kids were here - project 52 | week 26

That was an easy topic to pick up. It was just a matter of a proper moment. As they happen to be here, and then there...
During our holidays, we spent also two day in Tuscany, Italy and visited Pisa with famous Leaning tower. Gosh!!! It really is leaning quite a lot!!
Anyway, when we promised kids, that they will have real Italian pizza in Pisa - you should see the speed they picked up! ;) And pizza was just gorgeous!



BOLI TU DETI - Toto bolo ľahká téma, bola to len otázka správneho načasovania, keďže oni naozaj zvyknú byť chvíľu tu a potom zase tam ;)
Počas dovolenky sme strávili dva dni aj v Toskánsku a navšívili aj Pisu s jej slávnou šikmou vežou. Koxo!! Neuveriteľné ako sa fakt nakláňa!!
Nuž, ale keď sme deťom sľúbili, že di dáme pravú talianskú pizzu, priamo v Pise - čéče, tí ale pridali do kroku! ;) A musím ešte pre úplnosť dodať, že pizza bola absolútne skvelá!

project 52 | week 28 - view from the window II.

Continuing (re) exploring pictures from Corsica trip and I have realized that I have two more shots to include under "View from the window", probably even more poscard-ish ;)
First one has been taken on the one of the 189 steps of King's Aragon staircase in Bonifacio.
(Co-star: Silverwind cruise, in the very background Sardinia...)


And that one, on the opposite side of the Bonifacio city, with the view into a natural inner harbor.
Red boat was just eye-catching and irresistible...


Pokračujem v znovu objavovaní fotiek z Korziky a narazil som na zábery, ktoré ešte spadajú pod tému "Pohľad cez okno", dokonca sú ešte hádam aj viac pohľadnicovejšie ;) 
Prvá nafotené na jednom zo 189 schodoch kráľa Aragona v Bonifaciu.
Vo vedľajšej úlohe: výletná loď Silverwind a vo veľmi vzidalenom pozadí už Sardínia...
A druhá je fotená na opačnej strane mestečka Bonifacio, s výhľadom na prírodný, vnútorný záliv.
Tá červená proste bola neprehliadnuteľná a neodolateľná...

project 52 | week 28 - view from my window

Got back from our "summer" holidays in October. Downloaded 1920 pictures (82GB!) which we have collectively taken together with Monika...
Oh Corsica, I miss you so much! We had just fantastic times! I know I am going to provoke, but I can't help!
25-29C all the time at the end of October, water around 23C and we were swimming and enjoying sea everyday! Beaches? Incredible! But most of all, we just had a beautiful and relaxing time! My first time ever in Corsica and I want to go back immediately! Love it!! OK, enough exclamation marks ;)
So, to stay in project 52 theme, here's a "View from our window"....



You can for sure expect much more pictures soon, because Corsica was photogenic and we have enjoyed taking pictures there... Morning, during a day, evening and even during a middle of the night. Stay tuned...

Tak sme sa vrátili z našej "letnej" októbrovej dovolenky. Stiahol som 1920 fotiek (82GB!), ktoré sme s Monikou spolu nafotili... Oh, Korzika! Už teraz mi chýbaš! Mali sme sa fantasticky! Viem, že provokujem, ale nemôžem si pomôcť! 25-29C každý deň - na konci októbra, voda okolo 23C, akurát na každodenné kúpanie a čľapkanie sa! Pláže? Proste neuvriteľné! Ale čo bolo najdôležitejšie, mali sme sa proste úplne skvelo a strašne sme si oddýchli! Bola to moja prvá návšteva Korziky a už teraz sa chcem vrátiť! Úžasné! OK, dosť bolo výkričnikov ;)
Takže, aby som ostal v rámci témy projektu 52 - tak pridávam "Pohľad z okna"...
Už čoskoro začne pribúdať mnoho ďalších záberov, nakoľko Korzika bola úplne fotogenická a užili sme si to aj po fotografickej stránke... Ráno, cez deň, podvečer, večer, o polnoci... Ostaňte naladení!

