SJP "Sullivan J Photography"

Hello everyone,

I was working with a client on some white daisies and thought to myself… “Post some Daisies on your blog so you all can see how beautiful daisies are up close.”  We see these flowers all the time but when you view them as a Macro you can really appreciate the beauty and graceful quality of the flower.  Take a look at these photographs:

baby white daisy

back side of a pink gerber daisy

backlighting on a young daisy

manipulated gerber daisy

yellow top daisy

For those of you that want to see more of my daisy shots you can click on the image below:

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Photographs – Daisies – Images by Janice Sullivan

So have some fun and take a variety of close up photographs of daisies or any common subject… if you’re interested in the technical info of the flower, you can click on Common Daisy and Asteraceae (daisy family).  Be creative and take out your tripod, grab a macro lens or set your point & shoot on macro mode and enjoy the beauty of a common flower!

These photographs were all shot with my 100mm macro lens, tripod, cable release, with mirror lock-up, noise control for long exposures and various lighting techniques.

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

I  am in the middle of a mini vacation so my time is limited.  I thought it would be nice to post my favorite photographs that have been discussed in SJP’s “Sullivan J Photography” Blog.

Hope you enjoy them….

Close up of the stem and backside of a daisy.

Photograph on Feedbag (Blog on Farmboy Fine Arts)

Happy Holidays to you all!

Take care everyone!

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

Today I would like to share with you some information on color and show you two photograph examples that will hopefully inspire you to play with color.  Remember this…when you have the subject in your face via a Macro photograph think about it’s color;  it will influence your observers.

Now, if I have a customer that is requesting the original color of the subject; I’ll white balance my camera with the lighting conditions at the time of the shoot (read your camera manual on how to do this).  Also calibrate your monitor; check out calibration & Spyder software for more information.

For the fine art side of me… I like to play with colors.  Take some time to read about color!  The links below discuss how color impacts our senses, design, and info on the Color Wheel.  (If you don’t have time for the top two – take time to read the Color Wheel link.)

• Color and your mood
• Color schemes for designers
• Color Wheel

I Photographed in RAW and developed them in Photoshop. Start by playing with the white balance, once you see what you like begin your custom tweaks.

Look to the right of these examples, you will see the white balance.  If you want to view the images closer click on them, to get back to the blog use your back arrow key on your browser. As you view each example pay attention to how you feel while viewing them…let your senses take over.

First set….

As shot

Cloudy

Tungsten

Fluorescent

Grayscale

I liked the feel of the Fluorescent and played with that:

My custom:

After I came back to the photograph I had a change in plan, I decided to go for a texture feel;  this is my ending result:

Final Image

Second example:

As shot

Auto

Daylight – cloudy – shade and flash were all similar (warm).

Tungsten

Fluorescent

Grayscale

This is my ending result:

I really enjoy working with color it’s fun to see the various colors merge together.  This is why most of my work has a soft focus to them.  I provided some examples on how to start your creative juices flowing.  Like I always say…have fun and play with your photograph to achieve a beautiful, creative, colorful image!

Cheers,

Janice  :0)

Hello everyone,

Today I wanted to talk about some nice features that Adobe Lightroom 3 has to help you with your Macro & Close-up photography. You can also read up on the new features that Lightroom 3 has to offer here; but let’s get started with the features that help us Macro photographers.

One of the best features Adobe added is the improvement to the noise reduction option.  Because we get up close and personal we need more light into the camera for a correct exposure, which can lead to an under exposed photograph.  So if you have a underexposed photograph, don’t toss that file, fix it in Lightroom 3.

Another nice feature that I like is the tether shooting (connecting your camera to your monitor/computer) option.  While photographing up close you really need to see what your subject looks like, otherwise you lose the wow factor.  I like being able to make my adjustments right on the spot – which is usually for me the f-stop.  Most of my work is done in my studio so this is perfect for me.

Now, I’m sure many of you photograph while visiting family or while family is visiting you.  Sometimes it can be difficult to achieve that awesome shot you want when your family is with you. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, I love my family but the photographer in me can get a tad frustrated when I want to take the extra time to make that perfect shot.  So what I do, is try make sure my exposure is correct and then snap away.  I still like the close up feel to my work so I hold my elbows in and stop breathing while I snap the shutter.  What’s nice about Lightroom 3 is that it has a lens & perspective correction feature and some other goodies to help you in post-production.  So don’t stress out…all will be good later

We now have the ability in Lightroom 3 to upload photographs to Flickr and Yahoo.  This is what I did for my Aunt:

In Figure 1 we shot some fun photographs with her horse Fluer.

Figure 1

I wanted to play with the post crop vignetting feature to focus on the experience they (Aunt Kay & the horse) were having.  I also enjoyed playing with the Presence area…had to throw that in too.  See Figure 2 & 3.

Figure 2

Figure 3

With Figure 4 you can see that I decide to play with the vignetting.

Figure 4

Figure 5 shows you the before and after pictures of my Aunt and horse.   Make sure you don’t blow your whites out (see the red on the left photo)  Not good!

Figure 5

To make it easier for me to send to Flickr so my Aunt could see the pictures, I added the photographs that I wanted in the quick collection.

Figure 6

Once I had all of the pictures for Flickr, I made a file… see Figure 7.

Figure 7

I had my file opened and then I dragged and drop the photogs into the photostream. Once you’re ready… click on “publish” and the pics are sent to your photostream in Flickr.

