Category: Photography

Swan Lake

12th November 2022
PhotographyWildlife
0 Comment
Close up of a mute swan cygnet (Cygnus olor) cleaning its feathers. 
A mute swan cygnet (Cygnus olor) cleaning its feathers. You can purchase this image in my online shop.

You’d think that photographing swans (or any other waterfowl) would be easy when you live on an island with plenty of birds around. And it is, most of the time. Not when you set out to photograph them, though. 

Close up of a mute swan cygnet (Cygnus olor) cleaning its feathers. 

During my usual walks along the coast, I could see many swans paddling quietly around the island, foraging, or cleaning their feathers, always close to the shore. So I’d think, “I’ll come back and take some photos.” Then I’d come back with my camera, and one of these two things would happen:

1) They wouldn’t be there. At all. Gone. Hasta la vista, baby!

2) They would be far away at sea, out of the reach of my telelens.

 

Mute swan cygnet (Cygnus olor)
Mute swan cygnet (Cygnus olor)

But time, patience, and perseverance paid off, so I could take the photos—eventually 😉. These are some of the photos I was able to take after several frustrating attempts.

Have you tried taking photos of birds or animals? 

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

New Macro Lens: Canon RF100mm

6th September 2022
Photography
0 Comment
Macro photo of a pink African daisy (Osteospermum)
African Daisy (Osteospermum)

I finally gave in and replaced my old macro lens (the beloved Canon EF 100mm ƒ2.8 Macro). I was reluctant to let it go because it is a good lens, albeit a bit heavy. It lacks image stabilization, though, and it’s not a problem if you use a tripod. I, on the other hand, seldom use a tripod. I like to move around freely. 

Macro photo of petals of a pink dahlia
Dahlia

Enter Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM. What a difference! It has a new design, is not as bulky and heavy as the old one, and fits much better in your hand. And most important, it has image stabilization. Even if handheld, the combined camera and lens image stabilization let me get sharp images at f/5 – something I couldn’t have dreamt of with the old lens. After checking the first photos I’d taken with the new lens, It was easy to let go of the old.

Macro photo of petals of pink African daisy (Osteospermum
African daisy (Osteospermum)

So, here you go, a few photos taken in my garden with a Canon R5 camera fitted with the new lens. Which one do you like best?

Pssst! The top image is available to purchase as a print or digital download in my online shop, along with other flower photos.

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Damselflies and Dragonflies

12th August 2022
PhotographyWildlife
0 Comment
Macro photo of mating emerald damselflies (Lestes sponsa)
Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa)

This is one of my favorite photos, mating emerald damselflies (Lestes sponsa). The top one is the male; females lack the bright blue color of the males.

Damselflies are most common in July and August, so I spent the last couple of weeks by the small lake near our house photographing them. Emerald damselflies are found mainly near stagnant water (lakes and ponds, canals, etc.), rarely along flowing water. Aren’t they beautiful?

Macro photo of a common winter damselfly (Sympecma fusca)

A well-camouflaged winter damselfly (Sympecma fusca). They like to perch among reeds, where their muted colors allow them to blend in.

They’re related to the emerald damselflies (Lestes sponsa) and, like them, can be found near stagnant water; but they don’t have their bright red or blue colors.

MAcro photo of a Western Willow Spreadwing (Chalcolestes viridis)

Western Willow Spreadwing (Chalcolestes viridis)

Macro photo of a moustached darter (Sympetrum vulgatum)

Moustached Darter (Sympetrum vulgatum)

Macro photo of a moustached darter (Sympetrum vulgatum)

Another photo of that moustached darter.

Which photo do you like most? My favorite is the top one, the mating emerald damselflies, even though it was hard to choose, I love them all!

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Time to Shoot Macro!

4th June 2022
Photography
0 Comment
Macro photo of a pink bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis)
Bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis)

I’d grown so fond of my tele lens (Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM), which works so well for both wildlife and flowers, that I’d completely forgotten my macro lens (Canon EF 100mm ƒ2.8 Macro) that I used so much until a couple of years ago.

Macro photo of a black-veined white butterfly (Aporia crataegi)
Black-veined white butterfly (Aporia crataegi)

I truly loved that macro lens, an old design that still works; poor thing, forgotten in my photo cabinet, at the back with old lens caps, batteries, and what not. Time to take it out and show it some love, I decided. So, here you go, a few photos taken in my garden with Canon R5 fitted with that macro lens.

Macro photo of a ladybug
Ladybug

Which photo do you like best?

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Gorgeous Glory of the Snow

1st May 2022
Photography
0 Comment
Low angle close-up of blooming glory of the snow

Lovely glory of the snow in the morning light. These photos were pure luck. I did plan to scout the woods for a field of Scilla to photograph, but I didn’t need to in the end. As I was returning from an early seabird photo session, this incredible sea of blue flowers caught my eye while waiting for the traffic light to turn green. It turned out there was such a field next to one of the parking lots of our little shopping center! Since we order most of our stuff online, I rarely go by that lot. So there you have it, as a photographer, you need both preparation and luck 😉.

