SkipCohenUniversity
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us

the SCU Blog

Audubon-Worthy Works of Aviary Art

2/2/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
450mm, F/9, 1/1250 sec., ISO 400
Picturehttps://www.tamron-usa.com/product/lenses/a022.html
Intro by Chamira Young

​When fine art and photography intersect, a lot of creative magic can happen. It's always inspiring to see a photographic artist create a unique workflow that transforms their raw images into final pieces with their own style. That's why we're excited to feature the work of photographer Ed Kelly in today's post! 

With a background in commercial advertising photography, Ed found a new passion for aviary photography when he moved from New Jersey to South Carolina. By adding a twist to his editing process, he's been able to create his own unique signature style with his bird photography. In the excerpt below, we get a glimpse into the creative process of this creative image-maker as he creates fine art using his Tamron SP 150-600mm VC G2 lens.

Click on the image to learn more about the lens Ed used. 
The dedication of the Tamron team is a tremendous asset to the photography community. They are constantly supplying us with the tools we need as creative artists to up our game! Check out the post below.


Fine Art, Avian Style

By Jenn Gidman
Images by Ed Kelly


Ed Kelly doesn’t just create bird photos with his Tamron SP 150-600mm VC G2 lens—he transforms them into Audubon-worthy pieces of art.

Ed Kelly had been a commercial advertising photographer for many years when he moved from New Jersey to a more nature-oriented area in South Carolina. In his new environment, Ed found himself gravitating more toward bird photography, which he continues to this day, documenting his feathered friends both around the Palmetto State and in other bird-friendly areas like Florida’s Merritt Island.

There’s a twist to Ed’s bird photography, though, involving a post-production process that turns his images into works of fine art, which he includes in his “Coastal Dream Series.” “The process is fairly straightforward in most cases,” he says. “I eliminate the background or alter it in some way, then add layers of complexity to the background and onto the main subject.”
Picture
600mm, F/7.1, 1/1250 sec., ISO 2800
Picture
600mm, F/8, 1/320 sec., ISO 220

​Before the editing process can begin, Ed has to capture the photos—which he does with the Tamron SP 150-600mm VC G2 telephoto zoom lens. “The autofocus is faster and the color and contrast were enhanced over the previous 150-600 I owned,” he says. “The image stabilization offered via the Vibration Compensation (VC) technology is also very helpful, since I’m often shooting early or late in the day, when the lighting may not be optimal. With the 150-600mm, I’ve taken photos of birds handheld at 600mm at 1/15 of a second and achieved super-sharp images. I also like being able to get out of my car and start wandering the nature preserve with a lens that doesn’t weigh me down all day.”

Ed envisions how he wants the image composed before he even sets the bird in his frame. “Even though it’s not the focal point of the image, I’ll know exactly how I want the branch, or whatever else the bird is perching on, to come into the frame,” he says. “When the bird finally sets down, I just wait for it to turn so that it looks as close to the way as I saw it in my mind as possible.”
Picture
600mm, F/7.1, 1/320 sec., ISO 400

When it comes time to transform his images into fine-art photos, Ed first considers the background and how he wants to alter it in the editing process to sync with the coloring of the bird. “I consider the overall color temperature of the shot, then think about complementary colors based on the bird’s appearance,” he says. “I’ll figure out what colors in the background will make other colors in the bird pop, then adjust it accordingly.”
​
Picture
600mm, F/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400
Picture
400mm, F/9, 1/400 sec., ISO 200

​Next comes the overlay process, where Ed will add layer upon layer onto the main image until he achieves the texture or pattern he’s looking for. “It could be tiny specks of sand or scratches on a piece of paper placed on top of the initial image, which I then massage until it looks the way I want it to,” he says. “Or it could be two or three skies blended together. I also tend to add noise to the image at the end of the process to make it look more realistic. I want my photos to match the mood I’m trying to convey, and having an image look too clear and sharp doesn’t do it for me. I want my photos to look a little rough and grainy.”

Read the full post here.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

      Sign Up for Our Newsletter!

    Subscribe to Our Newsletter

    Our Partners

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    "Why?"

    Check out "Why?" one of the most popular features on the SCU Blog. It's a very simple concept - one image, one artist and one short sound bite. Each artist shares what makes the image one of their most favorite. We're over 100 artists featured since the project started. Click on the link above and you can scroll through all of the episodes to date.

    Categories

    All
    Beyond Technique
    Business
    Customer Service
    EDU10
    Excire
    F64 Lunch Bunch
    Faculty
    Fast Food Friday
    Guest Post
    Humor And Sarcasm
    In The News
    Lessons Learned
    Lighting
    Luminar
    Lumix
    Marketing
    Mark's Corner
    Mind Your Own Business
    Miscellaneous
    Motivational
    One Step At A Time
    Photodex
    PhotoShelter
    PhotoTexting
    Platypod
    Podcasts
    Profoto
    Sales
    Search
    Skylum
    Social Media
    Sunday Morning Reflections
    Tamron
    Tamron Recipes
    Technique
    Throwback Thursday
    Wedding Photography
    Westcott
    Why?

Categories​

Business
Marketing
Technique
Sales
Fast Food Fridays
​

Podcasts

Tamron Recipes 
Beyond Technique
Why?
Mind Your Own Business
Pro Photographer Journey

 Partners

Tamron
PhotoTexting

​Lumix

Marathon Press
​Platypod
©  2019 Skip Cohen University
  • Home
  • SCU Blog
  • Our Podcasts
  • About Us