Figure 8

This is the completed photograph for my Aunt.  I didn’t do much to it, just a bit of tweeking in Lightroom.  I do want to add that these are fun photographs for the family.  Lightroom is a great tool but Photoshop is the last step I use for my professional work.

Figure 9

I also added some fun close-ups of some desert flowers when my brother-in-law came out to visit when we hiked Joshua Tree National Park.  If you’re ever in Southern California I highly recommend this park in the Spring.

Figure 10

Figure 11

Before I finish, just a couple of other features that I really liked…one, I’m so happy that Lightroom 3 is faster to work in, very, very nice. I also like the ease of adding my watermark, even though I didn’t add them to this post, lol!  :)

So get close to your subject, hold your elbows in, hold your breath while you push the shutter to achieve a sharp handheld focus, play with your photograph in Lightroom 3 and send them out to Flickr and/or Yahoo for you, your family and friends to enjoy!

Cheers, Janice

Hello everyone,

Today, I would like to talk a bit about cameras, lenses, filters and adapters that pertain to macro and close-up photography. The following equipment is linked to B & H because it’s my favorite place to shop. Of course you can research other businesses to purchase the following goodies. I know that some of my photographer friends also shop at Adorama and Really Right Stuff.  So let’s get started…

CAMERAS
Point & Shoot cameras today are wonderful for the hobbyist. You can use the special macro mode with a flash to get a nice shot, but if you’re like me and want a variety of ways to focus close-up, then purchase a good single lens reflex camera (SLR). Take the time to read up on the various cameras out there because once you decide what you want it will set the tone for the rest of your equipment. B&H has info for you to read up on if you are debating about the brands of cameras out there. The links below has information on point & shoots and on single lens reflex digital cameras.

• Point & Shoot Buyers Guide
• Mid-Range DSLR Information

I like this point and shoot; you can click on Figure 1 and it will take you to the information on this camera. Briefly… it’s waterproof, shockproof, 12.1 megapixels, with stabilization built into it… very nice!!

(Remember, when you click on the figures to get back to the blog use back arrow key on your browser.)

Figure 1

Of course I want to show you a picture of my favorite camera for shooting macro, which is the Canon 5D (DSLR). If you click on Figure 2 it will take you to a link that shows you several cameras for you to check out. I suggest you read up on the mid range info I gave you previously and then check out this site, but if you’re in a hurry, go for it!

Figure 2

LENSES
Now that I showed you some great cameras let’s get into what is really important, the lens! My suggestion is that you should invest your money on a lens(s). Learn from my mistakes, don’t buy cheap. Save money, set a goal for yourself and stick to it! Put money under the mattress…do whatever you can to save for the best lenses. I know that when I snap that shot, I will have the best clarity, dead sharp area, in focus photograph. At least for me it’s a small area, but I’ll tell you, that small area can be blown up to 24 x 36 and larger and my subject will be sharp.

If you want to view the difference of a standard lens and a macro lens, check out my article on, “Photographing your artwork, craft, or any small subject”.  Macro lenses are used for a 1:1 ratio, the optics are cut just for focusing up close. That’s why you get an awesome shot using these lenses.   Some photographers don’t like the flat look from the macro lens but you can use various lighting techniques to give your subject more depth. If you have never purchased a macro lens I would suggest you start with a 100mm/105mm macro. This is a great lens:

Figure 3

WIDE ANGLE LENSES
Now, if you’re interested in close-ups and not so much on the Macro thing, I would suggest you purchase a wide-angle lens. I personally like the way you can get close to a subject and have the background behind it. It shows us the environment of the subject. This is an example of a nice wide-angle lens:

Figure 4

Figure 5

I used my 50mm for this photo; it’s semi-close:

REVERSE LENS

If you have a great lens and don’t want to purchase a macro lens you can always reverse your lenses. Check out this setup from B&H in Figure 6, so cool!  You can achieve a great macro shot by reversing your lens; just pay attention to your exposure because you will lose light. The histogram on your camera is a must for a perfect exposure.

Figure 6

FILTERS
If you are a hobbyist…try playing with these filters. They’re a fun way to achieve the close-up look, but just fyi…you won’t achieve anything you could with a macro lens.

You can read up on filters at B&H. I also found a set of filters at Amazon.com.

Figure 7

Figure 8

My Conclusion

You can achieve a close-up and macro photograph many ways. For fun you can use your macro mode and flash with a point & shoot or add some filters to the lenses you already have for your SLR. If you are a serious photographer and want the best possible photograph you can make with your talents and knowledge, use a Macro lens or reverse your lens(s). Like I always say…Have fun! That’s what it’s all about.

I found a couple of nice articles for you to check out. I think they did a great job helping others understand the details of macro photography. Hope you enjoy “Macro Photography: A personal equipment retrospective” by Brian Johnston and “A Comparison of Close-up Filters & Macro Lenses” by Tim Trott

Take care and live the macro mode by being creative getting up close & personal!

shot with a 100mm macro lens

Cheers,

Janice

Hello everyone,

Today I thought it would be nice for you all to get to know me a bit better. Dianna Castillo from Southern California Life News in the Morning interviewed me several weeks ago. Since I write every other Thursday on all aspects of Macro & Close-up Photography I feel this interview will give my articles a more personal level to them.

Yes, I will discuss Macro equipment on my next post in a couple of weeks…I figured I should get this out to you asap since it’s already been several weeks since I was interviewed. Thanks to youtube…I can share it with you.

Hope you’re not too bored :0), here you go:

Diana Castillo interviews Janice Sullivan, owner of SJP “Sullivan J Photography”

Cheers,
Janice