"The earth has music for those who listen" William Shakespeare.
I think this is only the second time we've had "nature" as our monthly theme but oh man is it quickly becoming one of my favorites! From the gorgeous flowers, to lovely landscapes and the fun critters (furry, feathered or human lol) this is definitely a theme that is truly endless.
When life gets crazy and I need to take a minute to re-center myself, these are always the types of images that bring me a sense of peace. There's something soothing about a beautifully composed flower or blade of grass. Blue skies filled with soft fluffy clouds. Or an incredible rolling storm!
Thank you all for sharing your beautiful work with us.
XOXO
Gear: Nikon D750 24mm
Settings: ISO 100, 24mm, f/4.0, 1/3200ss
The Shot: This is basically our backyard, hubby likes to fish so I follow him. The sky was so beautiful and the winds were calm. Loved the reflection.
Post Processing: Edited in LR, adjusted basic panel and the tone curve, brightened him up a bit
Gear: Sony a7iii / 200mm
Settings: f2.8, iso 100, 1/160
The Shot: I found a path out onto an island in the creek and slowly made my way toward the ducks. Once close enough, I got low to get some of the water and reflection in the photo.
Post Processing: Only edits were to slightly straighten it
Gear: Canon 6D Mark II with 24-70mm 2.8
Settings: ISO 100, f3.2, ss 1/320 sec
The Shot: Zoomed right in and with a lot of patience
Post Processing: I had to crop quite close, reduced the shadows, added a slight vignette so there were no light edges to the border, and used a brush to increase the clarity on the wings
Gear: Canon 7D with sigma 35 mm
Settings: f16 1/180 ISO 200
The Shot: Taken at sunset while camping. Captured is a forest fire, rainstorm and sunset.
Post Processing: Edited in Lightroom. Used linear gradients to selectively adjust exposure. Increased oranges and magenta.
Gear: Canon 6dmii and Lensbaby Sol45
Settings: 1/125 ISO160 f3.5 fixed
The Shot: The weather has been glorious, and the clocks have just gone back so we're lucky we get these glorious afternoons of low sun around 3-4pm. I placed the sun central in my image and manually focussed using magnifying glass on some trees close to the centre of the image. I used the sol45 blades to create some bokeh.
Post Processing: Minimal edit. Added a little contrast and lowered highlights. A slight vignette and a little crop
Gear: Nikon D7500, Nikon 35 mm lens.
Settings: ISO 1600, f/1.8 and 1/500 sec
The Shot: I went to the pond to shoot some photos, It was raining a bit and when I put a yellow plastic bag on my camera to protect it they all came to me. Probably thought I had some bread
Post Processing: In LR I used the Sunshine sparkle preset from TBO, cropped and tweaked a bit, then I took it into PS where I used levels.
Gear: Canon 6D Mark ii, Lensbaby Sol 45
Settings: ISO 640, f/3.5 (fixed), 1/200 sec
The Shot: This is a composite of two images. After a terrifying few minutes braving the lightning on the beach as a thunderstorm moved in across the lake, I moved to my truck and shot through the windshield. I shot like crazy until I finally caught a bolt of lightning. I also happened to catch a flock of seagulls flying over the beach and focused my lens so that they would be sharp in the distance.
Post Processing: I layered both shots together in Photoshop and added a color overlay for contrast and tone. In Lightroom, I used a graduated filter to brighten the water and adjusted the HSL panel.
Gear: Canon 6D 85mm
Settings: ISO 100 f/2.2 1/1000s
The Shot: We went for a nature walk yesterday in this incredibly beautiful but overgrown spot. The morning light was shining down from over the bluff and it was so hazy and perfect. I asked my kids to climb on the fence for a quick picture.
Post Processing: In Lightroom I applied a preset and tweaked it heavily. Since it was so hazy, I upped the dehaze quite a bit. I also increased exposure, texture and contrast. I used brushes on my subject to help them pop a bit more. In Photoshop I applied a tone overlay and a LUT at a low opacity to enhance the colors. I used adjustment layers to slightly fix the colors of the gate and my son’s yellow jacket and bring out the colors in the foliage and trees more. I applied a sun overlay at a low opacity to enhance the light naturally spilling out. I also removed a line running horizontally through the frame from the railroad tracks in the distance