Category: Photography

September 13 2016

Stunning Standouts of the National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year Contest 2016

The 2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year contest is now underway! It kicked off on August 15 and will run until November 4. Photographers, if you win the grand prize, you’ll go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, 10 days for two to the Galápagos with National Geographic Expeditions. They’re looking for photos that showcase the awe-inspiring and diverse natural world around us. Though both wildlife and landscape photos can be submitted, I’ve selected only top wildlife photos in my post. (I can’t help it, I love animals.) Enter now!

Above:
Bear Hug Brown Bears
Katmai National Park, Alaska
Photo and Caption by Aaron Baggenstos/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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The Best Spot on the Savannah
Female leopard gazing out over the savannah in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
Photo and Caption by Natashia B./2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Curious Lions
Using a wide-angle lens (16mm) on our remote-controlled camera buggy results in the background being smaller in shot and appearing further away. We fire the camera shutter using the same remote-control transmitter that we use to drive the buggy, allowing us a range of a couple of hundred meters although we rarely sit more than fifty metres away from camera.
Photo and Caption by Kym Illman/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Let’s Picnic
Yellowstone National Park, west thumb geyser basin, a perfect spot for picnic, and I mean not for human.
Photo and Caption by Qian Wang/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Tundra Ghost
Snowy owls are among my favorite birds on the planet. Their elusive nature and elegant flight make them a crown jewel to photograph. Repetition and persistence proved to be the key with this image. Using a slow shutter speed of 1/50 to create this “wing blur” effect I took well over 1,000 unusable photos over three weeks in the field to make this one frame. In this case, the high risk came with a high reward.
Photo and Caption by Aaron Baggenstos/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Swamp Raccoon
While looking for alligators at a swamp in Louisiana, this beautiful little creature wanders out of the murky waters right into the morning light , pausing just long enough to capture.
Photo and Caption by Kim Aikawa/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Wildebeest Migration
This is a photo of Wildebeest during migration in the Serengeti.
Photo and Caption by Hugh McCrystal/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

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Priceless
Two very precious endangered beasts gracing me with their presence under the stars in South Africa. So many of these rhino are now being dehorned to save them from poachers that this photographic moment is even more precious to me. A long exposure for the stars while light painting the rhino as they drank makes for an amazing moment captured.
Photo and Caption by Alison Langevad/2016 National Geographic Nature Photographer of the Year

September 8 2016

Beautifully Elegant Lifestyle Photography of Alice Gao

It’s been seven months since I proclaimed to the world that I want to become a photographer and since then I’ve scoured the internet, looking for various sources of inspiration. One of the photographers that I found, whose style I love is Alice Gao. I’m used to taking pictures of my family, I find it incredibly difficult to take photos of still life objects, or people interacting with objects. Gao makes it look effortless.

A few years ago, Design Sponge ran a post on a day in the life of Alice Gao. More recently, A Cup of Jo showed the inside of Gao’s Manhattan apartment (that blue velvet couch!). Then, just yesterday, Refinery profiled Gao in an article titled The Habits Of Highly Creative Instagrammers.

It stated, “If you’re not one of her 990,000 Instagram followers, maybe you’ve come across Alice Gao’s signature photo style in publications like The New York Times’ T Magazine or Kinfolk. With a sharp focus on dynamic travel shots, well-lit food snaps, and unique still-life photos, we can see how she’s accrued so many fans.”

I liked this Q&A:
One of your favorite photo subjects is travel. What are some tips for making those types of shots less touristy and more intentional?
“It’s a lot of patience: waiting for the right moment, the right light, or the right subject to walk through the frame to help tell a better story.”

Here are some of my favorite shots from Gao’s portfolio. Make sure to follow her on Instagram for more swoon-worthy shots. She makes life look like art. (As if her talent for photography wasn’t enough, her personal style is amazing, too.)


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September 6 2016

Striking Compositions of Commuters in a Rainy Tokyo

I came across this series, Rain, by photographer Yoshinori Mizutani and was immediately struck by the compositions. At a simple black and white crosswalk, Mizutani captures people walking by with their colorful umbrellas and a yellow taxi passing by.

“I always thought of rain as something gloomy and unpleasant,” he states. “One day, however, I stepped out into the city and realized how rain can alter our everyday landscape. Even the most mundane details such as wet ground and rain drops can reveal a whole new world to us if we observe them from a slightly different angle. ‘Rain’ is one of my continuing attempts to present a new perspective and interpretation towards our often overlooked daily phenomenon.”

