Intro by Skip Cohen The fun of this industry has nothing to do with photography, but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Daniel Cox and I met thanks to Panasonic. He's a Luminary, an artist, a writer, guide and educator. Spend just a few minutes with Daniel and no matter what the subject, if it's somehow related to imaging, you're going to learn something. He and Tanya spend a great deal of time on the road helping people experience one adventure after another, traveling all over the world. He's shared a number of posts here at SCU, but I thought it would be great to also share the short video above, which will give you a little more background. While his passion is wildlife photography, I'm not sure there's anything Daniel can't photograph. And, like the tours he and Tanya offer through their company Natural Exposures, he never compromises on the quality of any image. In this special guest post, Daniel shares some terrific advice, while shooting with a LUMIX ZS100. To get to know Daniel better, click on any image below to connect to his website. You'll also find more about Daniel and the other members of the Luminary team with a stop by Panasonic's LUMIX Lounge. by Daniel J. Cox Camera: Lumix ZS100, Lens: 250mm, ISO 200 One of the most important elements in photography is light. It comes in many forms but what most are talking about when they discuss light relates to a strong directional light source in some form or another. As a wildlife photographer I often shoot in all kinds of light since animals and nature keep on living whether they’re in good light or not. Much of what I do is record their lives and what may be happening is often as important, possibly more, than whether the subject happens to be in a beautiful shaft of light or simply illuminated by natures soft box, overcast skies. Being a documentarian of the natural world is my first job but I’m always striving to shoot beautiful images as an artist as well. The absolute ultimate is when I get to combine art and nature together and I thought I would share with you a situation I recently captured first as a documentarian and then as an artist. The first thing I tell my students about light is this “forget the age old adage from the mid 1800’s where Kodak told all photographers to put the sun behind their back.” In those days that was necessary since film was rated at ISO 8 and lenses were no faster than F/8 or less. In other words you needed a lot of light, blasting directly on to your subject to get any image at all. Today we’re regularly shooting ISO 200, 400, 800 and even higher with optics of F/2.8 or wider. We have equipment with lots of ability to drink that light in, allowing us to shoot high enough shutter speeds that stop almost any action or camera movement. That being the case I suggest to all that will listen, “make sure you’re light is coming from 45 degrees either side or even directly behind your subject.” What I call side light and back light is the key to making a two dimensional object, which is a digital chip or piece of film, feel like it has three dimensions. Directional lightning gives the viewer the feeling of being able to wrap their fingers around the image, the ability to almost touch the subject on that two dimensional object which may be a computer screen or printed page. It’s the best way to turn a photograph in to a sculpture that has form and depth. The two photos I’ve included as examples show my subject, a sandhill crane, standing at the edge of a shallow pond. One image was shot while the sun was behind a very thick cloud, which as I mentioned above is like draping the sun with a great big soft box. It’s a great lighting technique for lots of subjects in the studio and it also works in nature. This image shows a serene scene of one of my favorite birds standing quietly, fishing. The second photo was shot after waiting for the very low, late evening sun to appear from behind a bank of thick clouds. When the sun dipped below the clouds it was blasting in from the right and it had that beautiful golden tone we all love. The closer the sun is to edge of the horizon, the warmer the color is we see due to what is known as scattering. Scattering happens when the evening light has to pass through thicker atmosphere or air which helps scatter molecules, the most easily scattered being violet and blue, away from our eyes. The longest wave lengths are warm in color such as orange and red and are more effective at cutting through the atmosphere without getting scattered. It’s the thick atmosphere the gives us the golden hour photographers so dearly love. Take the beautiful color of the Golden Hour and make sure it’s lighting your subject either directly from the right, left or behind and your image takes on the feeling of three dimensions. Images copyright Daniel J. Cox. All rights reserved.