Low angle close-up of blooming glory of the snow
Lovely glory of the snow in the morning light.

Both images are available to purchase as prints or digital downloads in my shop, along with other flower photos.

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Spring in Stockholm!

15th April 2022
Photography
0 Comment
Close-up of a flowering cherry tree branch

Spring has finally arrived in Stockholm, at last! I have hundreds of photos of the Japanese cherry trees blooming in Kungsträdgården in Stockholm already, yet I go there every spring to take a few more. I can’t help it!

Close-up of a flowering cherry tree branches

Both images are available to purchase as prints or digital downloads in my shop, along with earlier cherry tree flower photos.

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

New Freebies: Easter Cards

7th April 2022
Photography
0 Comment
Easter card featuring the Carrot Express with a bunny driving a car loaded with carrots.

Easter is around the corner, so I added some new cards to my Freebies page. They’re completely free to download; feel free to have a look and use what you like, no strings attached.

I hope you like them. I love working on greeting cards; I don’t feel any performance anxiety as I’m not an illustrator. It’s just a pleasant hobby, and it makes me happy to see people using them.

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

A Desert of Waves, a Wilderness of Water

13th September 2021
Photography
0 Comment
Abstract Photo of the Sea

It seems I talk a lot about my writing creative process on the blog at the moment – which is quite natural as I’m working on a book. So, today I wanted to offer you an insight into one of my recent photo projects for a change.

A few weeks ago, I dreamed about huge waves crashing thunderously on a rugged beach. The full moon, high in the pitch-black sky, illuminated an alien landscape. 

No trees or shrubs, no dwellings, no boats. No people. No animals or birds (I knew this in my dream). An utterly deserted landscape, devoid of any life. Nothing but the huge rocks and the surf glittering like tiny diamonds in the moonshine. Nothing but the endless rumbling of the waves and the cold silvery moon. “A desert of waves, a wilderness of water” (Langston Hughes). 

The dream made such an impression on me that it haunted me for several days. I couldn’t get that desolate landscape out of my mind. So, I did what any artist would do: set to work. I wanted to capture that landscape in my mind in a series of photos, and I knew it wouldn’t be realistic photos from the beginning. The atmosphere called for something else.

As luck would have it, we live by the sea. So every day, I would go down to the beach and experiment with ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). The light, the color of the sea, the clouds, they all factor in. I knew how I wanted the photos to look like; I tested different settings and motions; I learned patience. And got the photos I wanted.

As an artist, you’re always struggling to create the vision in your mind in whatever medium you’re working in, only to fail when you do – more often than not. But this was one of these dream projects where I didn’t fail. I love how the photos turned out. 

You can see the rest of the photos in my photo gallery and buy prints in the online shop if you like them too.

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

Happy World Photography Day!

19th August 2021
Photography
0 Comment
Photography of pink bleeding hearts by Mihaela Limberea

August 19th is World Photography Day, an annual celebration of art, science, and history of photography.

Why August 19th, you ask? On August 19th, 1839, the French Academy of Sciences announced the Daguerreotype process, the first to obtain a permanent image with a camera. History was made that day, and the long road to photography as we know it today began.

The best way of celebrating it is to share your best photos with the world. The one above is one of my favorites, a close-up of a pink bleeding heart in my garden.

Happy World Photography Day!

Related Posts

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.

How To See the World Like an Artist

3rd June 2021
Photography
0 Comment
Lines. Black and white abstract photo by Mihaela Limberea.

”Seeing,” really seeing what you’re looking at, is an essential skill for a photographer. For any visual artist, in fact. Some people may have been born with it, while some may struggle. No fancy equipment can compensate for its lack, though. The good news is that you can learn to, as any art student can tell you.

And this is not something you’d turn on and off; it’ll change the way you look and see the world. For example, the black & white abstract photo above …

… was converted from this.

It’s part of a terrace roof in the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Marrakech. As soon as I stepped out on the terrace and saw this pergola, I knew it would make a perfect abstract photograph. It was just a question of trying various compositions and angles until getting that ultimate photo that all photographs dream about when they press the shutter button.

How To See the World as an Artist

Simply put: practice, practice, practice. A few tips:

  • Similar to beginners, when learning how to draw, you need to let go of identifying various objects (a chair, a vase, a hat) and see the shapes, lines, and contours that make up those things instead.
  • Notice the play of shadows and light, the contrast, the textures, the colors, and the patterns they create. How complementary colors work well together, such as orange and blue, or red and green.
  • Look at things from a different perspective: taking a photo from a low angle can show the world as seen by a small animal or a child, or turn a flower into a towering tree.
  • Look at the works of established photographers and painters and analyze what you see. What makes that artwork good? What did the artist do? How? Visiting museums is a good start, and nowadays, you can do that online too (a good thing in pandemic times).
  • Practice, practice, practice. And practice some more. Learning any craft requires effort, perseverance, and dedication.

Related Posts

To read more on photography, click here. Artsy has a good article on how to learn to see the world as an artist here.

If you liked this post, share it on your preferred social network or forward it to a friend.