Purple Iris Flower Fine Art Photography Artwork

In this flower photo of a purple Iris I used a black cardboard as the backdrop. I like dark backgrounds because it really makes the colors of a flower pop. I usually choose a large enough black cardboard from Staples that I position behind the floral photographic object using the backrest of a chair for support. As a base I use the chair itself that I place in front of a window. The set up of my Close Up Photography studio next to our dining room window provides exceptional and beautiful lighting conditions in the morning. White cardboards are used to enhance the light and direct the light towards the floral when it is facing away from the window. I always use a couple of hardcover books to stabilize and minimize any unwanted shaking or movement of the flower. Additionally the books make it easy to adjust the height of the flower when a different perspective or angle is more desirable. I often adjust the white boards to explore the impact on the lighting and better control the light on the flower. Adjusting the light with the white boards is a great learning experience for us photographers and often leads to more inspirational and beautiful fine art photography artwork. In the final macro photograph of the purple iris I positioned the flower in the best possible way so that there were no other distracting branches or flowers in the composition. The light provided a beautiful illumination of the iris that keeps the viewer captivated. The aperture of the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro IS USM lens was set to f/25 providing maximum Depth of Field and an exposure time of 4 seconds. An ISO100 setting minimized noise. In the post processing steps I removed dust, minimally adjusted brightness, contrast and color saturation before sharpening the final image of this Iris over Black.

Eaten Alive in Florida

Sinister was taken at Turner River in Florida Big Cypress National Preserve. I noticed the American alligator at a crossover when exploring the area. Excited about finally coming across what I was looking for all morning I set up tripod and camera. I then started composing around the gator and its Reflection, keeping my eyes on the ball, or better on the gator. Although my goal was to get as close as possible and as low as possible, I was not ready to be eaten alive by this predator. It did not take long, perhaps a couple of shots when I suddenly felt a bunch of burning bites on my feet. When checking out what was going on I realized that I was standing in the middle of a colony of nasty biting ants. I immediately left tripod and camera behind and jumped backwards on one leg whipping the ants off and then switched to the other leg to work on the other foot. Needless to say that I had to take my sandals off to get rid of them all. During this endeavor I kept one eye on the gator which did not move a bit and probably enjoyed the stupid photographers' pitfall or was hoping for an easy breakfast. Turned out to be quite the painful morning but after all so worth it ... because it's not all about the next pic, it's equally about the outdoor experience ... and I sure had my dose for the day!

Peek into a Flower Photgrapher's Life

Das Foto of the Week

Every week I choose one of my favorite photographs of the week from my fine art landscape, flower and macro photography collection and offer it throughout that week at a discounted rate. This week's photo of the week on sale is Ardea Herodias showing a Great Blue Heron at a small southwest Florida marina in Bonita Springs.


Starting today through the week of 23 January 2012 this Wildlife bird photography image, available as art print, acrylic, or on canvas, is on sale.

Tamiami Trail and Turner River Road

Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve along Tamiami Trail (US41) and Turner River Road are two of my favorite Wildlife Photography locations in Southwest Florida. US41 and the area is easily accessible within an hour of Naples or Fort Myers and provides plenty of photography opportunities for the nature photographer and enthusiast. A 400+ mm lens provides sufficient reach to capture frame filling wildlife from the comfort and safety of your car. I usually stop the car, turn it off to minimize camera shake and take a few pics while using the car window sill to stabilize camera and lens. A Beanbag provides further stability and enhances Image Quality. Once I secure my shots out of the car, I make my way into the field and explore different perspectives and angles. The main goal is always to cut out any disturbing distractions in the background and arrive at a better composition. When stepping outside the car and getting into the field make sure to watch your step and not accidentally step on a snake or scare the wildlife. Alligators love to hang out at the sunny spots on the edge of the Turner River, so be sure you not getting to close and be extra cautious when looking and photographing straight on ... they are extremely fast and probably won't hesitate to come after you. If they are hungry, you look tasty!

Besides your long lens you also want to bring a Polarizing Filter to minimize glare on the river water and boost colors of the wildlife and surrounding nature. Make sure to select the right amount of Depth of Field so that all desired parts are in full focus and show acceptable details.

A large aperture (small f/numbers such as 5.6 and less) will minimize depth of field and is mostly desired when capturing birds. In these types of wildlife photos we strive for a quiet backdrop that beautifully isolates the main subject from any distractions in the background and solely lays the focus on the main subject. Stay safe and keep in mind: It's not only about photography and the one shot, it's also about the Outdoor Experience!

Florida Wildlife Photography Fine Art Collage

Pink Orchids Flower Photography Fine Art

Because of the exceptional and beautiful morning light bouncing off my neighbors walls into our dining room, I prefer to set up my close up photography studio next to our dining room window. As a base I use a chair that I place in front of the window. I then use a large enough black cardboard from Staples that I position behind the floral photographic object using the backrest for support. White cardboards are used to enhance the light and direct the light towards the floral when it is facing away from the window. I always use hardcover books to stabilize and minimize any unwanted shaking or movement of the flower. Additionally the books make it easy to adjust the height of the flower when a different perspective or angle is more desirable. I often adjust the white boards to explore the impact on the lighting and better control the light on the flower. Adjusting the light with the white boards is a great learning experience for us photographers and often leads to more inspirational and beautiful photographs. In the final macro photograph of the pink orchids I positioned the flower in the best possible way so that there were no other distracting branches or flowers in the composition. The aperture was set to f/11 providing sufficient Depth of Field and an exposure time of 1/5 second. An ISO100 setting minimized noise. In the post processing steps I minimally adjusted brightness, contrast and color saturation before sharpening the image of the Butterfly Orchid.

Florida Gators

Photography Artwork of the Week - Pink Orchids

This week's photo of the week is Pink Orchids showing beautiful flower photography artwork in full bloom.

Starting today through the week of 15 January 2012 this Flower Photography image, available as art print, acrylic, or on canvas, is on sale.

Florida Everglades Wood Storks

Recently I explored the northern part of Everglades National Park along Florida US41. One morning there was patchy fog that turned out to be a nature and wildlife photographer's delight. The set up for the three Everglades Wood Storks opened up not far from the intersection of FL29 and US41 where several roadside ponds are present. The roadside ponds are small bodies of waters close to the road that attract lots of wading birds like ibis, egret, heron or the endangered wood stork. Attracted by the beautiful and promising scenery in front of me, I immediately pulled over. The first light of the morning was breaking through the fog and the Florida palm trees provided a wonderful backdrop for a hint of the location. The reflection of the wood storks and the egret to the right including the soft light hitting the birds provided the icing on the cake. I set up Tripod and equipped my camera with a 1.4x tele converter and a 70-200mm lens to frame the Wildlife within the foggy landscape. The wood storks were on a constant move, chasing their breakfast but then, once in a while, always stopped to rest for a few seconds. These were the seconds when I released the shutter to freeze the moment with my camera. The camera aperture was set to f/4.0 resulting in a shutter speed of 1/400 seconds. ISO was at 100. During post processing I minimally adjusted lighting, contrast and color saturation before sharpening.