Monthly Archives: February 2016

Rockin’ the Sunset

Posted by Mike on

Delta Lake State Park

Sunday was the perfect end to a beautiful weekend. The weather the whole day was gorgeous so I knew I would be heading out around sunset in search of an image. I didn’t have to travel far as my favorite state park around the corner from me had everything I needed. Empty beach. Melting ice. And just enough clouds in the sky to make it interesting.

After capturing a few images in the landscape orientation I found this rock that was begging me to take its picture. I rotated the camera into portrait mode and zoomed in to get its good side. I ended up having to use my thumb over the sun trick I wrote about a few posts ago to be able to remove the flare but I think everything turned out well.  I love the colors in this image.  I’m hoping the rest of the week is as nice so I can continue exploring.

 

MLCreations Photography: Landscapes &emdash; Rockin' the Sunset

Rockin’ the Sunset
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/15s, 23mm, f/16, ISO 200

Slow Ice

Posted by Mike on

Working the Scene

Backyard Creek

Saturday was a beautiful Spring day… oh, wait, it isn’t Spring yet. Well, it reminded me of a Spring day. The sun was out, there was a little breeze and we have barely any snow on the ground. I half expected to see crocuses blooming in the woods as I explored the creek behind the house.

It wasn’t warm enough to remove all the ice from the creek and the recent rains had the water level up with a decent flow. Perfect conditions for me to go playing and to create some abstract, long exposure, water and ice images. Of course, normally I like a little cloud cover to make the conditions more favorable to getting my long exposure settings but yesterday I threw on the variable neutral density filter to help me get to my ~1 second exposures.

I thought rather than just post to final product I would attempt to show my thought process as I am getting the image I want. When I play in the creek, creating these long exposures, it is always a balancing act with the shutter speed to achieve just the right amount of softness in the water. You can go full on with the filter and completely smooth out the water but for these creek scenes I like to show the flow. I believe it adds some energy to the image.

After climbing down into the creek bed I start looking for areas were there is some turbulence in the stream. I’m looking for a little waterfall type area or quick changes in direction. I want to capture the swirling water as it splashes its way through the rocks/ice. When I am including ice in the image I am also looking for some interesting formations in the ice. Here is the view of the first area I chose.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Slow Ice 1

Slow Ice 1
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/6s, 24mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

I like this section of the creek. Good ice. Good flow. And some good turbulence so I can highlight the water stream. What I wasn’t happy with was the large chuck of bright ice in the top right of the image. It is drawing the eye away from the water and the ice detail in the rest of the image. Attempt number two is a slight composition change to minimize the impact of that ice.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Slow Ice 2

Slow Ice 2
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/8s, 26mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

Definitely better. The ice on the right has less impact. I really like the flow of the water. The turbulence is highlighted just the way I want. Still, I’m not quite happy with the image.  The chunk of ice in the top right right is giving my a problem.  The composition was still off too!  The balance of the elements and the movement of the water through the image was not right.  Time to move my position.  I place the tripod almost 90 degrees to where it was originally.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Slow Ice 3

Slow Ice 3
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4s, 27mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

Now I’m getting what I want.  The structure of the ice at the top left of the image is better from this view.  I love the water coming in at the top right and exiting bottom left.  There is a good mix of flowing water and chaotic water.  Almost there!  Still that darn chunk of ice on the right.  Tighten up the zoom!

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Slow Ice 4

Slow Ice 4
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/8s, 40mm, f/16, ISO 200

 

There it is!  That is the image I was looking for when I climbed down into the creek.  I have the detail of the ice.  There is energy from the flowing water.  There is amazing visuals in the chaotic portion of the flow.  I have a good balance of the tones.  Now I can move on to the next area of the creek.

There is more to my whole image capture process that I haven’t shown.  For each one of these images I was playing with multiple exposure settings.  As the sun was weaving its way in and out of the clouds the light in the creek was changing.  I was constantly adjusting the variable ND filter to change the shutter speed.  Each 1/3 change in exposure from the shutter created a different amount of blur in the water.  The choices I was making impacted the energy in the image.  Too long with the shutter open and the water smoothed out to just be tonal changes.  Too quick and the water was frozen in time completely stopping the energy.  So for almost every one of these images I have 3-4 versions at various shutter speeds.

