There's so much we take for granted these days, especially in the way we share images. The images above are part of a new ad campaign from Panasonic, which is remarkable. I grabbed a screenshot of eight of the forty-six featured photographs. You'll need to click on any image above to connect to the full ad, but here's what I love the most. Besides sharing the latest in technology and information about the new full-frame LUMIX S1R, when you click on any photograph you link to a short piece about the artist. From there, you can scroll through more of their work, read a little about them, their experiences, and their love for photography. I clicked on the black and white wedding image above and the banner below appeared. It was captured and created by my good buddy William Innes. I love his comment about the Lumix 24-105 mm lens, "It is the type of lens that can spend a great amount of the wedding day on your camera." I hope you'll take the time to scroll through the entire LUMIX piece - all the banners in the Panasonic campaign link to www.makeyourbestshot.com. But there's another reason you should look at this page - it represents some of the very best storytelling. The story is obviously about the LUMIX S1R. But as storytellers, photographers need to pay attention to how everybody delivers their message. How are you going to share ideas for your own story? Isn't time you found out what all the buzz is about with the new S1R? As I've written so many times before, Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography." They're keeping that promise with every product in the LUMIX line. And, they're also changing advertising with an interactive approach introducing us not only to the S1R, but some of the most respected artists in the world!
Click on any thumbnail to link to the campaign. Then, kick back and enjoy the journey with some incredible artists and beautiful images. Each one is a testimonial to LUMIX technology.
What a kick!
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by Skip Cohen Today's post is a little different than the previous weeks - only because the Bubble Trailer Light Tour is at the halfway mark. After teaching at AVC Photo School today, Suzette, Jonny, and Ms. BT are taking a few days off. However, there's a remarkable story to share, and it's all about "Hope." It's not a sappy vague concept, but about reality and a story about a real-life miracle. Suzette Allen and I have known each other for a lot of years. I initially met her the same way many of you have, as one of the industry's most respected Photoshop instructors. In 2013 she became a LUMIX Ambassador, and that's where the friendship started to blossom. A couple of years later, her husband, Jonny, officially became part of the LUMIX team as well. We taught together at Marathon's MAP Getaway a few years back, and the four of us as two couples being together added another dimension of friendship. Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of Suzette experiencing a horrific accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. She shared the story on her blog yesterday and I pulled a few paragraphs to share. Today marks the 30th anniversary of my accident with a bull moose in Alaska. Many people don’t realize that I am a survivor of a brain injury that happened 30 years ago today. I was driving home from a dance class in my car when a legal bull moose was standing in the road and I hit him going probably 55 mph. When you hit a full size moose with 6 foot antlers with a car, you hit them in the shins and the body comes through the windshield and crushes the entire car. The moose’s body broke out the windshield, cutting up my hands, but the fur hit my face so my face didn’t get any major cuts- it just shattered my entire face with the impact of over 1500 pounds. ...But honestly, as horrible as that sounds, it was all minor in light of the real damage: a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Unfortunately 30 years ago (and in Alaska) not much was known about brain injuries and I was not diagnosed for over two years, while my life spiraled downward in a horrible spin, ending very badly. Not having disability insurance as the wage earner meant we suffered the loss of our two businesses, our home, everything we owned, and sadly, because of my instability and emotional state of a two-year-old (damage to my frontal lobe emotional centers) my husband of 10 years took me home to my parents in California and divorced me. Click to read the entire post on Suzette's blog. And here's my point - There are so many ways to find inspiration in this industry. So often we're inspired by the skillset and technique of other artists. But, sometimes, there's more inspiration to appreciate when you meet and spend time with them. It's not about what they share, but why! Over a year ago, Suzette and Jonny had an idea to teach and meet photographers in a unique way. The Internet and online education have changed our lives, but we're so often missing human contact. Meeting somebody face to face, a handshake, a hug, and talking, enriches our lives. The only thing better than capturing moments in a photograph is making memories directly. Now, halfway through the tour, they're taking time off with friends. We couldn't be more proud to know our house is one of the stops. While there's plenty more time on the road, probably a few meet-ups and a lot of photography along the way, their next major presentation is on October 25 at Arlington Camera in Arlington, TX. I hope you'll take the time to join them on the back half of the tour. And, take the time to read Suzette's story of hope going back thirty years ago. She's inspirational in her love of the craft, life, and spirituality. And, with Jonny, they've become much more than just LUMIX Ambassadors. They're Ambassadors for hope, inspiration, creativity, and an industry so many of us love dearly. Suzette also wrote... So today, I KNOW there is always HOPE and also that persistence is omnipotent. My Why in life is to Inspire and Encourage...The brain is capable of so much more than we realize, if we just believe and persist. Great programming doesn't happen without strong support. The Bubble Trailer Light Tour is sponsored by some of the finest companies in our imaging. They don't just make great products - they believe in education and helping artists raise the bar on their skillset to thrive, not just survive! The Bubble Trailer Light Tour needs to be on your radar. Here's the schedule for next two weeks. Occasionally dates and locations are subject to change. The complete itinerary is available with a click on the button below!
