Aerial Silk

I have had recently the opportunity to photograph our local aerial silk artist and present today one of the best photos from the shoot. We took the picture in a gym using two lights. The main with a softbox standing to the camera left and then a rim light behind the model on the right. The background was not completely dark as I hoped to, so I had to darken it in Lightroom using the brush tool with edge detection. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 L2.8 II at 85mm, F8 @ 1/160, ISO 100.

Camels

Today I post another photo that I took at Cirkus Humberto performance, this time with the many camels they take care of. I think that the composition and the angle give a nice impression of how big and interesting these animals are. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 24-70 L2.8 II at 55mm, F2.8 @ 1/320, ISO 5000.

Elephant Close-Up

Cirkus Humberto is known for their elephant show. During the break during the show, I had the possibility to get nice and close to one of these big animals and being just a few inches away from its trunk, I managed to pull up this nice photograph. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 24-70 L2.8 II at 24mm, F4.5 @ 1/200, ISO 4000.

Flying in the Sky

Here comes another photo from Cirkus Humberto Sunday's show in Trebic. This time it is an impressive performance of Ludwig Navratil, high above the ground in great choreography. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 L2.8 IS II at 150mm, F2.8 @ 1/400, ISO 5000.

Blue Power

I got the possibility to photograph some of the top performances of artists from Cirkus Humberto that visited the city of Trebic in the Czech Republic last week. I present today a photograph of Hynek Navratil junior who showed an impressive control and strength during his performance. The blue light adds a nice effect and the diagonal pose is compositionally pleasing. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 L2.8 IS II at 123mm, F2.8 @ 1/250, ISO 6400.

Hidden Behind the Movement

Here comes another photo from the workshop I mentioned in my previous post. It is again a natural light photo shot at a slow shutter speed. The image stabilization of my lens helped to keep the model in focus while blurring the net. I shot a few more pictures of this setup but this one I liked most. It is sharp and with a nice shape of the net. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 L2.8 IS II at 70mm, F4.5 @ 1/40, ISO 250.

Net Beauty

 I have recently participated in a workshop on nude photography and would like to show you one of the photos I took during the workshop. There is not really that much nudity on this particular photo but I really like the expression of the model and her look. Window light was used to create this photo and I on purpose changed the composition so that her face is leading the eyes out of the frame, creating a nice dynamic tension. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 80mm, F3.2 @ 1/200, ISO 640.

Alone with You

I have just finished editing the last wedding of the season and would like to post a nice photo of this pretty couple in the Kilde park in Aalborg downtown. This was taken at the very end of the photo session  and I asked the couple to look at each other and forget I was there.  This resulted in something I quite liked. I used only the available light. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 140mm, F4 @ 1/160, ISO 640.

Look at Me

Here is another image from the last Saturday where I asked the couple to slowly return to the car we arrived with while the groom is holding her dress and she is looking back at him. I like to connection between the couple and the brides expression. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 123mm, F3.5 @ 1/400, ISO 100.

A Dance on a Cliff

Today I am posting a picture taken yesterday at a wedding shoot in North Jutland with a beautiful couple daring to dance on a cliff near the Mårup Church. In the background you can see the edge of the cliff falling into the ocean and forming a pleasing diagonal, ending with the Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse. The picture was taken at the end of the shoot when I asked the couple just to relax and dance little bit, signaling that the shoot is over. Then they suddenly kissed and I clicked at the right moment, capturing great emotions. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 135mm, F4.5 @ 1/500, ISO 200.

Gentle Touch

Today's image is one of my favorite ones. I think the composition is interesting but what sells the image for me is the nice gentle pose of the bride and the connection between the couple. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 145mm, F5 @ 1/250, ISO 160.

A Kiss of Love

Here comes a photo from one of my favorite weddings where I was lucky to photography this beautiful couple. This image was taken in the natural light only and it is a simple, moment capturing photograph with a nice contrast between the green and blue with the kissing couple positioned in the golden cut. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 200mm, F4.5 @ 1/500, ISO 100. 

Under the Blue Sky

Here is another wedding couple kissing under the blue sky. I like the image because of the little bit provoking composition where the couple and the bridge are placed far beyond the lower third of the frame with lots of negative blue space at the top. The eye is quickly attracted to the bridge and the couple due to the light contrast of the white wood and thanks to the multiple leading lines pointing towards the bridge. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L IS at 24mm, F11 @ 1/250, ISO 100.