project 52 | week 27 - windy

What to do if you are in a nice place, you have a few moments to take a picture, but you still are missing that "interesting object" to spice up the cool wall? Well, throw yourself into the frame! 
Nikon D800, 24-70mm @ 45mm, f/14 @ 1/3 sec, ISO 320



project 52 | week 33 - "33"

The best camera is the one you have with you. You've heard that many times, right? So do I. And today it happened - walked into this great composition with my iPhone only! Couldn't resist anyway. 33 swans (including those two I had to crop their feathers from the final shot! ;)


Najlepší je ten foťák, ktorý máte so sebou - už ste to určite počuli, však? Aj ja. A dne sa mi pritrafilo vojsť do takejto skvelej kompozície len s iPhonom. Ale aj tak som neodolal. 33 labutí (vrátane dvoch, ktoré mali v zábere len pár pierok a z výsledného záberu som ich vyrezal! ;)

project 52 | week 24 - household

Finally managed to get semi-transparent white plexi-glass to be able to shoot "white in space" pictures at home. Yeaah, I know, it took us a while ;) Anyway, on my Saturday morning walk to local bakery (while raining) I got an idea, how those homeless snails (which were everywhere!) would look like in the white space and if they would be as transparent as flowers or fruits. Well, you can see by yourself. Fight for the last remaining household begins! ;) And the winner is?! ;)
PS: Idea and tip how to shoot with the white board can be found in this older Bryan's video. Which is exactly where I have shot few my previous white floats - see examples here.
PS2: One would not believe how those creatures can be fast! I have carefully staged them and while getting to the camera's viewfinder, those bastards were inches away!!! ;)))


Konečne sme doma zvládli si zohnať vlastné biele, matné plexisklo, aby sme mohli fotiť zábery "v bielom priestore". Hej, celkom nám to trvalo, však? Každopádne, v sobotu cestou do pekárne - keďže pršalo - som dostal nápad, že ako by v bielom priestore vyzerali tie slizniaky (tak doma voláme tých bezdomovcov bez búdky). A že či by tiež boli tak priesvitný ako ovocie alebo kvety. Nuž, presvedčte sa sami. Bitka o poslednú voľnu domácnosť sa začala! A víťazom sa stáva?! :)
PS: Kliknite na toto video, kde Bryan vysvetľuje ako sa fotí s takýmto plexisklom. Mimochodom, je to presne to miesto, kde som nafotil svoje predchádzajúce biele zábery po prvýkrát...

PS2: Človek by neveril aké rýchle tie malé mrchy dokážu byť! Opatrne som si ich nastaval a nakomponoval a kým som sa pozrel cez foťák na záber, tak tie potvory boli už centimetre mimo!!



project 52 | week 22 - strawberries (fireworks again!)

And I did it again. Used the firework opportunity (Vive la France!) during our recent trip to Burgundy and shoot fireworks during the explosion and "defocused" at the same time. I have used this technique already two years ago (see here), but I still had a lot of fun! All pictures were taken with 24-70mm street-zoom lens at 70mm and I was again amazed what a fantastic creation I was getting right out on my screen! How to do that?
Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, f/8, 1/2sec.
No editing whatsoever, output straight out of the camera.

It is actually very simple. Technique is similar to the "zooming" one, but this time during a one second exposure you are rotating with your focusing ring on your lens.
1) find a firework in your area ;)
2) use a medium size telezoom lens (somewhere between 70-120mm)
3) go manual exposure and turn off your automatic focusing
4) set up an exposure to f/8 and shutter speed for 1 second. (Here you can play with shutter speed between 1/2 to 2 seconds, longer exposure can give you a longer strikes, but you might get a lot of light into a frame.)
5) aim the camera to expected center of the explosion
6) in the moment of the explosion push the shutter button and at the same time - during the 1 second exposure - rotate your focusing ring from one side to another

And that's it! This time versus my previous attempt I haven't used the tripod and found it much easier and faster to aim for the center of the explosion. And still think that the "explosion roses" are as beautiful as previously.
That easy! So go on, find your firework and share what you have captured! ;) I'm looking forward to it.

