Foto | Indsigt | Synspunkt

A series of b/w photos of old tools from the Nizza Antique Market in Nizza Monferrato.

Hmmmm - it's summertime and I'm on vacation in Italy. Plenty of time to experiment with Photoshop. I read an article on LENSCRATCH about the Japanese photographer Michiko Makino and her stunning composite or double exposure photos. This photo is an experiment of mine trying to create something special with a base photo (see previous blog article) and nine identical photos of a another flower subject blended in two different ways. If we don't experiment - we don't learn and evolve as a photographer and artist.

I've been photographing for over 30 years - and for the past 8 years it has been primarily digital. And with the constant improvement in the AF-system of DSLRs that fit nearly every situation and equipment combination I have not given manual focus a lot of thoughts. Yesterday during the golden hours - while walking in the beautiful surroundings of my home in Italy looking for suitable subjects for nature close-ups (not macro) - I found it difficult to rely on the AF-system of my Nikon D800 for various reasons (light, physical positioning, wind etc.)  I set the AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 lens to manual focus. And from that point on I just kept shooting focusing on getting the right exposure and the best framing rather than making the AF-system lock-in so I could take a photo.  I'm now ready to try manual focus while doing portrait photography.

You don't have to travel far to find amazing photographic opportunities. Close to where I live (Lyngby near Copenhagen) we have small streams with slow clean water. Time is in a capsule here. I just love to find beauty in the nature that surrounds me. As we don't have mountains and valleys I have to zoom in on the grandness of the ordinary.

D800 with AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8: 1/80 sec af f/4.5, 0 EV, ISO 200, 28mm OMG - I have not posted on my blog for over a month. Starting up in a new position as CEO for Danimex Communication is occupying the main part of my waking hours. I'm spending my time between three homes - my work home in Sønderborg , my week-end home in Lyngby and my holiday home near Acqui Terme in Piedmont, Italy.  In between I'm traveling to interested places - Sorrento , Italy - Dubai , UAE - Johannesburg , South Africa - in March alone. It's a good time to get engulfed in my hobby - photography. D800 with AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8: 1/125 sec af f/7.1, 0 EV, ISO 400, 66mm The photos here are not a visual metaphor representing my three homes :-) Not far from my home in Italy the old porous layers of compressed clay, limestone, chalk and other elements are visible just along side the old dirt road. Black and white is the best way to capture this display of natures fragility. D800 with AF-...

This is a digital representation of the analogue film Ilford Delta Pro 400 . Thanks to Nic Silver Efex Pro 2 it is possible to emulate old film types. Old tree's have a fantastic surface when its bark gets old, broken and weathered - perfect for b/w interpretation. In this photo I chose to underexpose a few stops to emphasize the structure and the triangular shape.

I feel like this tree for the moment. But love the simplicity in such a photograph. Architecture and nature in a form of strict harmony....

Even a boring scene can be turned into something interesting in post processing. The special radiant effect was achieved in PS by blending a color layer and b/w layer. Both photos got prepared in LR4 and exported to CS6 as layers. Exposure:  1/125 sex at f/5.6, 0EV, ISO 100, A program, 56mm Equipment:  Nikon D800 with AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8