Autumn Love

This is another of my favorite shots of a wedding couple during the autumn period. What I like about the photo is the composition where I got very low to the ground, placed the couple into the golden cut and made sure they are nicely framed with the trees at the background with the leading lines of the path. I used natural light only and it was getting quite dark but my camera could handle this without much trouble. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 70mm, F2.8 @ 1/100, ISO 1600. 

Colored Harmony

Let me now return to some of the weddings I photographed recently.  Today's image is one of my favorites portraits of this young couple. The posing is easy and relaxed, photographed in natural light only with nice background full of beautiful colors and the colored leaves nicely framing the couple. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 150mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 320. 

Black and White Colors

Let me finish the photos from the workshop of black and white photography with this image that simply works best for me in color ;-) It was shot again in a direct sun light passing through a metal mesh but executed in a different way than the previous one. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 142mm, F2.8 @ 1/200, ISO 160.

Harsh Light

Today I am posting another image from the workshop of black and white photography. One of the reasons why I enjoy photographic workshops is that I can experiment with pictures I would normally not take on, for example, a wedding day. Here, in the limited time, there is only very little space to make experiments after all the compulsory shots are taken. The workshop allowed by to take a series of pictures in the direct sunlight through a metal mesh in a nearby tram station. I was pleased with the results and hope you will enjoy today's photo too. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 135mm, F3.5 @ 1/1000, ISO 100.

A Tram Tunnel

Here comes another photo from the workshop of black and white photography mentioned in my previous post. We moved down to the tram station where a nice directional light was coming from one end of the tunnel. I asked the model to look towards the light and pressed the shutter button, resulting in this pleasant portrait of our beautiful model. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 120mm, F2.8 @ 1/200, ISO 800.

Black and White Beauty

It has been more than a year ago I posted my last photo. The reason was that I was simply too busy with photographic assignments and didn't really find the time to blog about my pictures. In the meantime I gathered bunch of nice photos that I would like to share. Today I start with the first photo that I took recently at the workshop of black and white photography in Brno. I enjoyed the way the workshop was run and today's image is one of my favorites. It was photographed in a natural light in a small tunnel close to a local supermarket. After setting my camera to a correct exposure, I was together with my model exploring different poses until I ended up with something interesting and dynamic. Hope you will enjoy today's photo and stay tuned for more to come! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark iii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 100mm, F3.2 @ 1/250, ISO 400.

Fluffy Dreams

I have recently had the pleasure to photograph this adorable baby and would like to share one photo with you today. I used studio light with shoot-through umbrella to camera left and a reflector on the opposite site. The baby was lying on a nice soft pillow on top of which I placed the fluffy cloth and asked the parents to raise the corners so that we got nice and even background. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 100mm 2.8L IS macro at 100mm, F11 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

Empty Corridor

Today I am posting another photo from my recent trip to Tallinn. It is from the university building. I liked the large and spacious corridor with no people and took some photos on my iPhone. Then I though that having a single person would add to the emptiness of the space. I composed the frame so that the converging lines meet in the upper right part of the frame and waited for some to pass in spot where the lines meet. Luckily, after a few minutes the lady on the photo was walking exactly where I wished her to and her framing in the inner frame of the light door opening is another bonus to the photo. After that I used some effects available in Snapseed and the whole image was edited solely on the iPhone. Camera spec: iPhone 4S at 4.28mm (corresponds to 35mm on full frame), F2.4 @ 1/20, ISO 100.

Tallinn 987

I took this photo on a my recent trip to Tallinn in Estonia. Close to my hotel were these old buildings that seemed to be recently partially burt down. The light was good in the early morning so I picked my iPhone 4S and took this photo using HDR feature of the camera. The resulting photo was edited in iPhone using Snapseed. I think the result is quite moody. Camera spec: iPhone 4S at 4.28mm (corresponds to 35mm on full frame), F2.4 @ 1/160, ISO 64.

