Time to move

Blogger has bee a great host but it’s time to consolidate. The blog is alive, more alive than ever, but from now on it is maintained on my official portfolio page.

Ready, steady? Go!

Balaton Sunset 2015

 

Hungary’s Balaton lake, the biggest lake in Central Europe has it’s own microclimate and it’s own atmosphere. In Hungary, being a land locked country, many of us grew up longing for the summer holiday at the lake, where everything was possible. Still now, it’s a paradise for kids and for photographers.

Camera	Nikon D70
Aperture	f/8
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	105mm (157mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S 18-105 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/500
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro

#Hamburg

 

I only took my 35 mm portrait lens to the 4 day long weekend to make life easier, I was expecting long walks, certainly not as much rain as I finally got, but something similar to Amsterdam. The charm of the north combined with the life of the south. Well, I could’ve seen more of the life but the charm is there.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/3.2
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	35mm (52mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 35 f/1.8
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/160
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro

Amsterdam Summer nights

Nothing is comparable to Amsterdam in the summer, when the weather is good. Beyond the dense downtown areas it takes only a few minutes to get to the native part of town with its hidden treasures. Walking down the narrow streets of the Jordaan gives you the feeling that there is no better place to live.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/22
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	42mm (63mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	20s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6.3

The Gatehouse of Elswout

Elswout is a hidden treasure of Haarlem, the Netherlands. The park was founded in the 16th century, had several owners throughout history, it even served as a German military base during WWII. While it has a lot to offer to the tourist, the time I was there it was one of the warmest, sunniest days in the summer. While this is certainly good news if you want to walk the park, when it comes to photography, I don't like direct sunlight, unless the theme is the high contrast between light and shadow. It makes metering difficult, backgrounds are frequently over-exposed, details are difficult to emphasize and colors often disappear. I've selected this shot for the blog because it combines lights with shadows, has the right details and has a certain atmosphere of warmth and calmness, more typical of the fall than the summer.

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/8.0
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	80mm (120mm)
Lens	Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/1000
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

 

Technorati Tags: elswout,photography,netherlands,landscape

Inside a windmill

 

The last time, National Windmill Day 2012. This was inside a small windmill at Giesbeek, using a fixed 28 mm full frame lens, borrowed from my at-the-time girlfriend. That was the time I've decided to get my hands on a high aperture fixed lens, something I can shoot indoors at low lights. There are several options and they depend on your gear and your plans (drop me an email if you seek for advice), but I can only recommend it, it teaches you discipline.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.8
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	28mm (42mm)
Lens	Nikkor 28 mm f/2.8
ISO	2000
Shutter Speed	1/50
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6 (Sepia, soft light)

Valentine's day special

This shot I've taken in Cuba in 2006, in Trinidad. It was unbearably hot and even then I didn't understand how she can survive in that dress. Love is the cure, I guess, or at least the air conditioning.

Camera	Nikon D50
Aperture	f/13
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	27mm (40mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-70 mm f/3.5-4.5
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/400
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

Technorati Tags: travel,photography,cuba,trinidad,valentine's,entertainment

De Magere Brug

Nearly all of Amsterdam's 1,500 bridges are photogenic but the most beautiful are the ones which open for boat traffic. When the night falls, the lit up bridges always give you a point of reference in the city, in which, some might say is easy to get lost.

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/11
Exposure Bias	-0.67 eV
Focal Length	30mm (45mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO	100
Shutter Speed	15 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 5

Carmel by the sea

One of the judges inspecting a Porsche Speedster at the old timer car show in Carmel, California. Public events are perfect opportunities to enhance photography knowledge, after all there are tons of people with cameras, no one will be insulted or protesting if you take a few shots of him / her and the machine besides. In fact they'll be even prouder.

