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Another example of beautiful flower photography at your door step. To get this shot I went to one of my favorite neighborhood spots, Hall's Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Brookline, MA. The wildlife is amazing for a little pond in the middle of the city. Over the years I have captured some precious images there. I go regularly to explore the sanctuary, including its formal garden, where I composed this lily stamen close-up. While strolling the garden I was attracted by the greenish yellowish color of the lily. My goal was to have one of the stamens in focus and keep the others blurry. The lily petals were supposed to provide the background. In order to achieve this effect I set the camera aperture to maximum possible and zoomed all the way out to a 80mm lens setting. This combination provided me with the limited depth of field I was looking for. I snapped a series of photographs for optimal exposure and left only sharpening the image to post processing.

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Today's blog describes my approach to floral portrait and abstract photography.

Monthly Photography Tip: Besides cameras and lenses, a tripod is one of the most important investments for a nature photographer. High quality nature photographs are rarely achieved when hand holding your camera. A tripod is essential for low light during the morning, evening and twilight, for shooting wildlife, for macros and for experimenting with impressionistic photography. It not only steadies your shooting equipment for maximum image quality, it also will help you discover the world of photography. You are more likely to step back, think and compose the photograph. You will ask yourself: do I have a straight horizon, do I have sufficient depth of field or shall I open up the aperture setting to minimize depth of field, are there distracting elements in the foreground or background of my composition, do I even have a composition?

I personally prefer a ball-and-socket head with quick release for easy and fast adjustments. My tripod has no center column and the legs spread independently for setup on uneven terrain. The tripod collapses to almost ground level allowing me to explore ground level objects and shooting from different angles and perspectives. It is not too heavy for the longer photo excursions and trips I often pursue in the national and state parks of New England.

As an alternative, I sometimes bring a bean bag that allows me an easy, inexpensive setup at even lower levels then possible with a tripod. I also use it on rocks or positioning a telephoto lens on the hood or the roof of my car. Ready to go bean bags can be found at local photo dealers. You also can fill up your own 1 or 2 gallon size bag or freezer bag with dried beans. Add beans until the bag is nearly full but still flexible. Remove the air, zip up and you are ready to shoot.

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I regularly visit the beaches of Cape Cod Bayfor sunset photography. Needless to say sunsets never disappoint here. No difference on one of my latest trips where I photographed at Skaket Beach. This was a new beach and it took a bit of time and exploring before settling on a pleasing composition. I finally succeeded when I found some nice beach grass leading into the picture. While the sun was nearing the horizon colors in the sky exploded. A saturated blue with clouds colored in pink and orange dominated the sky. The spectacle was beautifully reflected in the Cape Cod Bay and beach. I used a split ND filter to balance the bright sunset sky with the darker foreground directly in front of me. Aperture setting was f/14 providing a shutter speed of a second at ISO100. During routine post processing I adjusted lighting, contrast, color saturation before removing imperfections and sharpening the final Cape Cod photography image of
Day EndsGood light and happy photo making!

My best,

Juergen

I regularly visit the beaches of Cape Cod Bayfor sunset photography. Needless to say sunsets never disappoint here. No difference on one of my latest trips where I photographed at Skaket Beach. This was a new beach and it took a bit of time and exploring before settling on a pleasing composition. I finally succeeded when I found some nice beach grass leading into the picture. While the sun was nearing the horizon colors in the sky exploded. A saturated blue with clouds colored in pink and orange dominated the sky. The spectacle was beautifully reflected in the Cape Cod Bay and beach. I used a split ND filter to balance the bright sunset sky with the darker foreground directly in front of me. Aperture setting was f/14 providing a shutter speed of a second at ISO100. During routine post processing I adjusted lighting, contrast, color saturation before removing imperfections and sharpening the final Cape Cod photography image of
Day Ends.

Good light and happy photo making!

My best,

Juergen

Nauset Light in Eastham, MA on Cape Cod is one of New England's most iconic lighthouses. The red and white structure stands tall atop Nauset Beach and the Cape Cod National Seashore. It is well known as the logo for Cape Cod Potato Chips and also goes by Nauset Beach Light. The famous lighthouse makes for a great photography subjects at any time of the day. I recently ventured out to capture the lighthouse at night under a sky full of stars.

At daylight the parking lot is filled with beach lovers and parking is a hassle; arriving at sunrise, sunset or night makes it a no-hassle activity and free. It's a short walk across the street and you can get to work right away.

That night mostly clear sky was dominant, perfect for star and night photography of Nauset Light. I quickly set up tripod and camera gear and got to work. I used my Canon 7D with a 10-22mm lens set at f/3.5. The shutter speed was 20 seconds at ISO1600. During post -processing of the lighthouse photo I minimized noise, adjusted white balance, lighting, color saturation and contrast. Before sharpening the final image I removed dust spots, imperfection and further minimized digital noise.

Good light and happy photo making!

My best,

Juergen
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Photography Guide to Boston

Last Sunday we made a day trip to Cape Cod. We had a great family time while enjoying swimming at our favorite lake, having lunch at one of the best fish restaurant on Cape Cod, chilling on First Encounter Beach, strolling through Chatham and visiting our most favorite gallery. On our way home we stopped for ice cream at Sundae School Ice Cream in Harwich, MA. The weather turned truly dramatic and provided me with some extraordinary lighting. We checked one of my go to locations between Chatham and Harwich, where I photographed Cape Cod Solitude, as it was less than half a mile down the street. The red dinghy was still present but views of it are somewhat obstructed by a second larger red boat; no more solitude at this location. We quickly moved on and made a right turn towards Bell's Neck Road. Bell's Neck is a marsh area that is divided by the Herring River which beautifully winds through the field of marsh grasses. Bells Neck has been on my bucket list for quite some time now but I never really >>> LEARN MORE

Photo Tip #1 of 20: Draw attention to your main subject. Simply get in closer, use selective focus, use the advantage of bright color or light on the main subject >>> Dig More Photo Tips

When I am out and about pursuing nature photography I am almost always instinctively attracted by the strong colors of a photographic object. This is the decisive moment for me when I decide it is worthwhile to pull out my camera and tripod to capture a natural delight. I am much more aware of colors and their effect on people then I used to be and I try to use them to my photographic advantage. For example, one connects the color red with energy, danger, strength and power but also with passion, desire and love as often conveyed in red roses. Yellow is the color of sunshine. It's connected with joy, happiness and Read it All.

Today's nature photography blog discusses Misty Morning at Jamaica Pond photography.

Cheers,

Juergen