For many of us in the northeast, we had a fairly rainy weekend. This sends a lot of photographers to the indoors when this occurs. However, I find that this is where and when the opportunities present themselves. This is a time frame when I change up my gear and, for me, the the ideal equipment is my rugged Olympus TG-4 waterproof, crushproof & freezeproof camera. It has a very fast f2.o lens and allows me to shoot in RAW. All of the images were shot in the “Super Macro” mode.
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure to run a workshop with Dan’s Camera City sponsored by Olympus, titled “Paint the Night”. I guess you can tell what the workshop was all about. We were fortunate that Steve Tobin, an incredible artist located in Quakertown, PA, allowed us to use the grounds of his studio. It was an amazing setup for doing light painting. As you can see we used multiple types of light sources from burning steel wool to Pixelsticks. It was a great evening with a great group of photographers. Of all of the images in this post, my favorite one is the last one. I call it “Kissing Angels”. I didn’t notice it at first. I discovered it after I downloaded it and saw it on my computer. It is actually part of a larger image. I have been asked if it was produced with smoke. The answer is no. It was done with a white LED light wand, in combination with the Olympus’s “Live Composite” mode.
The Green Giant
A few weeks ago I traveled with my friend and fellow photog, Dave Rehrig to the Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve. It has been several years since my last visit to this beautiful Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania area. I had forgotten how beautiful this place is. They boast the fact that they have nearly 800 varieties of natural species (there are approximately 2000 species native to PA). More than 80 of which are rare, threatened or endangered native plants designated as Plants of Special Concern in Pennsylvania. Here is a link to Bowman’s Hill Website. All images were shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII. The macro shots were taken with the M.Zuiko ED 60mm f2.8. The rest were taken with the M.Zuiko ED 12-40mm f2.8 PRO or the M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO. The last image of the flower is a series of 20 focus bracketed shots (which you can set to automatically shoot within the E-M5 Mk II) that provided me with a greater depth of field and thereby allowing me to have the front to the rear of the flower in full focus.
Birth of a Fern
I’m fortunate to live in an area that has diversity as it relates to contemporary & historic structures. However, I find myself drawn more to the historic structures. These two images were taken with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 and the M.Zuiko ED 300mm f4.0 IS PRO lens. This lens has a full frame 600mm equivalent which is great for creating compression in the image. Which was what I was trying accomplish with these images.
This covered bridge is know as Bogert’s Bridge. It was built in 1841-42. It takes its name from the Bogert family. Peter Bogert purchased the land on which the bridge is located in 1744 as part of his farm. Its most distinctive feature is two long arch trusses resting on abutments at either end. Of which, was my focus for the following images.
A few weeks ago, I made my second trek up to the Jacobsburg State Park. It is a beautiful park with well maintained trails. I had my Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII in hand and it was paired with one of my very favorite lenses, the 7-14mm f2.8 PRO. This image was taken just before all of the spring foliage came alive. I shot this hand held at 1/20th of a second (thanks Olympus for the 5 axis image stabilization), ISO 400 at f/5.6.
I continue to do some more daytime experimenting with Olympus’ “Live Composite” mode. This a mode that is available on the OM-D series cameras. What it does, is allows you to take a sequence of exposures and build them over a period of time. The brilliant part about this is it won’t exceed any highlights and, the icing on the cake, is it produces an in-camera RAW file. Under normal circumstances, you would “blow out” the highlights in the image. Normally this process is used in evening photography. However, with the use of a neutral density (ND) filter you can create a daytime shot that appears to be in low light. The use of a tripod is an absolute necessity. Some of these exposures are about 5 minutes in length. The result is a beautiful painterly effect in the sky from the moving clouds. Lehigh University has a gorgeous campus and, with the right conditions, makes this an ideal location for this type of image.
This past weekend I ventured to an area on the Delaware River known as the Lumberville – Raven Rock Bridge. The reason it was of interest to me is because it is a foot bridge. In this day and age, one rarely sees this. The original bridge was built in 1856 and what we see today was reconstructed in 1947. It connects Lumberville, PA and Raven Rock, NJ. The design was handled by John A. Roebling who is most famous for his design of the Brooklyn Bridge. All images were shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 MkII and the M.Zuiko ED 7-14mm f2.8 PRO or the ED 8mm F1.8 Fisheye PRO.
This past weekend I was in New Hope, PA. In the early days of our country, this was a mid-point between New York & Philly and of course, George Washington was supposed to have lodged here. Today, it is a vibrant eclectic arts community. There are visual treasures at every turn. However, you need to keep an open eye to catch many of them.
I had the opportunity to lead a trip back to Grand Central Terminal a few weeks ago for the Lehigh Valley Photography Club. All images & video were shot with Olympus OM-D E-M1 and E-M5 MkII. I have photographed this place many times. However, on this trip we were able to go into the belly of the beast. In addition to going to the highest point, we also went 13 stories below to see the heart of the complex. I have also included a brief video from the day. This place continues to amaze me every time I go!
** Click on image to view video **
This past fall I was asked to do a presentation on my recent visit to Cuba for the Olympus InVision Photo Festival in Bethlehem , PA. During my preparation for the presentation, PBS39 asked if they could do a story on me because of my connection to the region and as an advocate of InVision. Here is the story.
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