photoartflight2 Shot Weathered Feather Image
Posted on February 27, 2017
When walking, looking for photo subjects, I like to find detail subjects along the way. They are good for accent images or just something interesting to look at. They can add interest to the blog or for use in an ebook. Often I have a long lens on my camera for Birds and other Wildlife when I am walking in a Nature area. But when I find smaller detail subjects, I do not want to change lenses. I usually also do not carry 2 large camera bodies and I do not like the quality of the iPhone images. So if I have a second camera it is usually a m43 camera with a 14-140mm lens. Or like I did here on these 2 images. I shot multiple images handheld with a 300mm and combined them in Photoshop. The featured image was 2 shots and the one below was 3 images. These were from a walk at the Plainsboro Preserve in NJ.
Snow Geese Panorama
Posted on February 5, 2017
We went to the Edwin B. Forsyth National Wildlife Refuge in Oceanville, NJ to see what we could find. Most of the Wildlife Drive is closed for road repairs so we were limited to the areas we could go, which is probably only about 1/10th or less of where we used to go. But it was still fun to look for the usual Winter subjects.They are known for huge flocks of Snow Geese in the Winter months and I was hoping to see some Snow Geese, but they are usually farther into the Refuge than we could go because of the Drive closure. When we got to the Refuge the weather changed to a heavy gray cloud cover, so I was not hopeful for interesting images. Right where we had to turn around because of the road work we found a group of a couple hundred Snow Geese. It was not thousands, but it was still quite a few. It was overcast but I still shot a series of handheld shots for a Snow Geese panorama. It started to brighten up a little as I was photographing them so I tried a few different Panoramas, some of just sections of the main group. And a few of just a section of the main group. The featured image is my largest panorama of 14 images shot with 400mm lens with a 1.4X teleconverter. The followings images are smaller panoramas or individual images of the group. I also used a m43 Panasonic for a few images.
Panoramas From The Celery Farm Natural Area
Posted on November 26, 2016
I went to one of the Nature Areas I used to go to frequently to see if there were any subjects to photograph. Usually at this time there are a number of different types of ducks. But this day there were mostly Mallards and way out in the distance were a pair of Dudy Ducks. Being bored, I thought, try some panoramas. So I tried shooting a few series of panoramas to try out assembling them in the new CC Photoshops I downloaded (CC2015.5 & CC2017). I have been a user of Photoshop since version 2 in 1991 and my CS6 version was getting outdated. I resented paying a monthly subscription for the CC version after paying Adobe for all the boxed suites and multiple versions my studio used, but finally had to subcome after all these years. All were images photographed with a 400mm f/4 DO lens on a Canon 1D MkIV. The featured 4 image pano was of 4 Mallards swimming by where I was setup. I had to shoot quickly as they were moving along. After some practice you can make panoramas of moving subjects, just needing a few Quick Masks to help in the blending.
Then I tried a 14 shot pano across the lake. The CC Photoshop versions, I feel did not work as well as the CS6 version. But it was tougher with the wind making different ripples in the water. The CC versions seem to distort & bow sections more than the CS6 Photoshop does. This I shot with more overlapping than usually I do. I could have worked on it more, but it was just a test and not all that interesting anyway. And I did get a gull in it off to the left that flew in as I was shooting the pano series.
My last series was a tree on the left side of the lake that had lost all its leaves by now, but there were leaves on trees higher and behind it. This one was 12 overlapping images and worked out much better. I was curious to see how much detail I would get in the branches and leaves. This worked well in the CC Photoshops. After the pano was assembled, I tried using the Macphun Luminar photo editor to add some detail. I usually use the Nik suite of Filters, but so far my CC Photoshop versions do not play well with them. So when there are no photo subjects, it is a good time to try different techniques and ways to photograph your subjects. You never know when it will come in handy and get you the image when you might not have gotten it otherwise.
Early Morning Leaves & Roots Panorama
Posted on November 23, 2016
I went to a local nature area early in the morning to see what I could find. Just a few ducks and Canada Geese. But I liked the early morning light on the trails and leaves. The featured image was a 2 image shot that I took on the way in on the path. I had my 400mm expecting to photograph ducks and maybe an Egret or a Great Blue Heron. So I used my iPhone with the ProCamera app, In the HDR (High Dynamic Range) mode. It shoots 2 images and blends them together. You can do further editing in the app or I fine tune in Photoshop. The 2 images were then combined and stacked in Photoshop.
IPhone leaf (2 image) HDR image below.
Great Blue Heron 8 Shot Panorama
Posted on November 5, 2016
We went to the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge over the weekend to look for Bald Eagles. It was a quiet day at the Refuge. We saw a few eagles, most were far off, but managed to get a few good flight shots. But as we were driving on the Wildlife Drive I came upon this Great Blue Heron right off the drive in the water on a dyke. I was using a 400mm f/4 Do lens with a 1.4X Teleconverter, so I could not even get a full head shot. I did not want to change lenses because I thought it would fly off, so I shot a series of 8 handheld shots of different sections of the heron and assembled them in Photoshop. The final file was over 8 gigs with my edits. Not the greatest shot, but it was fun to put together.
Black-crowned Night-heron 3 Image Shot Stack Panorama
Posted on July 16, 2016
I came across this Black-crowned Night-heron along the path as I was walking. It was too close for the lens I had (400mm). So I shot a handheld 3 shot, overlapping, sequence to fit all of the heron in my photo. I assembled them in Photoshop and cropped in somewhat. The Heron did not seem to mind me being there. Usually they fly off you stay too long.
Great Egret Panorama
Posted on June 27, 2016
I found this Great Egret in the grasses along the Wildlife Drive at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge . It was too close to fit the whole bird and background scene in so I shot two handheld shots quickly to combine later. In Photoshop I combined the 2 shots, added more details in the white Egret and opened up the shadows somewhat.
Mute Swan Birdscape
Posted on March 19, 2016
This Mute Swan was swimming along the shoreline with the dried grasses in the background. I thought the warm colors looked interesting so I shot a 2 shot panorama and blended the 2 images in Photoshop. Because the swan was moving I used a soft edge mask to blend the 2 images, because the swan was actually in 2 different areas along the shoreline in each shot. By blending the images I hid the differences in position.
Ice Bubbles Panorama
Posted on March 2, 2016
While I was shooting the ice bubbles last weekend, I also shot a few panoramas just for fun. I like shooting panoramas here and there just so when you really need to shoot one you have a better chance of it working well. This is a three shot panorama, combined in photoshop. 300mm w/ 1.4X Teleconverter @ f/16.
Plant Panorama – Handheld Image Stack
Posted on December 6, 2015
Sometimes while I am waiting for a photo subject to come into view, I experiment with different techniques with what I see in front of me. Helps pass the time until a photo subject flies by. I saw this tall plant and wanted to see if a handheld series of horizontal shots for a vertical panorama would work. I have done this with birds, snakes, mammals and alligators but wondered if it would work with all the leaves and branches, much more varied detail and items to line up. I was surprised it worked well, not a great composition, but more of a test project, 5 horizontal shots for a vertical panorama, with the uneven sides cropped off. Shot with a Canon 400mm f/4 DO Lens, with a 2X Canon Teleconverter.
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