PS: Still fits into the project 52, the image above looks a bit like a strawberry, right?



A znova sa mi to podarilo. Využil som príležitosť francúzskeho národneho sviatku a s tým neodmysliteľného ohňostroja počas nášho nedávneho výletu do Burgundska. Fotil som ohňostroje počas explózie a súčasne som počas trvania expozície "rozostril" samotný záber. Túto techniku som už vyskúšal pred dvoma rokmi (výsledky sú tu). Všetky zábery boli nafotené s mojím obľúbeným street-zoom 24-70mm objektívom a znova som bol už počas fotenia úplne nadšený, keď som videl aké krásne kreácie sa mi ukazujú na displeji. Takže ako na to?



Je to vlastne fakt jednoduché. Technika je podobná "zoomingu", ale tentokrát počas jedno sekundovej expozície otáčate zaostrovacím "krúžkom" na tele objektívu.
1) nájdite si ohňostroj v blízkom okolí
2) ideálny je stredný telezoom objektív (niekde medzi 70-120mm)
3) nastaviť manuálnú expozíciu a vypnúť automatické ostrenie
4) nastaviť expozíciu na clonu na f/8 a rýchlosť uzávierky na 1 sekundu (Smelo experimentujte s rýchlosťou medzi 1/2 až 2 sekundami, čím dlhšia uávierka, tým dlhšie budete mať čiary...)
5) mierte objektívom do očakávaného epicentra výbuchu
6) v momente výbuchu stlačte spúšť a zároveň - počas tej jedno-sekundovej expozície - otočte čo najviac zaostrovacím krúžkom na objektíve

A to je všetko. Tentokrát som na rozdiel od predchádzajúceho pokusu nepoužíval statív a musím uznať, že bolo oveľa jednoduchšie a rýchlejšie zamieriť na epicentrum výbuchu. A pritom si myslím, že ohňostrojové "ruže" sú stále krásne... Celkom ľahké, však? Tak nájdite si vlastný ohňostroj a nezabudnite sa podeliť s vaším výsledkom. Už teraz sa na to teším!
PS: Stále to spadá pod projekt 52, tá prvá fotka vyzerá ako jahoda, však? ;)








project 52 | week 19 - on the ground

Harvest time! 

Just magnificent trip to Burgundy in France with great friends. And passing hay bales around village of Donzy was irresistible. See also what kind of session Monika created there... Lovely!



project 52 | week 21 - the beauty of the metal

Theme of the week 21 is the beauty of the metal. So to do it right I went to the small local "home depot" to buy the proper screws - I have visualize them in my head before the shoot, so I knew what I am looking for! Well, they had them, but about hundred of them cost around 100 bucks! But the shopper assistant Pierrette was kind enough to agree, that I can return them following day, when I shared my story, why I need them. So I have spent the night screwing around ;)
Set up was easy - bunch of screws, two flashes and small flashlight. All of them with the color gels and I got several different combinations - what a program for Friday night! And here are some of the final results. Definitely beauty of metal! (Behind the scenes shots at the bottom).PS: All picture were made in the camera, no photoshopping, just a minor contrast and color compensations in LR.

Nikon D800, Nikkor 24-70mm, Nikon SB900 with blue gel, f/22, 15sec, ISO 100. Shot in the dark, and after firing the flash, pointing with small LED flashlight with red gel in front of it (see behind the scenes shots at the end)


project 52 | week 17 - picture of somebody who is taking a picture

Back to my project 52. This is quite an interesting theme and quite an easy for me. Being quite often around Monika's session (and actually being her official backstage photographer) gives me a lot of opportunities to take a picture of somebody who is taking a picture. This one was particularly unique, as the photographer, was really "on the edge". Few more centimeters and she (and her camera!) would be in the pond. Well, thankfully, she kept her balanced and as a reward, she got a spectacular pictures on that nice Sunday morning.


