Guest Post With Wanda Judd! ~ Exploration Thursday!

"Pemiquid Point, Maine"

I am very pleased to present a very sweet and talented lady as our guest here on the blog today. I first became familiar with Wanda Judd's work over at BetterPhoto and since then have followed her career over at flickr and Facebook. We'll include links to view her images on other sites below, but for now, let's hear a bit from Wanda about how she started out and what she loves about photography!

"I am first daughter, wife, mother and gram…as a result of these I became photographer. I like to say that I was fired and no one told me…I basically woke up one day and realized that my son and daughter had actually grown up and didn’t need me any more and I had never done anything just for me, something that would give me inner pleasure. I decided to take up photography…I knew nothing about apertures, f stops, how to change a lens…I bought a Nikon camera. Looked for lessons…discovered workshops at The Disney Institute at Disneyworld…. I had no idea how lucky I was to be in the company of these great professionals…Moose Peterson, Bob Krist, the late John Netherton, Jay Maisel ( I recently took another workshop with Jay and learned as much about life as I did photography), Jill Enfield, David Middleton, Beth Wald, Steve McCurry…I was hooked and attended all the workshops they had until they closed the Institute. After that I found Maine Media Workshops in Rockport ME…my first class there was with Alison Shaw and it was certainly a learning experience…it was there that I learned an amazing lesson of light. We had gotten up at 3am and drove to see the sunrise in a wonderful area of summer cottages. I saw the amazing light And saw how fast it was gone…it was at that moment that I knew for me photography was a spiritual experience…it took me a while to realize that what I do and like and put together is in fact art…a deeply personal form of art that gives me peace and pleasure and one I can get lost in..I lose all track of time when I'm shooting and do a fair amount of talking to myself when I shoot."

"When I first started in photography, I did the predictable flower shots, macro, intimate, deep into the soul of the flower and while I still love the flower … It did not take long to discovered that I love abstract photography, architectural photography, photography with motion, movement and softness…I am well aware that there are two kinds of photographers..the tech ones and the art ones...and while it takes a bit of both to make a good photographer, we do lean in one direction over the other.... I have a dear friend who is an amazing tech photographer but admits that he would love to have "the eye"..."

"One of the things I learned early on is to Simplify, Simplify. As a result I very seldom look at or take a whole picture…I look at segments of a photo I am about to take...I think I also look at life in segments as well..."

"I did not come to digital until three or four years ago…I loved film (slides) and the discipline it took to get just what I wanted. Since I started with digital I fell in love with all the periphery that goes with it…I love seeing a shot and knowing or feeling that I will add softness, overlays, punch up the depth of color with HDR…”The eye sees what the mind knows”.

"I have recently been shooting with my iPhone and this year have had two iPhone shows…featuring only iPhone shots…one a shared show at our state Capitol and a solo show in Richmond’s river district…and I was amazed at how well these shows were received."

"I have two mentors… Alison Shaw and Tony Sweet and am inspired by their creativity."

"The lighthouse seen above, was taken at Pemiquid Point in Maine while attending a workshop with Alison Shaw…It was shot with slide film…with a soft focus filter…the color was just as it greeted us before sunrise. When we arrived there and saw the sky and color, I simply ran to make my shoots and the total excitement I felt when I saw the sky is something that I will always feel when I see this shot…the composition was also so exciting in the viewfinder , the peace and joy and excitement at seeing this and knowing it was right will always be with me…"

 

"Lincoln Memorial"

"The Lincoln Memorial was taken the second day of shooting on a trip to DC …I simply was not pleased with what I did the day before and went back the next day…when I turned my camera at the angle, it was pure excitement seeing it in the view finder and knew that again it was right…"

"The Keyboard"

"The ‘Keyboard” I fell in love with while walking under a railroad bridge and when looking up saw this amazing site…it looked like a giant keyboard and I had to stop, put up the tripod, get down on my knees and shot away…

I love being a part of Betterphoto, Facebook, Flickr and FotoBlur…a great way to learn, to see, to grow as a photographer…."