Image copyright Don Komarechka. All rights reserved. It's Mirrorless Monday and the perfect time to share this image by Don Komarechka. Don's no stranger to SCU. We've featured a number of his images, guest posts and a podcast or two - most recently on "Mind Your Own Business. He's an accomplished artist, educator, author, and over the years has become a great friend. I often refer to him as the Mad Scientist of Macro. Don loves to take on challenges. He loves finding new ways to shift paradigms. It's like watching some of the best episodes of "Myth Busters." Over and again, he's taken us through new ways to capture and create incredible images. He shared the image above on his Facebook page last week, with a detailed explanation of how it was created. It was too unique to not share again here at SCU for Mirrorless Monday! Don goes into the full backstory about the capture of the image on his Facebook page. It's well worth the read, but I pulled some fun highlights: "A few simple ingredients at play here, all held together by a new accessory from Platypod – flexible gooseneck arms attached to their Platypod Max as a “base of operations” that performs exceptionally well for tabletop macro work! ...This image is novel for a number of reasons, beyond the cool gadgets I get to play with to make these setups easier and more robust. Another point of simplicity is that this image is not taken with a macro lens, nor was it focus stacked! This is the magic of the high-resolution mode in the Lumix S1R. ...Imagine shooting a 187MP image, which is possible with the Lumix S1R, and then intentionally throwing 90% of it away by excessively cropping. You’ll still have just under 19MP worth of image data to work with, and I had previously been shooting with 18-20MP cameras for my entire professional career." LUMIX S1R Kit, Digital Mirrorless Camera With 47.3MP MOS Full Frame, 24-105mm F4 L-Mount Lens
Don Komarechka needs to be on your radar. His website is just a click away. While you're there, check out the pre-order special on his new book, Macro Photography: The Universe at Our Feet. Just click on the thumbnail to the right for more info. Don never compromises on the quality of anything he does. So, if you're looking to expand your skill set into macro check out his podcasts, galleries and workshops too. by Skip Cohen Every time I write about this tour, I hear Willie Nelson singing "On the Road Again" in the background. It's day twenty-eight for the Bubble Trailer Light Tour. I've lost count how many photographers Suzette and Jonny have met over the last four weeks. If my calculations are right, they're also coming up on six-thousand miles and just about the halfway mark. One of the most fun aspects of the tour has been the images Suzette's been posting and sharing all along the way. They're not only teaching workshops but using a lot of great gear at various stops on the journey. Her shot of the NYC skyline above is spectacular. It was captured with a LUMIX S1R and 24-105 mm lens - f16 @ 15 seconds, ISO 400. Make sure you click on the image to see it enlarged in the lightbox. Nanlites are on the trip with Suzette and Jonny. If you don't know about the product line, they're just a click away. It's time to find out what all the buzz is about. Suzette described the shoot, which was in the salt flats earlier on their trip: "...We used the Forza 300 for the main light and then the Forza 60's for accent lights and for shooting later when we needed less power...and we can shoot with them on location where there is no power! Even the Forza 300 and 500 can be powered with a V Mount Battery, One of the biggest advantages I see with the Nanlites is how they have one point of light instead of a panel of pin-lights. Often, the panel lights show as a freckled light in catchlights and even have a different light falloff than a strobe in a softbox. With the Nanlites, we can use the softboxes and get a perfect portrait quality of light, and that professional edge we have worked years to perfect. It's our leverage as a visible means of setting ourselves apart from the competition!" The image below shows the set up for the shoot. What a kick using great gear that goes virtually anywhere! Everywhere Suzette, Jonny and Ms. BT go they're meeting more photographers. Here are a couple of the stops they made this past week. It takes great support from the industry to put together a tour like this. Obviously it starts with Suzette and Jonny's love for photography, people, and wanting to drive across the country and back! We all live in an Internet world - what a kick to spend time face to face with so many artists. But, part of that love for imaging and people is fueled by some of the best companies in professional photography: Where are they now?The Bubble Trailer Light Tour needs to be on your radar. Here's the schedule for next week, occasionally dates and locations are subject to change. The complete itinerary is available with a click on the button below!
