Yes, it is THE season to be in the vineyards and take pictures there! Vine makers keep saying this year is going to be a great year! Experiencing such a wonderful Indian summer – I am not surprised a bit… So do not forget to stock up once the wine will hit stores! And how did I end up in the vineyards? We had another session of our Photo WalkieTalkie. This time we decided to walk in and photograph beautiful vineyards of Unesco heritage in Lavaux. Thanks to our participants I had a wonderful Saturday, had fun and we all were able to get really great shots. Enjoy with me… and Cheers!Thanks Mariel, Polly, Rachel, Lina, Kim, Chris, Dovile, Mariana and Elyse! Áno, teraz je ten správny čas ísť do viníc a zafotiť si! Vinári tvrdia, že tento rok bude skvelý ročník! Keďže babie leto bolo také úžasné, tak ma to ani trochu neprekvapuje … Takže si nezabudnite nakúpiť do zásoby, keď víno príde na pulty 😉A ako som sa ocitol vo viniciach? Mali sme našu ďalšiu Photo WalkieTalkie. Tentokrát sme sa rozhodli vybrať sa na prechádzku a zafotiť si vo viniciach zapísanych na Unsesco zozname svetového dedičstva v Lavaux. A vďaka naším účastníkom som mal skvelú sobotu, kopec zábavy a podarilo sa mi (a aj im!) nafotiť pekné momentky.Užite si so mnou a … na zdravie!
Author Archive: Patrik Banas
jump!
Every passion is worth to capture! Especially when passion is such beautiful like the one I was able to shoot over the weekend. Little jockey and her four legged friend Leon are so harmonized, that it was just enough to stay, observe and press the shutter…Big thanks to pixien photography for her wonderful workshop, so images like this could happen! Každá záľuba stojí za to, aby sa zachytila. Obzvlášť ak je tou záľubou niečo tak krásne, ako som fotil cez víkend. Malá žokejka a jej štvornohý priateľ Leon boli tak skvelo zladní, že len stačilo postávať, užívať si to a stláčať spúšť…Veľké poďakovanie pixien photography za jej skvelý workshop, že takéto zábery mohli vzniknúť!
minsk, belarus | no passport, no password!
No passport? No password! That’s the sentence which resonated the most during my trip to Minsk in Belarus. When I stopped by for a lunch in the local restaurant in the downtown of Minsk and asked the waiter for wifi password, she asked me to see my passport. After my perplexed expression, she added: “It’s the new law. So no passport? No password!” Wow, that really took me back and just confirmed general observation that Belarus government (aka czar Alexander Lukashenko) takes the protection of the nation (and especially censorship of those pesky foreign visitors 😉 really seriously.Visiting Belarus was for me like a time machine trip going 25 years back to communism. Only cars were more modern and everybody have mobile phone. But otherwise… Police with huge flat hats everywhere controlling everything. Just in case. City primarily of big blocks of flats, even the “downtown” was only modern version of those blocks. And most of all – people were not smiling. Not a bit. Just looking very seriously, in front of them and being – well – expression-less. I am sure that after knowing them closer and spending a time with them they would become friendlier and they would open up (as some of those I have spent a time together did). But overall… pretty depressing state of mind. And this is it. The most desirable object worth to visit in Minsk. I have asked about 5 people independently, what is worth to visit in Minsk and everybody mentioned as must-see National Library. Usually people send me to see their city’s castle, church, river bank, red-district or tower. But hey, nothing against the National Library, except I was expecting some old historical building, which upon arrival happen to be another big block of concrete. OK, shape is interesting and it […]
giverdy | burgundy | france
