Exciting New Things to Come

This past month has flown by, and I apologize for neglecting to share! New hummingbird images soon to be posted, a new website and a new portfolio with portraits in the works, and options for selling prints being considered! All of these new things are being readied for June.

Hummingbird Adventures with My Father

Recently, I was able to spend time with my father taking pictures of hummingbirds in Sherwood, OR. I was excited to have an opportunity to learn the technique of stopping a hummingbird’s wings in an image. A hummingbird’s wings beats at around 60 beats per a second. His mobile flash set up includes 8 different flashes, and, without the use of these flashes, it is impossible to capture a hummingbird with a camera in such a way.

It took around two hours to teach the hummingbirds to drink from the bait feeder, but, once they learned, the birds took turns every five to ten minutes feeding from it.

My camera next to my dad’s:

My first successful hummingbird shot:

In case you are curious…

My father’s bird photography is available for viewing online (Don’s Photo Galleries). In addition to his digital shots, he also studies traditional photography printing techniques, such as platinum printing and Brown Van Dyke.

He actually captured a rare shot of two female hummingbirds fighting over the feeder during our adventure in Sherwood.

Broaden Your View with The Sprocket Rocket

The Sprocket Rocket camera is well-equipped with a 160 degree wide angle lens for great landscape shots, and the camrea has dual winding knobs for multiple film exposures. While most lomography cameras look pricy for few options, this camera has the versitility and flexability for the fun shots I want to investigate.

Sample shots from other photographers:

In case you are curious…

The Sprocket Rocket camera is now on sale at the Modern Museum of Art shop for $65, and Amazon also has a variety of colors if you are willing to pay $90.

Average photo-developing services at places like Walgreens or Fred Meyer will not be able to develop these for you. You’ll need to have a speciality photography store develop these images for you if you do not have lab access.

Lowepro: The Camera Pack Suited for Outdoor Terrain

For years, I have used Timbuk2′s Snoop Camera Insert with my numerous messenger bags. I love it and still do. However, when I am hiking more than a mile, the messenger becomes heavy on one shoulder when I add water bottles and extra gear. I still enjoy using this camera system for urban adventures when taking images around the city, but for multi-mile adventures on the trail, I need a camera bag that offers increased support in a compact and efficient solution.

The Photo Sport 200 AW Lowepro pack (below) has an adjustable camera compartment, a water bladder or “hydration reservoir” compatible pocket, built-in all-weather cover, and – you guessed it – two evenly balanced straps. In fact, it looks quite like a hiking pack should be with plenty of pockets to stash gear and camera equipment into. There is also a sling version, although I can envision similar issues on long hikes that may be comparable to what I experience with my messenger bag.

Phoster: Visualize Something Different to Share Your Snapshots

Phoster is an easy-to-use app for the iPad that allows you to stylize your snapshots, add vivid color, and display a variety of text in a clever poster-like design. You can start with one of the provided templates or create your own. I used this app to create the Happy Easter! post from yesterday.

I used one of the provided templates and immediately imported an image using the Library button to choose a previously-shot snapshot (taken Friday in downtown Portland). Tapping on text allows you to change the size or font of the text, change the width of the text box, and change the text color (many to choose from!). The text is a floating layer that you can position wherever you want on the design.

The reason why I am so fascinated with this app, is the fact that you can not only move your images to position them perfectly, but spin the image to gain the perfect perspective (shown below). You can also adjust the contrast, brightness, and saturation of the image within the app.

Don’t want to use a photo? No problem. You can use one of over 25 colors as the background.

Once the design is complete, choose the paper on which you would like to display your design on. (For my final image at the top of this post, I used “Color 1″ as a final paper.)

In case you are curious…

Phoster is available on the iTunes store for the iPad, and is well worth the $1.99 cost for the app.

Happy Easter!

Joanna Lemańska’s Alluring Use of Reflections

Joanna Lemańska’s work is truly magnetic. Currently living in Paris, Joanna captures the essence of a busy city in each reflection with a Fujifilm X10 and an iPhone. Three months ago, she was awarded with a Mobile Photography Award. Her work was exhibited in the Soho Gallery in New York and featured in numerous magazines including IMAGE and the Huffington Post, and she looks forward to future exhibits in Toronto, London, and Tokyo.

Joanna’s portfolio is available on 500px and her website. You can also follow Joanna on Twitter.

 

Capture the Perfect Waterfall on Your Spring Hike

Spring hikes, especially in Oregon on the Gorge or Silver Fall trails, reveal full waterfalls fueled by the snow melt. You can utilize your TV setting on your DSLR or SLR camera to achieve a silky looking waterfall image. The TV setting allows you to mess with the shutter speed while the camera chooses the lens aperature for you. It’s great to use for slow images like silky waterfalls (around 1/15th of a second) and action shots (1/500th of a second or faster).

This waterfall was on the side of the road on the way back from a Mt. Hood adventure, and it was taken without a tripod in full sun.

When taking waterfalls images..
1. Try to shoot from an angle and include foreground elements (it makes the image more interesting and adds the perspective of size for the waterfall).
2. Using a polarizing filter will bring out the detail and depth in the image if you happen to have one.
3. Using a tripod will increase the clarity of the image for slower shots. Don’t like to hike with a tripod? Me neither. Use the Monster Pod. It can stick on rocks, trees, and other dry surfaces.

Daily Photographs from k2nth Designs Now Available on Instagram

Have you heard? k2nth Designs is now on Instagram. Follow at instagram.com/k2nth to get access to pictures posted daily.

 

Born of Sound: Inspiring Images from Audio Recordings

An image created from your baby’s first recorded heart beats or your wedding vows is priceless, and the possibilities are endless. Born of Sound, launched just this week, takes uploaded, pre-recorded sounds or recorded sounds from their website and translates the waveform into an image (an example, shown below, is the result of the words “imagination welcome”).

In case you are curious…

Images are available in a variety of colors, two different sound-form types, and is printed on photo-quality paper or canvas, and a basic 12″x36″ canvas wrapped print goes for around $300.

Inkodye DIY: Your Photo on Fabric in Red, Orange, and Blue

Don’t have a photography lab or just interested in the basic cyanotype concept? Inkodye to the rescue.

Available in blue, red, and orange, this dye can be used with the same ink-jet negative technique as Cyanotyping Fabric Images in Vibrant Blue, but without the hassle of mixing the chemicals yourself. If you don’t have access to a printer that can create large 8″x10″ negatives for you on overhead projector sheets, you can also use three-dimensional objects to do the trick in sunlight.

Go ahead. Enjoy the sunny weather this spring… all of you who don’t live in Portland.