PS: Second picture is not only showing...

stone sculptures

To continue with the stone sculpture story from the previous post, I have also added flash... but let me start from the beginning.


During my morning jogging around the Geneva lake I have met this interesting "Stone sculptures". Somebody had fun! At the first sight i though that it is just some artistic exhibition with a help of really strong glue, but I was proven wrong! They were just... well stacked stones. So I have memorized the place and the same evening I was back, hoping it wasn't ruined yet. Thankfully, Swiss are very disciplined and everybody appreciated the composition instead of ruing it. So I have tried several different angles (as seen in the previous post) but I was really mesmerized by the shot from the bottom against the beautiful cobalt blue dusk sky, which thanks to arriving storm got even more dynamic!
My camera with 11-16 wide-angle (obviously, so late on a tripod) I have aimed against the sky and decided for aperture f/16 which determined the correct exposure at 1/4 sec.
But already in the morning I got an idea to try, how those pillars would look like, if I would call for a help of my flash with some colored gels and lighten them against the darker sky. Unfortunately, I have forgotten to pack my color gels, but I have managed to overcome that by visit to local Office depot and brought with me a bunch of simple colorful, transparent sheet covers.

Flash in manual exposure has been set to full 1/1 power, distance apx. 1 meter (3ft). I have handheld the flash on my right and with a help of Pocket Wizard I have taken the picture above. And when I have impatiently checked the LCD monitor I have almost fallen to the lake, cause I knew I have THE shot I wanted and I have envisioned in the morning!
PS: You can see below also green version, but I am the first one to admit, that red against the blue is much better! ;)



Při ranním běhu kolem...

peace at the lake shore

While walking at the lake shore, I have discovered those balancing stones sculptures. When I have realized, they are REAL and not glued - I immediately knew I need to get back with my camera. And it was worth it!
This one is all about the wide angle and foremost subject telling the story of the peaceful evening. But there were couple of more shots, where I have enjoyed playing with my flash. Those will come later...

© Patrik Banas, Nikon D7000 with Tokina 11-14mm at 11mm, f/22 @ 25 sec, ISO 100


Na prechádzke okolo brehu jazera som objavil tieto kamenné súsošia. Keď som zistil, že nie sú nijako zlepené ale fakt sú takto vyvážené - tak mi hneď bolo jasné, že sa musím vrátiť naspäť s foťákom. A stálo to za to! Tento záber je hlavne o širokouhlom objektíve a o dominantnom prvku v popredí, ktorý dokáže vyrozprávať príbeh toho úžasne kľudného večera... Ale nafotil som ešte zopár ďalších, kde som sa vyhrajkal s bleskom.
Tie prídu už čoskoro...

project 52 | week 13 - hapiness

Give me a camera, 50mm prime lens and nice and shiny object... and I am happy as a child!
Chandelier in the one of Swiss "Hôtel" was so irresistible, that I gave up happy hour in the bar and just walk around, laid below, play with the aperture and shutter speed... And then just very quickly edited in LR within 5 minutes... So you can say - pure output out of the camera. Yes, that's also a happiness for me! Chandelier itself is at the very bottom...


Dajte mi do ruky foťák s 50mm objektívom a nejaký zaujímavý, trblietavý predmet... a som šťastný ako blcha! Tento luster v jednom švajčiarskom "Hôtel" bol tak neodolateľný, že som obmedzil pobyt v bare a namiesto toho som sa len prechádzal okolo lustra, ľahol si pod neho a len sa tak hral s clonou a uzávierkou...
Potom som to len narýchlo za 5 minút, prehnal cez Lightroom, takže myslím, že to viacmenej vústup priamo z foťáku. Áno, aj takto vyzerá pre mňa šťastie! Samotný luster je úplne dole...




project 52 | week 11 - song

Where is a shot, there will be a song...
Theme of the project 52 this week is SONG, and it was quite easy to match a song to this different angle of Arc Triomphe in Paris, France (yes, that is what is it). It was a fine Sunday morning with Monika and quite a fun to lay down on my back under the arch and then realize, that all of the sudden all tourists started to raise their heads and shooting towards the sky ;)
Oh, and the song is the classic - Aux Champs Elysées!

