hankinslawrenceimages

It’s Not Too Late . . .

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 19, 2019 | Workshops

It’s not too late to join me for a week of photographing flowers in early May in Philadelphia.

I still have a few openings in my May 5 – 11 Photographing the Gardens Workshop. You can learn more about the workshop and register at https://beautifulflowerpictures.com/store/photographing-the-gardens-of-philadelphia-may-2019/

During the workshop we’ll explore and photograph at several of the gardens in the Philadelphia area including

Bartram’s Garden where Philadelphia’s gardening tradition began,
Longwood Gardens with its extensive gardens on the former estate of Pierre S. and Alice du Pont in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania,
Mt. Cuba Center with its native plant gardens and landscapes in Hockessin, Delaware,
Winterthur Gardens where Henry Francis du Pont designed his estate to be a work of art showcasing nature’s beauty,
Chanticleer Gardens established as a pleasure garden in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and
Shofuso House and Gardens, a Japanese Garden in Philadelphia.

We’ll also spend time discussing how to create the photographs you envision in the field and in post-processing. Talks during the workshop will include

Capturing What You See. We’ll talk about composition, lens choice, depth of field and using a tripod,
Nuts and Bolts of Flower Photography. We’ll talk about F-stops, shutter speeds, ISO, exposure compensation and histograms,
Quick Edits in Lightroom. We’ll talk about a few quick edits you can make to your photos that will make them “pop”, and
Working with Textures in Photoshop. We’ll talk about ways you can add another dimension to your photos using textures.

If you’d like more information about workshop, please visit my website at https://beautifulflowerpictures.com/store/photographing-the-gardens-of-philadelphia-may-2019/

If you’re not sure if this workshop is right for you, drop me a note and we’ll find time to talk.

I’d love to have you join me for a week of photographing flowers in America’s Garden Capital.

A Few Orchids

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 17, 2019 | Orchidaceae Family

I found several sets of orchid photos that I hadn’t edited or shared – so I thought I’d share them with you today. Hope you have a wonderful day

Yellow Lady's Slippers © 2019 Patty Hankins

Yellow Lady's Slipper © 2019 Patty Hankins

Orchids in the Woods © 2019 Patty Hankins

Rust and Green Paint – New Photo

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 15, 2019 | Abstract

Rust and Green Paint Abstract © 2019 Patty Hankins

I’ve recently added a new photo – Rust and Green Paint – to my website at https://beautifulflowerpictures.com/store/rust-and-greenpaint/

As I saw this through my camera, I felt like I was looking at a map of an unknown land with brown islands surrounded by green water. What I was actually photographing was some rust and paint on a car at Old Car City in White, Georgia. Seeing and sharing something totally different from what I actually was photographing is one of the things I love about creating abstract photographs.

This photograph is available matted to 11 X 14 for $ 54 and 16 X 20 for $ 109.

Which Lens Should I Use?

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 12, 2019 | Photo Tips

One of the most important decisions a photographer makes that will determine the look of their photograph is lens choice. Should you use a wide angle lens to show the whole scene? A long telephoto lens to compress the scene? A macro lens to get close and show all the details? A specialty lens like a Lensbaby or Tilt-Shift lens? The answer is – it depends on what you want your vision for your image is.

A couple weeks ago, I spent some time at the National Arboretum in Washington DC photographing a beautiful cherry tree with three different lens. Each lens gave me a very different look to my photos. All the photos were taken with my Sony A7iii full-frame camera on my tripod.

The first lens I used as my Sony 90mm Macro lens. The lens’ widest aperture is f 2.8 so I can get a very nice shallow depth of field if I want. The lens is image-stabilized so I can photograph hand-held with it without having to really up the ISO to get a sharp photo.

The next lens I worked with was my Lensbaby Burnside 35. This is a fun manual focus lens known for it’s swirling bokeh and vingnette effects or in other words – the Burnside gives me a great swirl effect in the background. It’s not a lens I use often, but when I do, I’m often pleased with the photos I get with it.

Finally, the third lens I worked with was my Lensbaby Velvet 56. Another manual focus lens, the Velvet 56 is known for it’s soft focus look especially when used wide open at f 1.6 and it’s ability to focus as close as five inches from the subject.

As you can see, each of the three lenses gives me a very different look for my photographs. And so back to the original question – which one should you use? The answer depends on what lenses are in your bag and what is the look you want for your photographs.

Figuring out which lens to use and how that choice will affect how your photo looks is one of the skills we’ll be talking about during my Gardens of Philadelphia workshop from May 5 – May 11. For more information about the workshop, visit https://beautifulflowerpictures.com/store/photographing-the-gardens-of-philadelphia-may-2019/

A Visit to Mount Hope Cemetery in Rochester

by hankinslawrenceimages | Apr 10, 2019 | Cemeteries, New York

Last month while I was in Rochester, NY for a workshop, I spent a wonderful morning photographing at Mount Hope Cemetery. Founded in 1838, Mount Hope is a beautiful garden/rural cemetery full of wonderful statuary and stone carving. I thought I’d share some of my photos from Mount Hope Cemetery with you today.

Susan B Anthony’s Grave

Susan B Anthony Grave, Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty Hankins

Graveyard Angels

Graveyard Angel, Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty Hankins

Graveyard Angel, Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty HankinsGraveyard Angel, Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty Hankins

Civil War Memorial

And a few other grave markers and monuments that caught my eye

Libbie & Jennie, Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty Hankins

Grave at Mount Hope Cemetery, Rochester, NY © 2019 Patty Hankins

I’d love to spend more time photographing at Mount Hope Cemetery. My guess is in spring, summer or fall, the foliage will give the cemetery a completely different look. And hopefully, if there isn’t snow on the ground, I’ll be able to photograph Frederick Douglas’s grave!

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