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Intro by Skip Cohen The most fun about being in the photography industry has absolutely nothing to do with imaging but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Rob Knight is one of those friends I met through Panasonic. He's a LUMIX Luminary, making up one of the most diverse groups of artists in photography. Rob's been leading photo tours in Costa Rica for seven years and is about to make a huge change. I'm sharing his post below as he describes a remarkable new direction - he's changing to smaller tours, allowing him to give more personal attention to each person on the trip. In addition, traveling on each trip with a selection of LUMIX cameras will give each traveler an opportunity to learn fist-hand what all the buzz is about! If you've met Rob or know his reputation, then you know he loves to teach and share. Photography is so much more than just a career choice. For Rob, it's about his passion for the environment, Costa Rica, people and capturing spectacular images. Check out the guest post from Rob below as he describes the new direction for his next tour, coming up in September. And, if you'd like to see more of Rob's work as well as the rest of the Luminary team, swing by the Lumix Lounge. Regarding this next trip - I can't make it, but a week with Rob in Costa Rica just got added to my own bucket list! by Rob Knight I’m trying something new this year in Costa Rica, and I would love to share it with you. I’ll tell you the NEW part, and you can read on if this sounds interesting. My usual Costa Rica Photo Adventure Photo Workshop has between 12 and 17 photographers. We have a LOT of fun, and I love taking bigger groups to Costa Rica. But this time I want to offer something smaller and perhaps create a more personal experience. I am limiting the workshop group to 6 photographers so I can truly share my experience with each guest. If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, please read on… I’ve been leading photography tours and workshops in Costa Rica for seven years. Many of the “great ideas” I had when I started have fallen by the way-side to make room for the excursions and experiences that I share with my guests today. I’ve learned that experience is the important part of travel. This may seem obvious, but when you’re organizing a photo workshop you have to consider everything from lodging to transportation to actually teaching photography! I have to cater to people of all ages and fitness levels. I have to offer photography opportunities that are fun and interesting to photographers of all skill levels. I am proud of the photography workshop I present to my large groups. I think it has a nice balance of activities, and it is fun and challenging to my guests.
I’ve been to Costa Rica twice this year to work on different projects, and I noticed a few things I liked about traveling in smaller groups. I especially like the flexibility and the ability to change plans with a moment’s notice. Whether it’s where we’re going, what we’re shooting, or what we’re going to eat; it is much easier to make those game-time decisions with a smaller group. different opportunities present themselves with smaller groups as well. For example, I can organize a horse ride through the rainforest to a private waterfall for a smaller group, but that would be nearly impossible (and much more stressful) for a group of 17 folks. There are places I like to go that just don’t have room for a big group. In short, I want to lead a photo workshop that works like me taking a small group of friends to my favorite places. Instead of a big bus, I’ll drive us around (I will miss our driver Cesar though). I’ve set up what I consider the trip of a lifetime, but if we see something we want to shoot along the way, we’ll stop and check it out. This format will also make me more available to help with processing your photos, camera settings, or whatever YOU are interested in working on. I will have time for one-on-one sessions with each guest that are just not possible with a larger group. The good news is: the tuition will stay the same! I am not charging my regular workshop price for this private photo workshop experience. I will pick you up at the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica on Sunday, September 11, and I will take care of everything through September 17. That includes transportation, lodging, meals, excursions, guides, etc, etc… I will also have LUMIX mirrorless cameras and lenses for you to borrow. I’m excited about this new Costa Rica Photo Adventure! Let me introduce you to my friends in Costa Rica, and show you around this beautiful country. Thanks to LUMIX USA for supporting this unique photo experience. Please visit robknightphotography.com to find out more and grab one of the last few spots! I got an email this morning from Kristen Jensen, a member of Panasonic's Luminary team. Along with some outstanding ideas on defining your brand, she shared the video below. It was created for one of her clients, Susan Leone, a realtor in the area. The video was captured on a LUMIX GH4 by Kristen, and it reminded me how important it is to diversify in your business as a photographer. The lines between videographer and photographer are getting more and more blurry every day. Technology has played a huge role as new cameras, especially in the LUMIX family, allow the artist to switch easily from still images to video with just the push of a button. Then there's the world of hybrid technology. Suzette Allen, who will be joining me next week at Marathon's MAP Getaway workshop, has made it a prime focus of her business. Suzette is another Panasonic Luminary with a diverse skill set. She's been a leader in hybrid presentations/education, and for many of us is considered the Queen of Hybrid! Check out her YouTube channel, which is constantly growing, currently holding 160 videos, most of which are "how-to" pieces to help you boost your skill set. As photographers, if you're not offering clients more than just still images, you're missing a substantial opportunity to grow your business. For example, offering clients a slideshow combining still images and video is a no-brainer. Think about the potential for creating holiday cards for all your clients this fall. Even something as simple as a baby announcement stands out from the crowd when Suzette's creativity starts to shine! As a professional, you've got to make your work different from your competitors, as well as Uncle Harry! Understanding video and adding this skill to your repertoire adds a new dimension to the services you can offer a client and your ability to make 2016 one of your strongest years yet.
