Red Dot Forum - Blogs - Mark Gowin http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?u=6 en Fri, 24 May 2013 07:41:56 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.reddotforum.com/images/misc/rss.jpg Red Dot Forum - Blogs - Mark Gowin http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?u=6 South Florida Photo Opportunities http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?b=26 Sat, 27 Aug 2011 23:02:40 GMT I read Nick Rains’ article “The Leica S2 as a Travel Camera” on The Luminous Landscape the other day and and came away with a great big smile. I was... I read Nick Rains’ article “The Leica S2 as a Travel Camera” on The Luminous Landscape the other day and and came away with a great big smile. I was smiling because I discovered just how good the S2 is as a travel camera few months ago and I am glad see others make this discovery. This got me to thinking about my trip to South Florida last winter and I thought it would fun to share some images I got on that trip.

South Florida offers a wide variety of photography options and I explored many of them such as Key West, the Everglades, Hollywood Beach, and West Palm Beach. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to do everything I wanted (e.g., Big Cypress Swamp, Kite Boarders, etc.).

I came away with wide range of photographs which could be split into at least three different groups (blog posts). However, I chose to present a sample from each group here in one blog post to show what is possible in only 8 days in south Florida.

Key West, Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Key West Living Room - S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/8.0

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Regatta Practice - S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)

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Picture Perfect - S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/9.5

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Sunset Palm - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/8.0 and some fill flash

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I know it is bad form to mix color and B&W images, but I am not presenting a portfolio for review or producing a book here. I simply liked this photo in B&W better (Thanks to David K. for opening my eyes to the B&W version)

Storm Front - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/4.0

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Sights around Key West

It Begins Here - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/8.0

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Key West Stables - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f11

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Other Places - S2, 35mm, ISO 320, 1/180 sec., f/8.0

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I love it when a shower passes through and wets the streets and sidewalks. It provides nice reflections of the city lights which leads to much more interesting photos. Key West was pretty good in this situation, but Times Square is still my favorite.

Tropic Cinema - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 1.5 sec., f/11

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Sloppy Joes - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 6.0 sec., f/11

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Green Parrot - S2, 35mm, ISO 160, 24.0 sec., f/9.5

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Fish and Fowl at Robbie’s

Islamorada, FL is about half way out in the Keys and there is a place called Robbie’s where tarpon hang out around the docks in the winter. In addition, several egrets and great blue herons also hang out there looking for an easy meal.

Tarpon at Robbie's - S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f4.8

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Egret at Robbie's 1 - S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/9.5

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Egret at Robbie's 2 - S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/3.5

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Various Wildlife In The Everglades

I included a large number of bird photos, many of which are not technically great, but I wanted to show the variety of birds in the Everglades. I also saw a couple Roseate Spoonbills, but didn’t get photos of them.

S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/6.8

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S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/5.6

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S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/350 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/3.5

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S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/3.5

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S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, Hasselblod 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, Hasselblad 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/350 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, 180mm, ISO 640, 1/250 sec., f/3.5

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S2, Hasselblod 350mm CFE, ISO 160, 1/1500 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/750 sec., f/6.8

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Everglades Landscapes


S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1.5 sec., f/13

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S2, Pentax 67 45mm, ISO 160, 1/45 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, 180mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f/13

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 0.7 sec., f/11

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Next up is a fun image taken on Hollywood Beach. I say fun because I went a bit overboard in the HDR conversion. Typically, I dislike the HDR look however its OK when used for an artistic approach. It's also worth mentioning that the morning on Hollywood Beach were the only photos I took that day as I was visiting friends the rest of the time.

S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/11

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Finally, something completely different than anything else on this trip. These photos were taken at the annual Palm Beach Cavallino Classic Ferrari car show held at The Breakers Resort Hotel in West Palm Beach


S2, Hasselblad 105mm Makro (I'm pretty sure), ISO 160, 1/500 sec., f/8.0(?)