Click on any image above to listen to the podcast. This year we're celebrating five years of incredible guests on the "Mind Your Own Business" podcast. It started in the spring of 2014 when Rich Harrington at Photofocus had an idea. We launched the first program in April of that year. A year or so later Scott Bourne joined me as co-host, and when Scott moved on to other projects, Chamira Young and I kicked off the expanded series in March of 2017. To date we've done 70+ podcasts together, including "Beyond Technique," "Tamron Recipes," and at least two on Pro Photographer Journey. Through all of these guests, we've only had two previous episodes with sports photographers. Terrell Lloyd joined us on this new episode. Terrell's the Senior Manager of Photography Services and Lead Team Photographer at the San Francisco 49ers. We not only talked about the challenges of being a sports photographer but many of the milestones of his journey. Terrell's all about relationship-building and he shares a lot of good insight in his story from starting out as a pro-bowler to today. As I've written so many times over the years, the best thing in our industry isn't really about photography but the friendships that come out of everyone's love for the craft. Terrell and I go back to my early WPPI days and maybe further. When the 49ers played Tampa Bay a few weeks ago, we were able to get to the game and watch him in action. Knowing how many stadiums and events have restrictions on DSLRs and often interchangeable lenses, I took the LUMIX FZ300. It was close to 100°, and we were ten rows down from the top of the stadium. I dropped an arrow into the shot on the right pointing to where Terrell was in the image below. I needed a camera that could handle the challenge without the weight. With its 25-600mm fixed zoom most of the time it's perfect for what I need. There's a lot of horsepower packed into this camera, and at 1.5 pounds, even with a smaller sensor, it's great to travel with. A big thanks to Terrell for joining us on "Mind Your Own Business," and for working in the time for dinner the night before the game. While social media is fun for staying connected - NOTHING beats quality time face to face! We've all heard the expression work hard play hard. In this past week on the Bubble Trailer Light Tour, Suzette Allen and Jonny Yoshinaga taught six classes in six different cities in eight days! I wasn't there, but knowing the two of them as I do, I can guarantee there was no loss of enthusiasm in any of the programs. When they first told me about the idea of a tour like this, one of the things I loved the most was their ability to meet so many photographers across the country. We live in a too often impersonal world. We communicate most of the time via the Internet. While social media, texting and, email are all incredibly important, that human touch and meeting somebody face to face is lost. The image above is a perfect example. Eric and Heather Anderson at Studio H Photography created the image. I called them for permission to share it. Eric posted it on his Facebook page and wrote: I just want to say "thanks" to Suzette Allen & Jon Yoshi for making a stop in Minnesota last week with the Bubble Trailer Tour... It always so great to see you two and I always, always learn something new! Godspeed in the rest of the tour - you are in our prayers! Suzette and Jonny are two of the best ambassadors professional photography has, and the tour still has miles and miles to go - approximately 8,000! While the recording above won't win a Grammy, it was fun to catch up to them yesterday. Suzette realized after we were done she forgot to talk about a fantastic experience she had with Nanlite - stay tuned because she'll be sharing some of the images next week. Great programs like this can't exist without industry support. The Bubble Trailer Light Tour is all happening thanks to the enthusiasm of some of the very best companies in professional photography! Where are they now? Put the tour on your radar. Here's the schedule for next week, occasionally dates and locations are subject to change. The complete itinerary is available with a click on the button below!
