Forest Canopy

The fall is here are these are the last few days this year we see green trees with big leaves.
I was out and about with the kids in a local trail walk, and the bright sunlight was making its way through the leaves above.

I kept walking forward until I saw a low branch with beautiful shades and patterns coming through, it was one for keeping.

ISO 100, f/8, 1/60s

Yellow Trail

Stone Mountain, GA

Make Your Subject Pop

I simply love shooting in bad weather, The drama, the darkness, the excitement is simply amazing. The shot above was taken right before a storm was called in on Sandy Hook Beach, NJ. The landscapes were fine but when I tried shooting a portrait, the image was dull.

The easiest way to rectify this is to simply use a flash. Simply meter the scene as you please, in this case ISO 100, f/8, 1/200s - Manual mode, put on the external flash on ETTL mode (or ITTL) and fire away. Instantly, the subject is lit up and pops in the scene.

Calm and Tranquility

I am a big proponent of carrying my camera with me where ever I go. However, with improvements in mobile phone technology, I am getting lazier and lazier with taking my camera along. On one such occasion, my family and I went out on a hike at Sourland Mountain in NJ.

It was a beautiful cloudy day, and we started our hike early morning. As we emerged through the forest this beautiful pond was reflecting a scene of "Calm and Tranquility". Just the mere site of this scene was enough to take one into a meditative state. But low and behold, I didn't have my trusty companion with me (my camera). I did what I could with my cell phone and took this shot. Sadly the clarity of the leaves and the dynamic range in the clouds was lost was poorly captured.
This scene was too good to lose. I edited the shot as much as possible in Photoshop and then applied the Oil Painting filter to reveal the above.
Lesson learned, cell phones are for selfies - a real camera is what you need to capture the true essence of nature. 

Cedar Path

ISO 100, f/5.6 1/50s