I've shared a lot of images captured with the FZ300, which has become my favorite camera to travel with, even if it's just out for the day around Sarasota. It's light, easy to carry and with a 25-600mm fixed lens, there's pretty much nothing I can't capture. For you full time working pros out there, I recognize it's got a smaller sensor, but for my profile and what I'm normally trying to capture it's the perfect camera.

On a trip to the Mote Aquarium recently there was an outdoor lily pond with plenty of flowers in bloom. Conditions were pretty close to perfect, and because it was mid-afternoon with plenty of light, it was easy to handhold and get a few shots.

The image above is blown up 50% from the original file, which is below. Remember these are also screen shots. The only tweaking I did was darken it slightly with a small increase in the saturation. I wanted to highlight the water drops. 

Check out the FZ300 with a click on the thumbnail to the right. Then catch up to Panasonic's Luminary team in the Lumix Lounge. They're one of the most diverse groups of artists in professional photography and need to be on your radar! Follow their travel schedule and catch up to them when they're teaching at programs throughout the Lumix network.

And, have you checked out the new GH5? The features in this camera are amazing, giving you some of the finest creative tools in the 190+ year history of photography. Isn't it time you found out what all the buzz is about?

Listen to this recent episode of "Why?" with Shiv Verma who had the GH5 out in a storm and talks about the camera's durability along with the background on his image, "Refugees Welcome."

                              Pansonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and that's exactly what they've done!

Intro by Skip Cohen

In the 190+ year history of photography, there have never been more creative tools at your fingertips than today! As imaging artists, whether your specialty is weddings/events, portraits, wildlife, or even macro - your goal is always to tell a compelling story.

Bob Coates shares an incredible tool, which as he states doesn't always get the attention it deserves - time lapse photography. And, he's included a few solid tips to help you create outstanding time lapse stories and in turn create more excitement with your clients. Remember your goal with each client - exceed expectations and make working with you habit-forming!

Check out Bob's website to see more time lapse images. His website, Successful-Photographer is always filled with great content to help you raise the bar on your images. And, stop by the Lumix Lounge and meet the rest of the Luminary Team. This is one of the most diverse and talented groups of artists in professional photography.

Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and they never slow down on developing new technology to add to our creative skills and the quality of the images we capture!

by Bob Coates

One feature that doesn’t often get attention in the Lumix cameras is the ability to impressively compress time in a very easy fashion to tell a very different story of a scene.
 
The Lumix line of cameras has a built-in interval meter to control the time between image capture of individual frames. You set the parameters depending upon the story you are trying to tell. This will take some experimentation but here are some guides to get you started on your captures for scenery.

• Fast moving clouds and storms, one frame every ten seconds.
• Slow moving clouds, one frame every one or two seconds.
• In the flower opening video below an image was made once every thirty-eight seconds.
• The look and feel of the finished video can also be altered when processing the files at different playback frame rates.

 
Your camera should be mounted on a tripod or set on a non-movable object for the capture. Advanced techniques involve moving the camera on a rail across the scene at the same time or mounting the camera in a moving vehicle for even more possibilities, but let’s keep the camera still for now.
 
Here’s the best part! The camera allows you to process the time-lapse still images into the finished video with a multitude of options in the camera. You have choices to the quality (size), playback rate, and direction of the video.
 
In the video above are three versions processed straight out of the Lumix GX8 camera sized to 4K. You can choose any number of settings for size along with the number of frames per second. I used 6 fps, 12 fps, and 24 fps. Because I made these in 4K I am able to add additional movement to the videos without loosing quality. For variety the middle video at 12fps video was processed in reverse order.
 
Enjoy becoming a ‘Master of Time’ by playing with this feature. It’s a blast!
 
Yours in creative Photography,     

Bob

Every Wednesday and Saturday night on Nokomis Beach there's a drum circle. The audience is of all ages, but I can't help but feel half the people were either at Woodstock or wish they were - and without question half the drummers!