Image copyright Ben Grunow. All rights reserved. Click to see more of Ben's Work by Skip Cohen It's "Mirrorless Monday," and LUMIX Ambassador, Ben Grunow is out and about with the NEW full-frame S1R and LUMIX S 24-105mm F4 L-Mount lens. Ben wrote the following description about the image above: The Wellhorn is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Rosenlaui in the Bernese Oberland. We met a lady hiking down from the glacier pictured in this photo and she was some sort of Swiss spiritual healer and she told us that people come from all over the world to this place because their is supposedly an Inter Galactic Portal...I am not sure about all that but it seems like a fitting place for one to be. LUMIX S1R Body, Digital Mirrorless Camera with 47.3MP MOS Full Frame, L-Mount Lens Compatible Click on any thumbnail for more information It's been almost six years since I was introduced to Panasonic's LUMIX line and their tagline of "Changing Photography" couldn't be more accurate. The combination of LUMIX technology, combined with the design of the cameras themselves, has changed the way I photograph. These days I'm rarely without a camera!
Now, combine the LUMIX line with what I've learned from working with many of the LUMIX Ambassadors, and my own images keep getting better. Put Ben Grunow on your radar. Follow him and the entire US LUMIX Ambassador team. You'll find them speaking/teaching at LUMIX retailers and conventions all over the U.S. They're one of the most diverse and creative teams in professional photography. Like me, you'll be surprised at how much you'll learn, especially if you catch up to them LIVE at a workshop or convention. It's "Mirrorless Monday!" What a kick to share an image from one of my most favorite parks, Yellowstone, captured by one of my most favorite artists and educators. I've shared a lot of photographs from the park in winter, going back to the industry's annual trip on snowmobiles. For ten years there were an average of twenty photographers who got together every year with plenty of gear and film to photograph the park, always covered with snow and ice. The fun of following this current trip into the park is that it's part of The Bubble Trailer Light Tour with Suzette Allen and Jon Yoshinaga. Suzette posted this on Facebook on Friday, but the image deserves to be shared to a bigger audience! The image was captured with a LUMIX G9 and 50-200mm lens, at "Paint Pots" at West Thumb - Yellowstone Lake. There's very little that tops the combination of the steam, the landscape, and moonrise (7:45 pm). This is also a great time of year to be there - before the winter and after the peak of the tourist season. Suzette and Jon are on the road for a 13,000-mile adventure with great workshops scheduled all along the way. Follow their schedule, so you don't miss them at a location near you. Just click the "Follow" tab below. While the primary focus of the trip is education and helping photographers raise the bar on their skill set, I love that they're sharing images all along the way! Stay tuned - we'll be sharing so much more from the tour. There are two months to go and a lot of miles to cover! And for more information on the G9 and the 50-200mm lens, click on either thumbnail below. I've been working with the G9 for the last four months and the technology Panasonic has built into this camera is remarkable! by Skip Cohen OTR is for "On the Road" and with the schedule for this tour, I can hear Willy Nelson singing in the background every time I look at the map! Last week two great photographers, Suzette Allen, and Jon Yoshinaga, hit the road with their "partner in crime" Ms. Bubble Trailer. In the tradition of "Where's Waldo," we're going to track and share their 13,000 nine-week journey each week and also give you a peek at where they're headed next. It's an incredible undertaking in hands-on education and networking. It's going to give so many of you a chance to raise the bar on your images, pick up new techniques and see some of the latest products/services from some of the industry's most progressive companies. Along the way, in between formal classes, this trip is about seeing America and sharing images. Suzette wrote about last week when hitting the Bonneville Salt Flats: ...We decided to invite our friends, the Chopstick Guys! They are a couple fo fun-loving, sushi-eating photographic educators and photographers and they did a fab class out there a few months back...Then we connected with Bry Cox in Salt Lake City and we had a creative photo party! Bry brought a couple models, Pamela and Addie, and we got some great shots with them and Ms. BT of course! ...We set up our new NanLites, which are super bright LED lights. that enabled us to do video as well. I loved the way we could separately light up the trailer and the model and have a perfectly lit look, making them pop on a cool blue backdrop! Check out Suzette's complete post with more great images from the Salt Flats. Great programming like this doesn't happen without strong industry support. What a kick and an honor to be part of the craziness of a 13,000 mile adventure and thousands of photographers who Suzette and Jon will be with in the weeks ahead.