Butterfly Portrait

Here comes one more portrait that I took recently. I used butterfly lighting through a shoot-through umbrella and a reflector under my model's face. One speedlite with a grid was used for hair light and another one with Stofen omnibounce to light the backgroud. The higher position of the camera created, in my opinion, a very pleasing result. Camera spec: Canon 5d mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L IS at 105mm, F11 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

Happy Sunset

Today I am posting some of my recent photos of this happy girl. I chose to expose for the sun, turning the rest of the background into silhouettes. The off-camera light on my subject is coming from left and it is a remotely fired Canon Speedlite 580EX with Lumiquest Softbox III. I like the colors, composition and in particular the expression of the girl. Enjoy! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 120mm, F4 @ 1/200, ISO 160.

Give me a Smile

Today I am posting another photo of this happy baby I was photographing around X-mas last year. I used my classical setup when I travel to people's homes: key light in softbox, reflector on the other side and speedlite with stofen omni-bounce for the high-key background. Normally I carry the white collapsible background with me but this time a piece of nice white wall fulfilled the same purpose. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 100mm 2.8L IS macro at 100mm, F9 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

Pretty Baby

Around the X-mas there are only very few weddings in Denmark but I was pretty busy with photographing kids. So here I am posting one of my favorite children photos. I like to travel to the house of my customers and bring my portable studio. This gives the children the safety of their home and it takes less time before they start to cooperate. I have became quite efficient in setting up my studio, so I can build the whole setup with key light, reflector, background light and a collapsible background in about 10 minutes. I have a few more children photos waiting to be presented, so be ready for the next one that is coming soon. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 100mm 2.8L Macro at 100mm, F9 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

A Growing Family

It was just before X-mas last year I was photographing this family with two newly born twins, a girl and a boy. I used a simple white background with the setup like in my previous post, instead of a softbox I went with a large shoot-through umbrella. After the shot I composed two selected photos into a nice wide image for a wall portrait. I found out that my new 100m macro lens is quite capable as a studio portrait lens, the photos are very sharp and I can even get very close for a detail without changing the lens. Enjoy. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 100mm macro 2.8L IS at 100mm, F10 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

My Panda and Me

I took this photo couple of days ago. The setup is easy: white wall illuminated with Speedlite 580EX II with diffuser placed right behind my subject; main light to camera light with 28" Westcott apollo softbox; a silver reflector to camera left. I like the soft expression of my model that was further emphasized in Lightroom 3. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 100mm 2.8L at 100mm, F10 @ 1/160, ISO 160.

Aalborg Sunset on iPhone 4S

Today I was returning home together with my daughter from her kindergarten and a close to our house we experienced this beautiful sunset. I captured the photo on my new iPhone 4S and edited in the phone using an excellent application Snapseed. After that I quickly uploaded the JPG file to Lightroom and adjusted the last exposition bits on my calibrated monitor and here is the result. Pretty impressive in my opinion! Camera spec: iPhone 4S at 4.28mm (corresponds to 35mm on full frame), F2.4 @ 1/30, ISO 64.

Autumn Feelings

In the last few minutes of the year 2011 let me post one more engagement photos from this year. It was taken late in autumn and the light was disappearing very quickly, so the exposure was little bit extreme but thanks to 5D mark ii without much compromise in quality. I had to use a small touch of on-camera fill flash to separate the couple from the background. What I like most on this image is the connection between the couple and the relaxed feeling that I always try to establish during engagement sessions. Happy New Year!!! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 200mm, F3.2 @ 1/125, ISO 1600.

Hold me Tight

This is one of the engagement shots I did this autumn. The photo was taken with natural light only and the backlight separated the couple nicely from the green background. Compositionally, I placed the couple off center to create a dynamic portrait showing the nice background too. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L at 105mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 400.

Grand Prix Macao

During my recent trip to Macao, I was lucky enough to see the Macao Grand Prix race from very close and took several photos. The one I am posting today shows how close the drivers get during the turns to the concrete walls. In general, the track looked quite dangerous in my opinion, though I am not a regular fan of the racing sport. I chose continuous focus on my camera and was quite surprised how sharp images I could get with 5D mark ii and the cheapest 70-200 lens that I use mainly for private/travel purposes (it is very light). More than half of the photos were completely sharp; not a bad result given how many people complain about the focus system of the camera. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with 70-200 4L at 200mm, F5.6 @ 1/2000, ISO 800.

