Panasonic 4 Day Promotion
If you are in Massachusetts or want to mail order call Alan Samiljan of Hunts Photo and Video, at 781-462-2383
"Refugees Welcome"
After a lot of debate I decided to title this image "Refugees Welcome". In the past 6 months the topic of refugees has been dominant in the news. With Canada as one of the countries that has openly welcomed refugees, I felt this image represented the statement appropriately. The concrete totems can be viewed as either emerging or going into the St. Lawrence river in Northern Quebec.A little back story on this image: we had picked a number of location to photograph this morning but the incessant rain messed up our plans. So we stopped for a second breakfast and more coffee. - Well one just cant keep sitting in a restaurant for ever so I decided to get this image rain or no rain. It was pouring but I had my GH5 with the 12 - 35 mm f/2.8 (version 1) lens attached. I wanted to slow the shutter down so as to prevent capturing the water drops splashing on the water but was not going to venture back to the car to get my ND filters. I had my polarizer on so I closed down the aperture to f/18 that was enough to give me a shutter speed of 60 seconds at ISO 100 - yes it was quite dark and miserable. I held my hand over the front of the lens to prevent rain from ruining the image. The camera and lens were soaked but I got the image. I am convinced, first hand - the Panasonic Lumix GH5 is great in the rain. One day I might consider doing a dust test - Africa or India would be great for that.The following images are ones I have already posted on Facebook but wanted to include them as a record of the trip to Northern Quebec and New Brunswick over the 4th of July weekend 2017. 
AURORA HDR 2017 - 72 HOUR FLASH SALE
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OFFER AVAILABILITY: Tuesday June 27th - Friday June 30th
Pricing:
Here is what you get:
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Aurora HDR 2017 - The most awarded HDR photo editor for Mac
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Trey's Expansion Preset Pack - 26 presets from Pro Photographe and HDR guru, Trey Ratcliff
Think Tank - Sizzler
Think Tank Photo has just announced what they’re calling their “Sizzling Summer Savings.” With it, you can save up to 30% on some of their most popular gear, including their Urban Approach and Perception shoulder bags and backpacks, Retrospective Leather and CityWalker shoulder bags, and the My 2nd Brain laptop bags. And don’t forget, by using my special Web link, you will receive free gear and free shipping with your orders!CLICK HERE TO ORDER
Sail Boston 2017 - "Street Photography"
All images captured using the Panasonic Lumix GH5 and the Lumix Vario 35 - 100 f/2.8 lens. 
New Hard Cases from Think Tank and SKB
Think Tank Photo have just announced an exciting new partnership with hard-case manufacturer SKB. Think Tank’s designers have created internal divider sets, organizers, and a backpack designed specifically to fit within 10 SKB hard cases. There are times when you simply have to airline gate-check your most precious photography equipment. At moments like these, nothing will do a better job of protection than a hard case. But one of the downsides of hard cases is that they are basically hard shells with not a lot of other features built into them. Think Tank’s partnership with SKB solves this problem. The result is the best of a hard case with the best of internal organization. Don’t forget that with our special partnership with Think Tank that you receive free gear and free shipping when you order using our special link.
The Pixel Connection
This weekend I will be at the Pixel Connection photography show and programs. On Saturday June 3rd I will be leading a Macro photowalk - and would love to have you join. The event is free and promises to be a great learning experience and a lot of fun too. I addition, I will be at the local camera club and the store showing the fabulous Panasonic Lumix line-up. 
The GH5 continues to excel
With the exception of the last three years we typically go to Damariscotta Maine to photograph the Osprey fishing for alewives. The main reason for not going was the decline in activity. However we did spend this past weekend in a lovely B&B - The Mill Pond Inn in Nobleboro. It is a great place and has two of the finest hosts.My main purpose was to test out the GH5 for its tracking capability and the Dual IS 2 function. Both these images were shot with the GH5 and the Leica 100 - 400 lens, hand-held. Exposure was set to "Manual" and the ISO was set on Auto. The focus was set to 1 Area and reduced to its smallest size. All images processed using Capture One Pro, version 10I intentionally left the shutter speed slow so as to get a lot of motion in the wings and to have the water droplets streak. I panned this shot keeping the 1 Area on the bird's eye.
As we waited for more action (that never happened) a Bald Eagle flew by in the distance and finally landed on a tree on the far bank. I knew that the bird was just to far to get a decent shot but I wanted to see what I could get irrespective. Once again this was hand held. I did increase the shutter speed to 1/1600 sec and the lens was out at 800 mm (FF equivalent).This next image is the un-cropped version.