It's Mirrorless Monday, and most of the time I love to share images from the members of the LUMIX Ambassador team, but now and then there's an image of my own that demonstrates the remarkable technology Panasonic's brought to our industry. That's a magnolia pod above. Every year they bloom in the spring and then a few months later morph into something from a sci-fi movie. I love the color as each seed pops out, but within a couple of days, all the beauty and mystery is gone. I was on my way to the mailbox a few days ago when I spotted them and grabbed my G9 with the 14-140mm lens. I shot a variety of images, including using the 30mm macro, but this was one of my favorites. The only enhancement was enlarging the pod closer to life-size. I had to give it a slight tweak in clarity in Luminar, but only because the image lost a little color going from the original to a screenshot and then this post. It's hardly a scientific test, but the sharpness is never a disappointment. If you're not already a member of the LUMIX family, check out the G9 for yourself. This camera is phenomenal, but I've said that about everything I've used from Panasonic! LOL Click on either thumbnail above for more information
Cusi Taylor is a Panasonic LUMIX Ambassador and since it's "Mirrorless Monday," I was wandering through cyberspace when I came across this image. She wrote: This composite was made using several images taken with both the GX8 and the G9 - my two favorite Lumix bodies. I love doing creative things with my photography! (The Comicare volunteer goes by AZ_Spiderman on Instagram, if you'd like to see more of him in action!) As much as "Mirrorless Monday" posts are about gear, they're also about raising awareness for community events. This photograph is of a Comicare volunteer, and up until this morning, I hadn't heard of Comicare. Cusi also wrote: Comicare is a group of volunteer cosplayers here in Arizona who collect donated comic books and deliver them (while in full costume) to kids in the hospital. It is a fantastic organization. If you've followed me for even the shortest amount of time you know I'm a big fan of giving back to the community. I love it when photography and giving back combine forces and create an increased awareness of events, organizations, or simply people helping people. Find out more about Comicare with a click on the banner below. Interested in finding out more about two of Cusi's favorite cameras? Just click on either thumbnail above. And, check out Cusi and the rest of the LUMIX Ambassador team. They're one of the most diverse groups of artists and educators in photography, and they're all just a click away!
It's "Mirrorless Monday," and Shiv Verma is no stranger to SCU. We've shared a lot of his images over the last few years, but there's something about the beautiful softness of this image he posted a few months back that I wanted to share today. It's called "Echoing Curves," and it was captured with the new full-frame mirrorless, S1R and 24-105mm lens. One of the things I love about the way Shiv shares many of his images is each photograph is a mini-lesson in technique. With this image, he added: A Benro filter holder with a 3 stop ND, a polarizer and a 3 stop soft edge grad was used for this image. The lens was at 35mm and the exposure triad: f/8, 8 sec, ISO 100. If Shiv isn't already on your radar, he should be. Follow him and the entire US LUMIX Ambassador team. You'll find them speaking/teaching at LUMIX retailers and conventions all over the U.S. They're one of the most diverse and creative teams in professional photography. You'll be surprised at how much great content they share. Check out the complete S1R and LUMIX S 24-105mm lens with a click on either of the very short videos below.
