Faraway, so Close! (full moon)

To utilized the name of 1993's movie - December's moon appeared to be so close, while I know it was so faraway! 
After my initial lazy shots from the bedroom, I have realized moon is still very high at 7.30am! So I quickly jumped into a car, drove to the nearest hill and run towards to the little chapel where is guaranteed a decent view above our little valley. Well, I caught my breath after few shots, but then again - it was so rewarding! Wouldn't you agree?



Aby som parafrázoval film z roku 1993 - decembrový super mesiac sa zdal taký blízky a pritom som vedel, že je tak ďaleko!
Po mojich úvodných lenivých záberoch zo spálne - viď tu - som zistil, že mesiac je o pol ôsmej ráno ešte stále riadne vysoko! Tak som rýchlo naskočil do auta a odviezol sa k neďalekému kopcu s kalváriou na vrchu, kde sa dal zaistiť pomerne slušný výhľad na našu dolinu. Po vybehnutí do strmého kopca som síce chytil dych až po niekoľkých záberoch - ale ako zvyčajne - stálo to za to! Čo poviete?

Under the water

When super dad meets enthusiast photographer - then results are so beautiful!

Yes, our daughter is fully emerged into a synchronized swimming and she is enjoying that. And whole our family is living around it. Trainings three times a week, tests and shows over the weekends... We are synchro-positive, and we love it!

So, when Christmas show has been announced, I knew my opportunity awaits. After last years balcony shots (see here), I wanted get closer, MUCH CLOSER! With a waterproof camera case ready, I was a parent with an exclusive access to the best view in the whole pool. And girls and two boys were fantastic. We all enjoyed it so much! It was absolutely a different point of view. I had no idea, how does it look like under the water and what they actually do there to entertain us above the water! Needless to say, that it was so so worth it! Like, are you kidding me? How many times you can get a chance to photograph such an unusual event, from totally unusual place and angle? How many times you can do candle light portrait and be under the water!?

I was thrilled. And so much respectful to all swimmers after two hours in the pool ;) Thank you all around Synchro club, thank you Inna for allowing me to be part of it! And don't forget to watch the video at the bottom with the synchronized show - from above and below!

PS: And for all photo-geeks, technical details, EXIF and settings are below.

Keď skombinujete super otca s nadšeným fotografom, tak nádherné  výsledky sú zaručené!
Áno, naša dcéra prepadla synchronizovanému plávaniu a tak celá naša rodina tým žije. Tréningy trikrát do týždňa, testy a preteky a show cez víkendy... Sme proste synchro pozitívny a máme to tiež radi! 
A tak keď bola ohlásená Vianočná show, tak mi bolo jasné, že to je príležitosť pre mňa. Minulý rok som fotil z balkóna (viď tu), ale tentokrát som sa chcel dostať bližšie, OVEĽA BLIŽŠIE! A s vodeodolným púzdrom na foťák som bol rodič, ktorý mal exkluzívny prístup a najlepší výhľad na bazén. Dievčatá a chlapci boli proste úžasní, všetci sme si celú show fakt užili. Proste to bolo absolútne iný uhol pohľadu. Doteraz som nemal poňatia, ako to vyzerá pod vodou a čo tam vlastne dole robia, aby sme si to my mohli hore vychutnať! Nemusím asi ani vysvetľovať, že to stálo za to. Akože, robíte si srandu? Koľkokrát dostanete šancu nafotiť takú nezvyčajnú akciu a z totálne nezvyčajného miesta a uhla? A koľkokrát sa vám podarí fotiť portrét pri sviečke a zároveň byť pod vodou?!
Bol som úplne hin. A odteraz mám obrovský rešpekt pred všetkými synchro plavcami, po tom ako som strávil v bazéne len 2 hodiny ;) Ďakujem všetkým ľuďom zo Synchro klubu a najmä Inne, ze to, že mi dovolili zúčastniť sa show takýmto spôsobom. A nezabudnite si pozrieť video na konci príspevku so synchronizovanou show – z dola a z hora!
PS: Pre všetkých foto maniakov, technické detaily, EXIF a nastavenia sú nižšie.

What has to be done to push ONE girl above the water! What a masterpiece :)
Čo všetko je potrebné k tomu, aby sa JEDNO dievča vytlačilo nad vodu! Majstrovský kúsok.

