New Jersey Art Photo: Leaf and Snow #1

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Below is a handheld macro art photo that I took yesterday on a short nature walk in New Jersey.  I was outside just as it had begun to snow, so I was able to photograph small crystals of snow right after they they’d landed on the surface of this serrated leaf.  Why do I like this photo?  For me, there is a really nice amount of texture within the frame.  My favorite textures are the serrated edges of the leaf and also the shapes of the snow particles.  The color scheme is primarily the complimentary colors of red and green, although the very overcast sunlight rendered them as muted.  My mind interprets the dull colors as an oil painting palette, perhaps from the Dutch Masters.

NJ art photo

A closeup view of freshly fallen snow becomes a study in repeating patterns, seemingly painted in red and green. #Art photo taken with the #Tamron SP 180mm macro lens and the Canon EOS 7D DSLR in #NewJersey

New Jersey Art Photo: Leaf Detail; Late November

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While foliage is most often photographed in Autumn to capture the vivid coloration, there are certainly reasons to also take such photos in Spring, Summer, and Winter.   In my photo featured below, I was drawn to the slight gradients of brown tones in the leaf.  The patterns in the holes of the leaf also take on a life of their own from this macro view.  Looking at the subject even further, one can see a bit of fine detail on the leaf’s surface.  I took this photo handheld to achieve both a level of sharpness and also a bit of photo Impressionism.

NJ Art Photo

A macro view of a worn leaf in a forest provides a study of aging and wear. Photo taken handheld with the #Tamron SP 180mm #macro lens and the #Canon EOS 7D.

Photo taken handheld with the Tamron SP 180mm macro lens and the Canon EOS 7D DSLR.  Exposure settings: 1/4s F/10 ISO 200.

New York Nature Photography: Common Porcupine

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Yesterday Lisa and I took a drive to the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, an area best known to photographers for Bald Eagle viewing in the colder months.  I did see three Eagles, although none happened to be close enough for good photos.  The highlight for the trip of us, was a Porcupine busily gnawing away on Spruce needles not much more than 15 feet off the ground.  The only other live and wild Porcupine I’ve seen in North America was completely balled up in a sleeping position.

To take this photo, I mounted my Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens onto my tripod and then dialed in the most appropriate exposure settings.  In Aperture Priority mode, I set the aperture to F/8.0 and with overcast skies no ISO short of 1600 would do.  My initial shots with an exposure compensation of ~ +1.0 stops light added were still very dark.  When I got to +2.7 stops I was happy with the tonality of the image.  The only thing left to do was to wail on the shutter button to try for sharp captures without motion blur.  Best resultant photo below:

NY Wildlife Photography

A photograph of a porcupine eating Spruce needles on a snow covered branch. Photo taken in Sullivan County, #NewYork with the #Tamron SP 150-600mm VC lens and the #Canon EOS 60D DSLR.

Common Porcupine, Sullivan County in New York. Exposure settings: 1/100 F/8.0 ISO 1600, 500mm

New Jersey Art Photography: Tree Trunks in Snow

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We had an amazingly picturesque snowfall yesterday here in Northern New Jersey.  While I did get wrapped up video editing in the morning, I made sure to leave myself a window of time to get outside to see what I could see through my viewfinder.  I had it in mind to shoot some creative art photos, not necessarily using straightforward methodologies.  Below is my favorite photo from yesterday, it was made by using a slow exposure speed coupled with a slight vertical panning motion of my hands.  The only change I made in post-processing was increasing the black point, to add some contrast back to the tree trunks.

NJ Fine Art Photo

Snow flakes blur against the browns of tree trunks while a blanket of white rests below. #Art photo taken in #NewJersey using the #Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and the Canon EOS 50D DSLR.

Using my Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and a Canon EOS 50D DSLR, my exposure settings were: 0.8s F/10 ISO 100, 41mm

New Jersey Portraiture Photography: Paul Wigg-Maxwell

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Today I had the pleasure of working with local Morris County-based attorney Paul Wigg-Maxwell.  Our gameplan for today’s photoshoot was to come up with updated headshots and other creative photos to refresh Paul’s website and social media.  Paul’s law specialties include business, tax, and trust matters.

One of my favorite photos from today:

NJ headshot photography

A large window in the stairwell was a great way for utilizing some natural light, and adding a seasonal theme to Paul’s photo.

More to come soon.. Happy Thanksgiving!

New Jersey Nature Photography: Ice on the Beaver Brook

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The visual element of ice and the textures within in it can easily consume a photographer’s attention for long periods of time.  For the below frame, it was only natural for me to center the reflection of the plant and also place it off-center.  This gives our eyes a chance to look around and discover the various textures and tones within the ice.