I've written a lot about the LUMIX G9 since first using it on our Santa Fe trip this summer. Well, there's little that beats a community car show when it comes to demonstrating both the passion of the "artists," combined with the technology Panasonic has put into the LUMIX line. All of the images I'm sharing this morning are right out of the can - no manipulation whatsoever, outside of cropping on the '58 Edsel image on the right. My favorite lens lately is the LUMIX 14-140mm F3.5-5.6, which gives me a lot of flexibility. The car show is strictly an event in my hometown in Ohio. It happens throughout the summer. Every Friday night the local car enthusiasts meet in the town square to show off their favorites. I laughed with the owner of the 1937 Packard, whose hood ornament kicks off today's post. I have more pictures of his car over the last five years than I do of Sheila! I first saw the car in 2014 and was traveling with a LUMIX GH3. He spent years rebuilding it, but it's the perfect demonstration of the passion everyone needs for just everything you create. The love for rebuilding a car, as sappy as it might sounds, compares with the focus so many of you have when you're storytelling. Think about what you feel when building an album or creating an experience for a client that's more than just a portrait sitting. One of the things I enjoy most about a car show like this is the mix of vehicles. From more contemporary restorations like the engine of a Ford from the 60's to the '56 Chevy below, there's no shortage of detail, workmanship or pride! And, no matter what I chose to capture, the 14-140mm gave me the coverage I wanted.
Click on either thumbnail below for more information about the new G9 and 14-140mm lens. "The S series is just the perfect creative tool!" Annie Griffiths by Skip Cohen Somehow I missed this video featuring Annie Griffiths in Patagonia with the LUMIX S1. Panasonic's NEW full-frame mirrorless camera is remarkable, and so is the amount of excellent information she packs into a three-minute video. Click on the images to view in the SCU Lightbox, but keep in mind these images were pulled as screenshots - so imagine the impact of the originals! And if Patagonia is on your bucket list to visit - you're about to be there through Annie's eyes. I love the way this video gives you a tour of the country AND the camera! Annie Griffith needs to be on your radar. Follow her and the entire US LUMIX Ambassador team. And, you'll find them speaking/teaching at LUMIX retailers and conventions all over the U.S. They're one of the most diverse and creative teams in professional photography, and should all be on your radar. You'll be surprised at how much great content they share.
Check out the complete S series family and also more videos and tutorials with a click on the banner below. Images copyright Mark Toal. All rights reserved. It's Monday and "Mirrorless Mark" (Mark Toal) kicks off the day with his version of what looks like an M.C. Escher print. Besides being so abstract and leaving us wondering what it is, capturing the image in black and white and with the detail captured by the LUMIX S1 added to the impact! We've shared a lot of Mark's travels here on the SCU blog because he's ALWAYS got a camera with him. I've written about living vicariously through his travels, but it's really about seeing the world through another artist's eyes. He's always sharing images that so many of us might have just walked by and missed. All three images in today's post were captured with the new full-frame LUMIX S1 and the 24-105 mm lens. It's a remarkable camera. Panasonic NEVER strays from their tagline of "Changing Photography." In the almost 200 year history of photography, artists have never had more creative tools to help capture and create the ultimate image. So many of these tools are thanks to Panasonic! Mark's blogs are always packed with great images, along with ideas and tips to be a better photographer? As I always suggest, check out the LUMIX Ambassador Team. They're an incredibly diverse group of artists focused on helping you raise the bar on your skillset and the quality of your images. If you're not following the LUMIX Photographers page on Facebook, you're missing an opportunity to keep tabs on some great work by talented artists, including members of the Ambassador Team. It's just a click away. by Mark Toal
As part of my job with Panasonic I get to take photographers to the coolest places. I recently went with a group of photographers to the Georgetown Steam Plant in Seattle, Washington. This is a great historic building dating back more than a hundred years that generated steam until the 1970’s. I decided to use the Lumix full fame S1 camera with the 24-105mm lens. I choose the S1 for its ability to shoot detailed images in low light. I shot with a monopod at smaller apertures like f/11 to get everything in focus. My ISO ranged from 1600 for the black and white image to 12,600 for the red door. Image copyright Mark Toal. All rights reserved. "Mirrorless Mark" (Mark Toal) is back and sharing two beautiful black and white images. He originally posted them on his Facebook page last, but they've got so much impact, I just felt they deserved to be seen by more photographers. Mark's never without a camera, and over the last few years, I've often found myself living vicariously through both his travels and the way he sees the world around him. Every image has an impact at some level, but there's something about black and white and infrared that always leaves me wanting to look at more. Click on either product above for more information Both images were captured with an Infrared converted Lumix GX7 with the Lumix 7-14mm lens. Life Pixel converted them, and more information is available with a click on their banner to the right. Check out Mark's blogs. He's always sharing great images along with ideas and tips to be a better photographer? You'll never be disappointed in the content he shares. And as I always suggest check out the LUMIX Ambassador team. They're an incredibly diverse group of artists focused on helping you raise the bar on your skill set and the quality of your images. Image copyright Mark Toal. All rights reserved.