So, gear and set up info: Waterproof camera case is missing in our photo gear collection, but I knew just the guy! My dear neighbor Yves has the case suited to his camera and was so kind to borrow it. While being NIKON DSLR shooter, I have utilized for this purpose mirrorless SONY Alfa 6000 with Meikon Waterproof Camera case and it was a pleasant experience, I have to say! My setting was simple, as I needed to capture as much action as possible, but the light was sooooo limited. So I went with Shutter priority mode with speeds 1/125-1/160 and automatic ISO set to maximum ISO 6400 (which were the most of the shots actually). This caused obviously a lot of noise, but taking the light conditions into a consideration, I have to say Lightroom did pretty good job to de-noise it. And all the rest of the noise has quite a charm for such a session. My white balance was set to special "Underwater Auto", which did decent job, but as I was shooting RAW, I converted all images to BW anyway. Any questions regarding setting? Happy to answer, just leave the comment below.

Čo sa týka výbavy a nastavenia. Vodeodolné púzdro nám v našej výbave chýba (zatiaľ), ale vedel som za kým ísť. Môj drahý sused Yves má púzdro na jeho foťák a bol taký láskavý a požičal mi ho. A aj keď som NIKON DSLR fotograf, v tomto prípade som používal bezzrkadlovku SONY Alfa 6000 spolu s Meikon vodotesnou sadou a musím povedať, že to to bolo príjemný zážitok. Nastavenie bolo pomerne jednoduché, keďže som chcel zachytiť čo najviac akcie ale svetla bolo pritom tak málo! Zvolil som teda režim priority rýchlosti uzávierky (S na väčšine foťákov, len Canon to volá Tv ;) s rýchlosťami medzi 1/125 až 1/160 a s automatickým ISO, nastaveným na maximum ISO 6400 (čo bolo použité vo väčšine prípadov). To mi samozrejme dodalo obrovské zašumenie, ale vzhľadom na dané svetelné podmienky musím teda povedať, že Lightroom odviedol celkom dobrý kus práce na odšumení.  Ten zvyšok šumu, ktorý ostal mi dokonca príde fajn a hodí sa k fotografiám a tejto príležitosti. Na nastavenie vyváženia bielej som zvolil špeciálny podvodný režim (Underwater auto!), ktorý fotil pomerne slušne. Ale keďže som mfotil do RAW, tak som aj tak nakoniec zábery previedol do čiernobielej. Máte nejaké dotazy ohľadom nastavenia? Rád odpoviem ak mi necháte dotaz v komentári.

Interesting fact: Not sure if you knew, but synchro swimmers are not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool. That's a big no-no! In this case pool is 3.5m (11.5ft) deep.
Vedeli ste že, synchro plavci majú zakázané sa dotknúť dna bazénu? To je veľký prehrešok!
Tento bazén bol hlboký 3,5m.

And best part was - of course - at the end. All lights were switched off and girls went to the pool with candles and it was - oh so special!!

Of course, now camera really had troubles to capture anything and I had to quickly extend my shutter speed to 1/30 - 1/80 sec to get at least some decent silhouettes. But to be honest, I have enjoyed it under the water so much anyway!

No a samozrejme to najlepšie na koniec. Všetky svetlá sa na plavárni zhasli a dievčatá nastúpili do bazéna s ozajstnými sviečkami – ach, to bolo tak krásne!!
Samozrejme, teraz už foťák naozaj nestíhal a musel som predĺžiť uzávierku na 1/30 - 1/80, aby som nafotil aspoň nejaké siluety. Ale aby som pravdu povedal, najlepším zážitkoom bola možnosť sa na nich len tak pozerať pod vodou.

Thank you all! Ďakujeme všetkým!

And here's promised video. A ešte sľúbené videjko.

Supermoon (from your bed room)

So I have missed November's SUPERmoon - it was so foggy, I couldn't see a thing and I envied all supermoon shots posted around. And I spent two days scouting for the best location, using various photo apps and drove about 70km!
So, my second chance came on 14th of December, when full moon was pretty close to the super one, only a wee smaller. And this time I have decided to take it easy! No driving, no apps.
My huge advantage: morning's "moon-set" was right in front of our bedroom's window.
Thus the only preparation evening before was to set up tripod, with 70-200mm telezoom and 2x teleconverter and get jacket and hat to pull over PJ (see below). And sure it is - 6.30am I got my chance! ;)
Well, it wasn't so spectacular as I was hoping so and nearby branches started to block my view very soon. But as a proper lazy photographer I took an advantage of that and that's how this super moon tattoo triptych was born! ;)
PS: And you know what - to my surprise moon stayed up for pretty long and then my curiosity won and I climbed up nearby hill and got wonderful shots of the valley with HUGE moon... This will come later...

