Marigold Blaze

I photographed a few Marigolds at my friend’s garden center the other day and wanted to share them here. I used the sunlight and flower petals to help create the ethereal look that I was after. I shot both using my Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera and my Voigtlander 42.5 Macro lens @ f/0.95. I like the soft-focus effect of using an extreme shallow depth of field. The Voigtlander is a manual focus lens, that suits me fine as I always use manual focus when shooting close up flowers anyway. I also use a slight swaying motion with the lens to help me to get just the area in focus that I am looking for. More about how I create this soft effect can be found in my eBook ‘The Softer Side of Macro Version II”.

These were two totally different varieties of Marigolds with different color variations. Which one do you like better? I have a clear favorite…

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Alaskan Bear Expedition

July 25-August 1st, 2021

The bears are waiting for us…

The bears are waiting for us…

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This trip is a definite go!! I just spoke to our outfitter and he told me that everything was A-OK and the staff was awaiting our arrival!

Our adventure begins at our remote, riverfront lodge- deep in bear country, accessible only by bush plane. Each morning we will head out via boat to photograph wild coastal brown bears as they fish for salmon on the shoreline.  We will be visiting at the height of the salmon run which translates to a plethora of photo opportunities. During this time it’s possible to see over 20 bears in a single day as well as a variety of other wildlife including moose, seal and walrus, beaver, wolverine, porcupine river otter, fox, caribou, wolves, eagles on nests, etc..

Our back country lodge sits on 160 acres of prime river frontage in an iconic section of the Alagnak River known as the upper braids. This river runs through Katmai National Park. Katmai is one of the most prized destinations for wildlife viewing in Alaska, with the highest population of brown bears in the world.

All guest cabins, including the main lodge (where we will have our meals together) have spectacular views of the Alagnak river ,making this a true wilderness experience.

I will work closely with each of you a well as our guides to make sure that we maximize our photo opportunities each day; this will require us to be flexible. On all of my nature workshops I never have a set itinerary, since we are working around wildlife and local conditions.

Included: 8-days, round trip bush flights to lodge from King Salmon Alaska, all meals while at the lodge, all accommodations at the lodge are double occupancy cabins.

Not Included: Flights to/from King Salmon via Anchorage. Tips for the driver/guides/housekeeping, laundry, alcoholic beverages.

Dates: July 25-August 1st, 2021

Price:  $7895. dbl occupancy

Deposit Information:
A non-refundable deposit of $2,000 due now to hold your spot. Final payments are due April 30, 2021 via check or wire transfer only, fees on both ends are the responsibility of the participant. Credit cards will not be accepted for any payment other than deposit. Full payments are always welcomed via check or wire transfer . All checks made payable to: Denise Ippolito LLC.

Please be sure to check your calendar carefully and to check out my Workshop Policy Page.

Note: Purchasing travel insurance is strongly recommended.

*A detailed additional information file/ gear list will be sent out once our entire group is together. Please do not book flights until you have heard back from me that the trip is a go.

*World-class fly-fishing available-inquire within.

  • You are required to arrive in King Salmon by 10 am on the 25th and depart from King Salmon back to Anchorage after 3 pm on the 1st of August.

TO SIGN UP-CLICK HERE.

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Tulips Two Ways

I have been keeping busy with private one-on-one Photoshop Zoom programs. During these sessions my clients and I have been working on all kinds of images. But for this particular session my client wanted to work on how to clean-up busy backgrounds for her flower images. I shared two tulip images below along with how I would tackle them. I am sharing here with you both the original and the final image for both tulip shots.

I know that these are not award winning images and cleaning up the background for images not meant for competition is fine. I photographed both the tulip images below at Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands several years ago. I remember all my trips to Holland with such joy. I am considering doing another workshop at Keukenhof Gardens including the surrounding flower fields once Covid gets in check.

I captured two different versions of the tulip because I couldn’t decide at the time which I preferred, so it’s best to do both. The first was captured with a soft touch in mind. I wanted the background flowers to act as colorful splashes to enhance the main subject. I shot it at f/5.6.

The second image was an interaction between the two tulips with the light playing more of an integral part of the shot. Background clean-up for the first photo was easy and the second one a bit more difficult. When deciding to do any kind of background clean-up it is best to work on a duplicate layer and apply your touch-ups selectively with the use of a layer mask. Finishing touches included lightening up the background and a slight crop.

Which do you prefer and why?? Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.

Denise

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ORIGINAL WITHOUT ANY CLEAN-UP

ORIGINAL WITHOUT ANY CLEAN-UP

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ORIGINAL WITHOUT ANY CLEAN-UP

ORIGINAL WITHOUT ANY CLEAN-UP