on the tiles of the swimming pool. This was after 395 images had been captured with about 105 to go. Sequence disrupted but in my opinion the stack is interesting. Sigma Octantis is in the top left corner of the frame - INVISIBLE.Stars in Africa are incredibly bright as indicated by the EXIF data. These images were captured using the Panasonic Lumix GH4 and the 12 to 35 mm Lumix Vario lens. Exposure triad: f/2.8, 13 sec, ISO 200 - no noise reduction required.In hindsight, I should have added an ND filter and increased the exposure to 25 seconds or closed down the aperture to f/4. This would have extended the individual trails.Your comments would be appreciated.
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
It was a rare but awesome opportunity to see this pair of Carmine Bee-eaters in Botswana. The Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides) is primarily found in sub-equatorial African region. These are migratory birds that spend the winter August to November (breeding season) in Zimbabwe. They move south to Botswana and South Africa for the summer and then migrate to equatorial Africa from March to August.
The Okavango and Termite Mounds
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is one of the largest inland deltas. Most of the Okavango river’s water that feeds the delta is either evaporated or transpired and none of it flows into the ocean. Some of the water (about 2%) does feed the Lake Ngami.
The termites of the Okavango are critical to the formation of the islands in the delta. Nearly every island was formed by a termite mound. During the floods, termite mounds are the usually the only land formation that is above water. This make the mounds a surveying point for animals and birds. It offers the creatures an elevated view allowing them to seek out prey.
This pair of lions are siblings who are keeping away from a large male who is pursuing them for territory dominance.
Chobe National Park - Leopard
Leopards are normally shy and elusive, not this one. This very large male allowed us to follow him for an hour while he marked his territory. At times he came to within ten feet of the Land Cruiser we were following him in. We lost him when a large male hyena charged him. This was one magnificent specimen and as per the guide one of the largest leopards in Chobe National Park - Botswana.
The animal is partially backlit that made this image worth including in this post. Click on the image for a larger view.Photographed with a Panasonic Lumix GH4 and the 100 - 300 mm Lumix lens. Exposure triad: f/8, 1/500 sec at ISO 400. Focal length 170 mm (340mm full frame equivalent).
In search of the Lilac Breasted Roller
I do not believe a trip to Southern Africa would be complete without a good image of the Lilac Breasted Roller (Coracias caudatus). Many images were taken during this trip to Botswana and many rejected till this opportunity. The bird is fairly skittish and very fast in leaving its perch. Here it gave me a lovely pose and the catchlight was just right.Panasonic Lumix GH4 with the Panasonic Lumix Vario 100-300 f/4-5.OIS lens at 264mm. Exposure Triad, f/5.6, 1/3200 sec, ISO 400. The image has been slightly cropped on the left for improved composition.
Using Mirror-less Cameras in Africa
For my 2014 South Africa and Botswana photo tour I used only MILS cameras - a Sony A7R for some of the big landscapes and night photography, a Panasonic Lumix GH4 for action and wildlife (mainly with the Lumix Vario 100 to 300 mm which is a 200 to 600 mm equivalent) and the Olympus OMD EM1 mainly with a Lumix Vario 35 to 100 mm (70 - 200 mm equivalent) for closer subjects and wider FOV. Have no regrets and no disappointments at all. The focusing is fast, shutter actuations at 12 and 11 FPS, accurate tracking and continuous focus. The next two images are of a sunset captured in the Shinde concession in Botswana:
Earlier in the day this Red-billed Francolin was captured sitting on a termite mound.Contact Gary Farber or Keth Patankar at Hunt's Photo & Video for all your Mirror-less Camera Needs
Absence
It has been over a month since I posted on my blog. Here is the excuse - I left for an Iceland trip (the third one this year). We did a complete circle around the island and more. It was an incredible trip. Many images - downloaded but not reviewed yet. Came back to the USA for three days - enough time to pack for the next excursion - Africa. Specifically South Africa and Botswana. A WOW trip. Flew back on Thursday arriving at 11:30 AM. Home by 1:00 PM - a quick switch of suitcases, shower and off to Amherst for the 69th annual NECCC conference. This is undoubtedly the best photography related event in the US if not the world. Next year it will be extra special - the 70th.It has been a lot of fun and getting used to the mirror-less world. Took a Sony A7R full frame, Panasonic GH4 and Olympus OMD EM1, both MFT bodies with a full compliment of lenses from 7 to 300 mm (14 to 600 equivalent in full frame terms) I have never been happier - small, light, easy, and super image quality.I posted this on Facebook but here it is again:
Panasonic Lumix GH4 with the Lumix Vario 100 - 300 mm f/4 - 5.6 lens at 300mm. EXIF info: ISO 400, f/6.3 and 1/100 sec. Hand held with image stabilization on.Contact Gary Farber or Keth Patankar at Hunt's Photo & Video for all your Mirror-less Camera Needs
Falls at the Basin
Was in New Hampshire yesterday so drove to Sugar Hill for some lupines. What a pity - the fields have a handful of flowers. It seems the weeds have choked the lupine plants.On the way back, stopped at the Basin and took a few images with the Sony A7R, 28 - 70 f/3.5 - 5.6. Did not have any ND filters on hand so used ISO 50, f/22 for a 2.5 second exposure. The A7R has excellent dynamic range - impressed. Click on the image to view larger.
New versions of Macphun Intensify and Intensify Pro now available
The new versions of Intensify and Intensify Pro are designed to give you the most powerful photographic detail enhancements possible. With faster performance, enhanced RAW processing and new ways to share your images online or in print, there’s no better way to make eye-popping images that everyone will love. If you already own the previous version the update is free. You can use the Apple App store for the update too Intensify and the Macphun web site for Intensify Pro. Please use the link below to order from Macphun.Click Here to order
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OnOne's Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 Now Available
Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 Now Available - Photo Editor for Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop, Apple Aperture, and standalone use.
