Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__TS-E90mm f/2.8__6.0 sec at f / 22__ISO 100

I have a small pond adjacent to my backyard patio, and the lilies are in bloom!  I made this image on Sunday, using two frames stitched together in Photoshop CS5.  To fulfill my concept, I cut the flower, then placed it in a small bowl of water which in turn was placed on black velvet.  Aiming straight down, I “shifted” my Canon TS 90mm lens to include two halves of the flower in two separate exposures.  This techniques allows me to create a square format with Photomerge, which suits this flower shape to me.  It also gives me a bigger file:  PS Image Size reads this file as 206 MB.

Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts,   Bill

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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__TS-E90mm f/2.8__f / 32__ISO 100

Here is another image in my new Cally Lily series, this one from the third day of this setup.  As with the previous image, this photograph was made with Photomatix, this time with seven exposures.  The morning sun is coming through my window from the upper left hand corner.  I first saw this lighting effect on the previous morning, unplanned and unexpected, but I was so revved up I blew the composition.  So I noted the time in the EXIF data and returned to try again the next morning.  I didn’t move the large blossom, but needed to create better spacing between it and the small flower.

John and I have been using Adobe Photoshop CS5 for about one week, including HDR Pro.  I think it has great potential but we haven’t fully explored it yet.  More on that later…

I look forward to your comments.  Let me know which one you prefer!

Cheers,

Bill

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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__TS-E90mm f/2.8__f / 32__ISO 100

Earlier this week, I received three calla lilies to photograph.  For three days, I left them in a corner of my dining room where I have found magic light in the past (see blog post from October 2009).  I hung my every-ready black velvet on a chair behind the blossoms.  On the second day, the early morning sun glanced across this one flow.  Aiming downward, I needed f/32 and a little lens tilt to hold sharpness in the vase and flower.

Due to the wide contrast, I bracketed seven exposures that were one stop apart.  This image was made with six of those frames using Photomatix by my assistant John.  The exposure blend enabled us to show fine separation of tones in the white, nice shading in the green stems but left the background black.

I made about 700 exposures in various light, including some blurs and many 7-frame brackets, so I still have much editing to do.

Until I can polish up some more selects, I hope you enjoy this one.  Let me know your thoughts!

Cheers,  Bill

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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__EF50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro__10.0 sec at f / 27__ISO 100

This last weekend, I was mowing my grass (electric mower, not gas!).  I noticed a mushroom and picked it.  Then I plucked out the stem so I could photograph the radiating pattern.  I tried various framing options including full mushroom and black background, partial mushroom in the frame, and filling the frame with the pattern with no black background.  As I photographed, it occurred to me that the composition would work well in B&W.  It also occurred to me that I might print this very large someday, and that I wanted a square format.  So made two frames, one with top half filling my frame, and one with the bottom half, then used photomerge in PS4 to create a higher res, square framed image.  The lighting is from my office window.  The file size with adjustment layers is 334 MB.  Here it is!  Let me know your thoughts.

Cheers,   Bill

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Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__TS-E90mmf/2.8+2x Extender__1.5 sec at f / 19__ISO 100

On Sunday morning, I discovered these great ice patterns in my bucket of landscape pebbles.  The “bucket” is a rectangular cement mixing bucket which I bought when I was building my waterfall feature on my back patio 9 years ago.  At the time, I noticed how vivid the stones were when wet, and started an ongoing series of the wet stone details.  Last year, I sold a 5×8 foot print of one of those!  Then, in winter I’ve noticed the bucket, filled with rainwater, will freeze over on cold, clear nights.  So now I also have a collection of ice pattern images!

If you are disappointed in learning that I didn’t make this image of a natural scene, I have my misgivings too.  For various reasons however, not least of which is that I am busy “surviving” in this economy and raising two children, this is where I find the most inspiration these days – in my back yard!

This photograph was made with my 90mm TS lens plus 2x Extender, camera turned horizontally, with front tilt near max to obtain full sharp across the ice.  I created five frames using the lens’s Shift function with incremental turns from far left to far, then stitched together with PS4’s Photomerge.  Even with the five background layers flattened, the final file is over 300MB.  Not quite as big as some of my 4×5 layered master files (which can be up to 1GB), but still very high res!  One has to enlarge the image in PS, or else print it at least 24″ to fully appreciate the intricate filigree patterns in the ice.

Other Bucket images:

Stones

Stones and Reflections

Painted bark eucalyptus, the Hana Coast, Island of Maui, Hawai

John and I have been working on more scans from my 4×5 film archive.  It has been rewarding to finally make use of these images, but also frustrating to see how many good images are languishing in my filing cabinets.  I have also been placing new images on my Facebook Fan page.  I look forward to your comments here or on the Fan Page!

Enjoy,  Bill

PS  On March 10th, my next 4-Week BetterPhoto.com begins!
Inspiring Nature Photography: The Essentials
Key Features:
• Landscape Photography: focusing on the main ingredients
• Regarding Light: how to recognize good lighting conditions
• Using the Frame: how to compose an effective landscape image
• The Magic Element: expressing and sharing emotions in your work
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Learn to use a fine quality of light.
How to apply interesting and dynamic image design.
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Red Maples and forest, autumn, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

The bark of a Gumbo Limbo tree, Everglades National Park, Florida

The bark of a Gumbo Limbo tree, Everglades National Park, Florida

Photographed in 1992 with a Wista 4×5 Field Camera

John and I continue our efforts to scan film in my files. Here is an old favorite, never scanned or printed before.  I must credit Eliot Porter for the inspiration as I first learned of this tree and its amazing bark from a photograph of his.

I am starting to develop an idea for a new portfolio that includes my more abstract details of nature.

The 4×5 film was scanned using my Epson Perfection V750 Pro.

Enjoy,   Bill

William Neill Portfolios

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__TS-E90mm f/2.8__2.0 sec at f / 13__ISO 100

I made this image yesterday on my patio.  The water reflects my ochre-colored wall.  I have been watching the light for when the stones and water were in shadow but the wall remained lit.  I was trying to find a good composition with a single frame but it wasn’t working.  So, used the shift function of my Tilt Shift lens as well as the forward tilt for increased depth of field.  I made one exposure with the shift all the way to the left, and then “shifted” the lens all the way to the right while making sure I had enough overlap for PhotoMerge in PS4 to create the pano.  I selected the best two images in Lightroom, then used LR’s Photo menu to “send” the two files to PS4 for merging.

BTW, I used my Canon TS-E90mm f/2.8 for this image, combined with my Canon 2X Extender to create a 180mm TS lens!

Enjoy,  Bill

William Neill Portfolios

Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III__EF50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro__1/2000 sec at f / 2.5

Last weekend, after we had an icy storm that knocked our power out, I made this macro photo.  I had never noticed an “ice drop” of water like this before.  Amazing patterns.

This drop was on a young oak tree in my yard, and struggled to compose since I had to stand on a retaining wall, shooting hand held with no place to set up a tripod.  Fortunately, I caught a few sharp ones.  Next time, I will try some with a slightly smaller aperture which would have given better sharpness in the ice patterns at this extreme shallow DOF.

Enjoy,

Bill

PS.  There is space still available in my February online course with BetterPhoto:

Inspiring Nature Photography:
The Essentials

Agave, Island of Maui • Wista SP4x5 Field Camera

I am posting the color rendition of my Agave, Hawaii photograph.  I am very pleased with both versions.

Do you prefer one over the other?  I am leaning towards the BW version, but still love the rich color and strong contrasting lines seen here.

Enjoy!   Bill

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By Nature’s Design