My very special thanks to Wanda for agreeing to be our featured guest today! You'll miss out on some fabulous art and photography if you neglect to take some time to click on the highlighted links above and view the rest of her galleries. If you sign up for her mailing list at her website, you'll be updated on any shows or projects she's involved in. And I know she'll be pleased to help you with an order if you feel moved to purchase a print...

This is a lady who's work moves and inspires me every time I look through her galleries. You can sense the wonder and care that goes into every image... it's been an honor to collaborate on a guest post with her today!

Thanks again Wanda for being so inspirational, and to all my readers have yourselves a super day! Be sure to leave a comment or two for Wanda below and let her know if you enjoyed becoming acquainted with her photography! 

Guest Post ~ Floral Friday!

"Rose of Sharon"

I love these guest posts! I get to share great inspirational photos with all of you, and I get to introduce you to some of the photographers that have been an inspiration or influence for me. Today's images are from a good friend and mentor from the Boston area, David Pratt. David was one of the first photographers to help me around the digital darkroom a few years ago and continues to be a huge encouragement to me. We first met at BetterPhoto where you can view his online gallery and I'm happy today to share two of his favorite floral images with you!

Here's Dave to explain how he captured these photographs;

"This was taken right after a summer shower. It was cloudy so I could have some nice soft light. I had been waiting for a shower to come by so I could get out and take a few shots of these beautiful flowers with the water droplets on them. The bloom above caught my eye and I set up my tripod. I shot this in manual mode. I was also shooting RAW so that I could have more control over the final version. I zoomed in nice and tight so that the flower would fill the frame. After tweaking the levels and curves in PSE , I then used Nik Effex for some final adjustments. I used clarifier, and tweaked the saturation a bit. Below is the shooting info."

Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/8

Av( Aperture Value ) 20.0

Metering Mode Evaluative Metering

ISO Speed 100

Lens EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Focal Length 55.0 mm

"Swallowtail"

"I wasn't even out shooting for this shot. I was actually sitting on my deck enjoying a cold beer, when my wife noticed this swallowtail sitting on our butterfly bush. So, like any photographer I know would do, I ran inside and grabbed my camera, quickly switched to my Canon 70-300 zoom, since I knew this guy would not be hanging around if I was too close.

Luckily he was still there when I got back outside. I got as close as I felt I could without scaring him off. Zoomed in on him and snapped away. I had the focus on servo mode so that I could follow him around if he flew. He hung out on the flowers for about 5 minutes, then flew off. This was my favorite of the bunch. I had the camera on program mode, since I did not have time to play with my settings. Made some levels and curves adjustments in PSE, ran it through Nik Effex for clarity and boosted the saturation a bit. This was the one and only time I have even seen a swallowtail around the house."

I'm extremely grateful that Dave agreed to be a guest for today gang! Hope he has inspired you all to keep photographing nature, and to be ready for any surprises that might come your way! If you've enjoyed his post today I encourage you to visit both his flickr page AND his new David A. Pratt Photography Page on Facebook. There you can also inquire about purchasing a print! Be sure to leave a comment below to let him know if you enjoyed the post below.

Thanks David for joining us, and thanks for the ramble folks! Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

Featured Guest ~ Exploration Thursday!

"Feathery Sunrise" by Christine Kapler

(1/1250 sec.@ F/3.8, ISO 400, 105mm fl, macro, Nikon D300)

Today's blog is with a special guest. Last week I mentioned macro photography. Well today's guest has continuously mesmerized me with her magical macro images of feathers, rain drops, and flower petals, as well as her bird photography. And I knew I had to share her photographs with all of you and her evident passion for what she does. Her name is Christine Kapler, and here she is to explain a bit about the type of photography she loves; 

"Macros or close-ups come to me quite naturally. I don't really take landscape or people photographs at all. With the exception of birds in the wild, macro is what I love to do.

Rain and sunshine are my friends. Once I see something what looks unreal at the other end of my lens I'm thrilled and I can't keep from photographing it. Anything can be turned into some kind of abstract when photographed with a macro lens. I use a Nikkor 105mmf/2.8 VR lens. This lens is my work horse."