Check out more of Kristen and Suzette's work in the LUMIX Lounge along with the rest of the Luminary team. They're an incredibly diverse group of artists and educators - always willing to help you raise the bar on your skill set. by Skip Cohen My passion for professional photography lies in the business and marketing side. I don't make my living as a photographer, but that doesn't mean I don't have an incredible passion for imaging with a camera in my hands! I recently started shooting with a LUMIX FZ300, and I'm blown away by the technology packed into this relatively small SLR. We were in Ohio a few weeks ago and wandered out to some of the vineyards. There was a little man-made pool in the corner of the restaurant's patio, and I started playing with the camera. I didn't have a tripod with me, so I had to do the best I could handheld. It reminded me of an early lesson my good buddy Tom Danielson taught me scuba-diving years ago. We were shooting with a new underwater housing for the Hasselblad. On one dive I came up and commented there wasn't much to photograph. Tom just looked at me and laughed. He suggested on the next dive I just hang out at the first coral head I came to and photograph everything I saw. The little pond below, complete with garden hose wound up being a lot of fun to photograph and reminds me of that coral head. I played with the camera in and out of macro and then for the image above used the in-camera soft focus filter. There's so much we walk by every day and never notice the detail. The FZ300 has a 25-600mm fixed lens, touch screen, 4K and splashproof/dustproof technology. Plus, this little gem has most of the features that have made Panasonic's LUMIX family a leader in mirrorless technology - all, right at your fingertips. And, it's smaller and lighter than the FZ1000. Check out images captured with many of the LUMIX family of cameras from Panasonic's Luminary team over at the LUMIX Lounge. You'll find incredible diversity from some of the finest educators and artists in photography today. Just click on the LUMIX logo below to visit the Lounge. Intro by Skip Cohen Panasonic's Luminary team is one of the most diverse group of artists in professional photography today. They're always pushing the edge of the envelope with their creativity and this post by my good buddy, Bob Coates, is a perfect example. Back in the film days, shooting infrared was a lot more difficult than it is today with digital technology. Even better is shooting infrared with a member of the LUMIX family of cameras. And, as Bob points out, it's the perfect technique to play with at those times of day when you wouldn't normally be shooting outdoors. Check out more of Bob's infrared images and how-to suggestions on technique by visiting his links below. Put Bob on your radar, along with his blog, Successful-Photographer.com. Then wander over to the Lumix Lounge and meet the rest of the Luminary team! Panasonic isn't just making incredible equipment - they're staying true to their tagline: A great way to repurpose an older camera is to have it converted to infrared. IR photography opens up a whole new time of day to creativity. Midday, when you normally put your camera up because of the high contrast, is made for IR capture. I had a Lumix G6 converted by LifePixel with a normal Infrared filter and it’s been a blast. You may or not remember the days when infrared was a very dicey way to photograph. Film was very susceptible to fogging with the tiniest exposure to light. The filters used to filter out visible light made focusing very difficult. You often had to remove the filter to focus. Put the filter back on and then make another adjustment because the infrared light focused on a different plane than visible light. OK enough of the problems of the past. Infrared photography with digital is a blast. If you set your camera to black and white you can get a good idea of what the infrared capture will look like. Focus is a breeze.
