Follow our two year trip across North America with our Pentax Photographic Equipment.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

We have been on the road since July of 2013. Midway through our trip, I started a weekly report of our journey, complete with a short history of the location and some images taken with my Ricoh / Pentax K-3 or K-5 using various lenses.  If you haven't been following, this week is a recap of part of our trip.

The first section of the trip was from California to Florida. We then visited part of the Atlantic coast and  now we are going back West. 

We will continue to post about the places we visit and will explain which lens was used and why. It should be interesting. Click on images below to  read the post about each place and to view additional images.

Yvon Bourque

This is our house on wheel for this adventure.

Recap of our trip across North America in our RV and our Pentax equipment...simply the best.

Week # 12 - Florida, Click on the image. 

Week # 11 - Jacksonville, Florida, Click on the image. 

Week # 10 - Las Vegas, Nevada, Click on the image. 

Week # 9 - Baltimore, Maryland, Click on the image. 

Week # 8 - South of the Border, South Carolina, Click on the image.  

Week # 7 - Amish Country, Pennsylvania,Click on the image. 

Week # 6 - Maryland, Click on the image. 

Week # 5 - Savannah, Georgia, Click on the image. 

Week # 4 - St-Augustine, Florida, Click on the image. 

Week # 3 - Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Click on the image. 

Week # 2 - Breaux Bridge, Cajun Country, Louisiana, Click on the image. 

Week # 1 -
New Orleans, Louisiana, Click on the image. 

# 12 - Our current two-year RV trip across North America. We use the Ricoh/Pentax equipment exclusively. This week,we continue in Jacksonville, Florida, with part two. I used the Pentax K-3 equipped with the DA Star 60 -250 mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

I'm still in Jacksonville, Florida.  We were lucky enough to find a good deal on a "new-to-us" Fifth Wheel RV.  It is much bigger than our previous one and it makes life much easier for my spouse and I.  We all need our space!

Continuing on the same topic as last week, the zoo,  here are some additional images of wild animals, down to smaller creatures such as the magnificent butterflies. All images were taken with the Ricoh/Pentax  DA Star 60-250mm f/4 ED m(IF) SMD lens. At wide aperture, this lens not only bring your subject up close, but it produces a great bokeh.

We leave next Monday, going West. Who knows where the road will bring us. One thing for sure, there is going to be some photographic opportunities. 

Go out there and make some photographs.

# 11 - Our current two-year RV trip across North America. We use the Ricoh/Pentax equipment exclusively. This week,we are in Jacksonville, Florida. I used the Pentax K-3 equipped with the DA Star 60 -250 mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com 

 Hi Photographer friends,

This week we are in Jacksonville, Florida. Yesterday I received the Pentax DA Star 60 -250 mm f/4 ED (IF) SDM lens. I was trying to decide where I could use this great zoom lens and realized that Jacksonville has a Zoo. 

Early this morning, we headed out to the zoo. I was pleasantly surprised. The last time I was at a zoo, was in San Diego, and we know they have the largest in the Country. Jacksonville has an excellent facility.

My goal for the day was to make images that would appear to have been taken in the animal's natural habitats. It's not that easy because the animals are behind fences, cages, and man made surroundings. 

The image to the left, taken by my wife with her iPhone, shows where I was standing to take the first picture. Notice the chain link fence? The image represent the closest position I could get to the leopard. 

I shot several images at 250 mm with the largest aperture of f/4, focusing the animal eyes. The chain link fence, being outside of the depth of field, rendered a blurred, ghostly and annoying presence. I would have liked to be against the fence and shoot through the center of the fence opening, but I didn't want to be part of the animal's breakfast. The fence is still apparent in the first photograph. 

Using Adobe Photoshop Elements, I used the clone stamp tool to fill the fence area  and the brush tool to fill the portion of the animal's coat. I could have spent hours fixing the image, but for the purpose of this post, I worked on it enough to convey the idea. With patience, none of the fence would have remained visible.

The tiger in the next image was behind a thick pane of plexiglass, roaming around in a concrete cage complete with a waterfall and a pool. It was impossible to get close to the animal. Using the zoom lens at 250 mm again, I was able to make the animal looked like it was just a few feet in front of me. I focused on the eyes. (Always focus on the eyes of a live subject. Even if a portion of the subject is not tack sharp, as long as the eyes are, the result will be great). The tiger showing his teeth was a bonus. Framing your subject leaves little room for the background, giving the impression that the shot was taken in the wilderness.

This lion, king of the jungle, is definitely not in the wild. There was no angles that I could have used to eliminate the fenced background. For this image, I duplicated the image in Adobe Photoshop Elements and made it the first layer. I then used the blur filter and blurred the entire image on layer 1. I then superimpose the original image on top of layer 1. Using the eraser tool, I erased the top layer portion showing the fence, as close to the lion as I could without touching it. Then, continuing with the eraser tool, but this time with the brush pattern no. 24, which is a splatter pattern rather than a solid one. It allowed the removal of the fence close to the lion with very little contrast. I finished the edges with the blur tool, also set to the brush pattern no. 24. Again, this was a quick image modification and could have been done better using more time. While modifying an area of an image, it is always easier when enlarging the portion you are working on.

Today, I only posted images of BIG CATS, but I have many images of larger animals, exotic birds, reptiles, and even dozens of butterflies close-up. I reserve those images for future blogs.

Whether you are a thousand miles away from home or in your backyard, photo opportunities are there for you to discover. Go out and take some pictures.

Yvon Bourque

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# 10 - Weekly Chronicle and Photo Album of our current two-year trip across the U.S. and Canada in our RV with our Ricoh/Pentax equipment. This week, retro to Las Vegas which is one week before starting our trip. I used my Pentax K-5.

Email: brqyvn@gmail.com

 Hi Photographer friends,

This week, I am taking you back to before we started our RV travel. We visited some friends in Vegas and I ventured late at night to capture some night photography. Vegas is surely a good place for that. I like neon lights, busy streets and illuminated buildings. There's no place live Vegas for that.

This time, what happens in Vegas is not staying in Vegas.

I was still using my Pentax K-5 at the time, and used various lenses on this photo shoot. I thought I would be alone, since it was around 1:00 A.M. Well, Vegas never sleeps. 

A few things you need to know when shooting at night.

• You need a tripod or a device to keep the camera from moving. I used a Gitzo tripod. 
• I often use the Pentax remote control F but when in an environment like this, I prefer using a cable switch like the Pentax CS-205. Similar results could also be achieved by using the built-in self-timer. Never press the shutter with your finger. It will generate blurring.
• Once you frame the scene, an aperture of f/8 is usually a good place to start. A wide aperture can introduce flares and a small aperture will take forever. My first test shot is always at 1 second. From there, I adjust accordingly. Using Digital SLRs is great as you can see the image instantly and make all of the adjustments until you like the results. 
• Remember that it's always easier to fix an underexposed image that it is to fix an overexposed one. You can always fix shadow to a point but if a portion of the image is so overexposed that it's washed out, you can never bring that back. 
• I use Adobe Lightroom on all my images. There is always something that can be fixed.
• I shoot exclusively in RAW and convert to JPEG after fine-tuning the while balance, the exposure, the colors, the clarity, and other parameters. Of course, it doesn't always need correction, but if it does, RAW is the only way to go.

Go out there and make some images.

Next week, I will be in Florida. I'm sure there is going to be a lot of opportunities.

Have a great week and I hope to have you all as visitors next Wednesday for the continuation of my travel series of images.

Thanks for reading,
Yvon Bourque

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