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Yoshinori Mizutani’s website

September 2 2016

A Sweet Sunset Hike

It had been a while since we hiked Santa Rosa Plateau so, yesterday, we packed up the kids and headed to our favorite trail. We call it the “fairy tale” trail because the path resembles something you’d see in a fairy tale book – the trees’ branches hang in this particularly beautiful way. It was nice and empty. We only ran into some bikers towards the end of the hike. Here are a few pictures. (I’m glad I snapped a shot of the boys hugging.)

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August 31 2016

What All Good Compositions Have

In my latest photography class on Lynda.com, I learned what all good compositions have. They are four things.

1. Clearly defined subject and background
2. Sense of balance
3. Point of view
4. Degree of simplicity

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? (Joking!)

August 30 2016

Beautiful Portraits of Musical Artists by Danny Clinch

What makes a celebrity portrait stand out? I’ve been told that you have to have your subject get comfortable with you before you start snapping your shots. Makes sense, right? If that’s the case, it’s no wonder that such musical icons as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder have let Danny Clinch take pictures of them. The man loves music. (That’s the first line in his bio.)

“He listens to it, plays it, photographs it, and films it. Through this passion, Danny has established himself as one of the premier photographers across the entire music scene.” Clinch’s photographs have graced the covers of hundreds of album covers and have been in publications like Vanity Fair, Spin, Rolling Stone, GQ, and Esquire.

The man even plays harmonica professionally, in the Tangiers Blues Band, and will occasionally put down his instrument in the middle of the set, pick up his Leica, and begin photographing his band members. Talk about dedication to both crafts! “During times like these,” he writes, “Danny Clinch is a very happy man.”

I love how he lets each of his subjects’ personalities shine through. After thoroughly looking through Clinch’s website, I can clearly state that this man’s portfolio is insane.

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Danny Clinch’s website

August 25 2016

What Makes a Successful Composition?

I just started a new photography class on Lynda.com called Exploring Composition in Photography. (I quit my Skillshare subscription and signed up for Lynda. They have tons of photography courses.) Photographer and educator Taz Tally shares these four things that help make a successful composition. I thought it was worth sharing.

Simplicity
Asymmetry
Eye Lines
Point of View

“In images where you put it all together, where you have nice simplicity, beautiful asymmetry, good eye lines and an interesting point of view, you can create successful compositions on a consistent and regular basis.”

Photo by NunoAndrade.

August 22 2016

Mother’s Shadow Art of Her Daughter is Adorably Imaginative

I’m loving these magical photos by Kelly Tan. The full-time mom, part-time photographer is the digital artist behind these pieces called I Have a Dream. Amazingly, she creates them using only her iPhone. In the image above, Kelly took a photo of her daughter on a rocking horse and then added in other elements. Her pieces take anywhere from three to four hours to complete. As she told iPhone Photography School, “Searching for the right raw images is important and also the most time consuming.”

Here are some more imaginative images from her I Have a Dream series. I like how she always shares the iPhone apps she uses as well as gives the photo credits. (Not that we could easily replicate her work.)

?I WONDER… ================================= •Apps used: ArtStudio, Snapseed, PS Express. •Photo credit: Personal stocks (my daughter with her blocks, wall 1), subziro (floor), sxc.hu (wall 2, giraffe) •Story about: imagination •About this picture: || One day, my daughter brought the blocks instruction for me, asked me to make a boat for her according to the instruction. But I told her…"Don't play what's there, play what's not there. The instructions just inside your/my mine. Then she made a giraffe for me. 🙂 ||12.03.2014|| ————————————————– ================================= •Momentage > @Lovepaperplane •Facebook Page > Lovepaperplane •Another IG Account > @love_paper plane ————————————————– ================================= Please don't claim this picture as yours. None of my artworks can be copied to reproduce/re-edit & used as stock unless you get my written permission. Repost with credit is no problem, thanks and appreciate for your cooperation. ————————————————– =================================