Update adds super-fast photo browsing, more file-management options, and improvements to the Perfect Eraser and Masking Bug tools.!
Portland, OR - May 13, 2014 - onOne Software, Inc®., the leading developer of innovative digital photography solutions, today announced that Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 is now available, a new version of its full-featured photo editor, which works as a plug-in with Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and Apple Aperture, as well as a standalone app. Version 8.5 includes speed and productivity enhancements to the Perfect Photo Suite’s Browse module, improved performance with the Perfect Eraser tool, and enhanced masking support in Perfect Effects and Perfect Layers. In addition, RAW file support is now included with the Standard Edition in version 8.5.
Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 is available today as a free update to all owners of Perfect Photo Suite 8. It supports Photoshop CC, CS6, and CS5; Lightroom 5 and 4; Photoshop Elements 12, 11 and 10; and Apple Aperture 3.
onOne’s Perfect Photo Suite includes eight powerful, integrated applications, each one targeted to a specific photo-processing task:
- Perfect Effects. The richest and most versatile photo-stylization tool available on the market today. It includes an extensive library of one-click presets, fully customizable and adjustable effects and powerful masking tools, all of which help make your photos !pop.
- Perfect Enhance. Offers essential tools for basic enhancements, including brightness, contrast, sharpening and color cast removal. Enhance also has retouching features like the Perfect Eraser and a Clone tool, which makes it easy to remove objects, fix dust spots and repair flaws in a photo.
- Perfect B&W. Create stunning photos that recreate the timeless look created by the masters of black and white photography. Perfect B&W adds dramatic and elegant looks to photos, letting you easily create the many moods black and whit photography can evoke, resulting in beautiful, one-of-a-kind photos.
- Perfect Portrait. Offers simple, yet powerful, portrait retouching, with automated feature detection and enhancement tools to smooth skin, remove blemishes, brighten eyes and teeth, and correct skin color. Fast processing speeds also allow photographers to retouch images quickly for simply stunning portraits.
- Perfect Mask. Creates high-quality masks quickly and easily with automated functionality and powerful tools that make selecting subjects and isolating backgrounds for removal extraordinarily accurate.
- Perfect Layers. Gives photographers the ability to combine images and extend their photo-editing options in a layered file workflow without Photoshop. Photographers can create and edit multi-layered files with Perfect Layers directly from Lightroom, Aperture or when using the Perfect Photo Suite as a standalone application. Also included are blending modes, textures, borders, PNG file support, and the powerful edge-detecting Perfect Brush.
- Perfect Resize. Still the industry standard for photo enlargement. It is renowned across the photographic and printing industries for its ability to increase image size well over 1000% without the loss of sharpness or detail that is normally expected. Proven Genuine Fractals technology has been applied to algorithms that optimize the clarity and detail of different photo types, including mobile snapshots.
- Perfect Browse. Quickly get to the photos you want to edit wherever they're stored— whether they're on your computer, network, or on a cloud-based storage service. Now includes one of the fastest previews available for browsing photos. Also great for viewing photos side-by-side in a thumbnail grid or in a larger, more detailed view along with important metadata and navigate through them with intuitive keyboard shortcuts.
In addition, all Perfect Photo Suite 8 customers are automatically enrolled in the onOne Loyalty Rewards program. Each month customers receive free product add-ons such as presets, textures, backgrounds, ebooks, and other creative assets to help expand their photo editing arsenal and get the most from onOne products.
Availability and Pricing
Perfect Photo Suite 8.5 is now available. Existing owners of Perfect Photo Suite 8 are eligible for a free update. New users may purchase the Premium Edition for $179.95 or the Lightroom & Aperture Edition for only $99.95. The Standard Edition, a standalone application, is available for $79.95. Owners of earlier versions of the Perfect Photo Suite can upgrade to the Premium Edition for $99.95 or the Lightroom & Aperture Edition for $79.95.
CLICK ON THE BANNER TO GET YOUR COPY.
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Free Camera Strap when you buy a Think Tank back pack
Think Tank Photo just announced a special “Gear Up For Summer!” special offer. Buy one of their highly acclaimed backpacks and they’ll include a Blue Camera Strap V2.0 and Camera Support Straps V2.0 (a $44.50 value) for free!Take a load off your neck, shoulders, and back by using Camera Support Straps V2.0 along with the Camera Strap V2.0. These straps keep your camera’s weight off your neck and shoulders and transfer the load onto your backpack’s shoulder straps and waist belt. You'll hardly notice your camera is there even though it will be ready to go for hassle-free shooting.Think Tank’s backpacks are renowned for three design principles:
- Capacity -- Their backpacks are the most efficient shape for carrying the most amount of gear in the smallest package. They've got you covered whether you're hauling around multiple bodies with a vast array of lenses and support gear (like a laptop and tablet), large telephoto lenses or a lightweight, stripped down kit.
- Portability -- Flying with your gear? All of their backpacks are sized for US Domestic and International carry-on on regular sized airliners. They've got bags for commuter and regional aircraft, too.
- Quality -- Lesser bags use inferior hardware, materials and manufacturing techniques. Professionals choose Think Tank Photo because they know they only use the best YKK zippers and other high quality materials. They know you can’t afford to have a broken bag while on a trek.
And don’t forget that by using my link (Click on the thinkTANK logo) you receive a Think Tank product free with your order, free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry. Offer valid through May 31, 2014.