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/5.6

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/4.0

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/250 sec., f/5.6

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/2.5

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f3.4

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/180 sec., f4.0

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S2, 70mm, ISO 160, 1/125 sec., f/4.8

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Whew! That is a lot of photos for one blog post - maybe too much. It was such a fun trip I really wanted to convey the diversity of shooting possibilities in South Florida. Next time I get down there, I want to try some street shooting in South Beach and Little Havana as well as make it over to Big Cypress Swamp for some landscapes. ]]> Mark Gowin http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?b=26 Andrews Bald - Worth The Hike http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?b=18 Sat, 25 Jun 2011 03:14:08 GMT There is something about the S2 that makes me want to go out and make photos more so than any other camera I have ever owned. In my quest to satisfy... There is something about the S2 that makes me want to go out and make photos more so than any other camera I have ever owned. In my quest to satisfy this urge, I am getting out to new locations that have been on my to do list for a while.

My latest trip was a hike to Andrews Bald to photograph flame azaleas with their beautiful orange blooms. Andrews Bald is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and is accessed via moderately difficult trail that starts at the Clingman’s Dome parking area. A great resource for hiking in the Smoky Mountains can be found at HikingInTheSmokys.com. Specifically, information about the trail to Andrews Bald can be found here.

It is possible to see flame azaleas in various places in the Smoky Mountains National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway, and surrounding areas although they are not very common. Andrews Bald is a great location to photograph flame azaleas because there is a large number of azaleas and a wide vista of the Smoky Mountains and Fontana Lake. The fact that the Andrews Bald trail starts at the Clingmans Dome parking area is a bonus. The views from the parking area are fantastic and the road up to Clingman’s Dome is a treat in itself.

Road To Clingmans Dome
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I decided up to Clingman’s Dome the evening before my planned hike to Andrews Bald in hopes of getting a sunset photo. I was in for a shock when I arrived at the parking lot. The temperature was almost 30 degrees cooler than the valley I had left less than an hour earlier and there was a cold wind blowing. It was cold (a relative term this time of year) and all I had was a rain jacket. While waiting for sunset I couldn’t resist the temptation capture the view.

Late Evening View from Clingmans Dome
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The parking lot was probably the most empty I have ever seen it in the evening. That turned out to be a good thing when this guy and his wife pulled up in a beautifully restored Chevelle SS and parked in an empty area creating an unplanned photo op for me.

Chevelle SS
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This time of year, the sun sets to far to the northwest for really good sunset photos. The only ridge line higher than the parking lot blocks the horizon where the sun sets. The view is still much better than most places.

Summer Sunset at Clingmans Dome
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The next morning I arrived at Clingman’s Dome parking area at 6:00 AM and that’s at least a half hour later than I should have been. However, I have never hiked Andrews Bald and didn’t really want to start off in pitch dark. The first half to three quarters mile of the trail is kinda steep and rocky so I welcomed the pre-dawn light.

Andrews Bald Trail
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It was a great feeling to see the trail open up to a natural meadow, beautiful view, and flame azaleas.

First Photo of Flame Azalea Upon Arriving at Andrews Bald
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HDR Version of Similar View
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I found it challenging to capture images which accurately reflected the scenes as I saw them. I used the 35mm most of the time and switched to the 70mm for some photos to get some compression between the foreground and background. I intentionally captured two similar photos with both the 35mm and 70mm just to see the differences. The 70mm shows the background better because I had to back up the hill a bit to get similar framing as the 35mm. Also, it is worth noting the 70mm image was my first attempt at focus stacking.

70mm
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35mm
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Bonus Photo of Flame Azalea
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Unfortunately, the Catawba Rhododendrons located in Andrews Bald had already finished blooming, except one. My timing was off this year - maybe next year I can capture both the flame azaleas with their orange blooms and catawba rhododendrons with their violet-purple blooms at the same time.

Catawba Rhododendron
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In my excitement up first arriving at Andrews Bald I failed to get a photo where the trail opens up. I remembered to get the photo as I was headed back out. You can tell this photo was taken later in the morning due to the clouds/fog have lifted out of the valley and lake.

Forney Ridge Trail
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]]> Mark Gowin http://www.reddotforum.com/blog.php?b=18