Weekly photo, 27 July 2014
This week it’s an adult Gray Tree Frog that was hiding in a tree at the day camp of my older girls. I found it just beside the entrance, i even removed some weeds in front of the Frog to have a better view.
Taken with Fuji X-E1 and Vivitar 100mm/3.5 Macro, tripod.
My 1st Street Photography experience !
I’ve been a Nature photographer for the last 26 years but i’ve always liked what Street photographers were producing, especially in B&W. I recently bought a Fuji X-E1 because i wanted something smaller, it’s a camera that reminds me of the old rangefinder cameras often used by street photographers in the past. So i was tempted to try street photography, so i took my X-E1 with my 27mm and 18-55mm and headed for a town near my home with a boardwalk along a river where big boats are anchored. There is also a lot of restaurant and stores are all side by side so i was hoping for some interesting occasions.
I started with the 18-55mm because of the OIS which was useful around sunrise, i thought that i would use the 27mm when the light would be sufficient but i stayed with the 18-55mm because of it’s versatility …. maybe next time i will bring only the 27mm to force me to use it. It was difficult, it’s not easy to photograph peoples in the street and found that i didn’t had much time to compose/focus and set the aperture needed for the shot. Also i found it not easy getting close to peoples and take their photos, i will need more practice to find confidence at getting closer to peoples.
I liked the experience, it was fun and challenging to try a new photographic discipline, i will certainly continue to do it when i have time to get better at it.
Here are some of the photos i took this morning, all taken in RAW and converted to B&W in Silkypix and PS Element 12.
One of the first shot i took this morning.
Looking for glass bottles in the recycling bins.
Time to clean, kids had done drawings last night.
Waiting at the toilet cabinet.
This worker was taking a break while talking to a boat owner.
A beautiful and relaxing place to read the daily newspaper.
Weekly photo, 12 July 2014
Plants were covered with dew this morning and added something to the photos of Gray Tree Frogs i took. But there is one that i prefer because of the colors of the leaves this Frog was perched on.
Taken with my Canon 7D and Tamron 90mm Macro VC, Tripod.
Gray Tree Frogs are out of the pond.
I was waiting for that moment with excitement, it’s the first time of the year that i went to the pond where there is a lot of Gray Tree Frogs, they are my favorite Frog that live here in my corner of the country (Canada). At this time of the year i’m looking for the young ones that just got out of the water, some still have a small tail. I have a favorite pond where i go every summer, it’s a Beaver’s pond, many species turns from tadpoles to juvenile Frogs at the same time (American Toad, Gray Tree Frog, Spring Peeper Frog and Leopard Frog).
Those little fellows are quite small, about the size of my thumbnail, so a Macro lens is the best way to go and i would add that a lens with IS, VC, VR or a camera with IBIS is a bonus that help a lot since i often handheld my gear. They are often hiding on plants where it’s difficult to get a good view and a tripod is not always practical.
The King of the pond ! You can see the remaining of it’s tail.
Just to give you an idea of how many Gray tree Frogs there is on the shore of that pond, i was standing among the vegetation and i was counting at least 30 Frogs around me hiding on the plants, i even saw 13 of them on a single plant. Sure i have a lot of subjects to choose from but often the background is busy so i have to find a Frog where the background is more interesting or less busy. With the combination of early morning, handholding the camera, wind and the need to blur the background i often end-up shooting from f/4.5 to f/5.6.
I found this one hiding in a Pine, i was able to use my tripod and close my lens to a smaller aperture to have more DOF.
The Spring Peeper Frogs juveniles are even smaller, some are the size of a fingernail. This one was walking on a leaf, i only got 4 frames before he jumped on another leaf.
All the photos i posted here were taken on the same morning, when i arrived at the pond it was raining, a perfect situation for photographing Frogs. I used my Canon 7D and Tamron 90mm Macro VC either handheld or on a tripod. Hope you like them 🙂
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