ISO 2000 160mm f/14 1/80sec
Cheers!
Added to Live Laugh RV, Favorite Zoos, and Travel With Intent, Six-Word Saturday.
Picfair version is here.
Tag Archives: Africa
Wordless Wednesday: Red and Yellow Barbet
Red and Yellow Barbet, Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania:
ISO 1600 70mm f/11 1/400
Picfair version here.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Silence
When I set out to take photos, I often think first about which cameras I am going to take with me. When the answer includes my Canon 50D, the next question is which lens to bring. For my trip to the Serengeti, the answer included my 70-200mm lens, which broadly speaking, was chosen to help me get close up photos of animals that were a bit farther away from our vehicle. However, there were times when after taking a closer shot at 300mm, I would put the lens to 70mm to get a shot of the animal in its environment. And what a beautiful environment it is. This week I was editing one of those shots:
ISO 1000 70mm f/14 1/2000
This version shows the giraffes we had been watching amble away from us in black and white. Here is a color version:
ISO 1000 70mm f/14 1/2000
Both of these versions were edited first in Photoshop. I did my basic edits there, cropping and sharpening. Then both were sent back to Lightroom which I use for cataloging my photos. Lightroom is also a fairly powerful editing software package and I often use it on its own. For these photos though I have used the plug-in, Google Nik Collection. I’ve added the link to the free plug-in version that I used. The top photo started in the Silver Efex Pro and the bottom in the Analog Efex Pro. The plug-in has a lot of nice preset options which I think are good starting points for further editing.
At this point, it would be fair to ask why I have chosen this image for a post called Silence. These giraffes were amazingly quiet as they made their way through the landscape. We were quiet too as we were watching. Well mostly. Our driver was cleaning the windshield. The noise of the wipers attracted the attention of the giraffes. They stopped to take stock of the situation before deciding to move on. It was a reminder to me that these animals depend on all their senses to stay alive. It was an interesting moment, and I got a few photographs as well.
What do you think of my edits? Do you have a preference for either version? At the moment I’m happy with both. The lens used here is not generally used as a landscape lens. Do you sometimes use lenses outside of there “intended” range?
Cheers!
Weekly Photo Challenge: Growth
It’s been a busy few weeks off my blog. I enjoyed my break but I am glad to be back. While I was gone, I went on a safari in Tanzania. This is the first photo from that trip that I have edited:
ISO 800 200mm f/9.0 1/1000
It’s a Thomson’s gazelle in Ngorongoro crater. It’s fair to say that this was a trip of a lifetime for me. I think it’s also fair to say that I will be editing photos from this trip for awhile. This photo I straightened, did a levels adjustment, and sharpened a bit. It’s the latest addition to my Picfair portfolio.
I like to think that I am growing as a photographer and blogger. Over my break I changed the theme of my blog. If you have a minute to give it the once over and let me know what you think, I’d appreciate that. My older theme was retired and I was actually having some trouble getting my posts to look how I wanted, hence the change. Also, thanks to Jessie, I discovered a new photo challenge that I am going to give a try this year. I’ll probably incorporate most of those posts in with this weekly photo challenge, but it gives me something additional to think about as I am taking and editing photos.
I’m looking forward to another busy photography year. I do hope you will follow along. Feel free to leave a comment about my photo or my blog’s new look in the comment section.
Cheers!
Photography Journal Blog 