"Mirrorless Monday" - Photography with Daniel J. Cox

Intro by Skip Cohen

It's Mirrorless Monday, and Daniel J. Cox is in the spotlight together with the Swans of Lake Kussharo. 

Daniel's sharing another great image, and "how-to" tip, especially for those of you interested in photographing wild life. He's no stranger to SCU, always sharing ideas to help you raise the bar on your images. Over the last few years, we've shared a lot of his work together with some terrific insight into photography. You'll find more of Daniel's work in the SCU archives with top shelf images and helpful articles.
 
If you've got even the slightest interest in travel with a camera in your hands, Daniel and Tanya need to be on your radar. They run one of the best travel and photography companies in the country, Natural Exposures. Daniel regularly shares outstanding information on travel, photography, and technique on The Corkboard Blog. Just click on the banner below and check out one of the most diverse blogs in photography.

Find out more about Daniel with a click on today's spotlight photo. Then follow him, along with the rest of the LUMIX Ambassadors. They're one of the most diverse and creative teams in photography. They should all be on your radar, and you'll be surprised at how much great content they share.

Check out the gear Daniel used to capture this image with a click on either of the thumbnails below. Panasonic's tagline is "Changing Photography," and they never slow down in the quality and creative tools they're bringing to photographers all over the world.

LUMIX GH4 Professional 4K Mirrorless Interchangeable Lens Camera Body

LUMIX G Vario Lens, 7-14mm, F4.0 ASPH.

by Daniel J. Cox
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The Swans of Lake Kussharo

For this picture I was lying on the shore of a partially frozen lake this group of swans spends the winter on. Most of these beautiful birds migrate to Russia for the summer but always come back to the more temperate winters in Hokkaido, Japan. 

Getting down to your subjects level is always a great way to create more interest in your picture. Sometimes, it’s even better to get below your subject as is the case with the Whooper Swan taking flight. Being below the swan taking off and having one of many birds in motion is also a way to add implied movement to still image. 

I shot this picture with the Lumix GH4 and the 7-14mm F/4 lens. I used an aperture of F/11 for getting substantial depth of field. This image would not be successful if the swan in the air was sharp but the swans in the foreground were not. ISO was 160 and shutter speed was 1/500th of a second, plenty fast to stop the motion of the swain flight.