Category: Mirrorless

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Eyes Above

Believe it or not, it took me 20-30 shots before I got this just right.  I wanted to make sure that the one light behind the post was centrally located or at least close.  Rangefinder cameras currently don’t allow for live viewing and when looking through the viewfinder, you are not looking through the lens.  Because of this, you have to move very slowly either left or right to get the image where you want it (I enjoy the challenge).

I used my Leica 50mm noctilux and neutral density filter for the shot.  I then used Nik Color Efex to add the ambient colors.  The depth of field is not artificially created (bokeh).  You can thank the noctilux and it’s ability to shoot at f.95 for that.

ISO 160 1/4000’s f.95 50mm noctilux 

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Cloud Gate “The Bean” series – 4

I’m sure you are getting tired of Cloud Gate shots. This is my last in the series and also my favorite. This was taken with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar. What I like about it is the amount of detail in the buildings (click on picture to see full-size). The 21mm super elmar was built for sharpness from corner to corner and this image is a perfect example of it.

series 1

series 2

series 3

ISO 1/125s f3.4 21mm super elmar (7 exposure HDR, edited with Photomatix, PS6, & Aperture)

 

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Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”) series

I didn’t just take pics of the “The Bean” with my Olympus OM-D, I also shot with my Leica M9-P and 21mm super elmar.

This shot is not a HDR and was shot handheld.  The shot is slightly cropped so that I could remove my self from the picture.  I was attempting to get the original sky and the reflected sky to blend.

1st shot from series

ISO160 1/60s f3.4 21mm super elmar

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Cloud Gate (aka “The Bean”)

Landscape and professional photographers know that if you want to capture great images you should shoot during the “magic hour” (or also known as the golden hour).  This is the first and last hour of sunlight during the day.

During my recent trip to Chicago, I woke up early and headed down to Millennium Park to capture pictures of the sculpture Cloud Gate, also known as “The Bean”.  I got there around 0530 and began shooting pictures.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay long since I was approached by a security guard (he was very nice) who alerted me that I wasn’t suppose to be there and that the park didn’t open up until 6.  Luckily, I was able to capture a few shots.

Olympus OM-D and Panasonic Lumix G Vario 7-14mm lens

ISO 200 f/8 7mm (7 exposure HDR, used HDR Efex 2, Photoshop CS6, & Aperture 3.3)

 

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Welcomed Storm

I’ve mentioned in other post I don’t frequently shoot HDR’s anymore.  One of the main reasons is because I don’t shoot as many landscapes.  Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to shoot more and have been delighted with the results with my Olympus OM-D and the Panasonic 7-14mm lens.  You can bracket up to 7 shots (at .7 EV each).  I find 7 exposures works very well.  Also, I’ve started to transition from using Photomatix to Nik Software HDR Efex 2.  So far, I think Nik’s software is more user-friendly, has better adjusts, and allows for a more realistic images (that’s the kind of HDR I like).

As most know, we have gotten little rain this summer.  A few weeks ago we did have a storm come through and I was able to get out and take a few images.  Here is one that I captured.

ISO 200 f4 7mm – shot with Olympus OM-D & Panasonic 7-14mm lens

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You want this?

I’ve been busy traveling the past few days and will continue to be busy throughout the remaining month.  Hopefully, I can at least post a new pic every other day.

Last week, I decided to sell my NEX-7 and move to the new Olympus OM-D.  Both are great cameras but the NEX-7 just doesn’t have the amount of lenses on the market.  Also, I really like the functionality of the OM-D.

Here is one of my first pictures taken with the Olympus OM-D with Panasonic’s 7-14mm lens.  When shooting landscape with this lens there is very little distortion but when you have a subject within inches of the lens you can see that it gives it a unique perspective.

 

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Spring is Here

It’s been an amazing past few weeks with the wonderful weather.  Hopefully it continues.  Here’s a picture I took with my Sony NEX-7 and Leica 90mm macro elmar using the Novoflex adapter.  Leica glass on this already great camera, makes even more remarkable pictures.  Oh, and the “pixel peaking” feature on the NEX-7 for manual focusing is wonderful and probably will be used by others because of how well it works.

ISO 100  1/60 f/4 Leica 90mm macro elmar

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Depth

I was in Madison Wisconsin this weekend to see my sister and nephew.  I had some opportunity to take some shots with my NEX 7.  I’m still very happy with it’s results.  I think its auto white balance is better than my Leica M9.

This shot is a close-up of an organ’s keys.  I really liked the texture of the keys and thought a close-up would work well.  I set my f-stop to 1.8 so that I could get some depth of field.  I think it turned out well.  The “bokeh” is good but in my opinion it’s not as smooth as my Leica lenses.

ISO 500 1/60s f1.8 zeiss 24mm

 

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