Images copyright Shiv Verma. All rights reserved. It's Mirrorless Monday, and I started by wandering through cyberspace looking for a fireworks image when I came across the image above. It's from my good pal Shiv Verma and it simply had so much impact I knew immediately I wanted to share it in a post. Shiv posted it in the LUMIX Photographers forum on Facebook but it so deserves to be shared elsewhere. Shiv was visiting a friend in Cape Poge, which is a semi-private island in New England off Chappaquiddick Island. The Cape Poge lighthouse was photographed with the new Panasonic LUMIX S1R and the LUMIX 24-105 lens. It was captured at F/14, a 2-second exposure at ISO 100. And leave to Shiv to also share a fireworks image with his "Happy 4th of July" wish to all of us. The image on the right was also captured with the S1R and the LUMIX 70-200 mm lens. It was captured at f/8, a 4-second exposure at ISO 640. You can see more of Shiv's work with a click on either of his images in today's post. Shiv and the entire US LUMIX Ambassador team should be on your radar. They're just a click away! This is a pretty remarkable group of artists who are always sharing great content and helping thousands of photographers raise the bar on the quality of their images. #WhereLumixGoes #LumixS1R Click on any thumbnail above for more information about each piece of incredible gear!
Image copyright Mark Toal. All rights reserved. "Mirrorless Mark" (Mark Toal) is back today with two stunning images. He was out and about in Las Vegas with the GX9 and the Leica 10-25mm lens. I love these short posts he shares because Mark is staying in tune with his surroundings and sharing his "adventures" during his never-ending travel, usually for business. If you've met Mark then you know photography runs through his veins and he's never without a camera. Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and they've stayed true to that commitment with every LUMIX camera and lens they've introduced us to. Check out the GX9 and Leica lens with a click on either thumbnail below. And to see an even larger image, click on either one Mark's sharing today and view in the SCU Lightbox. Looking for great images along with ideas and tips to be a better photographer? Check out Mark's blogs. You'll never be disappointed in the content he shares. And as I always suggest check out the LUMIX Ambassador team. They're an incredible group of artists and focused on helping you raise the bar on your skills set and the quality of your images. by Mark Toal
Once in a while I’m lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time. A while ago I was handed an early version of the new Panasonic Lecia 10-25mm f/1.7 lens and walked the Las Vegas strip with it. I’m a little biased since I work for Panasonic, so I’ll let the images speak for themselves. The camera body was a Lumix GX-9. Yes, it is a little large, but to be able to shoot at 10mm, f/1.7 with auto focus makes it all worthwhile for me. I think this might replace the Lumix 7-14mm as my favorite Micro Four Thirds lens. Image copyright Bob Coates. All rights reserved. It's "Mirrorless Monday" and the perfect time to share not only an image captured with a LUMIX G9, but part of a body of work that resulted in a good buddy being named the cover artist for next year's Festival of the Cranes. Bob Coates is in the spotlight with a stunning image at Bosque del Apache. Over the years I've written about being one of the luckiest guys in the industry - well, part of that feeling comes from hanging with so many talented artists, and Bob is one of them. He's no stranger to SCU and has shared dozens of guest posts with great "how-to" content. Bob captured the image above with the LUMIX G9, and 50-200mm lens. Click on the image to view it in the SCU Lightbox, and click on either thumbnail below for more information about some of the finest equipment in imaging! For more incredible photographs being shared every day by LUMIX photographers as well as the LUMIX Ambassadors, Check out their forum on Facebook. by Bob Coates
