Visions and Nature Website portfolio update | Latest Work
Posted on June 12, 2015
update
by Kristel Schneider
Spring time, the season of colors and new life.
For me the time where I focus a lot on flower photography, especially the last couple of weeks I visited my favorite flower ‘hotspots’ in the area
I was happy to see that the wild orchids were doing very good this year, some species came out even too early for me as they were already to damaged to photograph.
Nature is acting pretty unpredictable over the last couple of years and the flora is adapting better to this than our nature flower guides. So it is better to see for yourself and look when
certain species are out or not. Because of the weather (hot, warm, wet, wind) I returned to the flower areas a couple of times to see their blooming status and to have better photography light conditions.
Today I updated my portfolio | Latest Work, to give you a small overview of what I have been photographing lately.
Feel free to have a look at my website
Color Transformation
Posted on May 7, 2012
Color Transformation
by Kristel Schneider
This weekend I met, for the first time the members of Massifs Centraux (a collective from four local Photographers). Together we explored an area nearby the Mont-Dore (Auvergne -France), Col de Guéry. Although the calender tells us we are in Spring, the weather is reacting differently with colder temperatures. Between rain showers and thunderstorms I was able to take some images.
The Col de Guéry , is located in a regional nature park, Volcans d’Auvergne.
Due to the altitude (1268) and the colder Spring temperatures you can see that the tree tops in the Col de Guéry show a different color pallet then in lower parts of the Auvergne, where you already can see the different tints of green.
The leaf buds in the valley are still closed and the colors are gradually transforming from a nice red pastel color glow to different tints of green. But before we can see the green leafs we still have to wait a couple more weeks.
Images are taken with Canon 5DMII, 24-105 MM and Canon 300 L mm.
Nature Photo Festival Montier-en-Der
Posted on November 26, 2011
Montier en Der
International Nature Photo Festival 2011
By Kristel Schneider
(all images Nokia phone uploads)
From the 17th till the 20th of November Montier-en-Der (and some surrounding villages) was full of life. In the village the festival spread over many different locations, from the city hall to the local schools and other halls. Outside you could enjoy some great outdoor exhibitions for free. The overall program was very thorough. You could attend conferences, video/film projections, animations and lots of beautiful nature photo exhibitions.
During the festival I met some nice new photographers and I could speak to people I had met on from the social medias on the Internet. A Photo festival provides you with not only inspiration but also good networking possibilities.
In my opinion a couple of exhibitions stood out, especially those of :
- Olivier Seydoux, a great show called ‘Latitudes Nord‘, which displayed images from countries 60º and 70º latitude North.
- Werner Bollmann, presented his new exhibition ‘Nordic Moments‘ with images from Sweden, Norway and Finland.
- Ludmila Espiaube, ‘Hokkiado, out of the white’, images from a region in Japan under the snow, taken in an artistic, pure and beautiful way.
- Stéphanne Hette and Paul Starosta, ‘Terre de contraste’ a combined show featuring amazing work on insects. Paul’s work was new from me. Stéphanne whom I had interviewed here on Visions and Nature and his work keep amazing me.
- Serge Deboffle, ‘L’art et les oiseaux’, his show was interesting in the way he captured the movement of birds in flight. I liked the ‘arty look’ of his images and he inspired me to try out some techniques to get ‘movement’ images myself. (But that I will explain in the next Blog post).
Autumn Photography
Posted on November 11, 2011
Autumn Photography
by Kristel Schneider
Autumn, one of the most beautiful seasons of the year. A season full with colors and atmosphere .
Every year the Autumn season makes a photographer’s heart go faster and every year is different. This year the season was late, the climate was too warm to bring out the nice autumn colors on the trees. But when the trees finally are at their best, photographers have to act quick because the top season does not last long. Rain and wind can destroy the scenery overnight. The sun is not always required for Autumn photography an overcast day and mist are great weather conditions to get these colors popup.
TIPS for successful Autumn Photography:
– go out even if the weather is cloudy and grey
– get up early to get the first light even in combination with mist.
– use a polarization filter, the colors get more intense and the filter is also very useful for
wet leaves reflection .
– look at your white balance settings, try out different modes.
– when taking photos of mushrooms look at your background to create a nice color
contrast.
