Interactive US Fall Foliage Map & Peak Leaf Forecast http://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/ — Interactive US Fall Foliage Map & Peak Leaf Forecast http://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/

US Fall Peak Leaf Interactive Forecast Map For Your Autumn Photography

October 11, 2014

I think autumn is one the most colorful seasons to photograph. There is also something magical about fall, probably because it's the season before Christmas and everyone starts to prepare for holidays. As a photographer, I really enjoy taking pictures during the fall time when trees change their colors into vibrant and saturated yellow, orange and red. However, for someone new to the US (like myself), it can be a bit tricky to pinpoint the exact time when it's the best time to shoot fall colors in my neighborhood; or for someone traveling around the US, having an interactive map of fall colors would be a great help; or if someone needs to photograph only the yellow colors of autumn.

Well, there is something that makes extremely easy to figure out the right moment & place to photograph fall colors this year - 2014 Fall Foliage Map (http://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map). There is timeline slider at the bottom of the map so you can see how the autumn colors change going back in time or in the future. It also gives you 7 levels of fall color change, from 'no change' to 'past peak'.

2014 Fall Foliage Map - http://smokymountains.com/fall-foliage-map/

September 2014 in Snapography

October 6, 2014

We have another month behind is, which means it's time for the Snapography Summary for September 2014. I initially wanted to include some more pictures from my trip to Poland but unfortunately, I literally ran out of time. Although September 2014 Snapography contains only 4 pictures, I'm still very excited about them, especially 2 pictures - can you guess which ones?

If you think about the first 2, then you guessed correctly! The first one is an in-camera double exposure portrait. I edited it on my iPad when I was in Poland. The second picture is my cat upside down, or not... I bought a glass ball to play with the upside down world effect for one of my upcoming photography projects. I decided to use my cat for a quick test shot :)

Double exposure portrait edited on an iPad

Double Exposure Portrait Edited on iPad

September 26, 2014

My last blog post was about the Nikon - iPad mobile workflow that I’ve developed during my short trip to Poland in 2014. I think I’ll dedicate a separate blog article showcasing all of the pictures I edited on the iPad during my trip but I wanted to share with you now a double exposure picture/portrait, which I also edited on my mobile device. This was my first trial with a double exposure portrait (well, to be honest I have very strict rules and definition for a portrait and technically I wouldn’t call it a portrait but it’s something that requires a dedicated blog article).

I did a bit of research about double exposure portraits earlier this year and one of the most important things is to try to keep most environment around a person overexposed. So that when you take the second picture, it only overlays on a person. This way, viewers attention goes immediately on a person. This is quite important because it’s very easy to photograph very ‘messy’ double exposure portraits. I tried to do it here and it looks like I was half successful - the top was overexposed as you can see.

Everything was edited on the iPad using the Snapseed app (see my previous post about my iPad workflow).

Nikon WU-1b Wireless Adapter and iPad in the background

My Nikon D610 - iPad mobile workflow

September 20, 2014

I recently travelled to Poland and, for obvious reasons, I didn’t want to go there without a camera. I always pack too much photo gear but I did a bit of progress this time (only 1 body and 3 lenses) and I decided to work on my mobile workflow. It was a bit challenging because I don’t have a laptop and I had to use my iPad. Here is how I was able to edit and share my photos on the road.

August 2014 in Snapography (a bit earlier)

August 28, 2014

August 2014 is not over yet but I decided to publish the Snapography's summary for this month already now. Why? This article will be published while I'll be on my way to Europe to mainly visit my parents, who haven't seen me for exactly a year. I'm very excited about this trip and I already know it will be too short because I wish I could spend some more time with them than a week.

August 2014 Snapography was again dominated by nature and sunrise shots with a personal portrait. I think getting 7-10 snapography shots for each month is a perfect number, especially that I don't have as much time for personal projects as I wish I had. I'm pretty sure that September 2014 Snapography will be full of photographs from Poland so stay tuned!

Sunrise - why I love it as a photographer and as a non-photographer

August 21, 2014

I think sunrise is my favorite part of a day, and I'm not talking only in terms of photography. I love this warm feel of orange sun streaks on my face and the smell of freshness all around me. It's not too warm, actually a bit chilly and it gradually becomes warmer and warmer - that's how I feel sunrise.

As a photographer, I love sunrise because the light is low and it creates a beautiful texture on whatever it illuminates. That's why I was able to force myself into waking up at 4am on a Saturday morning, drive over an hour to a location I found a week before. Do the pictures look exactly what I had in mind when I found this location? Probably not. Was it worth waking up so early to take them? Definitely yes! Why? For the experience of taking these pictures and for experiencing the sunrise.

You don't need a big camera, you need big lights

August 10, 2014

So what happens when a photographer finishes his work early and has nothing and nobody to photograph? He shoots self-portraits - at least that's what I did. I had some spare time in the photo studio after finishing my work, so I decided to shoot a self-portrait. To give myself a challenge, I decided to use my point-and-shoot Nikon P7800 to take these pictures. Why was it a challenge? Because my point-and-shoot is not compatible with the flash transceivers used in the studio. I had to shoot using only the ambient light from the modeling lights.

So how did I shoot my self-portrait? First and foremost, I put my point-and-shoot on a tripod. The modeling lights were very weak so I had to decide how to set the shutter speed, ISO and aperture. Because Nikon P7800 gives quite a lot of noise at higher ISO, I decided to keep it as low as possible. After playing around with exposure in the manual mode, I decided to use a shallow depth of field (low f-value). With ISO 80 and f/2.2 I got the shutter speed of 1/50 second. With the camera on a tripod and remembering that I shouldn't move, I set my camera on delayed exposure.

Food photography - Shrimp pasta with roasted tomatoes

July 26, 2014

I would personally never thought of mixing pasta with shrimps. After photographing this 'exotic' mixture, which apparently is called 'Shrimp Pasta with Roasted Tomatoes', I thought to give a try and I ate it. Well, 'ate it' is an understatement - it was so good that I ate it way too fast and I almost chipped a tooth with a fork.

I took this picture a month ago but I had time to process it and publish it only now.

Collierville Historic Train Depot at night (Collierville Historic Town Square)

Main Street Collierville Historic Town Square at Night

July 20, 2014

I think Collierville's Historic Town Square, which is just east from Memphis, is a perfect place for night photography and a group photo walk. I really enjoy the town square for night photography because it has a huge variety of subjects, from small family-owned stores to an old gas station and even a historic locomotive and train cars. Collierville's town square is relatively small, which is why it's also great for group night photo walks. Night photo walks are particularly challenging for an organizer because setting up tripods, cameras and nailing shots always varies between the participants and therefore it's difficult to keep a group together. Collierville's Historic Town Square is great for night photo walks because even if someone stays behind, he/she can easily catch up with a group because, well you're at the square :).

An old locomotive at night at Collierville Historic Train Depot (Collierville Historic Town Square)

For these reasons, I chose Collierville's Historic Town Square and I organized there a night photo walk last week through the Memphis Digital Photography Group meetup. Around 1o persons showed up, which was a perfect number or participants because less experienced participants felt comfortable to ask questions. I'm also pleased with feedback I received after the photo walk - everyone wants more night photo walks :)

McGinnis Services Station at night - Collierville Historic Town Square

Herb Parsons Lake - a short (10K) hike with way too much photo gear

July 13, 2014

Let me make a statement first: I'm NOT a camera gear addict. In fact, I've been trying to reduce photo gear, or at least not buying anything new. Nevertheless, no matter how little photo gear I take with me, it's always way too heavy. After all, it's not my fault that DSLR gear is so heavy, right?