Alone and playing with my toys

My wife came home late tonight, so I had enough time to play with my toys lights. I have decided to do a self portrait using two strobes. This became the photo at the welcome page of the blog. I called this a photographer's version of a "selfie".

How to get this shot:

Set up your camera on a tripod. Find a nice white wall as a background. Set up focus, do some test shots for exposure. I used two off camera flash, one pointed in my face by my right hand and the other I am holding at my back with my left hand. I put a blue gel plastic diffuser in front of my second flash to alter the color of the light of my background. Used a white tupperware diffuser in my other flash to soften the light hitting my face. Set the camera timer to 10 seconds, just enough for me to run and pose. Done.

Shot by my Nikon D3100 using a Nikkor 35mm lens. Flash used are two Yongnou manual strobes. A malfunctioning tripod. Exposure data: iso 100, 1/10 of a second at f8.

Sometimes being alone have its benefits. You can experiment and play with yourself lights, without your wife getting angry at you wasting too much time with your toys.

For questions regarding this shot use the comment section. I am still waiting for entries of other featured photographers here. If you are interested to be featured like Lewis below, please contact me.

Anybody got the same "selfie" photo they wanna share? Hit the comment section.

Cheers!

 Alex

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Featured Photographer Q&A: Lewis Mann

Our featured photographer today is a man with a vast experience in photography, who have been shooting since 1959, and is currently living in Florida. His work is very unique and I'm glad that he gave us some of his time. So, let's start asking him...



click image to enlarge
I shot this in March of 2012 with my Nikon D3100 and Nikkor 18-55mm zoom (both since sold). It is made up of two images. The background is a 7 exposure HDR image of the Alachua, FL City Hall made during the blue hour (after sunset). About 1 hour earlier I stood in front of the camera holding the remote shutter  release and took a self-portrait. In processing I masked myself out and merged my image onto the HDR background.(Lewis Mann)




Photographer Q&A:


1. Please tell us a little something about yourself.

My name is Lewis Mann. I live in Alachua, Florida USA. I began life in Cambridge, Massachusetts. My parents moved us out of the city and into the suburbs when I was 7 years old. So, when asked I say that I am from Natick, MA. I took my first picture around 1959 using my parent’s Polaroid camera. I was hooked on photography, but didn't get serious about it until college.




2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I bought my first SLR camera in 1967 while attending college. I was a staff photographer for the college (University of Miami) student newspaper and yearbook. I was also photo editor of the university yearbook. After college I ran the university photo center and shot freelance for a while. Then life happened and I set the cameras aside until late 2011. That is when I bought my first DSLR, built a “digital darkroom” and began shooting again.




3. What equipment do you use to shoot?

Nikon D7100 DSLR
Nikkor AF S DX 10-24mm zoom
Nikkor AF S DX 18-200mm zoom
Nikkor AF S DX 55-300mm zoom
Nikon SB700 Speedlight
Promote Control (Promote Systems, Inc.) (for high exposure count HDR & time-lapse)
Manfroto Tripod
Nodal Ninja M1L panorama head




4. What are your favorite subjects to shoot and why?

When I started out in the late ‘60s it was all about “street photography,” although there was no name for it back then. The term “candid” seemed to best apply. Now, some 40+ years later I shoot HDR (High Dynamic Range) landscapes, old buildings, equipment; anything I find interesting here in rural North Florida. Today, a great deal of my work utilizes a tripod.

Why do I shoot mostly static objects like landscapes and buildings? Because I am surrounded by such things. I live in a mostly rural part of Florida covered with farms, cattle ranches and pasture land. It is quintessential small town America.

Having said that, I have been thinking about trying some “street” photography once again. I’ll probably wait for cooler weather for that though.