The next image is a crop at 1400 by 1050 pixels:
#LumixLounge #wherelumixgoes #lumixusa #lumixGH5 #gh5 #birdphotography#birds #africa #wildlifephotography
Platypod Ultra (+ Multi-Accessory Kit) now on Kickstarter
The world's most compact tripod and versatile photography accessory has a brand-new look! Get low-angle shots in unusual spots. GET IT ON KICKSTARTER HERE 
GH5 with Leica 12-60mm at Shutterfest
This was one of my very first images captured with the GH5 using the Leica 12 - 60 lens while the model was being prepped. The image is a jpg capture in sRGB. Click on the image to view it larger.
Capture One Pro 10.1 released with support for the Panasonic Lumix GH5
Capture One Pro 10.1 offers new key features and general improvements.New in this release:
- Enhanced Styles workflow
- Improved PSD Support
- Improved Fuji X-Trans support
- Temporary reset of adjustments
- Vectorscope Color Wheels Layout
- Tokenized watermarking
- Apple Script Enhancements (Mac only)
- Graphics Acceleration (OpenCL) improvements
- New camera and lens support
Capture One Pro 10.1 is a free update for Capture One Pro 10 owners and subscribers.CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
Panasonic Lumix GH5 - High ISO tests
These images were captured with the Lumix GH5 at ISO 6400 over the past few days during the Florida Birding and Photography Festival in St. Augustine.No in camera or Lightroom noise reduction has been applied. Images have been cropped for composition and white and black points set.
Florida Birding Festival - St. Augustine - Day 3
With the Leica 100 - 400 mm broken and not sure of how the GH5 would perform I decided to take the G85 with the new Lumix 100 - 300 mm lens for this morning's shoot. A big thank you to Tom Curley, Panasonic for overnighting me tis lens - it is most appreciated. I am very pleased with the performance of this lens and for the price it is truly worth it.Here are some images all captured with this kit.
Misshaps do happen - Day 1 and 2 with the Panasonic Lumix GH5
Day two of the Florida Birding Festival in St. Augustine started great with lots of interest in the GH5 combined with the Leica 100 - 400. Then disaster struck when someone wanted to test the kit to photograph birds in flight. Not supporting the camera while undoing the tripod clamp sent the GH5 and lens down to the boardwalk (I saw it in sloooooooow mooooooo) - total separation of lens from camera in a flash. NOT GOOD. The GH5 seems to be working fine but they are both going off to be repaired and tested as soon as I return home on Monday.Now for the good news - the GH5 is just awesome - no questions asked. Birds in flight, awesome focusing and equally awesome performance. I am more than impressed with the stills performance and the quality of images from this camera and lens combination. I am still working on the best settings for the style and subject matter I like to shoot but even so, the results are impressive. Images are sharp, the color rendition is great and focusing is impressive.Here are a few images from last evening and this morning.
So the lens and camera body will be shipped for repairs and I will be back in business soon.
Silhouettes And Negative Space Photo Contest - Viewbug
It was a pleasure to be the judge for the Viewbug "Silhouettes And Negative Space Photo Contest"Congratulations to all the winners - CLICK HERE TO SEE THE IMAGES
Ding Darling NWR and The Venice Rookery
So impressed with the capability of the the Lumix G85 and Leica 100 - 400 mm combination. Here are a few images from Venice Rookery and Ding Darling NWR.
Ruffled Feathers
A few more images from Ding Darling NWR. Wading birds in breeding plumage just look wonderful when they have their feathers ruffled. 
Reddish Egret at Ding Darling NWR
Managed a little time at the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. The Reddish were very active but because of the water levels remained at a distance. These two images were captured using the Panasonic Lumix G85 and the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens. It is nice to have an 800 mm equivalence. 
Signature Series by Think Tank Photo
The newly released Signature Series from Think Tank Photo is a modernized version of the classic shoulder bag. Hand sewn, advanced fabrics blend weather protection and durability with the classic feel of fine wool. Genuine leather detailing and metal hardware add character and stand up to the rigors of daily use. In addition, the zippered flap provides full closure and security to the main compartment, or tucks away when not in use. The Signature 10 fits a 10” tablet; the Signature 13 fits a 13” laptop. With our special relationship with Think Tank, by clicking here you will be able to add free gear and receive free shipping on your orders of the Signature bags and all of their other gear.If you just want to check out the Signature Series - click here
Lumix G85 4K Photo
On my visit to Ft. Myers I wanted to test the 4K Photo Mode capability of the Panasonic Lumix G85. The image shown was captured in 4K photo mode on March 14, 2017. The entire sequence was imported as a video file. I did not want to select and save a JPEG file in camera. Saving a JPEG is the suggested method for 4K Photos. The video frames were exported at individual TIFF files with a frame resolution of 3328 by 2496 pixels (an 8Mb file) this was processed in Capture One ver. 10 and exported as a JPEG for web display. The camera was mounted with the Leica 100 - 400 mm lens, hand-held using "Dual IS". For reference purposes the scene's exposure triad was ISO 800, f6.3, 1/250 sec.