Normally all I would post is image number four.  The final product.  The winning image.  I thought maybe it would be interesting to peak inside my thought process as I am capturing my images.  Maybe it isn’t.  You will have to let me know…

Photo Fix Friday

Posted by Mike on

Photo Fix Friday

Well I guess I can officially call this Photo Fix Friday concept a blog series now that I have reached three posts! I was looking through my old Disney images when I ran across this colorful image of the Pop Century resort. I remember this trip back in May of 2012. It was my first solo Disney trip as well as my first with a DSLR after almost a year of learning about photography with my old point & shoot.

What strikes about the original image is the color tone. I had the image way too warm (for my tastes and my memory of that evening). The beautiful darkening blue sky was the perfect backdrop for the colors of this section of the resort. I also had the image too dark and lost some of the details. Although I had been processing my images for quite a few months I was still learning about a good balance between the highlights and the shadows. I am sure I relied too heavily on the Topaz Labs’ Adjust plug-in to achieve my images.

For this photo fix I chose to start by changing the crop. I is a subtle change but I think it gives the Rubix Cube stairwell a little more room to breath in the image. The second change is the white balance. The original was at 5000K which although is not too far to the warm side of the scale is adding a lot of oranges and yellows to the image. The new image has a temp at 3500K. This brought the sky back to the color I remember and gave the buildings a nicer look, not like the sun was still shining on them.

For the second image I definitely adjusted the exposure more than I did originally. I increased the overall exposure by 2/3rds of a stop to bring up the background details and brighten the colors on the cube. I adjusted the highlights down and further brought attention to the rest of the scene by increasing the shadows. These changes give the image a definite boost toward the cheerful side rather than the darker, slightly intimidating original image.

The last changes I did to this image would be the final processing steps. Rather than go through Topaz Labs, I used the OnOne Perfect Effects 9.5. The ability to layer in multiple enhancements like increasing the contrast, increasing the dynamic range and adding a slight vignette all from within one application is very beneficial. If the changes I see in my head are more creative than these minor tweaks then I would have used Photoshop and spent a little more time processing.

Overall I like the changes I was able to achieve. I know my early processing was a little dark and tended to be warm in tone overall.  Let me know what you think of these changes….

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Pop Goes the Night

Pop Goes the Night
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/5s, 17mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Pop Goes the Night Two

Pop Goes the Night Two
Nikon D5100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/5s, 17mm, f/5.6, ISO 800

 

Cacti

Posted by Mike on

Wordless Wednesday
Squared – SQ84

 

MLCreations Photography: Squared &emdash; Cacti

Cacti
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8, 1/500s, 70mm, f/8, ISO 200

Solitude

Posted by Mike on

Melbourne Beach, Florida

Last night was obviously the full moon. Sitting at my computer that particular fact became apparent as soon as the moon rose above the trees. I could not help but notice the beautiful white light streaming through the back door window. I grabbed the camera and tripod, threw on a coat and ran outside to see what I could capture. It was just too bright! I was totally unprepared to make the necessary setting adjustments to capture what I was seeing in my head. I’ll have to try again tonight after I investigate some lunar photography tips.

How does this little story bring me to today’s image? Good question! I’m not totally sure I have a good answer but it goes something like this…

The need to run outside and capture an image of the moon was powerful. It wasn’t so I could show off the image here or exclaim my prowess with my camera. It was a desire to create an image, one I have in my head, one I probably saw somewhere else and now want to create myself. It is a really cool feeling to have. It can be frustrating too.

After I reviewed what I captured of the moon and realized I didn’t have the proper exposures to create my image, I started looking through my library of images. Now I had to create something. There are a lot of images that I take that sit on my hard drive waiting for me to do something with them. Not everyone is a prize but I captured it for a reason. Sometimes that reason is just the attempt at capturing the scene before me. Sometimes it is for an image I have in my head but haven’t brought it to life yet.