NJ Art photo

On a cold November day in #NewJersey, frail vegetation sits isolated on the blue ice of the Beaver Brook. #Photo taken with the #Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and the Canon EOS M mirrorless camera.

Photo taken with the Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and the Canon EOS M mirrorless camera.

New Jersey Art Photography: Breaking Wave and Rocks

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While doing some nature photography today in New Jersey, I decided to try to capture some of the break waves of the Atlantic Ocean by using some Impressionism in my photography.  I surmised that a handheld exposure of slightly more than 1 second would soften the detail within my frame just enough to leave some of the scene to the viewer’s imagination.  I also like to retain a bit of detail for this sort of shot.  There are many variables when shooting in this style, the most unpredictable one being the amount of shake caused by my hands over the course of a 1 second exposure.  After shooting 20 or 30 frames and reviewing on my camera LCD, I decided that I should have at least 1 or 2 images to my liking.  Below is what I consider the most successful capture.

NJ Art Photo

The turbulence of the Atlantic Ocean resolves with a wave crashing on large rocks off the seaboard of New Jersey. #Photo taken handheld with the #Tamron 16-300m VC All-In-One lens and the #Canon EOS M mirrorless camera.

New Jersey Videography: Lint

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I was strumming my acoustic guitar over the weekend (as I often do), and when I come up with a little progression that I think sounds good I will flip on my DSLR and try to make a quick video out of it.  This video that I put together over the weekend was the first time I’ve incorporated creative blending modes to make some interesting opacity effects in my video edits.  I first recorded the passage on guitar with my Tamron SP 90mm VC macro lens directed into my dusty lint-filled soundhole.  Next I played the same guitar bit again, but this time I had the macro lens focused closely on my face to see what happens.

Using my own judgement I spliced up bits of the two video streams to add to the visual interest of my end product.  The HD audio was recorded straight to my Canon EOS 60D via my RODE Videomic GO shotgun microphone.  I had to adjust the manual audio recording level to avoid clipping the punchy treble tones from my Washburn acoustic guitar.

Please leave any comments and questions you do have about the video or post-processing.

Do you need filming or video editing done for your small business or family functions?  I’m available!

New Jersey Event Photography: Tori’s 4th Birthday Party

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Yesterday I brought along a very simple but effective setup to photograph my niece’s fourth birthday party, a Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens, a Canon EOS 6D, and a Canon 580EXII speedlite.  Most of my photos were taken without the flash, as we had nice window light illuminating the party scene.  When doing event photography, I always hope to photograph adults or children “caught up in the moment”.  While I enjoy a nice posed portrait, I think an relaxed candid frame is often a gateway to the soul.

Below are a few of my favorite shots from the birthday party:

Intentionally dragging the shutter best shows us the happy girls dancing through the frame. New Jersey Event Photography by Dave Blinder. Photo taken handheld in natural light with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

Intentionally dragging the shutter best shows us the happy girls dancing through the frame. New Jersey Event Photography by Dave Blinder. Photo taken handheld in natural light with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

NJ Event Photography

The birthday girl proudly shows off her creation. New Jersey Event Photography by Dave Blinder. Photo taken handheld in natural light with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

NJ Event Photography

Unaware of a camera pointed out them, the birthday girl and her friend are extremely busy making a mess. New Jersey Event Photography by Dave Blinder. Photo taken handheld in natural light with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

NJ Event Photographer

Caught up in being a child. New Jersey Event Photography by Dave Blinder. Photo taken handheld in natural light with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 6D.

I am currently booking for NJ event photography for Winter 2014 and Spring 2015 – visit http://daveblinder.com for contact info. If you have any questions or tips you’d like to share about photographing children, please leave them in the comments.

New Jersey Art Photography: Smartweed

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I am probably way off on the ID of this small ground plant that I photographed today… ID corrections appreciated!

Anyways, this was the final shot I took today out of ~30 frames.  I do often find that the last frame I shot, or next to last ends up being my favorite from the day.  I guess I decide to call it a day after I think I’ve made 1 or 2 quality capures on a local day in the field.  When doing nature photography, of course, I may hope to get 8-12 distinct keepers per day.

Initially I took photos of this plant from my tripod as I often do.  At first, I experimented with slow shutter speeds to have the leaves blow through the frame.  Not being satisfied with the results, I then lowered my shutter speed from 15s to 2s and simply handheld my camera and let the small effects of “hand shake” do what they might.

NJ Art Photo

The glowing of small blacklit ground plants glow against the dark woodland floor. #Photo taken in New Jersey with the #Tamron 16-300mm VC All-In-One lens and the #Canon EOS M mirrorless camera.