This image was made at the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Preserve last November at the Festival of the Cranes in Socorro, New Mexico. It was the first time I used this lens, and it is one clean piece of glass. My usual go-to wildlife lens is the Leica DG Vario-Elmar f4.0/6.3 100-400mm lens. With the proximity of the birds being so close I didn't need quite so much reach so I used the 50-200mm. Both are fabulous wildlife lenses. The camera was the LUMIX G9. It's the flagship stills camera for Panasonic's micro four-thirds line. As a side note, some artwork I created from the trip was submitted for the featured artist of the Festival. I was named the cover artist for the fest and will be on site selling my Lens Based Art.( https://coatesart.net ) I look forward to seeing you there! The 32nd annual Festival of the Cranes will be November 20th - 23rd. Intro by Skip Cohen It's Mirrorless Monday with a special guest post by one of my favorite people, the "mad scientist of imaging," Don Komarechka. Some of the most incredible images ever shared in the SCU blog have been thanks to Don, and over the years, even though we've still never managed to meet in person, our friendship has grown. Today's guest post is unique and remarkable because Don captured the image below with the new LUMIX S1R and without a macro lens. Thanks to his love for sharing and education, he takes us through each step of the process. The tagline for Panasonic's LUMIX family of cameras, "Changing Photography," has never been more accurate! Check out more of Don's work with a click on either image to link to his website, blog, and newest projects. And for more LUMIX images, meet the Ambassadors. They're a fantastic group of artists with an unmatched love for imaging, education, creativity, and mirrorless photography! NEW! LUMIX S1R Kit, Digital Mirrorless Camera with 47.3MP MOS Full Frame, 24-105mm F4 L-Mount Lens Click on any thumbnail for more info Floral Museby Don Komarechka Our gardens are filled with Forget-Me-Nots, such a delicate and tiny string of flowers, so small that they would make a great companion to a water droplet. Walking around the flowers between rainstorms gave me the idea! This image is shot with a novel approach: using the high-resolution pixel shift mode on the Lumix S1R to create a 187MP image, and then cropping in on the central area of interest. This has a few benefits, one of them being that a macro lens is not required. This was shot with the Lumix S 24-105mm F/4 lens! No extra attachments, no extension tubes, just a high quality crop in from a very high resolution image. Another benefit is that shooting from farther away from your subject will yield a greater depth of field. Focus stacking an image such as this would normally take me around a dozen images, but only five were required here. The end result is an image around the 30 megapixel mark, so the crop is significant but even still I have more than enough detail to make large prints of this. The high resolution mode of the S1R takes multiple images, each with slight shifts to the sensor to create a final image with four times the resolution than the camera would normally have. This could be useful for a number of things like landscape photography, artwork reproduction or product photography, but macro photographers can benefit as well. Since the depth of field in your image becomes shallower as you get closer to your subject, intentionally being farther away with all other things being equal will increase the amount of depth you have over your subject. Sure, I’m throwing away a lot of pixels in the process, but it’s a valuable technique! The droplet was placed very carefully with a small gauge hypodermic needle, and it held on just long enough to take these images. The flower inside the refraction might appear to have a line running through it – this is actually the surface of the water with the flower half-way submerged, and you’re seeing the top of the flower reflected to mimic the full flower. The position of the forget-me-not flowers gives the droplet space, and the bottom blue flower is deliberately touching the surface of the water so that the surface tension creates a different angle to reflect more of the magenta petals of the gerbera daisy placed in behind. The entire scene is lit with a bright LED flashlight positioned over my right shoulder, continuous light being required for the high resolution mode. This is also one of the rare times you’ll find me using a tripod for this type of photography, because it is easier to find the right angle than hand-holding the camera. Different techniques require different equipment, and this high-resolution mode is a real winner! Skip's Note: All the secrets of water droplet refraction photography as well as most other aspects of macro imaging will be covered in Don's upcoming book Macro Photography: The Universe at Our Feet, currently being funded on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/donkom/macro-photography/ - if you’d like to support the project and help the book be an even better final product, you’ll also get a copy of the book in time for Christmas at a price much less than retail |
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