"There is another side of me, that gets excited as well. When I see a bird in action, I get the same thrill and I can't help but photograph them. I'm not a morning person, I like to stay up late. But when I'm on holidays I get up as soon as I see the sun coming out and I'm out too with my camera waiting for some action. However, if there was any rain during the night, I will be out with my macro lens taking pictures between petals, grass and leaves."

"The important part of my photography is post processing. I shoot only in RAW format; it gives me flexibility to work on my pictures later in Lightroom. All my pictures are processed only in Lightroom, they are not photo shopped. I play with light and white balance. I move sliders until I get the look I have seen through my lens when shooting."

"The picture "Feathery Sunrise" was taken a while ago; I didn't like it at the beginning, as I wasn't able to pull the right colour. Then I went back and did it two months later. A tip from photo pro Bryan Peterson's book helped me get the desired color.The feather I used in this picture is a natural bird feather I found outside when photographing birds. I sprayed it with water to make the overall image more interesting and to have something to focus on."

"Hanging There in the Wind"

(1/200 sec.@ F/4.2, 105mm fl, Nikon D300, macro lens, -1/3EV, ISO 200)

"The other picture "Hanging there in the wind" was taken in Mexico in the morning after night rain. It is an edge of secretia leaf covered with raindrops.

I cropped it a little to make a nice composition and the rest is basic adjustment in Lightroom from raw to jpeg."

.... Macro photography. Like stepping into another world. Be sure to see Christine Kapler's photostream here. Look for her incredible bird images on her flicker page as well. And you can catch her profile here for more info. You can also contact her through flicker if you wish to purchase a print!

Huge thanks to Christine for allowing me to feature her work here, I am constantly impressed with her eye for creative possibilities. I find her images very inspiring, and it's my hope that you will too.

Thanks for tuning in today for our guest post! Have a great day folks!

Guest Post for Exploration Thursday!

"FLAMINGO"  ~South Florida by Bob Grauer

Today we explore an image taken over in Florida! Bob Grauer, my guest blogger for today has had his work featured here before and am thrilled to pick his brain a bit about how today's post came together. His sea and skyscapes continually amaze me (not to mention he's a killer scrabble player), and in the last couple of years I have learned a lot from Bob about exposure, editing, and getting beautiful color in the camera.

Here's Bob to explain about today's image:

 "It was Halloween 2009 and to escape the constant knocks on my door I headed out to Everglades National Park(ENP). Arriving before dawn, it was a long and very rewarding day of shooting with quite a few images that eventually made it to my portfolio. By late afternoon I was thinking about where I should be to catch the setting sun. I decided on Florida Bay so I headed west on the main ENP road to Flamingo and the pristine Gulf of Mexico, (pre BP disaster). It still looks pristine now, but one has to wonder how much Corexit is in the water.

Upon arriving I found a couple of clouds close to the western horizon. There was a space between the horizon and the clouds. This is a perfect set up where the sun lights up the clouds from underneath. I still had a 1/2 hour so I carefully staked out my spot. Set the camera on the tripod and put on a ND grad filter. Nothing to do for 15-20 minutes but wait. Just as the sun emerged beneath the clouds a flock of birds landed about 15 feet in front of me. I looked through the viewfinder and found the composition was perfect and didn't have to move the camera at all. The birds knew exactly where to be to make my shot perfect. With a few more minutes until the sun met the horizon, I was hoping the birds would stay put. It was my lucky day, this kind of luck is one in a million. It still would have been a beautiful sunset photo without the birds. But with them the image became magical. I couldn't resist using it for the cover of my portfolio book."

As mentioned earlier, I am a huge fan of Bob Grauer's work. To see more of his images please check out his flickr stream here. Also, I know he would be thrilled to have you wander over to check out his book

"South Florida" - A Unique and Varied Landscape

...a beautiful photography book filled with images that transport you to the Everglades region and beyond. Thanks to Bob for sharing one of my personal favorites of your collection with us all, and letting us explore with you!

Thanks for rambling with us folks, get out there and capture a sunset or two yourselves, wherever you are!