Me, myself and I. Roaming and relaxing with camera and just enjoying photogenic landscape in the central France, in Burgundy. Name of the tiny village is Giverdy and it is the end of the world as you can imagine it from the romantic movies about french countryside… Rolling hills with tractor tracks, lonely trees and sky full of contrasty clouds. What else do you need? Oh yeah, how about some sunset which can highlight the scenery? Of course, just wait a moment. This is what I call relax. Two hours on my own. And with a bit of delay, here’s the return to the beginning of the wonderful summer of 2016.PS: Big thanks to family Vernillat for letting me to enter their property. Hills behind your farm are so nice, did you know? 🙂 Iba ja sám s foťákom, to mám rád. Túlať sa, relaxovať a užívať si fotogenickú krajinku v strede Francúzska, v Burgundsku. Maličká dedinka sa volá Giverdy a presne takto som si vždy predstavoval koniec sveta, keď som ho videl v nejakom romantickom filme z francúzskeho vidieka. Vlnité kopce s pásmi po traktoroch, osamelé stromy a obloha plná krásne nadýchaných oblakov. Čo viac človek potrebuje? Aha, veď áno, čo takto nejaký ten krásny gýčový západ slnka, ktorý zvýrazní celú krajinku? Samozrejme, žiaden problém, stačí iba chvíľku počkať… Tak toto ja nazývam relaxom. Dve hodinky iba pre mňa. A s menším omeškaním návrat na začiatok skvelého leta roku 2016. PS: Veľké poďakovanie rodine Vernillat za to, že ma vpustila na ich pozemok. Viete o tom, že tie kopce za vašou farmou sú tak nádherné? 😉
Beauty of the early morning
As a travel photographer (which means being a photographer who travels a lot) I am privileged to take pictures in the beautiful parts of the world. I am also lucky to have an opportunity to meet great people and help them to become better photographers. And that was again a case last Sunday when we had early morning “Photo Walkie-Talkie” next to Lac Leman. Early alarm was so worth it and we all were rewarded with a spectacular sunrise with all the colors and clouds to make it pop! As often is the case, light show lasted for about 15 minutes, but during that time… Oh my, I have heard a lot of woooows and yeaaahs. Thank you Mariel, Mariana, Tony, Kylie, Lina and Polly!PS: And as a side bonus – I could get picture for this theme of project 52, which is: Magic of the early morning! 🙂 Mám to šťastie byť fotografom, ktorý veľa cestuje a to mi dáva nádhernú príležitosť stretávať skvelých ľudí, ktorých baví fotografovanie a ja im môžem pomáhať aby sa stali lepšími fotografmi. A presne takto sme sa stretli minulú nedeľu na jednej z mojich “Photo Walkie-Talkie” vedľa jazera Lac Leman. Budík nastavený na skorú rannú hodinu stál za to a boli sme všetci odmenení úžasným východom slnka so všetkými tými nádhernými farbami a mrakmi, ktoré to zvýraznili! Ako to v takýchto prípadoch býva, svetelná show trvala asi 15 minút, ale počas tej doby… Čéče, počul som veľa jééééj a waaaauw. Ďakujem vám Mariel, Mariana, Tony, Kylie, Lina and Polly!PS: A ako bonus mám fotky do tohtotýždňovej témy Projektu 52 – Kúzlo skorého rána! 😉 And some behind the scenes of course 😉 / A samozrejme zopár záberov “spoza scény”…
prague in black and white
It is not a big surprise, that I am colorful guy. Starting with my colorful socks through the way I am seeing things and objects around me. Colors are catching my eyes and I am pointing my camera immediately. I’ve learnt to photograph this way. So it is quite rarely for me to to think in black and white while shooting already. But the photo below was the case! I was ending up my morning walk in Prague and was ready to call a day as sun was getting too high. And I knew I would get to this specific point later on, during sunset to get more colors (like here). But those lines of safety barrier on Vltava river got my attention, they were perfectly leading my eye into the image and towards the main subject, which is Prague’s castle here of course. And I knew, that those lines will look amazing in black and white, because their contrast will be cleaner and more dominant. At the end of the day, with sun so high, they weren’t at all so attractive. And I was right! They look pretty good to me in black and white. What you think? PS: And you know what is also interesting about this photo? It took me 5 years to post it! It was originally shot in 2011 (!) and it would get lost in my archive. But I was cleaning folders and I have rejoined with this image happily again. So what’s the moral story here? Do the cleaning, you’ll never know what you will re-discover again 🙂 Určite pre vás nie je prekvapením, že som na farby. Počnúc mojimi strakatými ponožkami až po spôsob ako sa pozerám na veci okolo mňa. Farby ma priťahujú a hneď na ne mierim fotoaparátom. Takto som […]
What to do with colors?