Tak sa mi podarilo zmeškať novembrový SUPERmoon - týždeň vkuse bolo tak hmlisto, že som nevidel ani ň a závidel som všetkým, čo uploadovali svoje zábery. A to som strávil dva dni hľadaním čo najlepšej lokality s pomocou viacerých foto aplikácii a najazdil som asi 70km!
Ale moja druhá šanca prišla 14. decembra, keď spln bol takmer taký istý veľký ako ten supermoon, len o kapánek menší. No a tentokrát som sa rozhodol to zobrať zľahka. Žiadne jazdenie, žiadne aplikácie. Mal som totiž obrovskú výhodu, že ranný "západ mesiaca"sme mali rovno pred oknami našej spálne. Preto jediná príprava tkvela v nachystaní statívu a telezoomu 70-200mm s 2x konvertorom a pripravení vetrovky a čiapky, ktoré som si mohol natiahnúť cez pyžamo. No a presne tak, ráno o 6.30 prišla moja šanca. Nuž, nebolo to až také geniálne ako som dúfal a navyše konáre pred oknom mi čoskoro začali blokovať výhľad. Ale ako správny lenivý fotograf som to využil vo svoj prospech a tak vznikol tento potetovaný supermoon triptych ;)
PS: A viete čo? K môjmu prekvapeniu, mesiac ostal hore pomerne dlho a tak ma moja zvedavosť premohla a vyliezol som ku kalvárii na neďaleký kopec a nafotil som nádherné zábery celého údolia s OBROVSKÝM mesiacom... O tom ale až zachvíľu....

Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200 + 2x teleconverter at 140mm, f/5.6, 1.3sec, ISO 2000

© photo by Monika Banas (half sleeping!)

All three shots: Nikon D800, Nikkor 70-200 + 2x teleconverter at 400mm, f/10, 1/100sec, ISO 200

Men at work (roasting chestnuts!)

Photographing people at work fascinates me and it is for me always very rewarding. Especially, when they are doing something interesting, something what they do with passion and something you can't see everyday (yup, project update meeting on Friday afternoon doesn't count! :).

That's what was happening at on of the Christmas market stall. Like in the last years, guys were roasting chestnuts again in an old traditional way, burning coal under huge metal tubes, where on the tops were ceramic jars with chestnuts! This way of roasting of course attracted me again. And when I noticed all the sparks flying around, I immediately knew that longer exposure of about 1 second will be able to capture the fire and sparkles in a firework big style. So to be able to take a nice image and not just a snapshot, I've started to chat with guys from "Carlito castagna" and asked them if it would be alright to take pictures (which I will be happily sharing with them via email!). Sure enough, my tripod was ready, one second with handholding would not work. I've stayed for about 15 minutes and I was focusing to capture especially those big flames and sparkle fountains when guy added fresh new coal (and I've asked him to do that several times! :). Next challenge was to capture moment when my chestnut-roaster wasn't moving for about one second to get his face sharp. I wasn't looking for a super sharpness, as a little bit of his motion was a nice addition to express activity, but I was lucky enough with the shot below. So, to sum it up:

a) look for interesting job with passionate people

b) get to know your men and explain your intentions, they'll be happy to cooperate

c) look for colors, motion, action and adjust shutter speed accordingly

d) and most of all - do not rush, be patient and get the maximum from the opportunity

Good luck!

PS: And don't forget to have a glass of hot wine, while you are there! Goes well with chestnuts ;)

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 35mm, f/5, 0.8 sec, ISO 640

