I am very proud of my home town, beautiful Bardejov. Old and well preserved city at UNESCO heritage list. Always happy to get back home – and find a new way to photograph it. As this is my season of night and star trails photography I wanted to see, if I would be able to capture stars above the heart of the city – main square with iconic City Hall and St. Giles Basilica.I have pointed camera towards the North to have the center of spinning in the middle of the picture and yet I have included the rest of the square at the bottom, thanks to quite wide 16-35mm lens.And then just waited for two hours with my dad and friend Milan (thanks both!) – just chatting in the middle of the city. Once I have collected 190 images (see below), we packed and back at home I was immediately amazed when my camera spit out the first results! Those spinning circles just accent the city itself, you gotta agree… Enjoy it! PS: Join me for my night photo workshop and I’ll be happy to share, how to photograph and produce such images. More info about workshop here. Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 16mm, f/11, 190 x 30 sec, ISO 320 Som vždý hrdý na svoje rodné mesto, nádherný Bardejov. Staré ale pritom zachovalé mesto na Unesco zozname kultúrneho dedičstva. Vždy sa rád domov vraciam – a vždy rád hľadám nové spôsoby ako ho nafotiť. A keďže som momentálne zaťažený na fotenie nočnej oblohy a krásnych hviezdnych čiar, tak som chcel vyskúšať, či by som dokázal zachytiť hviezdy nad srdcom mesta – starobylým námestím s ikonickou radnicou a Bazilikou sv. Egídia. Zamieril som fotoaparát na sever tak, aby som stred rotácie mal uprostred záberu a pritom aby som stále mal […]
Author Archive: Patrik Banas
about a girl and horse
Photographing horses has a special dynamic which is hard to replicate with other animals. Especially when they are in a motion – you have to appreciate how 500kg can smoothly move, run and jump with all elegance! But usually you do not have the opportunity to get first perfect shots right or ask their riders to repeat that last jump, so you can get a better angle! Try that during your next steeplechase visit 😉 So when Jane and Jessica approached us with an idea to have Photo walk dedicated to horse riding – I knew immediately: This is it! Jessica is a wonderful, patient and photogenic horse rider and Quinta’s is her best buddy, who enjoys every minute with her and is very patient too! Quinta’s stables are located in a picturesque valley with even more picturesque mountains in background. And weather? Well, nice, sunny, but still with a snow at the top of the mountains. Can it get any better? Actually yes – Jessica and Quinta’s really showed off and everybody in our Photo Walk group were able to get great pictures. Thank you Jess and Jane! And please pass a little carrot to Quinta’s as a token of our appreciation 😉 PS: All pictures taken with Nikon D800. As we had a lot of sun, we were able to keep ISO down to 100-200 and still get a short shutter speeds between 1/1000 – 1/2000 to freeze the action. Fotenie koní má špeciálnu atmosféru, ktorá sa dá ťažko navodiť pri fotení iných zvierat. Obzvlášť keď sú v pohybe – vtedy musíte oceniť eleganciu s akou sa 500kg dokáže pohybovať, bežať a skákať! Zvyčajne ale nemáte príležitosť nafotiť hneď prvý záber perfektne alebo požiadať jazdca aby zopakoval ten posledný skok, aby ste malo lepší uhol! Skúste to nabudúce, keď budete na […]
under the bridge
Under the bridge is my favorite song, but going literally under the bridge it’s worth to go to get nice shots. Okay, a bit further away it’s also worth it. But the main point is – when there is an inclement weather – get out to shoot! There are pretty good chances for a fantastic shots. Big clouds, colorful sunset, rainbows, wind… you name it! In my case, sky was so dark, that it looked it will start to rain any moment. But strong wind not only carried those clouds away, but took them so fast, that even 30 seconds exposure created smooth sky usually made during 4 minutes exposure.Enjoy my view at Bratislava’s castle (not only taken under the bridge…). Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm @ 24 mm, f/10 @ 10 sec, ISO 200 Pod mostom je moja obľúbená skladba od RHCHP, ale dostať sa doslova pod most stojí za to, aby človek získal skvelé zábery. OK, tak aj trošku ďalej od mosta stojí za to. Najdôležitejšie na tom ale je to, že ak je vonku nepríjemné počasie, tak treba ísť z domu a fotiť! Je dosť veľká šanca na získanie skvelých záberov. Veľké mraky, farebný západ slnka, dúha, vietor… na čo si spomeniete. V mojom prípade keď som vychádzal z domu, bola obloha tak tmavá, že búrke doslova viseli nohy. Ale silný vietor to všetko nakoniec nielenže rozfúkal, ale hnal ich preč tak rýchlo, že aj 30 sek expozícia vytvorila krásne hladké nebo, ktoré zvyčajne trvá nafotiť 4 minúty.Užite si môj pohľad na Bratislavský hrad (nafotený nielen pod mostom…). Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 16 mm, f/22 @ 1/20 sec, ISO 100 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm @ 24 mm, f/22 @ 30 sec, ISO 50 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm @ 35 mm, f/9 @ 4 sec, ISO 200