Naše deti sú už tiež fotograficky nakazené! Pred pár dňami sa naša dcéra hrala s guličkovou hrou Marble Run (príklad tu) a pribehla s pestrofarebnou trúbkou a navrhla mi: “Tatik, že je toto tak krásne farebné? Myslím, že by sme to mali odfotiť!”. A tak sa aj stalo. Vďaka veľkej pomoci oboch detvákov a taktiež vďaka Nikkor Macro 105mm objektívu sme nafotili tieto krásne farby!Keď sa fotia makro zábery, tak hĺbka ostrosti (teda vysoké f/číslo) je kritická a preto často je rýchlosť uzávierky rátaná v skeundách. To ale pri fotení v interiéri nie je žiaden problém. No a keďže som bol lenivý ísť si po statív do auta, tak som použil aj ďalšie hračky, aby som stabilizoval fotoaparát a farebný objekt – viď nižšie…Díky decká! Ostaňte aj naďalej tak farebne pozitívne! 😉PS: Ak vás zaujíma fotenie “riadne zblízka” a čo všetko obnáša fotenie v makrosvete, tak sa v novembri/listopadu pridajte ku mne do kurzu “Naučte se fotografovat detail kretivně” (viď link). Všetko vám to aj s Bryanom priblížime! Nikon D800, Nikkor 105mm Macro, f/29, 15 sec, ISO 125 Our kids are also photography positive! Few days ago our daughter was playing with Marble Run game (see here) and she came keeping the colorful tube saying: “Daddy, isn’t that so nicely colorful? I think we should photograph it!” So we did. With a big help of kids and also thanks to Nikkor Macro 105mm we got such a nice colors! When shooting macro, depth of field (aka high f/number) is critical, so the shutter speed is often counted in seconds. And that is not an issue when shooting indoor. As I was lazy to bring the tripod from a car, I have utilized other kids’ toys to stabilize my colorful subject and the camera – see below… Thank you kidos! Stay colorful positive! 😉 (c) photo by amazon.com
Flash to highlight the action
S Monikou sme mali skvelé fotenie s nádhernou modelkou Sárou. Je to budúca profesionálna športová gymnastka a/alebo modelka. Monika jej samozrejme nafotila svoje krásne portréty (ako napríklad tu), ale ja som hneď vedel, že chcem vyskúšať niečo iné. To že som mal k dispozíciu skvelo a plynulo skákajúcu gymnastku a zatiahnutú oblohu bolo jasným signálom na to, aby som vytiahol svoj externý blesk! A voilá! Kombinácia svetla z okolia (ktoré som podexponoval aby som získal dramatickú oblohu) spolu so svetlom z môjho prenosného slniečka – teda blesku Nikon SB-900 – dokázala vyrobiť tento záber! Zbožňujem ako Sára letí ponad hradby v mojom rodnom Bardejove, perfektne natiahnutá a s úsmevom! Vďaka blesku som ju dokázal oddeliť od pozadia a upriamiť VŠETKU pozornosť len a len na Sáru. Ak sa chcete naučiť ako dostať váš externý blesk pod kontrolu a ako skombinovať svetlo z okolia a svetlo z blesku, tak sa pridajte do nášho PPSOP kurzu “Záhada blesku odhalena“, ktorý vediem s Bryanom Petersonom. Viac info o kurze nájdete tu! Začíname 9. septembra/září. PS: Záber bez použitia blesku je nižšie – celkom rozdiel, čo poviete? Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @27mm, f/11 @ 1/160 sec, ISO 160. Nikon SB-900 in manual mode, off camera, triggered with Pocket wizard at 1/2 power. Monika and I had a fantastic session with this beautiful model Sara. She is a future sports gymnastics pro and/or model. And while Monika took great portraits of her (like here), I knew immediately I want to try something different. Having perfectly and smoothly jumping athlete and overcast day – that obviously called for my flash! And voilá! Combing ambient light (underexposed to get a bit of more drama!) and light of portable sun – aka Nikon flash SB-900 got me the images below! I love the way Sara is flying in front […]
strecno – beautiful home country!
I travel all around the world to find and take a great photos. That’s why I am so happy and proud to capture beauty of my own country whenever I am back. This time I have focused on old medieval castle Strecno, near city of Zilina. Right under the castle is old fashioned, cable operated ferry, which I wanted to add to the image of the castle, as castle and ferry are very specific for Strecno area. Together with my buddy Miroslav we have spent one evening just shooting around and here are the few shots which I favor. Kvôli krásnym záberom cestujem okolo celého sveta a tak ma vždy poteší a naplní hrdosťou, keď zachytím krásu mojej rodnej hrudy, kedykoľvek sa dostanem domov. Tentokrát som zamieril na stredoveký hrad Strečno, neďaleko Žiliny. A hneď pod hradom je krásna, poctivá kompa, ktorá vás za pol eura prevezie na druhú stranu Váhu. Kompa sa mi veľmi hodila do záberu, lebo spolu s hradom sú niečím veľmi špecifickým práve pre Strečno. Spolu s mojím fotografickým kumpánom Miroslavom sme strávili jeden podvečer pri Strečne a výber je tu. PS: Ferry is really heavy duty – capacity even for tractors! 😉
Ako bolo na pražskom workshope
Na mojom posledno fotoworkshope v Prahe 14.8. bolo skvelo!Vstávali sme skoro, niektorí cestovali celú noc a niektorí dokonca aj deň vopred. Prišli dokonca aj zahraniční účastníci, takže to bolo naozaj medzinárodný workwhop!A tu je výber toho, čo sme fotili – ale najmä ako sme fotili, lebo zábery spoza fotoaparátu sú tiež výborné!Pridajte sa ku mne na môj budúci workshop v Prahe aj vy… Plánujem jeden koncom septembra/zářía ak máte záujem tak mi napíšte na pb@patrikbanas.comPS: a fotky účastníkov workshopu si môžete pozrieť priamo tu – alebo aj v tomto skvelom článku! “The best of” selection from my latest Prague’s workshop. We were not the only one “early birds” at the first location and whole day was just blast! Couple of “behind the scenes” photos, as those are often very cool too… Join me next time – I am planning workshop in Prague again for the end of September. If you are interested in, contact me at pb@patrikbanas.com!