8. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

I saw the erasers laying around and decided to create an image. I also wanted a reflection in the image and used the shiny top of my laptop computer as a reflecting surface. I tried several different positions of my strobe light and settled for this image.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

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7. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

Photographing flowers outside can be very challenging. When you are in a botanical garden you are restricted to the pathways and you are not allowed to use any photographic accessories inside the flower beds. That is fine with me since I want future generations to enjoy these plants as well, but it can be still a challenge. The second challenge is people, especially when you are photographing on a narrow path and they have to walk around you and your camera tripod. The third challenge is wind. Since there was a light breeze I had to crank up my ISO setting and I took several shot to make sure I got a clear image.

Enjoy this beautiful flower from Japan and keep on photographing!

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6. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

If you want to get inspired in your photography, go to the local zoo or botanical garden. You will find many intriguing subjects and as a bonus, you don’t need a model release! David drove to the zoo in Fresno and I decided to buy an annual ticket at the UC botanical garden in Berkeley, CA. I discovered this beautiful Spiral Aloe, a prime candidate for black and white photography. Camera setting, 28mm focal length, f20, 0.4sec. at ISO 100, tripod mounted.

Enjoy and have a great week.

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3. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

There is naturally a great contrast between water and rocks. Water flows, there is movement and energy. Rocks stand still, change only over thousands of years. They are a symbol of stability. I tried to express this contrast in this image. I edited it two layers, one layer for the rocks and one for the water. Then I combined the two layers using a mask and “painting” the water layer into the rock layer.

Enjoy and have a great photographic week-end!

Posted in Landscape, Yosemite | Print | No Comments »

2. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

I got a few chestnuts and I envisioned black and white image to bring out the structure of the nuts. I decided to used a single strobe positioned at about 11 o’clock to create some shadows and a harsh light. I did not use a soft-box or umbrella to soften the light instead I used “barn-doors” to create a small directional light source. After a few shots I decided to ad a small reflector on the right hand side to light up some of the dark spots.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

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1. February 2012 by Friedhelm.

After a rainstorm I went out and photographed UC Merced. The yellow buildings on the left are student housing and the buildings on the right are the library and classrooms.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

This is the special at DC-Cleaners in Chowchilla. For more info go to dc-cleaners4u.com.

Posted in Central Valley, Culture, Architecture | Print | No Comments »

31. January 2012 by Friedhelm.

Fern Spring is a favorite spot to photograph in Yosemite Valley. I was lucky that I had the place for myself and I tried all kinds of different ways to photograph the place. Camera setting: 105mm focal length (slightly cropped), F18, 4 sec., ISO 100.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

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30. January 2012 by Friedhelm.

El Capitan in Yosemite National Park is simply impressive. More impressive to me is the shape of a heart on the lower right side of the gigantic monolith.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

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27. January 2012 by Friedhelm.

I sued a 135mm prime lens at f2.8 to create this image. While I was at Lake Yosemite I discovered that these little flowers were already blooming and I decided to photograph them in the morning sun. I used the lens wide open because I wanted just one flower to stand out and the others supporting the “hero.”

Enjoy and have a great week-end!

Posted in Landscape, Lake Yosemite, Flowers | Print | No Comments »

26. January 2012 by Friedhelm.

I photographed this sunset at the Merced Game Refuge. I took three exposures which I combined in Photomatix pro into a single image.

Enjoy and keep on photographing!

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