©Patrik Banas, Nikon D800 with Nikkor 14-24mm at 14mm, f/22 @ 1/13sec, ISO100

project 52 | week 14 - silhouettes

Timing is everything!
Správne načasovanie nadovšetko!



Huge thanks to my darling Monika! For the trip itself and for her sacrifice, to stay in foyer to take care of all bags and tripods. Guards to Musée d'Orsay were really really not opened to let us go inside with all our equipment. We negotiate at least DSLRs with two lenses. Scotty (the model) and myself went inside, Monika waited. Isn't she a perfect!?

Rendez-vous in Paris

I got a date (or I should say rendez-vous!) this weekend. Very special one! My dear one has invited me to Paris. Just like that. Only two of us and cameras!
We met extremely nice people and took a lot of nice pictures (they will be coming soon). But most of all - we had a nice weekend with "a lot of kisses, hugs and baguettes" ;)
PS: Mademoiselle Eiffel joined us for a double-date...
PS2: Thanks Babaj, Miška, Honza a Scotty!

Nikon D800, 70-300mm, f/11 @ 4sec, ISO 320

project 52 | week 12 - in the center (and/or at the edge)

A bit complicated theme this week. I was clueless for a while, when the inspiration came right in front of me. During our Sunday afternoon walk we happened to be right along the path of some motorbike parade. Hundreds (!) of bikes of all kinds, all honking and reving up the engines. Quite ugly background, so quick reaction was: do some panning! After a quick review on a display I knew I have the one for "in the center, or at the edge" ;)



project 52 | week 10 - ear (and eye)

This week it is a linguistic mystery, as the theme of the week is the Ear. Trouble is, that in my native language, sewing needle has an "ear", while in English it is a proverbial "Eye of the needle". So I am fulfilling theme only in one language ;) Unless the Eye theme will be selected again! ;)
Behind the scene shots inside the article...

© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800 with Macro 105mm lens and three additional Kenko extension tubes. f/40 @ 30sec, ISO 100.


project 52 | week 9 - guess what?

In this case it is more "guess how and where", as "what" itself is pretty easy to recognize. Would you guess how this picture has been taken and what is behind? Read inside to see the "behind the scene" shot and a bit of the background.
V tomto prípade ide skôr o "Hádaj ako a kde" namiesto "hádaj čo to je", nakoľko samotný objekt je celkom ľahko rozoznateľný. Uhádli by ste, ako bola táto fotografia nafotená a čo to vlastne je v pozadí? Viac info je vnútri článku vrátane záberu "spoza foťáku".




We went for a family walk around...

project 52 | week 8 - it's a man thing!

OK, being a man it should be quite easy to come up with an idea specific for MAN, right? Well, it took me a bit of time to think - and then I got it! I've laughed and start to think how to visualize it the best way... Disclaimer first - I swear I am not one of us, who keep it up all the time, even though it might happen here and there... ;) But, yes, I think we are quite notoriously known for not putting toilet seats down back... However, it might be also one of the stereotypical features.
So I had the visualization on my mind right from the beginning (especially when we had opened this week our PPSOP.cz Flash course) and the idea is, that we are probably scared to put toilet seat back down again, as there must be something scary with the toilet itself! It has definitely nothing to do with being lazy!!!