I recommend capturing images in RAW plus jpeg and bracketing exposures, especially when you first start out. The final infrared image is created in postproduction and it’s good to have options of density from the different exposures. You can see more about my journey into digital infrared and post processing methods by checking out the links below. One of my favorite things to do is hit a good classic car show. Back in my home town of Painesville, Ohio last week the weekly Friday night car show was perfect to take my new FZ300 out for a spin. Every Friday night over the summer locals from the area put their passion for cars on display. While the FZ300 hasn't been out long enough to be considered a classic, the features of this ace put it well on its way. It all starts with a 25-600mm fixed lens, touch screen, 4K and splashproof/dustproof technology. Plus, most of the features that have made Panasonic's LUMIX family a leader in mirrorless technology are right at your fingertips. What I enjoy most is its size. It's smaller and lighter than my FZ1000. The lens quality is excellent and so is this little gem's ability to deliver what you want. It's the perfect camera to travel with, fitting easily in my backpack and adding no significant weight, coming in at under two pounds! As with most serious hobbyists, especially at a car show, their pride is unmatched. This yellow dream on the right and more detailed below is a 1935 Plymouth. The owner worked on it for twelve years. He took us through every inch of the car pointing out everything was the "original steel!" And, as with most classic cars, the detail in the engine was incredible - hardly the original, but built with that same incredible pride. I had a lot of fun playing with some of the built-in presets. Look, I accept that my profile is often more like a serious hobbyist vs. those of you who are working professionals. As I've written before, my passion has always been the business and marketing side of photography, but I know more than I let on. Under pressure I could probably do a decent job shooting a classic portrait, but it would take me all day to do what many of you do in a few minutes! However, even for you diehard pros out there, some of these presets are a lot of fun to play with. The first image below is clean with no in-camera enhancement, but as always, it was fun to play with a few more presets. The last image is a 100% blow up from the first image below. I love the detail the FZ300 is capable of capturing.
So, don't take my word for it, wander into a LUMIX retailer and check this little "classic" out for yourself. In fact, check out the entire LUMIX family. And, if you're looking for more images as well as the workshop schedule of the Luminary Team, just wander over to the LUMIX Lounge! Intro by Skip Cohen It should have been obvious for some time that I'm a big fan of mirrorless technology and especially Panasonic's LUMIX line of cameras. And, while they are a partner here at SCU, that's got nothing to do with my enthusiasm. Besides the features of the cameras themselves, lightweight, compact, outstanding image sharpness, great low-light capability, and 4K - my biggest inspiration comes from the Luminary Team, many of who have become great friends over the years. I wanted to share these two videos produced by Photo Joseph (Joseph Linaschke) for two reasons. First, think about how you'd tell the story of your business, your technique or your passion for the craft. Joseph is a master storyteller, and the first video takes you through his experiences a few months ago in New Orleans with Panasonic's new GX85. Second, is the camera itself and features what the GX85 brings to the party. And maybe there's a secondary reason to share - watch the first video and then the second, which is a sampler of Joseph's visit to New Orleans. Again, it's all about storytelling and nobody does it better than Joseph with a LUMIX GX85! Just to clarify the nomenclature of the camera, because I know many of you are outside the US - it's a GX85 in the US, GX80 in Europe and GX7 Mark II in Japan. Interested in finding out more about Photo Joseph's images, workshops and schedule, his website is just a click away. He needs to be on your radar. Here's the link to his blog and more of the story about his New Orleans trip. Check out the Panasonic Luminary team as well with a visit to the LUMIX Lounge. They're an incredibly diverse and talented group. You'll never be disappointed!
Intro by Skip Cohen
This is a very different Luminary Corner post, but it's too much fun not to share and it's also helping me make a very special point. Brent Watkins has been a great friend for a lot of years. We met when I first moved back to Ohio in 2009 and since then we've shared a whole lot of experiences, not to mention meals together when we catch up on the convention circuit.He's a terrific photographer in Barberton, Ohio, with a strong focus on seniors, portraits and weddings, although there's nothing he can't shoot. During the days of the Akron Photo Series he helped me host two different hands-on workshops with Bambi Cantrell and later Jerry Ghionis at Sylvart Studios. Last week I watched this outrageous and fun video that Brent proudly shared in one of the Facebook forums. It was created by his son, Reese and friends at Smithville High School. Brent gave Reese his FZ1000 for the project and besides being an incredible camera and so easy to use, the video makes a point I want to share. Most of you are working professional photographers or, you're aspiring to be. In addition, many