Fotenie ľudí pri práci ma vždy fascinovalo a bolo pre mň potešením. Obzvlášť ak robia niečo zaujímavé, robia to s oduševnením a keď to je práca, ktorú človek nevidí každý deň (nie, projektový míting v piatok poobede sa do toho naozaj neráta ;).
A presne toto sa dialo na jednom stánku na Vianočnom trhu. Ako po minulé roky, chalani piekli gaštany pomocou starej tradičnej metódy. Pod veľké kovové rúry prikladali uhlie a na vrchu tých rúr boli naukladané hlinené hrnce s gaštanmi! Takýto spôsob ma samozrejme hneď zaujal. A keď som si všimol ako tam všade vyletujú všetky tie iskry, tak mi hneď bolo jasné, že 1 sekundová uzávierka bude tak akurát na to, aby zachytila všetky tie iskry ako jeden veľký iskriaci gejzír. No a keďže som chcel nazoaj pekný záber a nielen jeden výcvak, tak som začal s chalanmi z Carlita Castagna najprv kecať a poprosil ich, či by boli OK, ak ich nafotím (a fotky samozrejme, že pošlem emailom). Bez problémov - a zachvíľu som už bol na statíve, nakoľko sekundovú expozíciu by som z ruky neudržal. Ostal som na stánku asi 15 minút a sústredil som sa obzvlášť na tie veľké plamene a iskry, ktoré vyletovali vždy keď sa pridalo čerstvé uhlie (a požiadal som ich o to niekoľkokrát! ;). Ďalšou výzvou bolo zachytenie momentu, keď sa "gaštaník" nehýbal aspoň jednu sekundu, aby som mal jeho tvár ostrú. Nešlo mi o úplne super ostrosť, nakoľko trochu pohybu bolo celkom vítaným prvkom na vyjadrenie aktivít na stánku. No a takéto som mal šťastie, čo vidíte vyššie. Ak by som to chcel zhrnúť:
a) hľadajte zaujímavú prácu s ľudmi, ktorých to baví
b) spoznajte sa so svojími ľudmi, vysvetlite im čo chcete robiť, v drvivej väčšine budu radi spolupracovať
c) hľadajte farby, pohyb, akciu a podľa toho si nastavte vašu rýchlosť uzávierky
d) a to najdôležitejšie - neponáhľajte sa, vyčkajte a vyšťavte maximum z toho čo máte pred sebou
Veľa šťastia!
PS: A nezabudnite si dať to varené víno na trhu! Ide skvelo ku gaštanom ;)

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 35mm, f/5, 1sec, ISO 640

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 35mm, f/4, 1/6 sec, ISO 1600, flash fired to capture red hat santa claus

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @ 31mm, f/7.1, 0.4 sec, ISO 640

Christmas lights around you

Tis the season to be jolly, enjoy and ... shoot all the colorful lights. Yes! Christmas markets are the perfect spots right now. So, make all your christmas shopping online and instead of being shopping frenzy, take your camera and go out there! There will be for sure plenty of colorful objects and actions to photograph. Plus - muled hot wine is a worthwhile bonus. And - if you arrive just in time to hit the blue hour after the sunset - beauty is guaranteed. Have a look around, get inspired and play. PS: And - do not forget that hot wine!! ;)

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @19mm, f/5, 1 sec, ISO 1600

Sezóna krásnych predvianočných chvíľ je v plnom prúde, preto si ju užívajte a ... foťte všetky tie farebné svetlá okolo vás. Samozrejme! Vianočné trhy sú tie správne miesta, kde by ste mali byť. Vianočné darčeky objednajte online a namiesto zúfalého pobehovania po shopping centrách si vezmite foťák a vypadnite von. Určite nájde hromadu krásnych farebných objektov a aktivít, ktoré sa vyplatí fotiť. A ako bonus - môžte si dať teplé varené víno (alebo aj svařák ;). No a keď navyše dorazíte tak, aby ste stihli modrú hodinku po západe slnka, tak o krásne fotky nebude núdza. Pozrite sa, čo sa mne podarilo zachytiť, inšpirujte sa a bavte sa.
PS: A nezabudnite na to varené víno! :)

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/5, 1 sec, ISO 1600

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/5, 1 sec, ISO 1600

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/10, 2 sec, ISO 200

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/11, 2.5 sec, ISO 50

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/11, 2.5 sec, ISO 50

PS: A keď vám chýba ľudský element, tak sa hoďte do záberu ;)

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35mm @16mm, f/10, 2 sec, ISO 200, flash fired with Rear sync curtain

cyclo cross (damn so close!)

