Jonathan’s Woods, Denville NJ
Water level has remained high for a while now. During dry spells this stream doesn’t show much surface water.
Tamron 24-70mm + Canon 5Dsr
Afternoon Light on Musconetcong River
Byram, New Jersey
Taken late afternoon just down the road from Waterloo Village.
I really loved how the roots enveloped the boulder.
Canon SL2 + Sigma 17-50mm OS lens. This photograph is available to purchase with print sizes up to 20″x30″.
Hi everyone – I have just completed a new Q&A article with some of my thoughts on taking photographs throughout the winter season and detailed information on how I take the pictures and also how to prepare for them.
My Q&A interview was conducted by the very talented author, Jenn Gidman. The article is an easy read and the entire e-newsletter is very informative and packed with recent photos taken with Tamron USA’s extensive digital lens line-up. Check it out if you get a chance.
Since having my Olympus PEN converted to infrared (IR + UV spectrum to be precise), I’ve noticed a really great amount of sharpness in my photos. The Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens natively takes very nice photos, and I also believe that IR photos may have greater clarity than our typical visible light spectrum. Below is a 200% crop of a nature photo I took today with the Tamron 14-150mm Di III, infrared-converted PEN E-PL2, and my Benro carbon fiber tripod. No filter on the lens.
Photo taken with #Tamron 14-150mm Di III lens and #infrared converted #Olympus PEN E-PL2 micro four thirds camera.
Below is a view of my full-sized web photo:
A #monotone image captured with the #Tamron 14-150mm Di III and infrared converted #Olympus PEN E-PL2 micro four thirds camera.
Exposure notes – 150mm (300mm in 35mm terms), F/9.0, 0.6s, tripod, manual white balance (kelvin).
If I said I remembered taking this frame, I would be lying. I do have many RAW files from 2014 that I’ve skipped over on my hard drive. I will often process my favorite shot or two from an outing, and then not look in that folder again. Maybe I need to do some “Fall cleaning”?
The below Winter landscape photo was taken on January 3, 2014 in Morris County, New Jersey. Looking at it now, I really like the leading lines that guide my eyes into the forest. There also seems to be a good balance of shadows and highlights so that there is both minimalism and detail within the image.
New Jersey Winter landscape photo. Taken with the Tamron 18-270mm VC lens and the Canon EOS 7D DSLR.
Exposure settings: 1.6s F/11 ISO 100
Went for a walk in one of my favorite nature areas in New Jersey yesterday morning, Mahlon Dickerson Reservation in Jefferson. Optimistically, I had a wildlife lens mounted, and my macro flash unit also ready to go for smaller critters. However, no opportunities like that materialized for me.
I noticed a bare sapling near the mostly frozen stream’s edge, and originally thought I’d isolate the entire sapling against the simple background. I shot a few broader frames, but felt they all lacked any prominent shapes or visual guidance. I zoomed in a bit with my zoom lens and also my tripod to see how this small single branch with a nice diagonal orientation and prominent juttings could possibly fill the frame.
I liked the frame, but the remaining problem was one unsightly rock just barely jutting from the ice’s surface. Next step was locating a leaf in decent shape, and using a stick to push it into position to mask the rock. Little did I know, the now juxtaposed leaf would become my favorite part of the shot. A polarizing filter was also necessary to remove glare, especially since a small layer of melt water was sitting on top of the ice and reflecting sunlight and the surrounding trees.
Branch, Ice, and Leaf
Tamron 18-270mm VC lens @ f/16, 1/20s, ISO 200 on a tripod mounted Canon 50D. Mirror lock-up and camera timer used to maximize sharpness.
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As winter quickly approaches, my mind always drifts towards the migrant ducks that congregate near Long Beach Island in New Jersey. Some of the challenges include isolating a single bird amongst their groupings, trying to predict where the diving ducks are actually going surface, and dealing with the very slippery jetty you have to walk out on.
Quack!
I like this intimate view of the Harlequin Drake because you get a nice view of his intricate patterns, and the very comedic value of a cute duck with his mouth agape!
Dave Blinder Nature Photography 