Work the subject
During all our workshops, whether they are online or in person, we are repeating all the time one of our mantra: “Work your subject!“. What is that? That’s just a simple concept of staying with your subject and NOT walking away after a first shot. It happened many many times. You find something sexy, you’ll take a picture and then you will walk away with a satisfaction “I got a nice shot”. Well, that might be true, but I am 105% confident, you would be able to find few more, unexpected shots of the very same subject. So just stay, and work it! Find another angle, go low, get closer or use a different lens. You will be surprised what will be revealed! Below is my recent example taken during last weekend workshop, when we were working a nice colorful bike. Getting low and close I have found this beautiful “red piano” 😉 So happy I have not walked away after the first shot… Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm @ 35mm, f/3.2, 1/1000 sec, ISO 200 Počas všetkých našich workshopoch, bez ohľadu na to či sú online alebo priamo v teréne, dookola opakujeme našu mantru: “Vyšťav svoj objekt na maximum“. A čo tým máme na mysli? Je to vlastne jednoduchý koncept, kde silno odporúčame ostať so svojim foto objektom a NEODÍSŤ hneď po prvom zábere. A pritom sa to stáva toľkokrát. Nájdete niečo zaujímavé a fotogenické, zamierite fotoaparát, odfotíte… a potom odkráčate ďalej a dobrým pocitom “mám skvelý záber”. Áno, to je určite pravda – ale som na 105% presvedčený, že by ste mohli získať niekoľko ďalších neočakávaných záberov toho istého objektu! Pritom stačí len ostať a pracovať s objektom ďalej. Nájsť iný uhol, kľaknúť si a fotiť zospodu, priblížiť sa alebo vytiahnúť iný objektív. Budete prekvapený, koľko toho objavíte!Tento záber vyššie […]
p52 | centered composition (w18/52)
This week theme of my beloved (but too much neglected) project52 is centered composition. Lucky me – being that week in Tuscany where take a photo with this topic (actually, any topic 😉 was really easy. Two candidates are here… Florence, Italy | Nikon D810, Nikkor 24-70 @ 27mm, 1/160 sec at f/11, ISO 250 V mojom obľúbenom (ale riadne zanedbávanom) projekte 52 bola tento týždeň téma stredová kompozícia. Mal som to šťastie, že som bol práve v Toskánsku, kde nafotiť takýto záber (koniec koncov akýkoľvek 😉 nebol vôbec problém. Dvaja kandidáti z užšieho (stredového) kola… D’Orcia, Italy | Nikon D810, Nikkor 16-35 @ 25mm, 1/200 sec at f/13, ISO 200
tulips (happy mother’s day!)
Flowers are very likely the most photographed subject. They do not run away, they stay where you put them, they are colorful, have a nice shape, everybody loves them. That’s why – as being such an “easy” subject – photo stock agencies are overflown with flower pictures and most of them put a ban on adding more new flowers shots. That would suggest, one should stop photograph flowers. But you know what? So what. I love flowers and have to admit, when I got my chance to enjoy full garden of fresh tulips, I couldn’t resist. I have actually took a whole bunch of other photo-friends and we had a blast during our Tulip Photo walk! You don’t have to go to Holland to enjoy fields of tulips (even though, that must be overwhelming experience!), just look around you. All those tulips below are dedicated to mothers. To my mother (hello čminka), to mother of my children (hello babe) – and to all of you mothers everywhere! Happy mother’s day. Multi exposure shot, made of two shots, straight in the camera Kvety sú asi najviac fotografovaným objektom. Nikam neutečú, ostanú tam kam si ich položíte, sú krásne farebném ,ajú pekný tvar a každý ich zbožňuje. Asi preto, že sú to také ľahké objekty na fotenie, tak fotobanky už napríklad neprijímajú nové zábery s kvetmi. Človek aby prestal fotiť kvety, že veď už aj tak bolo všetko nafotené, však? Ale viete čo? Kašlať na to. Mám rád kvety a musím sa priznať, že keď som mal príležitosť vyblázniť sa v záhrade plnej tulipánov, tak som neodolal. Dokonca som dotiahol partiu fotografov a mali sme skvelú Tulipánovú Foto walk/prechádzku! Fakt nemusíte ísť do Holandska aby ste si užili lány tulipánov (aj keď to asi musí byť skvelý zážitok), stačí keď sa poobzeráte […]
People (of Italy)
Shooting landscapes is wonderful in Tuscany, but shooting people around is my passion. Getting human element to the frame makes me always jump for joy! 😉 Betty in Siena At the Torre del Mangia, Siena Lucky at the Torre del Mangia, Siena Gina in Sienna Monticchiello Monticchiello At the Torre del Mangia, Siena Gina and blue lady, Siena
Stars everywhere
