Monochrome or a hint of color?

Recently my wife and I toured the historic St. Augustine Lighthouse.  You can climb to the 200+ steps to the top.  I climbed.  Lynn stayed at the bottom.  I took this photo of the the cascading steps from the top of the lighthouse.  I post processed the photo into the monochrome that you see here in Nik/Google Silver Efex Pro.  The original photo with a hint of color is below.

A subtle difference, but I am curious which one you prefer?

Black Crown Night Heron photographed using the Olympus MC14 1.4x Teleconverter - First time out!

Black Crowned Night Heron. Safety Harbor, FL.  I shot this beautiful bird with my Olympus OMD-EM5ii. The lens was the Olympus 40-150mm f2.8 Pro and the Olympus 1.4x teleconverter.  It was my first try with the new teleconverter which takes the maximum fixed aperture to 4.0.  I am thrilled with this kit.  The camera was handheld and rock solid.  I shot the Heron while on my daily walk.  I remove the lens collar for my walk so that I can carry the camera and lens on my hip in a Think Tank holster

My first experience shooting fireworks.

On the 4th of July I had my first experience shooting fireworks.  There are many tutorials about at YouTube and elsewhere on the web that guided me.. At home in Safety Harbor, Florida , we generally don't go to the fireworks due to the crowds and traffic congestion getting there.  Perhaps, I will make the effort though next year. It was so much fun!

These photos were shot along the Intracoastal Waterway in St. Augustine just south of the Bridge of Lions.  Lynn and I were celebrating our 50th Anniversary nearby at the St. Francis Inn Bed and Breakfast.  The b&b was just a 2 block walk from the waterfront.  It was a great spot to setup our beach chairs and photo gear to get a birdseye view of the display.

All of these photos were shot on a tripod.  I used a Manual setting of f8, ISO 200 and 3-8 seconds exposure time. I used Autofocus with manual assist, but in hindsight I believe that using pure manual focus could bring more keepers.

My camera was the Olympus OMD-EM5ii with the Olympus f2.8 Pro lens.  It was a thrill looking at these on the computer.  I certainly am stoked to try shooting fireworks again.  But, July 4, 2017 is so far away....

A daily walk offers photographic payoffs!

One of my projects when I retired was to start every day with a brisk 4 mile walk.  I do the same walk daily, walking through my neighborhood and along sidewalks through some beautiful preserves as well as through a county park that is nearby.  Some of my greatest photo opportunities are during my walk.  For instance during the last week I spotted this mouse on the way home from my walk, but by the time that I was able to retrieve my camera from its holster the animal would skitter off into the brush. It became a game to get it's portrait.  This morning I decided to reverse my walk and try to get this critters' photo at the beginning of my walk.  Victory!  The mouse gave me about 30 seconds of its life for a portrait shoot.

The Yellow Crowned Night Herons have returned to the Park.  I have counted at least 5 pairs recently. I look forward to getting some interesting photos of them during the next few weeks. I know many folks prefer to get their photos with their iPhones, but I really like getting higher resolution photos that I can work with at home.  Both of these photos were taken with my Olympus OMD-EM5ii and an Olympus 40-150mm lens.  The camera is a light Micro 4/3 camera that is easy to carry on my waist in a Think Tank holster.  So, get out there.  Get some exercise  Get some photos. It's amazing how much is available to you virtually in your own backyard!

Moon Eclipse - Patience Rewarded with Surprise Photo

On September 27th I decided to set up my gear on my pool deck and wait for an opportunity to get a photo or two of the eclipse of the Supermoon.  Our town, Safety Harbor on Florida's west coast was socked in by clouds.  The Moon was nowhere to be seen.  But patience yielded just a two minute window between 8:20 and 8:22 PM when the clouds cleared a bit.  I took just four images between 7:30 and 10:30 PM.  The airplane crossing in front of the Moon was in only one of those photos.  The only manipulation that I did with this photo was to crop the image into a square format as well as some global sharpening.

This photo generated more than 1200 Likes on Facebook and over 100 on Google+.  The photo was shared countless times. And, it continues to generate feedback.  It is so nice when a plan comes together!

Camera: Nikon D750, Lens: Nikon 200-400mm f4.0 on an Induro tripod with a Wimberly II gimble head.

Macro Photography - Spider

Does anyone know what kind of spider this is?  Photographed in Safety Harbor, Florida...Olympus OMD-EM10 with Olympus 60mm macro lens, f11 at 1/30 second.  This spider was less than 1/2 inch long.

When I get bored I go back to my backpack and fish out a lens that I haven't used for awhile and just use that lens exclusively for a while.  That's what I did near my house to get this photo.  This is also a good time to get nice pictures of spider webs that glisten with the morning dew.

This Time of Year is for the Birds

Male Osprey with catch.

 Birds are nesting in Florida. Chicks are breaking out of their eggs.  And birds are fishing and bringing their catches home to their broods. Here are a few of my recent bird photos from Florida's West Coast.

Black Skimmer with fish.

Welcome home.  Least Tern with fish.

Least Tern hand off.

These photos were taken with two Nikon cameras, the new Nikon D750 full frame camera and a Nikon D7000.  Lenses were the Nikon 200-400mm f4 and the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 with the Nikon 1.7 teleconverter.  It is a good idea to get out now and get these photographs before it gets too hot and the birds go for the shade!

Civil War Reenactments - A Great Place To Work on Your Creative Side

My friend Jim and I recently attended the Nature Coast Civil War Re-enactment in Williston, Florida.  I really enjoy photographing these historical based events.  Re-enactors are really cooperative when it comes to being photographed.  And, they have a natural instinct to pose in character.

I ran into this family almost immediately after entering the event site. It is one of my favorite images from the event.  The family was in perfect character. My only posing request was that the little girl sits in her dad's lap for the photo.

