"Informed" Still Life

"Informed" - I seized an opportunity for an unusual still life this morning. This was an opportunity to experiment tethering my Olympus OMD-EM10 and Olympus 12-50mm lens to my new iPad Pro.  The camera was on a tripod.  I took the photo using the Olympus Share app. I cropped the photo and tweaked it in Google Snapseed.  

In addition to this blog you can visit my travel photos at www.CrazyAboutTravel.com

Photographing Civil War Re-enactments

One of my photographic passions is shooting re-enactments.  I have attended Civil War and World War II re-enactments.  The most prevalent opportunities are Civil War era events. The two events that I have attended most frequently are the Brooksville Raid and the Nature Coast Civil War  re-enactment in Williston.

I enjoy photographing the re-enactors as much as shooting the battle between the Union and the Confederate troops.  The characters are wonderfully cooperative.  As a matter of fact, I think that most really enjoy having their pictures taken.

I take some candid shots, but I really prefer to set up the portraits.  The actors are terrific in holding their character though I occasionally ask some to "please lose the smile."  The above photos is one of my favorite from the recent Brooksville Raid.

I use black and white a lot for my re-enactment photos.  I believe that these photos should really reflect the period when these folks were on this earth.  I love to photograph these crusty old fighters.  Of course, I also wonder what these characters do in their real life.

When I do include a color photograph as above I survey the scene to ensure that their are no distractions  that would take the photo out of its era...and that the colors are muted and natural to fit the period.

All of these photos were taken with my Nikon D750.  On most I used my Nikon 24-120mm f4.0 lens.  On  the battle scenes I use a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 lens on a monopod.  I prefer a monopod for events where there are many spectators. I bring a folding chair.  I like to get to an event like this early so that I can claim a spot as close to the battleground as possible.  Then, I wander the camp looking for people that would make good subjects . I like to photograph with a partner so that we can share photo opportunities. I hope that you put  one of these historic events on your calendar this year.  

My Granddaughter's 7th Birthday party and my Olympus OMD-EM10

Yesterday, we celebrated Savannah's birthdate in the beautiful basement recreation room in her Colorado home. It was a perfect time to test the Olympus OMD-EM10 in low light. I set the camera to the largest aperture that the camera offers, ISO and White Balance Auto and fired away. I was really pleased how the face detection option picked up the kids faces with ease. Here are a few of my photos...

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.

Photoshop's Content Aware Move Tool

The Content Aware Move Tool.  This was my first use of the Content Aware Move Tool.  I know that it has been around for a while, but I just haven't had any need to use it until now.  Lynn and I were returning to Denver recently from Moab along Scenic Highway 128 which runs along the Colorado River.  The landscape along the road is spectacular.  I noticed these riders on horseback draped by the picturesque mountains on the south side of the highway.  I made a quick U-turn to get the photo below.  By the time that I was able to get my shot the riders had advanced to the right side  of my photo.  While editing this particular photo I marked it to return to for additional editing in Photoshop CC.  I selected the riders and their dust with the Content Aware Move Tool and I was able to move them to the left in the photo so that they would be seen entering the scene.  I think that this photo (above) has a lot more impact.  What do you think?

Patience Improves Bird Photography

Lunch has arrived.

This year I have concentrated on getting interesting, whimsical photos of Florida birds at nesting and birthing times.  To get these shots requires patience, waiting for the right moment when my instincts tell me to release the shutter...many times in bursts to get just the perfect expression from the birds.

 Fish mouth

I was always on the road before sunrise to a few of our researched beach locations.  These were spots where I had previously been and had seen bird activity (mating, nests, eggs, chicks) or where I had received information from other photographers or lovers of wildlife. On one occasion a friend and I traveled by small boat to a barrier island that was known for nesting birds.  Many of the places where I shoot are marked and roped off by the Florida Wildlife Commission and the Audubon Society.  Fortunately, many volunteers spend time at these sites as well to protect the nesting birds.  I always photograph from behind these barriers.

 Black Skimmer Chick with a needle-fish.

Needle-fish seem to be a popular catch for the Skimmers.  On several occasions I have been able to get photos of birds wolfing down these fish.

Lunch with Royal Terns.

Whimsical behavior between the birds makes for some really fun photos that have a lot of impact. Patience is important, but the window for opportunity is important too.  This is a two to three hour opportunity at best.  As the morning temperatures increase and the skies change from blue and clouds to white this usually signals the end of my photography day.  The birds end their fishing and hunker down in their nests with eggs and young. 

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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.