DARK ROOTS

The first image in a series of black & white photos where mother nature plays the main role.

Capture details:
Nikon D800 with AF-S 14-24 f/2.8G
Exposure of 1/125 sec at f/4.0, 0EV, ISO 100
Post processed in Lightroom, CS6 and Silver Efex Pro 2

Nikon Coolpix A photos

Coolpix A, 1/800 sec at f/7.1, 0EV, ISO 100, A

Coolpix A, 1/640 sec at f/7.1, 0EV, ISO 100, A

Coolpix A, 1/400 sec at f/9.0, 0EV, ISO 100, A

Coolpix A, 1/640 sec at f/9.0, 0EV, ISO 100, A

Enclosed four photos taken with the new Nikon Coolpix A - DX format camera. I'm very impressed with the level of details and the dynamic range that this camera can capture. Above photos has been through a post process in LR4, but that is also what we expect to be able to do with large RAW-files from the DX-sensor with no low pass filter.

Stone Fragments Among Leafs

D800 with AF-S 24-70mm, 1/80 sec at f/6.3, ISO 100, 0EV, 56mm

Even on a cloudy day it's possible to find strong black & white photographic subjects - especially because the sky serves a a great softbox. When you go for a walk and bring you camera, try to look down! An amazing array of interesting subjects and pattern emerges right in front of you.

Here I found an array of stone fragments and leafs that created a interesting pattern - very suitable for a black & white representation. I hope you agree.

The photo was prepared in Lightroom and then converted to B&W in Silver Efex Pro 2.0.

CARMA - a bicycle build from car scrap

Everyone who know's me, that I'm both fond of cars and bicycles. If my life wasn't so dependent on the mobility (my workplace is far from home) and the load capacity of a car (for camera gear and my racing cycle), I would used the cycle a lot more for everyday transportation.

This project - CARMA - describes how some passionate souls created a bicycle from car scraps and send it on a mission.

Porous layers of Italy...

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-S 24-70mm f/2.8: 1/160 sec af f/7.1, 0 EV, ISO 400, 66mm

Bad Gastein

The Nikon D800 is an amazing camera. Coupled with the equal as amazing AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G and  a travel tripod Velbon UT-43Q I took this early evening shot from a balcony from our ski apartment in the beautiful ski resort city Bad Gastein.

Equipment: Nikon D800 with AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8G
Exposure: 30 sec at f/13, 0 EV, ISO 100, 24mm - (file size: 39MB)

Mount Vesuvius

It has been a while since my last post. The reason is that I have started as CEO at Danimex Communication A/S in the wonderful city Sønderborg (where I was born).

Last week a small delegation from our company visited the Italian city Sorrento to participate in a "Executive Partner Conference" by Motorola. Visiting Sorrento was a first for me and unfortunately there was not time during our 3 day stay to conduct a photo walk. More or less the only photo I managed was this shot from my hotel balcony, where I had a direct view across the Bay of Naples to the Mount Vesuvius.


Equipment: Nikon D3200 with AF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED
Exposure: 1/400 sec at f/7.1, 0 EV, ISO 100, 80mm - (file size: 15MB)

Beauty Retouching

My wife and daughter read their fair share of magazines and hence are exposed to many commercial featuring beautiful women and men promoting stuff that we need to buy to become happy.

As my daughter is setting her sight on becoming a professional photographer we often discuss the commercials from a photographic perspective. The models are an illusion created to please our brain an create a stop effect. In real life they are still beautiful people, but in the adds they have undergone a transformation towards the unattainable ideal of a human being.

You won't believe what can be done on the photo retouching process. Sometimes it is gentle and subtle changes underlining the already existing beauty. But sometimes it is deep and transformative changes, that creates another person. I'm not a fan of the latter, but can accept minor retouching to enhance what is already there.

Let me give an example. In January I had the pleasure of working together with an new model with a very beautiful face. Let me present Rikke Grubb Carlsen:

 

This photo is SOOC - Straight Out Of Camera. Not bad at all and a good starting point for some retouching. My main tool is Adobe CS6 and the following retouching process took me 2 hours.

Below is the final photo. Can you see the differences? I won't go into the CS6 work flow but can recommend the training course "Beauty Retouching Workflow: The Calvin Hollywood Way" at kelbytraining.com.