This is a candid photo.  I blurred the clutter out of the background in Photoshop in post.   Unfortunately I missed seeing the certainly not 19th Century Ray Ban sunglasses worn by the fellow in the plaid shirt!

The Civil War era photographer was a real find.  I converted the image to black & white in Silver Efex Pro.

It is a real challenge to catch a glimpse of the orange flames as the canons are fired. You have to set your camera to take multiple frames in a burst and press the shutter just as the leader signals to fire. My camera is supported on a monopod.  At the Nature Coast Reenactment there were many canons to choose from.  I counted more than twenty. The organization pays a bounty for re-enactors to bring out their canons. I was still lucky to get this image.  

Civil War Re-enactments take place frequently around the country.  For some real photographic opportunities add one of these events to your photo itinerary.

Experimenting with Instagram

Recent feedback from my daily podcast diet has led me to try Instagram. I have always been a fan of square format (1x1) photos. Also, I have been told that more photo buyers congregate on Instagram than Facebook or Google+. I have yet to confirm this. So, I decided to jump in the pool with this photo that I took recently of a historic steam train arriving in Mt. Dora, Florida from nearby Tavares. 

I originally shot the photo in 2x3 format on my Olympus EM-10 and converted to black & white in Nik (Google) Silver Efex Pro. I am showing the original version of the photo above for comparison to the square version for Instagram below. As you see, with the square version I lose the train station and a few passengers. 

Your thoughts?

Epiphany in the Greek Community of Tarpon Springs, Florida

Yesterday was Epiphany.  It is celebrated on a big scale in the Greek community of Tarpon Springs, Florida. As a matter of fact, more than 20,000 people showed up to watch the spectacle.  It was a great reason for a photo shoot with my friend, photographer Jim Lucadem.

According to Jim, ".  Epiphany is the celebration of the baptizing of Jesus by John in the Jordan River.  It is one of the holy days of the Greek Orthodox Church.  Tarpon Springs has a large Greek faction as Greek divers were brought here in the first half of the 20th Century to dive for sponges in the Gulf of Mexico.  Their families joined them and today many of their descendants still live in the area.

There is a church service, parade to Spring Bayou, releasing of a dove, and young men dive for a cross thrown into the bayou by the Bishop.  The young man who retrieves the cross is said to stand in good favor of the church."

And the winner is....

Konstantino Pseftelis

All photos were taken with my Nikon full frame D750, Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 and Nikon 70-200mm lenses. Many opportunities like this await photographers without straying far from home. Watch your local newspapers and community calendars for interesting photo events.  I will be interested in your feedback.

Olympus 45mm 1.8 Lens - First Shoot

I recently added a Olympus 45mm 1.8 lens to my kit.  I decided to use it for the first time recently at the Safety Harbor Fall Craft Fair.  It was the only lens that I took with my Olympus OMD-EM5 micro four-thirds camera.

I really like the lens.  It appears to work really well for street photography.  As has been suggested in other blogs and reviews the lens is good and sharp at the focus point and softens to a nice bokeh.

I shot all of these photos at f4.0 which seems to be a safe spot for me to get sharp focus and still deliver a nice softly blurred background (bokeh).  I think that the next time out with this lens that I will go step out of the box and open it up to it's largest aperture at 1.8 and see what it will do.

Your thoughts are always appreciated.

Nikon D750 Photos - First Look

Here are a few of my first photos taken in low light with my Nikon D750 full frame camera and the 24-120mm f4.0 lens.  All of these photos were taken hand held at f4.0 and ISO 3200.   These pictures were photographed at Safety Harbor Florida's December 3rd Friday event.  

The Dunedin Concert Band performed a series of Holiday songs at the Gazebo.

Vendors and merchants displayed items along Main Street.

I really like the bokeh that I am able to get with the Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 lens.  I think that I could have cropped the ISO back to 1600 and I still would have gotten good resolution. I look forward to experimenting more with this lens. And, the next time I will remember to bring a monopod for even sharper photos!

1st Photos from iPhone 6+

My new iPhone 6+ arrived on Monday from AT&T after a 3 month wait. I wanted 128 gigs of memory and black...apparently the most desired 6+ kit. I am thrilled to finally have this phone in my hands. 

I would like to share a few of my 1st photos from the phone. Sorry, but I just couldn't resist enhancing with Snapseed!

All of these photos were taken at Tampa's International Mall. Oh yes, I stopped at the Apple Stire to purchase Apple Care. The phone offers lots of options...Slo Mi, Pano, Time Lapse and Square.  

The setup was a breeze since I backed up my old iPhone 5 before synching with the new phone. It only required a quick phone call to Apple Support to move the phone # from my iPhone 5 to the 6+. 

I bought the Apple rubber gel back for the phone which prevents it from being too slippery. The phone fits fine where I always carry it in my front pocket. I am craving the fun that I am looking forward to with my new iPhone 6+. 

Very Busy Photographing Car Shows, Reunions and More

I have been very busy lately...and that is a good thing...photographing Lynn's 50 Year High School Reunion in Ft. Lauderdale, a 25th Anniversary party and on Saturday, our Mercedes Benz Club's monthly social at the British Car Club Show in Safety Harbor.

Members of our group surround one of my favorite vintage cars...a Morgan.  These beautiful cars continue to be custom made at a small factory in England.  They are identified by the leather strap, prominent across the hood.

Though it might not have been one of the most reliable cars of the '60s the Jaguar XKE  certainly was one of the most beautiful. (I can say that since I owned a '60 Jag Mark IX saloon car which spent more time being serviced than driven.)  

All of these photos were taken with my Olympus OMD-EM5 micro 4/3 camera with the 17mm prime lens.