Camera	Nikon D70s
Aperture	f/4.2
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	50mm (75mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/800 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 5

Thirsty

 

London was surprisingly hot during the Olympics, even carrying the camera was a challenge in the crowd. This is a candid shot of a little girl in Hyde Park, killing her thirst from her fathers beer glass, hopefully not with beer. Surprisingly, sunny days don’t necessarily make the life of the photographer easier. Sunny conditions can easily change to sharp shadows, making you touch for the camera settings all the time. Over-exposition is a common problem, colors are easily killed by the harsh light.

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/8
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	90mm (135mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-200 f/3.5-5.6
ISO	500
Shutter Speed	1/250 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

On Repair

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/8
Exposure Bias	-0.33 eV
Focal Length	18mm (27mm)
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/320 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 5

The lighthouse in Urk

Urk is an ancient fishing village in Flevoland, the Netherlands. It was an island until the Dutch pumped the water out from the Zuiderzee and gained about 1600 square kms from the sea, a work which was going on for some 60 years in the last century. The lighthouse tower was built in 1845 and still functional, using the famous Fresnel Lens.  It’s a beautiful, peaceful little town, a perfect weekend getaway if you are bored with the stormy city life. Mostly pretty windy, so be prepared to shade your tripod if you are planning long exposition times, like the one below. Rain is common, so bring your rain coat and make sure you cover the camera as well as the lens, or better, go in the summer and enjoy the long sunsets on the sea coast.

 

 

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/25
Exposure Bias	-0.67
Focal Length	22mm (33mm)
ISO	100
Shutter Speed	8 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

Wide Angle

In case of nature photography, wide angle lens has a hard time showing distances and depths of the environment, unless you have a point of reference (a person or an animal) to show the real size of what you capture. Going in town, most of these problems evaporate, our eyes are simply used to the city. A window or a pillar, a sculpture or a traffic light can easily play the role, making wide angle photography a perfect fit in an urban environment, showing the beauty and greatness of creatures, let them be buildings, bridges or monuments.

Camera	Nikon D70s
Aperture	f/4
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	10mm (15mm)
Lens	Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/1000
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 5

Panning

On my way to the airport in Siem Riep, Cambodia, I was killing time with taking shots at the traffic of the opposite side of the road. Leaning out of the tuc-tuc is ideal for panning, the speed of approaching objects is double compared to standing on the side of the road (because I'm also moving towards them), making the background completely blurred, but the overall movement is still slow enough to be able to follow it through the viewfinder. Still, it's not an easy pitch, you might find yourself shooting dozens of pics before you have one where the subject is right in focus, mainly because you have to use longer shutter speed to be able to blur out the background well enough (without Photoshopping it later, of course...).

Camera	Nikon D70s
Aperture	f/4.5
ISO	1000
Shutter Speed	1/30
Post Processing	None

Bugs in Venlo

A bunch of bugs are entertaining the crowd at the annual horticultural fair Floriade. this time organised in the Netherlands, in the town of Venlo.

Camera	Nikon D90
Aperture	f/2.5
Exposure Bias	0.00
Focal Length	60mm (90mm)
ISO	200
Shutter Speed	1/4000 s
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6

San Francisco

It's strange how you always re-evaluate your old shots from time to time. This one I hardly remembered and I didn't like it at all at the time I was back from the USA and was post processing the set of my trip. Post processing (pr post production, matter of taste) usually takes more time than the actual shooting, especially if you periodically revisit your old shots. At this time, it was more than 2,500 pictures to review after a 4 weeks trip, you can imagine. Already the trip was a bit difficult to plan as it was going along, nowadays these cities like San Francisco are much more accessible with cheap flight search services like flightnetwork.com. But at the time, I was planning it as I went on, sometimes missing the evening shots because of sitting in internet cafes figuring out my next move. The point is, that it’s worth re-visiting your old shots, you’ll find treasures among them. I still kept about 900 from those 2,500. :)

Camera	Nikon D70s
Aperture	f/5.6
Exposure Bias	0.00 eV
Focal Length	200mm (300mm)
Lens	Nikkor 18-200 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO	400
Shutter Speed	1/1600
Post Processing	ACDSee Pro 6