5. What software are you using to process your photos?

Lightroom
Photomatix Pro
Photoshop Elements 11
Topaz Plugin Filters



6. Can you show us your most favorite work and tell us a little bit of something about it?

I don’t have a favorite. But, recently I’ve been working with a processing technique that makes an HDR image look more like an oil painting. I have attached a low resolution version below. This is a 3 exposure HDR image made with my D7100 using the Nikkor 18-200mm zoom. After processing this image in my usual manner I added one more filter (layer) that I created to simulate oil painting.



click image to enlarge




7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where can we see them and how do we contact you?


I have selected images and social interaction at my Facebook account: Theeyesofmann
And nearly 700 images at my flickr account here.
My commercial site where museum quality prints with or without framing or mounting can be purchased at Lewis Mann Digital Photography website.

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Thank you very much for your time Lewis. Your HDR work is very unique and your experience in photography is vast, I hope  you'll inspire other photographers visiting this blog. I also hope we hear more inputs from you here in the future, especially with your expertise in HDR photography. 

Alex

Photographer Q&A: Photographers around the world.

I decided to feature different photographers from around the world, both pros and amateurs like myself. I believe this will give photographers the opportunity to showcase their work and widen their audience. For those who wants to be featured here, please don`t hesitate to contact me at my email address. Pros and amateurs are both welcome to join and post here.

I will do this using Q&A style. I will start it myself, hoping others will follow.

Photographer Q&A

1. Firstly, tell us a little something about yourself.

Hi, my name is Alex. I am a photography enthusiast based in Bangkok, Thailand. I am originally from Philippines but I moved to Bangkok because of work.


2. What is your background in photography and how long have you been doing this?

I started as a self taught photographer and recently got my self certified in digital photography. I have been learning and shooting for about two years now.


3.What equipment  do you use to shoot?

I own a Fujifilm HS20EXR bridge camera and a Nikon D3100 with its kit lens (18-55) and a 35mm 1.8G prime lens. I also own two Yongnou strobes,which I am using as an off camera lights. I also have a few filters that I use with me sometimes. And of course, a tripod.

Edited: Recently acquired a Fujifilm X100.

4.What are your favorite subjects to shoot? And why?

I love to take environmental portraits and landscapes simply because I love to meet a lot of people
and I love to travel and immerse myself in nature.


5. What software do you use to process your photos?

I am mainly using Photoshop CS6 for my post processing. Sometimes I only use any photo editing software available if I only need to re-size or crop my photos.


6. Can you show us your most favorite work and tell us a little bit of something about it?

Here's a photo of my wife I took in a park in Bangkok. I have been learning portraits photography lately and I consider this as one of my first good photo. I know it is not that much, but as an amateur trying to learn, this is an accomplishment for me.

click image to enlarge



7. Lastly, if we want to see more of your work, where are you posting them and how can we contact you?

I am currently just posting my photos on my Facebook account Alex Salde Fotos. You can also contact me through my email asalde5182@gmail.com


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There you go. I hope to receive entries from other enthusiasts and pros alike. Please feel free to contact me.

Thank you.

Alex

Full moon with my Fujifilm HS20EXR.

Ever since I'm a child, I am always been fascinated by the moon. Now that I have a camera with an amazing telephoto reach, I can't wait for the full moon to show. Getting the perfect shot, from the perfect angle, with the perfect perspective, is an obsession of most photographers. But since I am curios about the telephoto end of my new FUJI HS20, I shot the moon directly at full zoom. This became one of the first photo I am proud about, I know it sounds easy to do, but as a newbie it felt like a big accomplishment to me. Try it.



Click image to enlarge



How to get this shot:

You will need a camera with a long zoom range. In this shot, I used my Fujifilm HS20EXR with an amazing focal length of 24 - 720mm. Set my camera to its full zoom, used a tripod and the self timer to press the shutter.

 I shot this manually at iso 100, 1/250 seconds shutter speed and aperture of F10.

 If you shoot the moon at its correct exposure, it will be too bright and you will lost all the details on the surface of the moon.

 My advice is to underexpose it to your liking. Use spot metering and meter the moon itself, forget the background. 

And don't forget to bring your coat, it's cold outdoors at night. 

Here's another shot I took a few months later.

Enjoy shooting. Cheers!

Alex