A photo posted by K∑LLY (@lovepaperplane) on

=============================== I HAVE A DREAM 6 =============================== If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it. — William Arthur Ward. ————————————————– 2016 is the Year of the Monkey according to Chinese zodiac. The Year of the Monkey ? starts from Feb. 8, 2016 (the Lunar New Year / Spring Festival of China). Happy Chinese New Year to all my Chinese friends who celebrating this festival.???? ————————————————– Apps used: ArtStudio, Snapseed, PSExpress. Stocks resources: Personal stocks (girl, wall, monkey toy), @ _MDDX (floor), freeimages (monkey shadow). ————————————————– Please don't claim this picture as yours. None of my artworks can be copied to reproduce/re-edit & used as stock unless you get my written permission. Repost with credit is no problem, thanks and appreciate for your cooperation. ————————————————–

A photo posted by K∑LLY (@lovepaperplane) on

=============================== I HAVE A DREAM 5 =============================== Children do not give up their innate imagination, curiosity, dreaminess easily. You have to love them to get them to do that. • R. D. Laing. ————————————————– I know some of you feel disappointing about my less posting and interacting in IG. Yes, I’m truly sorry on this. Actually I am trying to spend more of my time with my daughter. She is growing up fast and need more attention. I still love my editing, I never give up. Many edits are with me just I have not much time to complete or post it. ? Anyway, as always I am appreciate and feel so great that you all still loving my works and support me. ————————————————– Apps used: ArtStudio, Snapseed, PSExpress. Stocks resources: Personal stocks (girl, wall), @ _MDDX (floor), YBsilonstock (horse shadow). ————————————————– Please don’t claim this picture as yours. None of my artworks can be copied to reproduce/re-edit & used as stock unless you get my written permission. Repost with credit is no problem, thanks and appreciate for your cooperation. ————————————————–

A photo posted by K∑LLY (@lovepaperplane) on

================================= WHAT A RIDE! ================================= 3-year-old kid always full of imaginations. When i brought my daughter to a playground. She took a spring rider and my daughter told me she was riding a flying dumbo, flying up up in the sky…lol. So, I did this edit for her since my iPhone camera can't capture her imaginative moment. ?? ————————————————– ================================= Apps used: ArtStudio, Snapseed, PS Express. Stocks resources: Personal stocks (floor, wall 1, spring rider, girl-my daughter), freeimages (wall 2, dumbo) ————————————————– ================================= IPhone shots > @love_paperplane Facebook Page > Lovepaperplane ————————————————– ================================= Please don't claim this picture as yours. None of my artworks can be copied to reproduce/re-edit & used as stock unless you get my written permission. Repost with credit is no problem, thanks and appreciate for your cooperation. ————————————————– =================================

A photo posted by K∑LLY (@lovepaperplane) on

Hello and welcome to all my new friends who recently just followed my Instagram and facebook. Hope you guys really enjoy visiting my gallery. Take this opportunity to express gratitude to my existing and old friends who already following me some times. Thank you so much for your greatest & warmest supports. Since last 2 weeks this image was shared by some amazing people and page. I found American spiritual teacher– Marianne Williamson shared this on her facebook, meanwhile Womenyoushouldknow wrote an incredible article for me to reveal I am the owner of this image. An amazing woman/ psychologist from California- Pamela Shavaun Scott was giving a Ted Talk in Spain and this image was chosen for the close. Monica from Lifeoutofbounds also writing a beautiful article for me. I gained lots of new friends from one of the incredible app — @repostapp. Thanks to all of you who love this image so much. Me and my daughter feel truly honor and grateful. Lastly, other than thank you I really do not know how to express my appreciation to all of you. Just thank you and thank you. Your greatest supports really help and encourage me a lot. THANK YOU! ( Big Hugs?❤️)

A photo posted by K∑LLY (@lovepaperplane) on

Make sure to follow her on Instagram and Facebook.

via Women You Should Know

August 18 2016

Beautiful Photos of Audrey Hepburn Taken in Rome, 1955

I absolutely love these gorgeous portraits of Audrey Hepburn. Standing in front of bright pink bougainvillea, she looks so effortlessly beautiful. The photos were taken in Rome, Italy in 1955 by photographer Norman Parkinson for a spread in US Glamour magazine. Audrey wears a classic pink cocktail dress by Givenchy from his Spring/Summer 1955 collection. Love the pleating. With a pearl bracelet by Van Cleef & Arpels and gloves by Crescendoe, the actress looks absolutely stunning.

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Norman Parksinson’s website

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