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The Yellow Walls of Hoi An

August 4, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
White Bicycle

Hoi An Ancient town is located in Viet Nam’s central Quang Nam Province, on the north bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River. The city of Hoi An is beautiful but is inundated with tourists. This old town has a number houses that are painted a deep yellow and make for a wonderful photographic backdrop.

Why yellow? The Vietnamise believe that yellow is a symbol of royalty. The yellow color reflects the beautiful culture of Vietnam, symbolizing luck, pride and prosperity.

Trees inside the home
A narrow yellow walled alley.
Now a one way only.

We spent two days in this amazing city this March. We photographing the markets in the aery morning, fishing villages at sunrise and sunset, street scenes during the day and lots of night photography along the river. We could easily have spent a few more days here.

Hoi An has nearly 1,000 ancient houses and of these 844 houses are included on the list of UNESCO’s cultural heritage. Visiting these home requires a small subscription of about $5 and is worth every penny.

Street Selling – from flowers to food.
A great use for a tripod
Bougainvillea
Blue Chair – Yellow Wall
Great restaurants and great food

All images in this post were captured with the Panasonic Lumix G9 and the Leica 12-60 lens. Please click on the images to open them in a larger window.

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Elders in Vietnam

August 3, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
I am ready ……….

In 2019 Vietnam has a median age of only 26. But it is ageing rapidly. Currently individuals over the age of 60 are 12% of the total population. It is expected that this will go beyond 20% by the year 2040. Clearly this iforecase ids one of the quickest increases in the world. Remember, most of the would be elders today were wiped out during the long war. This image is of one gentleman who survived and at his age, he is full of humor – he would like to marry again, “in a heart beat” he says.

The people of this country are truly wonderful. They understand the devastation but accept it – “it was not the Vietnam war” they say “it was the American war” – collectively they are building for a better and stronger economy. I have yet to see a population that works as hard as the Vietnamese.

Image captured with the Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 12-60 mm lens at 50mm. Exposure triad: f/4, 1/50 sec., ISO 400. Image was converted to B&W using Capture One.

Please click on the image for a larger rendition.

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Lumix S1R High Res Mode – Palouse Sunset

August 2, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
Rolling Hills of the Palouse

This is a scaled down version of a 187 MP image of the rolling fields in the Palouse at sunset. The low angle of the sun creates lovely shadows and definition of the undulating hills. This was also a test of the Sigma MC21 with the Sigma 100-400 mm EF mount lens on the Lumix S1R.

Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/60 sec, ISO 200. Focal length as shot: 400 mm.

I will be in Spokane, WA for the PSA conference and would like to do a photo workshop after the conference. If you are interested let me know so I can make necessary arangements.

Click on the image for a larger rendition.

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Up

July 5, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
Poge Light

Poge Lighthouse in Cape Poge across from Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard.

Photographed with the Panasonic Lumix S1R and the Lumix 24-105 f/4 lens. Exposure triad: f/14, 2 sec, ISO 100.

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The Palouse at Sunrize

June 23, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
Click on the image for a larger view.

The fields of the Palouse photographed along the road about midway to the top of Steptoe Butte.  It started with cloudy skies but then the sun peeked through providing lovely light. The detail captured using a 47MP full frame body with a Leica Certified 70-200mm is just exceptional.

Captured with the Lumix S1R and the S1 Pro 70-200 mm f/4 lens at 200mm.  Exposure triad: f/11, 1/40 sec, ISO 200.

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Echoing Curves

May 18, 2019 by sverma | 0 Comments
Echoing Curves

The beaches beyond Marineland in St. Augustine have some beautiful rock formations. This image was captured while the colors in the sky still had some magenta while the horizon was turning warm gold. The way the ocean had receded taking sand away from the front of this rock and exposing the bright green moss caught my eye. Even more interesting were the curves in the sand, the shape of the waves and the shape of the face of the rock. Each curve in harmony with and echoing the other.

Captured with the Panasonic Lumix S1R with the 24 – 105 f/4 lens. A Benro filter holder with a 3 stop ND, a polarizer and a 3 stop soft edge grad was used for this image. The lens was at 35mm and the exposure triad: f/8, 8 sec, ISO 100.

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Some More Birds Species of Keoladeo NP

March 3, 2018 by sverma | 0 Comments

A few more images of the over 300 species of birds found in Keoladeo National Park.

Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis. Panasonic Lumix G9, Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/500, ISO 320

 

Eurasian Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto.  Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/640, ISO 500

 

Indian Robin (male) Saxicoloides fulicatus. Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1250

 

Rufous Treepie Dendrocitta vagabunda. Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/500, ISO 1250 Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/1000, ISO 1600

 

Common Kingfisher at the start of its dive. Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/1000, IS0 200

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Indian Peafowl at Sunrise

March 2, 2018 by sverma | 0 Comments

 

Too early for courtship – Lumix G9 with the Leica 200mm f/2.8 and the 1.4X teleconverter.  Exposure triad: f/4, 1/500, ISO 200.

The image above was captured on the first morning.  The following four images are a sequence of a male Indian Peafowl flying toward a snag and then instantly departing. These were captured on the following morning. I selected all the images to have the wings in the same/similar position.  These were shot with the Lumix G9 and the Leica 100-400mm lens.  Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/1600 sec ISO 250 and 200 for the last image.


 


 

 

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Barbets of Keoladeo NP

March 1, 2018 by sverma | 0 Comments

Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus – Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 –  400 mm.  Exposure triad:  f/6.3, 1/640 sec, ISO 8000

Barbets are a species of tropical birds in the family Capitonidae (order Piciformes). Barbets are named for the bristles at the bases of their bills that they use to dig holes in rotting trees where there will nest. They have large heads and short tails and are not agile fliers. They eat insects, lizards, birds’ eggs, fruit, and berries.

The Keoladeo NP has three species of Barbet.  I was able to photograph only the Brown-headed Barbet     Psilopogon zeylanicus and the Coppersmith Barbet Psilopogon haemacephalus,  The third, White-cheeked Barbet was not found.

As these birds sit in very dense leaf trees the light is hard to work with and high ISOs become mandatory.

Brown-headed Barbet Psilopogon zeylanicus – Lumix G9 with the Leica 200mm and 1.4X teleconverter.  Exposure triad: f/5.6, 1/125 sec, ISO 1600 

 

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Kingfishers of Keoladeo National Park

March 1, 2018 by sverma | 6 Comments

Common Kingfisher Alcedo atthis – Lumix G9 and Leica 100 – 400 mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/400 sec, ISO 200

On this very short visit to India, my wife and I spent three days in Bharatpur, Rajasthan at the Keoladeo National Park to photograph wildlife.  These three images are of the three species of Kingfisher that can be found in the region this time of year.  The Stork-billed and Black-capped are known to be around but I have not been lucky to ever see or photograph them.  Of the three, the Common Kingfisher is the most elusive and least common.  The White-throated is easy to find and easy to photograph.  The Pied kingfisher can be seen at many locations but is very elusive for photography.  It hovers with a very rapid wing beat so requires high very shutter speed.

For these three days, I used the Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 100 – 400mm lens and the Leica 200 mm f/2.8 and the 1.4X tele-extender.  I can not say enough about how much I enjoyed this kit and its performance truly excels.

White Throated Kingfisher Halcyon smyrnens – Lumix G9 and Leica 100 – 400 mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/500 sec, ISO 200

 

A hovering Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis – Lumix G9 and Leica 100 – 400 mm. Exposure triad: f/6.3, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200

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