I took the Lumix FZ300 with me because I love the 25-600mm zoom. Plus, it's light and the perfect camera just to hang out, and people watch.  Like most of the Lumix family, I'm able to quickly switch from single frame to video.

This past Saturday was exceptional because just after we watched the sun go down over the ocean, the moon came up behind us. And, through the entire evening, in between the sun and moon was a celebration of life. Everyone "marching to the tune" of their own drummer...literally.

With the water temperature averaging 87 F. throughout July, people are either in the water as the sun sets or at the drum circle.

One push of the video button and I was instantly filming. A big reason why I love Panasonic's Lumix cameras is in the design.

The shutter button is the farthest forward with the zoom control just in front of it at the top of this image. The red button let's me switch to video with virtually no camera movement and the ability to keep filming!

Everything I need to capture the images I want is at my fingertips. As the lighting changed, along with the activity of the dancers and drummers, I found myself switching from "IA" (Intelligent Auto) to Shutter and Aperture priority.

Nothing beats people watching with an FZ300 in your hands. 

As the sun went down I found myself wishing I'd brought a tripod along, but even without one, this little camera captures everything. It gives me a lot of control over the images I want.

​The sun had gone completely down when we got that little patch of pink in the sky joining a couple still in the water for a sunset swim. And then the moon decided to join the evening!

The FZ300 is a $500 camera - it's certainly not at the higher end and with a smaller sensor, it's slightly limited, but it's a lot of bang for your buck! And for me it's the perfect travel camera with most of the features important to me.  
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​Check out the complete Lumix line, especially the new GH5, with a visit to the Lumix Lounge. And, follow the schedule for the Luminary team when they're on the road. You'll meet some of the most talented artists/educators in imaging today.

Every now and then I'll take one of the LUMIX cameras out to just play, with nothing specific in mind. Well, I just received the 100-300mm lens and living near the water in Florida, there's plenty to photograph.

​Two things to remember, because I'm shooting Micro Four Thirds, the lens is the equivalent to a 200-600 mm lens when shooting 35mm.  Second, I'm sharing screen shots of images here on this post and they're still sharp!

Driving by the boat ramp near Nokomis Beach, there were a group of kids jumping off the bridge into the water. I set the camera up for continuous shooting. Again, remember, I'm just out "playing" with a great piece of glass all handheld! I wanted to shoot a little 4K, but the kids were chased off the bridge before I had a chance.

At one point a helicopter flew over head and I fully extended the lens to 300mm and grabbed a shot. It wasn't until I got home and downloaded the images from the day that I was reminded of a great story from my early Hasselblad days.

John Wagner was the president of Hasselblad UK for many years and was involved with Hasselblad USA in the interim just before I joined the company as president in 1987. In the 80's he was working on a project taking statements from the Bible and matching them with contemporary images. He was shooting near a military air strip in Israel photographing some fairly large cargo planes all with propellers. 

This all took place approximately 30 years ago and there was no chimping! Shooting everything on film, he got back to London and sent all his film to the lab. Sadly he'd been shooting everything at too fast a shutter speed and every prop was stopped in mid-air, creating an incredible collection of impossible to use images!

Well, helicopters and prop planes should always be photographed in shutter priority at less than 1/125 of a second. Yesterday I just wasn't paying attention and was around 1/1000 of a second!

​What can I say?  It's hard to get good help! LOL

​However, considering how high up the helicopter was, I was delighted with the sharpness.

Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and that's exactly what they're doing! My fascination with photography is from the marketing and business perspective. I don't earn a living as a working artist, but I'll match my passion against anybody's and in all honesty, I know more than I let on.  The LUMIX family of cameras has completely changed my life and revitalized the love I have for imaging.

Check out more LUMIX images and the latest in technology, especially the new GH5 with a visit to the Lumix Lounge. Just click on the image below! While you're there get to the the Luminary Team. They're some of the most creative and dedicated artists and educators in imaging and they need to be on your radar.