I love shooting in the night! And as I’m preparing for a new upcoming Photo walk dedicated to Stars, I have been revisiting my library. It was quite a surprise to me, that I haven’t retrieved yet my night shots from Palouse. It was so fun! Like this abandoned farm and wheat elevator.Once you’ll find a great subject, far away from light pollution, set up is pretty easy. High ISO (2000 or even 3200), low aperture (f/4 in my case) to achieve exposure time up to 20 seconds. Why only 20 seconds? Because with longer times you’ll get movement of the stars (yeah, Earth rotation!) and stars appears to be out of focus. During that exposure you should lightpaint your main subject (farm or wheat elevator in my case) with a strong flashlight – and voilá! 20 seconds later you’ll get such a beauty right out of the camera! And if you’ll plan it well and include Milky way into your shot… Bingo!Have you been shooting starts already? Don’t wait! Milky way season is starting!PS: That glow behind the house? That’s the “light pollution” of nearby village/farms… Nikon D810, Nikkor 16-35 @ 16 mm, f/4, 20 sec, ISO 3200 Zbožňujem fotiť v noci! A keďže sa pripravujem na ďalší foto workshop zameraný na fotenie hviezd, tak som si prešiel knižnicu a k môjmu veľkému prekvapeniu som zistil, že som ešte nepovyťahoval všetky zábery z Palouse! Joooj, to bolo skvelé! Ako napríklad táto opustená farma a výťah na obile. Stačí si nájsť skvelý objekt do záberu, ďaleko od svetelného znečistenia a nastavenie je potom už jednoduché. Vysoké ISO (2000 alebo aj 3200), clona otvorené naplno (f/4 v mojom prípade), tak aby ste expozíciu dosiahli na 20 sekúnd. A prečo iba 20 sekúnd? Lebo s dlhšími časmi už zachytíte jemný pohyb hviez (veru, […]
Breath for your life!
If you ever wondered whether synchronised swimming is an easy sport, then don’t. It is like running 1000m under 4 minutes and being able to gasp a breath only every 30 seconds! Our daughter is enjoying that and we love watching her shows and competitions.And even though a long days spent far away from home might get really long, there are a lot of photo opportunities (aside of playing Candy crush and Mario Run! :). Last weekend I have focused on architecture first (see here) and then decided to take images, full of splashing water and girls jumping high – just to demonstrate the beauty and hardship of the sport! Now, to capture it, I wanted to be all about freezing the action. And as all mermaids were pretty fast, I needed my shutter speed to be shorter than 1/640 seconds – or safer to be around 1/1000.Secondly, to get them isolated from the busy background, my telephoto lens was crucial to help with that. But with time of 1/1000 sec and shorter I didn’t have to at least worry about handholding.Obviously, with a quite limited light inside the pool (and overcast day outside) my ISO had to be cranked up quite high, into 2000 – 2500 values! Thankfully, my Nikon D800 is handling noise still pretty well and a little “denoise” in LR smooth it nicely.Now, to get a proper nice action shots, you need to “get the rhythm” and follow performers. This is very much valid for any kind of sport. Following closely girls with eye glued to the viewfinder. Finger ready on the shutter. And most of all – anticipate! Will they go right or left? Do they plan to do high jump or just to stick out legs? After a while, you’ll get the sense… Like, […]
curves and lines (and a boy!)
Being a passionate supporter of your daughter’s synchro swimming hobby means sometimes spending whole days at distance places and just “kill the time”. Thankfully, some of those places are pretty nice architectural pieces and so “killing” is actually quite fun. While swimmers were preparing for a final “grand defilé”, I walked around a pool and pointed to a various angles looked for sexy curves and lines of the pool roof structure. And for one specific shot I have call my big guy for a help – adding a human element to otherwise clean and empty image is so powerful, isn’t it? Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 @70mm, f/4.5 at 1/320s, ISO400 Keď ste vášnivým podporovateľom koníčka, ktorému prepadla vaša dcéra a tým športom je synchronizované plávanie, tak mnoho vašich víkendových dní bude na miestach ďaleko od domova a budete hľadať spôsob ako stráviť celý deň inak ako len posedávaním a hraním Candy Crash (alebo Mario Run!) na mobile. Chvalabohu, mnoho týchto miest sú krásne architektonické kúsky a tak zabíjanie nudy (keď sa nesúťaži samozrejme!) je celkom zábavné. Preto v sobotu, keď sa plavci pripravovali na záverečné defilé, som sa prechádzal a mieril s objektívom do rôznych uhlov a vyhľadával som sexy krivky a línie na konštrukcii strechy bazéna. A potom som si ešte na jeden špecifický záber povolal svojho veľkého pomocníka – pridanie ľudského elementu do inak čistého a prázdneho záberu tú fotografiu riadne zvýraznilo, čo poviete? Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 @70mm, f/4.5 at 1/125s, ISO800 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 @70mm, f/4.5 at 1/100s, ISO640 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 @70mm, f/4.5 at 1/100s, ISO800 Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70 @70mm, f/4.5 at 1/200s, ISO640