We decided to go for a family walk over the weekend to a nearby lake. And to our surprise, there was cyclo cross race going on in the area. Great weather and colorful fast bikers - of course I was ready and in a moment I have found a strategic position below the hill, where the cyclosrossers were passing me with apx. 1m distance. Shooting low with 16mm wide angle I was hoping to get darn close and got some action. And I was doing fine, until the moment this one crazy biker go off the track and pass apx. 20cm in front of me! I could smell his wheel and feel the vibration! And believe or not, I just click the shutter (probably just triggered by the passing wind) and voilá - when I looked at my display after all the group pass - I could't believe how lucky I got! I framed the guy perfectly, he is looking directly to the camera - with a fear I guess of hoping not to hit me - and he is perfectly sharp! Picture is not even cropped a bit. You can see below, how closely they were riding anyway (and my strategic position at the very bottom). So, what's the moral story here? I was lucky and probably stupid to get so close, as I was really few centimeters away not to get hit. But you know what? As a real photographer, I am of course now very happy I was there - in that decisive moment and click it in the right moment.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 16-35@16mm; f/5.6 @1/2000sec 

Tuscany | is it summer yet?

Fall season is almost gone and long dark winter evenings are here - whether we want or no...
Good time to warm up while going through the folder taken during May's Tuscany visit! Oh that helps! Is it summer yet?
And you know what? I am going back to Tuscany next year again! This time as co-instructor (and scout agent, entertainer, Nikon expert and driver) with Scott Stulberg, who invited me after our famous trips to Death Valley, Palouse and of course one in Tuscany, where we spent nice time together scouting and preparing a year in advance! This Scotty's workshop was sold out within literally few hours and I am really looking forward to revisit this Italian gem...
Meanwhile, open the bottle of the good wine (Italian would be preferred), light up the fireplace and ... enjoy!



Jeseň je takmer preč a dlhé, tmavé, zimné večery sa pomaly ale isto vkrádajú - či sa nám to páči alebo nie... Správny čas na zohriatie sa tým, že jeden konečne pretriedi adresár nafotený v máji v Toskánsku! Oh, to ale pomohlo... Už je tu leto?
Najlepšie na tom je, že do Toskánska sa chystám znova na budúci rok. Tentokrát ako spolu inštruktor (a vyhliadavač miest, zábavač, Nikon expert a šofér) spolu so Scottym Stulbergom, ktorý ma pozval po našich skvelých spoločných výletoch do Death Valley, Palouse a samozrejme v Toskánsku, kde sme strávili spoločný čas obhliadkou miest a pripravovaním sa rok vopred! Tento Scottyho workshop sa vypredal doslova za pár hodín a ja sa fakt znova teším na návštevu tejto talianskej perly...
Medzitým, otvorte si fľašu vína (odporúčam talianske), zakúrte si v kozube... a užívajte!

vineyards | photo walk

Yes, it is THE season to be in the vineyards and take pictures there! Vine makers keep saying this year is going to be a great year! Experiencing such a wonderful Indian summer - I am not surprised a bit... So do not forget to stock up once the wine will hit stores!

And how did I end up in the vineyards? We had another session of our Photo WalkieTalkie. This time we decided to walk in and photograph beautiful vineyards of Unesco heritage in Lavaux. Thanks to our participants I had a wonderful Saturday, had fun and we all were able to get really great shots.

Enjoy with me... and Cheers!
Thanks Mariel, Polly, Rachel, Lina, Kim, Chris, Dovile, Mariana and Elyse!

Áno, teraz je ten správny čas ísť do viníc a zafotiť si! Vinári tvrdia, že tento rok bude skvelý ročník! Keďže babie leto bolo také úžasné, tak ma to ani trochu neprekvapuje ... Takže si nezabudnite nakúpiť do zásoby, keď víno príde na pulty ;)
A ako som sa ocitol vo viniciach? Mali sme našu ďalšiu Photo WalkieTalkie. Tentokrát sme sa rozhodli vybrať sa na prechádzku a zafotiť si vo viniciach zapísanych na Unsesco zozname svetového dedičstva v Lavaux. A vďaka naším účastníkom som mal skvelú sobotu, kopec zábavy a podarilo sa mi (a aj im!) nafotiť pekné momentky.
Užite si so mnou a ... na zdravie!

jump!

Every passion is worth to capture! Especially when passion is such beautiful like the one I was able to shoot over the weekend. Little jockey and her four legged friend Leon are so harmonized, that it was just enough to stay, observe and press the shutter...
Big thanks to pixien photography for her wonderful workshop, so images like this could happen!

Každá záľuba stojí za to, aby sa zachytila. Obzvlášť ak je tou záľubou niečo tak krásne, ako som fotil cez víkend. Malá žokejka a jej štvornohý priateľ Leon boli tak skvelo zladní, že len stačilo postávať, užívať si to a stláčať spúšť...
Veľké poďakovanie pixien photography za jej skvelý workshop, že takéto zábery mohli vzniknúť!