Photographers around the world are raving about ADP LumiFlow and our Video Workshops. Read some of their reviews below.
“We’ve all seen the National Geographic photos of thousands upon thousands of penguins and if you travel to South Georgia, there are several locations you’ll find them. While Salisbury Plain is pretty good because of a rising hill behind, it’s hard to get above the penguins. At St Andrews, there are several locations where you can get up above and look down on a sea of bobbling heads! This is what I wanted.
And since I’m fussy, then there were three more things!
First, I wanted edge to edge penguins. This gives the viewer the impression that the mass of birds goes on and on forever! (And they do!) I used a telephoto lens to make this easier to achieve.
Second, I wanted rim lighting – meaning, by looking towards the sun, my subjects would be back-lit and the light coming past them would illuminate their feathers, creating a ‘rim’ of white light. It’s important to keep your exposure a little darker than usual so you can keep control over these highlights. So, I wandered around the outside of the colony until I had the right light.
King Penguins, St Andrews, South Georgia
Fujifilm X-T3, 200mm f2.0 lens, f6.4 @ 1/400 second, ISO 160
Third, I looked for patterns. The adolescent penguins are orangy-brown and tended to congregate together – like teenagers I guess! This makes an interesting pattern within a pattern, so to speak.
In post-production, I enhanced the contrast to reveal the rim light and the colour difference between the adolescents and their parents. However, I was a little concerned that by lightening up the bodies of the penguins to the tone I wanted, the white feathers and rim lighting was being blown out. What to do? The solution was to use an ADP LumiFlow which picked out just these highlights, allowing me to add a hint of tone. It might not make a big difference when you’re looking at a web reproduction, but it made a significant difference to the final print. And for me, that’s what photography is all about!
This photo was part of a portfolio of four images that earned Peter the 2019 AIPP Australian Professional Nature Photographer of the Year Award. And if you’re interested in a trip to Antarctica or South Georgia, check out his voyages on www.betterphotography.com.”