Friday, March 25, 2022

Art Exhibit - Neon Spring

Neon Spring

“It is spring again. The earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.” - Rainer Maria Rilke

I am happy to announce that my photograph, Elegance has been selected for the Neon Spring exhibit at The Gallery @ Thompson Park. The show runs April 1^st to May 21^st, Wednesday to Sunday 12pm-4pm. There will be an Opening Reception on 1 April 2022 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

All artwork is available for sale. This is my third time exhibiting at The Gallery having participated in Into the Woods and The Silence of Winter. I will leave links to blogs posts about those exhibits below.

Elegance

This may well be my favorite photo of a flower that I have ever made. It dates back to an early spring trip I made to Deep Cut Gardens in 2012. The parking lot used to have a median in which seasonal flowers were planted - I was lucky enough to be there when the tulips were in bloom. I got down low (it was a lot easier back then....), a telephoto lens (135mm/216mm) at f/5.6 gave me a nice, shallow depth of field. I metered the white blossom, causing the background to be dramatically underexposed. When I got home and uploaded the image I noticed the faint red tulip in the background - to me it made a good image even that much better. My only regret is that this was done before I learned of the power of shooting RAW and only have a jpeg to work from. 😔

If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!

Technical information:

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
Lenses: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
ISO 100
All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent in parenthesis.
Shutter tripped with wired shutter release.

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Sunset at Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area

Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area

Shot #1
18mm (29mm) f/11 @ 1/50s

Shot #2
18mm (29mm) f/11 @ 1/6s

Shot #3
21mm (34mm) f/11 @ 1/2s

Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area is part of the Monmouth County Park System and, according to their website, is "the last undeveloped tract on the Manasquan Inlet." It is a place that has been on my radar for a while and I have spend a lot of time on Google Maps/Google Earth exploring the area. I suspect it is rather crowded during the summer, as are most places along the Jersey Shore are, so I had set my sights on an autumn visit that never happened.

Last week I had "one of those days" at work and for my own sanity I packed up my gear, heading out to chase a sunset. Having checked the forecast and ClearOutside, then checking the location of the sun with SunCalc (see my review - here) I decided on Fisherman's Cove. I gave myself about a 50/50 chance of having good sunset conditions but any time out with a camera is a good time so off I went.

The sun was setting at 5:49 PM and I didn't arrive until shortly after 5:30 PM, usually I like to arrive at least 45 minutes to an hour early, especially when I am somewhere new. My Google Maps scouting time proved to be very useful as I already had my composition worked out before I even left the house. I set up and within a few minutes of arrival I had some test shots done and I was ready for the show to begin. The images presented here are shown in the order they were made.

Once I had Shot #1 in the bag I moved to my left a bit to see if that was a better composition - I wanted to take advantage of the curve in the beach and wasn't able to from my first position. The move proved to be just what I needed! While I like the first composition I feel the second to be considerably stronger. That's not to say there isn't room for a change - a lower perspective might be nice and moving more to the left and closer to the bench could get more of the curve of the beach. The more I look at what I captured, the more possibilities I come up with. I definitely need to go back a few more times before the crowds come.

If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!

Technical information:
* Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
* Lenses: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
* Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
* ISO 100
* All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent in parenthesis.
* Exposure and focus were "manual"*
* Shutter tripped with wired shutter release.

Note: I noted that my focusing and exposures were "manual" and here's why. When shooting a sunset (or sunrise) exposure can get a bit tricky at times and the meter may not give you the results you are looking for. In these cases I will use the histogram and the preview on the back screen as a guide. I have to be careful with shadows and take that into account with my exposure. Using manual focus is mostly for convenience. Since I am shooting a (mainly) static landscape once I set focus there is no need to change. Under most circumstances I will shoot using Aperture-priority and auto-focus.

Monday, March 7, 2022

Art Exhibit (online) - Landscapes

Landscapes - Art Room Gallery exhibit

Landscapes

Certificate of Merit

I have been submitting some of my work to local and international exhibits lately. Locally, I had prints in two (2) exhibits at The Gallery @ Thompson Park that I have already written about (see links below.) In 2021 I entered the Monmouth County Senior Art Show (senior?? ouch!) and was selected for the exhibit but did not place in the Amateur Photographer category. Two years ago I had a black & white image selected by Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece - it wasn't hanging on the wall but displayed via large projector in a rotation with others (see link below.)

It is my pleasure to announce that I have, once again, been selected by an international competition to be included in an online gallery exhibit presented by Art Room Gallery. The theme of the exhibit was "Landscape" and it was open to any 2D medium; the three (3) winning entries were watercolor painting, photograph, and oil painting, respectively. While I would have liked to be in the Top 3, I am happy to have received a Merit Award for my work.

Reflecting on the Spectacle of Autumn
Pakim Pond - Brendan T. Byrne State Forest

You may recognize Reflecting on the Spectacle of Autumn from an earlier post, Scouting New Locations, while Reflecting on a Kiss would be new to you unless you follow me on Instagram or Facebook. Both images have become some of my most popular captures with both currently over ninety (90) "likes" on Instagram and more than ten (10) comments each.

Reflecting on a Kiss
Round Valley Recreation Area

If you enjoyed this post, please do me a small favor and share it with others. You will find buttons for many of the popular social media platforms at the bottom of this post. Thank you!

Links:

Technical information:

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i (crop sensor - 1.6 factor)
Lenses: Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Tripod: MeFOTO Roadtrip Classic
ISO 100
All focal lengths are as-recorded - the full-frame equivalent in parenthesis.
Shutter tripped with wired shutter release.

Exploring Photography with Joe Valencia

Friday, March 25, 2022

Art Exhibit - Neon Spring

Neon Spring

Elegance

Thursday, March 10, 2022

Sunset at Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area

Fisherman's Cove Conservation Area

Monday, March 7, 2022

Art Exhibit (online) - Landscapes

Landscapes

Featured Post

Macro (and Close-Up) Photography - A Whole New World