of you have families. Whether your kids come into the business with you later on or not, is irrelevant - use your skill set and inspire their creativity. No matter how young they are - if they're able to walk put a camera in their hands. Help stimulate creativity in imaging and then sit back and check out how they see the world! You can check out more about Panasonic's LUMIX line and meet the Luminary team with a visit to the LUMIX Lounge. And...a big thanks to Brent for sending me the link to the video and congrats to Reese who just graduated this past weekend. What a great senior project! When I was a senior the best idea we came up with was to graffiti the school...for which we spent days having to clean up the mess afterwards! Intro by Skip Cohen There are several hundred posts here in Luminary Corner, most of them thanks to the members of the Luminary team. I've written a lot about how diverse this group is, not just in their skill set as artists, but in their expertise in business ventures and social media. This guest post by Charles Maring makes the point. As a spokesperson for both Panasonic's LUMIX cameras and Profoto he's combined the best of both worlds to capture the image above. The specs for the image are below. However, if you know Charles and Jennifer then you're aware this is a couple who never sits still. They are one of the most diverse couples in the industry. They're always expanding into other aspects of image capture, social media and now, shopcharlee.com, clothing line designed with fine art expressionist paintings by Charles. Check out more of Charles work at his website and keep tabs on the Luminary team with a visit to the Lumix Lounge. CAMERA Lumix GH4 - LENS Lumix 12-35 2.8 - ISO 200 1/50 sec f/5.0
I created this photograph during a fashion shoot for the launch of www.shopcharlee.com a clothing line I produced from my fine art expressionist paintings. My clothing line includes leggings and capris with the perfect amount of compression for athletics such as yoga, dance, running, or the gym. So, we are focusing some of our photo-shoots for the brand around these niche lifestyles. I wanted to capture a dancer in motion both in photographs and in video so naturally we utilized the Profoto system for the project because all of our light shaping tools fit both their strobe and continuous light heads. This makes it easy to switch from high impact still images and go right into video capture using the GH4 as well. This image was one of my favorites from the shoot as it really showcases the motion of dance, and the clothing at the same time. You can follow our journey of turning art into fashion on our blog www.togetherinstyle.com where we have a web series called Our Reel Life that takes you behind the scenes of our personal and professional journey as artists, photographers, and entrepreneurs.
Intro by Skip Cohen
I fell in love with scuba diving in 1991 and over the next five years, logged in hundreds of dives. In fact, at one point we had a dozen diehards, mostly from the photography industry, who would head out on a trip just about anywhere at any time. As a result, we hit the water throughout the Caribbean, Bonaire, Truk Lagoon off Guam, Cocos Island (36 hours by boat from the Dominican Republic) and when it wasn't an exotic trip we were regularly in the Keys, diving off of Islamorada. On every trip, I had a camera in my hands and soon learned "the only camera housing that doesn't flood, is the one that never goes in the water!" I also learned the degree of difficulty in getting great underwater images. I typically would come back with hundreds of images and less than a half dozen I liked. These were all captured in the film days, and I'd wait for a week after getting home just to know whether I captured anything to make me proud. Meet my buddy Daniel Cox, who's not only shooting digital underwater with this image buta LUMIX GH4. Working with a smaller camera and still maintaining outstanding quality makes Panasonic's mirrorless technology the perfect creative partner underwater! You can check out more of Daniel's work on his website. Then, wander over to the LumixLounge and meet the rest of the Luminary Team! They're one of the most talented and diverse groups in the photography industry, and you'll never be disappointed in their passion for education and helping you raise the bar on your images. By Daniel J. Cox Small, light and mobile is how I describe the Lumix system in my ongoing Lumix Diaries. But shooting underwater takes it to a whole different level, no pun intended. On a recent exploratory trip to Tahiti for our NE Invitational Photo Tours, I was able to include my entire Lumix system which includes Two GH4’s, one GX8, and LX100, Olympus 12mm F/2.0, 7-14mm, 12-35mm, 35-100mm and the new Leica 100-400mm AND the Nauticam underwater housing and front lens port, all stuffed in to a Lowe Pro Roller 200. When I was shooting traditional DSLR’s I would have a 1610 Pelican case JUST for the underwater housing, lens port and other incidentals alone. Working with such a small camera in an equally small housing is incredibly liberating which made my work more fun and immensely more productive than any underwater shoot I’ve ever done. Small, light and mobile is where it’s going and Lumix has beat them all to the punch. |
AuthorsWelcome to Luminary Corner. Besides being a recognized member of the professional photographic community, each post author is a member of Panasonic's LUMIX Luminary team. Archives
November 2017
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