I went back to the images of my December trip to Florida. I remember the morning of this image. I was on a mission this day! I wanted to capture a sunrise at the beach with glorious waves crashing to the shore as the sun broke the horizon. It is an image I have seen numerous times from photographers that I follow online and I wanted one for myself. The wind was there to create the waves, the sun was obviously going to rise that morning. I just had to contend with the clouds and the morning mist.

And then I spotted this person standing at the edge of the shore. Staring out into the ocean as the sun began to paint the clouds. It wasn’t the image I set out to capture but the moment of this solitude connected with me. I swung the camera around and composed this image.

It was then I stopped and took in where I was standing. I listened to the sounds of the ocean, I could smell the salt in the air and watched as the gulls flew over the breaking waves. What a great morning to be at the beach! I was caught up in trying to get my image but now I was caught up in just being at the beach.

I think it is time to go back already… 🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Solitude

Solitude
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/3s, 31mm, f/16, ISO 200

Flower & Garden Festival

Posted by Mike on

Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival

As the start of this years Flower & Garden Festival approaches my anticipation for a return grows. I was going to be in Florida at the end of January but events changed and now it looks like I might be going in the middle of March. This works out for the best for me. The festival runs from March 2nd until May 30th this year. If I play my cards right I could possibly visit it twice.

After a weekend of posting nothing but black & white images I thought I would give everyone a break and post something with a little color. I was also looking for an image that I could use to play with some new software. I have been a user of Topaz Labs software from the beginning of this photography journey and recently I had an opportunity to finish out my collection with a few of their new products. I used the Glow plug-in on this image of the festival center (the old Wonders of Life Pavilion).

Topaz Glow can be used to paint your image with neon/electrifying light. Used to the extreme you can completely change the look of your image. But when used subtly, you can enhance an image and give it just a little pop.  I loved the colors of the flowers in the foreground.  Having the trees frame the pavilion help it compete with the flowers.  The lines formed by the railings and the edge of the flowers draw the eye from the colorful foreground back to the golden dome of the pavilion.

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Flower and Garden Festival

Flower & Garden Festival
Nikon D7100, Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4, 1/200s, 19mm, f/11, ISO 200

Monochrome Madness

Posted by Mike on

Monochrome Winter
Backyard Exploring

Saturday morning was perfect for being outside. The sun was shining, there was little wind and the temps were heading toward 40+. I realized I have lost some of that excitement and naiveté with my photography.  I’m looking for that one great image and not exploring all the hidden images around me.  I use to explore more when I first started.  So I went out exploring…

I also have abandoned some of the unique series that I started and it was time to get back into those as well.  As I mentioned yesterday I am currently influenced by my reading of an Ansel Adams book, so I present Monochrome Winter continued…

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Rabbit Tracks

Rabbit Tracks
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/1600s, 30mm, f/8, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; The Barn

The Barn
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/500s, 28mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Grass 1

Grass 1
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/2500s, 40mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Grass 2

Grass 2
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/4000s, 32mm, f/5.6, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Grass and Trees

Grass and Trees
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/500s, 25mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; The Gully

The Gully
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/400s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; My Road

My Road
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/640s, 12mm, f/11, ISO 200

 

Winter Campus

Posted by Mike on

SUNY Polytechnic Institute

I am pretty sure these images were influenced by my reading of Our National Parks this week. It might seem cliché for me to admire Ansel Adams, being the iconic landscape photographer, but I truly enjoy his images and have learned quite a lot about photographing light by studying his images.  The one big take away for me every time I look at his images is that shadows are just as important as the highlights.

On Thursday my daughter usually gets out of class early and I rush over right around 4pm to pick her up from campus.  One of her friends has another class at 6pm and she usually spends the in-between time with her.  Me getting to campus too quick just doesn’t work for them, so this Thursday with the warmer temps and beautiful blue sky I spent an hour roaming the campus with my camera.  It was a win-win…  🙂

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Student Center

Student Center
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/1000s, 17mm, f/8, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Cayan Library

Cayan Library
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/160s, 12mm, f/8, ISO 200

 

MLCreations Photography: Blog Post Related &emdash; Wildcat Field House

Wildcat Field House
Olympus OM-D E-M1, M. Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8, 1/400s, 25mm, f/8, ISO 200