Two flash. One with blue gel - front lit with 1/4 power and second one with a red gel hidden in the toilet (! see behind the scenes below!) with 1/2 power. Camera set up: Nikon D800 with 24-70mm, f/5.6 at 1/200 sec. Happy toilet seating :D


project 52 | week 7 - odd or even (part 2/2)

This week picture has been taken during my last "painting with light" session, and can frankly fall under the sport session as well. But conveniently I am going to file it under "Odd or even" theme.
Story is easy. It was the night after the birthday party of our kids and balloons where everywhere. Once I have finished painting the bike, I just wanted to see how it would looks like, if I would paint from behind the balloon with the same small source of light. And when I saw on my display first result of just a one balloon I was amazed with a colorful results! "Olympic rings idea" came to my mind immediately, so I was rotating with the little light source behind each of the baloon. Obviously, balloons had no intentions to stand on each other as I have envisioned it, so a little transparent tape came handy. Final image is just flipped, as you can see on the behind the scene shot ;) You gotta admit, that looks cool, huh? ;)

© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800, f/22, 101sec, ISO 100

project 52 | week 6 - sport (part 1/2)

  It has been a while I have "painted with a light", so I decided to take this week "sport" theme as a challenge. Unfortunately, my own painting skills are very bad, so I have used my kids' Strider bike as a template. In the middle of the night, when the rest of the family was sleeping already, I have created this lightning speed vehicle ;) Shot below has been made straight in the camera with a pretty easy set up. Camera on the tripod and shutter speed on Bulb mode. It took me exactly 111 seconds to paint it with a small, one single LED diode lamp. I have aimed the light into the lens and was trying my best to copy the shape of the bike. And voilá ;)
  Below is one more "rainbow" version (talking about Olympics, this is quite favorite color combination in Sochi right now ;) Even though, there are no bike disciplines during the Winter Olympics... )
PS: And that night playing brought me one more fantastic idea and shot, which I will share later on. It is about sport again, and I can just say, that it was the night after the kids' birthday party! ;)

© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800, f/22, 111sec, ISO 100


  Už dávno som "nemaľoval so svetlom", tak som sa rozhodol, že tohto týždňovú Športovú tému si dám ako výzvu. Bohužiaľ, moje vlastné kresliace techniky sú veľmi chabé (ako by potvrdila pani učiteľka z prvého stupňa ZŠ, ktorá mi dala sólovú dvojku z výtvarných prác a písania!) a tak som si pomohol odrážadlom mojich detí ako šablónou. Uprostred noci, keď celý dom už spal, som vytvoril toto bleskové vozítko. Záber vyššie bol nafotený priamo vo foťáku a nastavenie bolo veľmi jednoduché. Fotoaparát na statíve a uzávierka na voľnom "B-móde". Trvalo mi presne 111 sekúnd, kým som si toto nakreslil za pomoci malej LED diódovej lampičky. Stačilo namieriť svetlo priamo smerom na objektív a snažiť sa kopírovať tvar odrážadla. A voilá ;)
  Nižšie je ešte jedna "dúhová" verzia (a keďže sme už pri tej Olympiáde, tak som počul, že toto je tam teraz veľmi obľúbená farebná kombinácia ;) hoci neviem si vybaviť žiadnu zimnú cyklistickú disciplínu...)
PS: A v tú istú noc sa mi pritrafil ešte jedne fantastický nápad a záber, o ktorý sa podelím neskôr. Je to znova o športe a jediné čo prezradím je to, že to bola noc po narodeninovej párty našich detvákov! ;)



© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800, f/22, 111sec, ISO 100
enhanced with Photoshop CS5 using gradient overlay effect

project 52 | week 5 - triangle

This tiny red triangle I met walking up the street this week morning. And as I was in a search for a triangles, this red one got my attention! With a help of my favorite wide angle (and lady in a red) I could tell my story...