Galaxy Casino

I am sitting right now at Hong Kong airport, getting ready for my flight to Amsterdam, and browsing through the photos I took at Macao. Couple of days ago I visited the newest Galaxy Casino in Macao (or rather Taipa) opened just a couple of months ago. The entrance is impressive and I especially like the background of the entrance to the casino. I was lucky enough and in just a few minutes four girls arrived to pose for me, and I didn't hesitate I took this photo. The colors are great but it is interesting also compositionally as it is symmetric both vertically and horizonally with nice reflections of the background on the floor (being polished every 30 minutes). I just wished I had a wedding couple at this great location ... Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 17-40 4L at 19mm, F5.0 @ 1/50, ISO 2500.

Bride in Red

I am travelling these days, visiting the city of Macau. Couple of days ago I was at a famous place of St. Paul's Ruins where a wedding photography is taking a place almost constantly. I saw this beautiful bride and while the photographer was getting ready for the next shot, I smiled at her and she kindly allowed me (with her eyes) to take a photo. I really like the colors of the background and her dress, the negative space in the image and her soft expression. What I pity I didn't get her email to send her this photograph ... Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 4L at 200mm, F4 @ 1/320, ISO 2500.

Framed in Colors

On every wedding I photograph I always try to pull out a great "official" portrait. This happens typically in the church where I can use my off-camera speedlite 580EX II on a stand with shoot-through umbrella, irrelevant of the weather conditions outside (very important when living in Denmark). Today's post is an example of such a couple portrait where I used the off-camera flash just to the right of the frame and on-camera flash as a fill. I really like the nice colored background with the flowers in a matching color. In order to emphasize the symmetry, I was very careful the place the couple exactly in the center. I think it worked very well this time. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L at 47mm, F5.6 @ 1/125, ISO 500.

Rainy Portrait

A few months ago I was asked to photograph this pretty couple. We had to change the agreed time two times due to rain and it was drizzling even the third time. I simply placed the couple under a big tree and picked an even, green background. The lighting was provided from camera left by speedlite 580EX II and shoot-through umbrella and the fully opened lens at 190mm gave me a great and uniform background to pull out the portrait. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8 IS II at 190mm, F2.8 @ 1/100, ISO 1250.

Wedding Bouquet

As promised, let me post more engagement and wedding photos I took recently. Today, I begin with a photo of a wedding bouquet I photographed several days ago at a wedding here in Aalborg. I always try to photograph the bouquet in a different way so that all of my couples get something special and original. This time I noticed a wall with autumn-colored leaves and I quickly found a nice spot for the bouquet. I shot at 200mm in order to get the leaves out of focus completely blurred and placed the bouquet according to the rules of third. I was quite happy about the result. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 L IS II at 200mm, F 5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 500.

Look at You

Let me finish the photo series I took in South Africa with this one. I was walking nearby the camp and was able to get quite close to the animal featured on the image. The backlight created a beautiful separation from the background and I was very happy about the result. I have also recently photographed several engagements and weddings, so next time I promise to post more of these photos. Camera spec: Canon 40D with Canon 70-200 F4 at 200mm, F4 @ 1/250, ISO 800.

Not Any Closer

Here comes another image from my recent trip to Mabalingwe Nature Reserve in South Africa. Right in the camp where we were staying I had the change to meet this nice ape. I tried to get closer but just at the point I crossed the border, the animal showed me an angry face and I pushed the shutter. Apart from the animal's expression I also like the uniform and pleasing background without any distractions. Camera spec: Canon 40D with Canon 70-200 4L at 200mm, F6.3 @ 1/800, ISO 400.

Zebras in Backlight

One of my favourite animal photos from my trip to South Africe are these two zebras. The image is compositionally interesting but what sells it for me is the light. I know that backlighting works very well for human portraits and now I know that it suits animals equally well ... Camera spec: Canon 40D with Canon 70-200 4L at 200mm, F5.0 @ 1/400, ISO 200.

African Sunset

There days I am travelling in South Africa and one of the many amazing things to see is the sunset. Today's image is an example of one that I captured during couple of days ago. We were on a game ride and this photo was taken shortly after the sun completely disappeared, hence the high ISO setting. I have taken many more animal photos too that I will post shortly, so come back again soon. Camera spec: Canon 40D with 70-200 F4 at 91mm, F4.0 @ 1/125, ISO 3200.

When the Hearts Speak

I like to photograph in Danish churches. This is an image I captured recently. I used off-camera flash with a translucent umbrella to soften the light, this time the flash was placed to camera right. I asked the couple to close their eyes, touch their foreheads and think of the first time they met. Shortly after I was able to capture the soft expressions in their faces. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L USM at 96mm, F5.6 @ 1/100, ISO 400.

