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+. 

Here's looking at you. I was just out testing out a new Nikon D750 full frame for sharpness with the Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 lens. The photo was cropped.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I photographed this magnificent wild Florida gobbler at the Circle Bar B Reserve a few years ago.  (Nikon D300, Nikon 200-400mm f4.0 lens at f8.

Safe travels to those that are on the road this Holiday weekend.