© Patrik Banas, Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-14mm, f/14 @ 1/10 sec


Tento maličký červený trojuholník som stretol, keď som kráčal jednou ulicou tento týždeň. No a keďže hľadám trojuholníky, tak mi hneď padol do oka. A s pomocou môjho širokouhlého objektívu (a dámy v červenom) som mohol porozprávať tento príbeh...

project 52 | week 4 - resolutions

This week theme is "RESOLUTION" - we are still quite at the beginning of the year, so it makes sense. And my resolution is to use those Brooks babies below more often then last year. After three half-marathons in a row, year by year, I become quite lazy last year. So... I really want to have less excuses why I can't go run outside today. But hey, what if that would mean to cut more on photography?! Hmmm, let me think... ;)
Once I have realized what resolution I am going to photographer, the idea came quite quickly - typical approach: when you do not have an idea, pick up you macro lens.. and just play.
© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800 with Macro Nikkor 105mm with 3 Kenko extension tubes, f/14 @ 1.3 sec, ISO 100
Tohto týždňová téma je "PREDSAVZATIA" a keďže nový rok začal ešte pomerne nedávno, tak to dáva celkom zmysel. No a mojím predsavzatím je používať tieto Brooksy trochu viacej ako minulý rok. Potom ako som tri roky za sebou zvládol pol-maratón som to minulý rok trochu flákal. Takže tento rok sa chystám mať menej výhovoriek, prečo práve dnes sa nedá isť si vonku zabehať. Hmmm, ale čo ak to bude znamenať, že sa budem musieť venovať foteniu trochu menej? Nuž... uvidíme ;)
Keď som už vedel, ktoré predsavzatie si nafotím, tak s realizáciou to už bolo celkom jednoduché - aplikoval som klasický postup: keď nemám nápad, tak vytiahnem makro objektív... a len sa tak hrajem.
© Patrik Banas, Nikon D800 with Macro Nikkor 105mm with 3 Kenko extension tubes, f/32 @ 25(!) sec, ISO 100

project 52 | week 3 - yellow

Yellow idea came when I was enjoying an excellent dark chocolate, which was packed in a yellow box with unique pattern. So my background was clear. And then I have borrowed one (of the millions) small car of my son. Arranged. Added motion. And to emphasize the size, added a human element (my lovely daughter in this case ;). Monika helped with set up. Clearly a family teamwork... Thank you all!
PS: Behind the scenes are at the bottom...


project 52 | week 2 - legs

Well, second week of project 52 and I am still catching up and I am on time! ;) This time THE opportunity came quite easily. I have been first time ever playing curling - and there were a lot of legs in a very different angles and positions.  This one came out perfectly. Motion, action, lines... and of course LEGS!
PS: Shot with my small point and shoot Leica D-Lux4...

Tak, druhý týždeň projektu 52 a ešte stále stíham a dodávam načas! ;) Tentokrát sa príležitosť vyskytla pomerne jednoducho. Bol som si prvýkrát v živote zahrať curling - a bolo tam k dispozícii kopec nôh v rôznych uhloch a polohách. Tento jeden záber mi vyšiel skvelo. Trochu pohybu, akcie, línie... no a samozrejme NOHY!
PS: Nafotené malým kompaktom Leica D-Lux4...

project 52 is back! - week1 | first

OK, this year I am back in project 52 - thanks goes to Monika for organizing it all and pushing me to not be lazy (thanks sweetheart!). Let's see how this will be developing this year! If you are not familiar with project 52, it is easy actually pretty easy. Every week there is a theme of the week announced within a small and very active photo community and I will do my best to force myself to take a picture with that theme. So please stay tuned. Theme of the first week is - what a surprise - "first".
And here's my my first week assignment. Our FIRST mold of this year in our fridge! :) Yeaah, this one raspberry didn't make it! But the rest of them were delicious!
PS: Macro shot has been lighted with my fantastic new "pringles softbox". I love it!