Even the late Autumn colors (red/brown tints) are nice to capture in landscape photography. So although this year may not have been the top Autumn season, even now, in November, it is still nice to go out and enjoy some mushrooms and the late season colors.
New autumn workshop/tour dates available for 2012.
Interview with Photographer: Leon Baas
Posted on September 22, 2011
Visions and Nature
Photographers interview
by Kristel Schneider
‘…more attracted by the bugs on the beautiful flowers than by the bride. ‘
I have come to know Leon via Wildpixels, a Dutch nature forum. We were both moderators for the macro section. Leon’s work made me look at macro photography differently. The first images I saw by him were insects surrounded by spectacular light. Looking at these images I always wondered how he could do that? He politely answered sorry, I can’t go into much details about my technique otherwise everybody will copy it. Luckily this has not been the case, Leon created his own style and mastered the techniques so well that Canon’s office was decorated with his work in 2008. After this, everything moved fast and his images were published in many magazines (such as Focus, Zoom , Cameramagazine etc.) and on websites. I am very pleased to introduce his work to you and hope you will enjoy it -Kristel
Leon Baas at work
I started with photography 12 years ago. It then was nothing as it is now. It didn’t have any line in it and I would shoot everything my eyes saw. By doing this I learned more and more to look for details. My next step was wedding photography, which I did together with my wife. But to be honest my eyes were more attracted by the bugs on the beautiful flowers than by the bride. Luckily my wife made the wedding shots so we got away with it.
My interest in nature photography grew fast the following years, especially macro photography. I learned to look for the perfect compositions and lighting techniques. I pushed myself to high standards, which I couldn’t reach at the time. I just wanted to create the perfect lighting and exposure. – Leon.
Who is your inspiration?
I get my inspiration mainly from reading about a lot of old and new nature photography from which I have learned a lot of tricks. I learned a lot about photography by listening to other great photographers.
My toilet has been filled with a lot of photography books because this is the only place in my house I have nothing else to do except waiting for things to come. Your camera manual is the first book that will end up in a drawer. Now you know where you should put it instead.
What do you like about Nature Photography?
I love the amazing world of insects. It’s a hard world with no rules. Sorry, just one rule…eaten or be eaten. An always different world and that fascinates me every time. Again and again.
Photographs are Copyrighted © 2011, Leon Baas — All Rights Reserved
Are there things you don’t like about Nature Photography?
I prefer to work alone and do not like to be disturbed when I’m doing my work.
Do you have any tips for Visions and Nature readers who like macro photography ?
- Try to get as low as possible. For example. spiders will look even more impressive when you can get even lower that the animal
- In the morning the animals are very slow. Just take advantage of that moment and don’t forget your tripod.
- Try to approach your subject as slow as possible. Before you know it they will fly or run off. The use of a 100mm lens or longer will help you get a safe working distance.
- To lure insects you can make your garden more attractive to insects. By placing a butterfly box or a real insect hotel you can get some really nice species in your garden. You can make your own insect hotel by drilling many holes in an old tree stump in different diameters like 6, 8, 10 en 12 millimeters. Water is very important and lures a lot of insects to your garden like butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies, even newts, frogs and other water specious.
What are your specialities?i
I have specialised in making photos of insects in surreal areas. I try to achieve it by applying special exposures with special colored flashes, to make their world more dramatic. I also focus on habitat macro photography which shows insects in their habitat with an extreme depth of field.
Photographs are Copyrighted © 2011, Leon Baas — All Rights Reserved
Share with us one of your personal favourite photographs?
It is a photo with a take off from a ladybird. A photo with a moment that will never come back. I am really proud of this picture I have to say.
Photographs are Copyrighted © 2011, Leon Baas — All Rights Reserved
Describe how it was taken?
For this photo I used two coloured flashes. One for the background and one for the object. The background was a coloured canvas.
That day I was photographing mushrooms. I had everything ready when the ladybug climbed against the mushroom. An exciting time for me to watch. What I hoped for happened. And I’m still happy with the result.
You are now on Visions and Nature Blog, a Nature and Landscape Photography Blog from Kristel Schneider. Do you know her work?
I know Kristel as a serious photographer who does her work very good and thoroughly.I love her enthusiasm and surprising themes.
When you look at her gallery which image pops out for you and why?
The photo ‘’drop on a leaf’’ still appeals to me most.
But her other work is also surprisingly good.
Visit Kristels website: click on logo
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