Tag: Fine Art

Palace of Fine Arts- San Francisco

Posted in California, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , , , , 3 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

The Palace of Fine Arts San FranciscoI rose at 3AM this morning to head up to San Francisco to make some images. I was hoping for pockets in the fog to see the Moonset, or have thick fog in the bay so I might get the fog/ Golden Gate Bridge image I have in my head, but I struck out on both counts this morning. I couldn’t see the moon anywhere, and the pocket in the fog was in the bay with no fog at all on Golden Gate Bridge.

Trying to make lemonade out of lemons I made this image.  I’ve shot this location several times both at night and in the daylight, but not in the “Blue period” so, at least it’s a bit different from the images I’ve made before.

This is a 2 minute exposure taken with a Nikon D700| AF-S 24-70mm @f8| ISO 200| Matrix Metering| tripod| B+W 3 stop ND filter

I need a nap. I hope you have a wonderful week-end! 🙂

Agapanthus Abstract

Posted in California, Flowers, PhotographyTagged , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Agapantha AbstractThe Agapanthus are in full bloom at my house. It’s one of a short list of flowers that I can grow…

er…if I’m honest they do well without much attention.  I’ve been playing with blurs for a couple of weeks and these tall stalks lend themselves well to this type of blur.

I’ve been toying with the idea of adding a Lens Baby Composer Pro to my kit to use when photographing flowers, and expand my creativity, or open it up! Do any of you have one? If so, did you buy the kit? Do you have a favorite optic you use with it? Any advice or tips regarding the Lens Baby Composer Pro?

Nikon D700| AF-D Nikkor 105mm micro lens| Circular Polarizer| Hand-held

A new segment of Just be there…

Posted in Interviews, Photography, Still LifeTagged , , , , , 1 Comment

…with  Diana Lee Angstadt.

I have been a long time admirer of Diana’s Still-life’s.  She has an innate sense composition which I envy.  She cleverly stages everyday objects into wonderful compositions that are both beautiful and timeless fine art photographs.

She shares with us how she created this beautiful piece she calls “Desk Corner”.

Photograph by Diana Lee Angstadt

Q. Tell us about this set up?

Diana: Setting up the still life is the biggest hurdle; trying to make sure it looks as natural as possible. Objects should look as though they have a relationship to one another in a natural way. For this composition I began with the flowers. Then I slowly added in other items. I do not really think about it before hand. It comes to me as I am creating it. I will remove, and switch items until I feel it is cohesive and in good balance. I always like to have the light as soft as possible to create a gentle softness and mood.

Q. How did you expose for this shot?

Diana:  I don’t have too much available light from a nearby window, so I used two lamps with natural light bulbs… one to be the main source and the other as “fill” light. They have bendable arms so I can position them easily in any direction.
My exposure was Shutter Speed 1/40 with an F stop of 8. I used a tripod with a cable release.

Q. What camera and lens did you use for this shot?

Diana: The shot was taken with a Nikon D300 with a 50mm 1.8 lens. After I upload the image, I also add “texture” by placing it over the entire image and then vary the opacity in certain areas to allow the photo to come through the texture.

 

To see more of Diana’s work visit her website here.

http://www.dianaleephotodesigns.com/