Tak, a tento rok som tu znova s projektom 52 - a to všetko vďaka Monike, ktorá to všetko vymyslela, organizuje a pomáha mi, aby som nezlenivel (ďakujem láska!). Uvidíme, ako sa to bude tento rok vyvíjať a či to dotiahnem až do konca. Ak nepoznáte projekt52, tak to je vcelku jednoduché. Každý týždeň je v rámci malej a veľmi aktívnej foto komunite vyhlásená téma týždňa a všetci sa budeme snažiť nafotiť niečo na túto tému. Takže ostaňte naladení. No a téma prvého týždňa je - tadááááá - "prvý" (prvá, prvé...).
No a toto je moje spracovanie témy. Prosím pekne, toto je naša PRVÁ tohtoročná pleseň v chladničke. Veru tak, táto malina to už nerozchodila. Ale zvyšok bol veľmi vydarný!
PS: Makro záber bol nasvietený s mojím novým "pringles softboxom". Obľúbil som si ho!

landscape layers

Sidelight (close to a sunset) can play miracles with a hilly landscape.
Bočné svetlo (obzvlášť teda tesne pred západom slnka) dokáže v kopečkoch robiť zázrazky.



Or would you prefer black and white version? I was amazed, how many details are hidden in a hazy distance and are able to show up from the RAW file. Have a look on the third from the top level and compare versus the previous version...
PS: Happy new year!! ;)

swatch detail (with pringles softbox)

In my previous post I have shared how to create a simple and very effective and versatile softbox with the empty pringles tin. Below you can find a close up picture taken with the help of this softbox.
As I have found WITH and WITHOUT the softbox picture remarkably different, I wanted to share the result with you as well. The first shot is obviously taken under the pringles softbox. You can see in the top right quadrant white shape of the long light source. I love the effect, which adds third dimension, adds "liquidity". Overall lightning is evenly distributed.
Nikon D-800, f/11, 1/200 sec, ISO 100. Nikkor 105mm micro. 
Remotely fired flash Nikon SB-900 (with pringles tube) on 1/4 of the power.

DIY mini softbox with Pringles

Let me clear this out right at the beginning - this came as an inspiration from diyphotography.net. And after the "aha moment" I had to try it on my own! So while playing and creating my own Pringles softbox, I have decided to share my version and mainly my pictures - which I found pretty awesome ;). Taking into a consideration what a simple lightning set up has been used.

So what can you get? Pretty cool "softbox", which can direct your nicely diffused light to a very narrow beam. It will utilize your own electronic flash (Nikon SB-900 in my case). And it will cost you almost nothing. Well, 3 bucks for a tin of Pringles, but those will be eaten by your family members anyway! ;)

What you will need:
  • tin of Pringles (no, it really doesn't matter what flavors)
  • duck tape
  • white fabric (old pillow cover, in my case)
  • sharp knife
  • your electronic flash


Cut out rectangular shape on the Pringles tin. Please be careful with a knife! Size is apx. 3 cm (1 inch) wide and will go almost through the full tin. Keep a bit a space on the side, so you can stretch fabric around it and the tin will still hold the structure.
Below you can see the aproximate size of the final cut.

Next step is to fit your flash into it. This is a bit tricky part. Every flash has a different size of the head. My LumoPro flash wasn't able to fit it into a tube. Nikon SB-900 went inside, even very, very tight.

Red beauty

This picture follows my previous post. Extremely simple composition and well... easy lightning set up with one light source only. Picture taken in the middle of our kitchen, hmmmm, excuse me, I mean our studio. And believe or not, is still has something to do with Pringles!



So here's the set up itself, or so called "behind the scenes" picture, where you can see, that for the lightning I have utilized my new softbox, made of... well, Pringles tin! You can find the step by step guideline how to build your own here.

Foggy, foggy, foggy

It was almost scary to watch today afternoon fog surrounding us. It literally came within a minutes! And also created a magic hat above one of the nearby mountain. Obviously, perfect timing, sunset and golden light helped a lot...


And BTW, here's a shot of the fog itself, approaching us in the middle of the tiny countryside road. Those tree and house shapes had disappeared literally in within a 10 minutes! I have to admit it was an experience I never had before. Kudos to all landscape photographers...

© 2013 monika and patrik banas

christmas angel (and pringles?!)

What those two things have in common?!? Well, you will discover soon. Pretty neat! Stay tuned ;)
Meanwhile, have a beautiful pre-Christmas time and lit up some candle too...


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