landscape layers

Sidelight (close to a sunset) can play miracles with a hilly landscape.Bočné svetlo (obzvlášť teda tesne pred západom slnka) dokáže v kopečkoch robiť zázrazky. Or would you prefer black and white version? I was amazed, how many details are hidden in a hazy distance and are able to show up from the RAW file. Have a look on the third from the top level and compare versus the previous version…PS: Happy new year!! 😉Alebo sa vám viacej páči táto ČB verzia? Musím priznať, že som bol očarený, keď som zistil koľko detailov sa nachádza v tom vzdialenom opare a boli schopné “vyliezť” z RAW súboru. Obzvlášť si všimnite tú tretiu vrstvu zhora a porovnajte s verziou vyššie…PS: A ozaj, Šťastný nový rok!

swatch detail (with pringles softbox)

In my previous post I have shared how to create a simple and very effective and versatile softbox with the empty pringles tin. Below you can find a close up picture taken with the help of this softbox. As I have found WITH and WITHOUT the softbox picture remarkably different, I wanted to share the result with you as well. The first shot is obviously taken under the pringles softbox. You can see in the top right quadrant white shape of the long light source. I love the effect, which adds third dimension, adds “liquidity”. Overall lightning is evenly distributed. Nikon D-800, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO 100. Nikkor 105mm micro. Remotely fired flash Nikon SB-900 (with pringles tube) on 1/4 of the power. While the second shot (below) is taken under the ambient, available light in our kitchen. Not as good, would you agree. Whole set up is visible at the few other pictures. You can notice, that the light source is really very very close. I have used 1/4 power of the SB-900 output. It looks quite close to overexposed the subject, however, two points have to be taken into a consideration. 1.) Aperture f/11 was relatively narrow (and as we know, it is the aperture, which controls amount of the flash light at the picture). And 2.) white clothes over the flash (and the construction of the softbox itself) have “eaten” a significant amount of the light. By my initial estimation at least three or four stops. So that’s why I needed to get so close with my light source.

DIY mini softbox with Pringles

Let me clear this out right at the beginning – this came as an inspiration from diyphotography.net. And after the “aha moment” I had to try it on my own! So while playing and creating my own Pringles softbox, I have decided to share my version and mainly my pictures – which I found pretty awesome ;). Taking into a consideration what a simple lightning set up has been used. So what can you get? Pretty cool “softbox”, which can direct your nicely diffused light to a very narrow beam. It will utilize your own electronic flash (Nikon SB-900 in my case). And it will cost you almost nothing. Well, 3 bucks for a tin of Pringles, but those will be eaten by your family members anyway! 😉 What you will need: tin of Pringles (no, it really doesn’t matter what flavors) duck tape white fabric (old pillow cover, in my case) sharp knife your electronic flash Cut out rectangular shape on the Pringles tin. Please be careful with a knife! Size is apx. 3 cm (1 inch) wide and will go almost through the full tin. Keep a bit a space on the side, so you can stretch fabric around it and the tin will still hold the structure. Below you can see the aproximate size of the final cut. Next step is to fit your flash into it. This is a bit tricky part. Every flash has a different size of the head. My LumoPro flash wasn’t able to fit it into a tube. Nikon SB-900 went inside, even very, very tight. But I have managed and it looked like Pringles were made with Nikon cooperation to fit inside perfectly! No light leakage at all around the flash head and the tube. If your head is smaller, try to fill it […]

Red beauty

This picture follows my previous post. Extremely simple composition and well… easy lightning set up with one light source only. Picture taken in the middle of our kitchen, hmmmm, excuse me, I mean our studio. And believe or not, is still has something to do with Pringles! So here’s the set up itself, or so called “behind the scenes” picture, where you can see, that for the lightning I have utilized my new softbox, made of… well, Pringles tin! You can find the step by step guideline how to build your own here. And one more red beauty composition made during the same session… Quite intriguing, don’t you think? 😉

Foggy, foggy, foggy

It was almost scary to watch today afternoon fog surrounding us. It literally came within a minutes! And also created a magic hat above one of the nearby mountain. Obviously, perfect timing, sunset and golden light helped a lot… And BTW, here’s a shot of the fog itself, approaching us in the middle of the tiny countryside road. Those tree and house shapes had disappeared literally in within a 10 minutes! I have to admit it was an experience I never had before. Kudos to all landscape photographers… © 2013 monika and patrik banas

christmas angel (and pringles?!)

What those two things have in common?!? Well, you will discover soon. Pretty neat! Stay tuned 😉 Meanwhile, have a beautiful pre-Christmas time and lit up some candle too… & photo © foodbeast.com, property of kellogs inc. = ?

To najlepšie z pražského workshopu

Môj októbrový Zážitkový Workshop v Prahe bol úžasný! Počasie bolo… no nie úplne kooperujúce, ale rozhodlo sa nepršať úplne celý deň, takže nám aspoň netieklo do topánok a mierne chladné októbrové počasie sme zvládli v pohode.Čo bolo ale dôležitejšie – mal som šťastie na fantastickú, kreatívne nadanú a najmä po nových veciach dychtiacu skupinu, s ktorou sme si užili kopec srandy. Lucia a Dagmar mi už poslali aj svoje zábery a rád sa s nimi podelím… Sú skvelé, však? © Lucie Portešová © Dagmar Petrásková © Dagmar Petrásková © Lucie Portešová © Dagmar Petrásková © Lucie Portešová © Dagmar Petrásková © Lucie Portešová © Dagmar Petrásková © Dagmar Petrásková © Dagmar Petrásková © Lucie Portešová © Dagmar Petrásková © Lucie Portešová © Lucie Portešová

sunny forest

Indian summer in its best! End of October and over 20°C! So great and so unexpected! And so peaceful in the forest we have found just by a chance…

lonely, but very determined surfer

During my Brittany trip I was shooting this monumental arch with the unique view at the Atlantic ocean, when proverbial “photographer’s luck” struck and sent me right to my composition this lonely, slowly walking surfer with his fluorescent board. This is what I call adding a perspective and human object into the frame!

shuter speed games

No doubt playing with shutter speed is one of my favorite activity! There are zilions way how you can utilize shutter speed, but panning and zooming is one of the most common. So it is not a surprise we have spent a lot of time playing with a shutter speed during my recent workshop in Prague! And while I am waiting to get pictures from my “workshoppers”, here are couple of those, taken during the lovely Saturday in Prague.Shutter speed used in the pictures below was somewhere between 1/8 – 1/20 sec.