Ohio Fine Art Nature Photography Prints and Workshops
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 .jpg) I’m finally seeing a few blooms but winter is still holding on! Today I ventured out to Inniswood Metro Gardens in Westerville, Ohio to see first hand what mother nature was up too. I finally came across a grouping of Vernal Witchhazel. Blooms for this plant will open up anywhere from January thru March. This image was taken using foreground and background framing of out of focus blooms. Nikon D800e, 300mm f4, TC-14eII 1.4x. , Canon 500d close-up lens. Thanks for viewing! – Vince Winter has arrived at Cedar Falls in the Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio – Nikon D700 @ F22 .jpg "Cedar Falls Winter")
A winter view from Ash Cave in Hocking Hills State Park, Ohio. – Nikon D700 @F22. .jpg "Ash Cave Winter")
Finding creative fall color can be a challenge at times. The color in Ohio is almost finished but I made a trip to the Hocking Hills Region in SE Ohio this past weekend anyway knowing I could still find a few isolated leaves full of color. I titled this photo Hanging Maple as I was fighting wind and rain just hoping this leaf would hang on. I had to wipe away the moisture from my lens after every shot and I used a cheap $4 rain cover to keep my D700 somewhat dry. Half hour later on my way back down the trail I noticed the leaf was gone! I have since come to the conclusion that I need better rain gear to protect my camera and lenses. I’ve been cheap when it’s come to protecting my gear from rain in the past and finally decided to opt for a real solution. After doing extensive research since this weekend I decided to go with the RainCoat by LensCoat. There are more expensive options out there but I thought the combination of quality and price provided me the best value. I purchased from Outdoor Photo Gear in Kentucky – a small online company with a good selection of gear, great customer service and fast shipping (especially to Ohio!) - Thanks so much for viewing! – Vince
Two of my favorite digital darkroom resources are programs by a company called Nik Software. Nik makes a suite of photoshop plugins designed to take your post processing to a higher level. My favorites are Color Efex Pro 4 and Silver Efex Pro 2. Most of my images succeed because I work hard to find just the right light, composition, colors and texture. However, there are times when I yearn for the simple look of a classic black and white print. This is where Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro 2 enters the equation. This program allows you to push your creative vision beyond what you could have imagined with just photoshop alone. You have many presets to view and all allow a wide array of customizations. Add toning, contrast, film grain, and vignettes with just a few adjustments. You can even select from tradition bw film presets! Now why black and white you ask? Well we all love color but sometimes color tends to blind the viewer from the subtle details of a photograph. When I convert a color image to black and white I take off the blinders that hide beautiful variations in tone and texture. However, the decision can be difficult between color and black and white. The image above represents a leaf I photographed in river oil. I was immediately drawn to this subject due to the strange reflections from the oil and how the leaf resonated from the background. However, the blue reflections as much as I love them seem out of this world and only those who have seen such colors in person can relate to their authenticity. I’m still struggling on my decision of color of black and white for this image. Maybe I’ll just keep both! Thanks again for viewing and don’t forget to make time to get outside and shoot – It’s the only way to improve! – Vince |
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