olympus em1 – Helluva Times

Thriving in the Shade

These orchids were in a shady corner of the garden and the shutter speed at ISO2500 was a mere 1/15 second. This image had already been underexposed by 1-1/3 stops.

This pitta, just like other pittas, would usually move among leaf litter in dark undergrowth. But on this occasion, it had flown onto a branch which provided the opportunity to photograph it free of its usual messy surroundings. It was apparently spooked by the entry of its keeper in the cage.

A Hair-Raising Moment

This was a 60-percent crop of the original image. The grasshopper was actually about an inch or 2-1/2 cm long.

Noise level out of the 2013 four-thirds sensor at ISO 2500 came to some 9 odd and had need to be fixed in post.

Harsh Reality

This was taken in harsh sunlight. As this particular angle of view was key to the composition, the reflection of the sun could not be avoided.

This proved to be quite problematic especially when I wanted to lift the shadow of the car front a little. It might’ve been less of a problem if a wider dynamic range were available but not with the EM1 used here. The result was noise and artefacts when viewed at actual size but happily this wasn’t a real problem at this size.

Calla Lilies In High Key

These were captured from a low angle and without any exposure bias despite the bright backdrop to preserve as much details as possible. Image was then brightened up in post.

Glowing In Dark Times

This was lit by the early afternoon sun. Three stops of underexposure were needed to darken further the already dark background in this capture.

Trapped

This male Olive-backed Sunbird was somehow trapped inside the air-conditioned conservatory. He had all the nectar-rich flora inside the conservatory to himself but I think he won’t mind trading that for free range outside.

Sunbirds are rarely still except when they are preening themselves. This one was ‘caught’ in one of its momentary pauses between his many frenzied flights seeking a way out.

The Cheese In Plants

Taken from an angle with the leaves set against a pink wall. Exposure was biased brighter by 1/3 stop.

No Bananas

This plant is apparently closely related to bananas but it won’t produce any bananas.

After having photographed single blooms before, we had been wanting to get at least a couple of them in the same frame. Happily for us though, more have been blooming recently. Although they were quite far apart, this was at least one of the desired views.

Tag: olympus em1

Thriving in the Shade

Spooked Pitta