Lost in a Cornfield

Today I am presenting another photo from the wedding I shot last weekend. It was really hard to choose one as there were many worth sharing but at the end I chose this image in the cornfield. Even though the couple is small, they are the first thing an eye gets attracted to. The couple is positioned according to the rule of thirds with many lines pointing to them (some of the lines are only suggested in the cord field and in the clouds) and I thing it works quite well. I used my on-camera flash for a fill. First of all, I could shoot at 1/250 even though my camera can synchronize only up to 1/200 but using the Pocket wizard MiniTT1 allowed be shoot little bit faster. I also zoomed in the flash little bit and pointed it to the couple in order to avoid blasting off the corn close to the camera and adding more strength to the flash. The rest was fixed in Lightroom. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 24-105 4L IS at 24mm, F8 @ 1/250, ISO 50.

Just Married

A few days after returning from my holidays I was very glad to photograph the couple from the engagement photo I posted last time. Both the bride and the groom were gorgeous, the weather was perfect and we got taken many nice photos. The one I am posting today simply popped out when I was browsing through the portrait images. I like its simplicity and the relaxed expression of the couple. Lighting was achieved by an off-camera flash 580EX through a translucent umbrella held by an assistant and fire using the new pocket wizards with the zone controller that is great to manually set the flash power remotely. Compositionally, I placed the couple to the right upper corner in order allow for the empty space to the left adding to the mood of the photo. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 2.8L IS II at 155mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 100.

Far Away and So Close

This is a photo from my recent engagement shoot. I am posting it because I like the dynamic tension in the photo created by placing the couple on the opposite sites of the image and at the same time their eye connection. The lighting was just he ambient light and the body poses add the last bit to the whole scene. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 95mm, F2.8 @ 1/125, ISO 800.

Professor Look

Today I am posting one more photo that I took a few days ago in ZOO in Jihlava in the Czech Republic. The bird's expression looks sort of funny to me, recalling the look of one of my professors when I was studying ... I used selective coloring in Lightroom to emphasize the eyes. Normally I tend not to use this technique too often but I am on my holidays, so let's have some fun. Enjoy! Camera spec: Canon 20D with Canon 60mm EF-S macro, F4 @ 1/200, ISO 200.

Blue Twins

While on my holidays, I find it quite relaxing to walk with my old 20D and the great 60mm macro lens and shoot everything with this setup. This allows me to see things I would normally not notice, like the two flowers on today's post. Even though I do not take many macro images, this one, I think, is worth sharing. Camera spec: Canon 20D with 60mm EF-S macro, F8 @ 1/200, ISO 800.

Pipaluk on a Ride

I took this image couple of weeks ago as a part of a series I photographed for the parents of this pretty young girl from Greenland. As usual, the setup was easy. I found a green background without a direct sunlight and placed the girl further away from it so that the long focal length and F3.2 made the background completely blurred. Unfortunately, the position of the girl let some direct sun beams hit her face and T-shirt, so I asked someone to hold a larger silver-black reflector between the sun and the girl, with the black side facing her. This created a very nice and soft light on her face with some catch-lights created by reflections from the nearby buildings. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 200mm, F3.2 @ 1/400, ISO 400.

Happy Family

Many weeks have passed without me blogging any new photo. I took many photos I would like to share in the meantime, there was just not enough time during this busy period for me. Anyway, it seems that things calmed down again and I hope to continue my regular blogging frequency. Today I post one of the very recent family portraits I took. I like to use off-camera flash but this photo is just a natural light. The main reason being that when photographing children, I like to keep my setup as simple as possible. I simply positioned the family under a tree with the sun behind them and made sure that there was a nice pleasing background behind them, preferably without any areas directly lit by the sun. Then it was just the question to entrain the family and press the shutter at the right moment. Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 70mm, F5.6 @ 1/200, ISO 400.

The Witches’ Dance

This is another of my favorite photos from the same event as the one below. There is no flash light, all is ambient light coming from spot lights. The show of the witches was very entertaining and the final composition where all of them gathered is nice and very relaxed. I liked the show and I like this photo a lot. Enjoy the witches' dance! Camera spec: Canon 5D mark ii with Canon 70-200 F2.8 IS II at 75mm, F4 @ 1/320, ISO 1600.