MONTANA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER – RIHANNA IN LONDON

I had the good fortune of going to London recently for a honeymoon shoot as part of Carrie and Jake’s wedding photography. We call it a honeymoon session, or a day after session, and we offer worldwide travel for these kinds of shoots, but this post is not about that. As usual, no matter where I go or why I am there, I always like to make personal photos along the way. I made these one night when my wife and I were at Picadilly Circus, scouting some nighttime locations for the upcoming shoot. I really enjoy shooting at night and searching out light to work with. I noticed these new ads for Rihanna’s Puma campaign and thought they would make a nice soft light for a night time portrait if the opportunity should arise. As I was looking around at all of the lighting options, soaking in this busy corner at night, I made a few frames of people passing by this Rihanna ad. Looking at the photos later found it striking that three different women all had similar hairstyles and were each carrying a purse on their shoulder in the same way. I think they go well together! And of course I’m a huge Rihanna fan.

Tips for photographers: Keep your camera with you all the time. Countless photographers have given me this advice, countless times, but it never fails to amaze me that the second I don’t have my camera something catches my eye to photograph. I have recently started switching from Canon to Sony for this very reason: my Canon is too big of a beast to carry around casually and I found myself shooting on my iphone more than anything. When I saw these new smaller mirrorless camera bodies for the first time I knew it was the answer to my problem of leaving my camera behind, and I quickly settled in on Sony as the brand of choice, specifically the A7 series of full frame cameras and Zeiss lenses. Now I have a very small kit with the Sony A7ii and a few Zeiss lenses that can go anywhere with me, and it’s the only camera I carry when I’m travelling overseas. Often I will simply grab my A7ii with a 35mm on it and go. I’m not saying you should switch cameras, but just do whatever it takes to keep a camera with you and be ready for pictures when they happen in front of you.

I am Paul Bellinger, one of Montana’s much sought after wedding photographers. My studio is located in downtown Billings Montana, and I am available for any wedding destination around the world. I put everything I have into making the wedding pictures of your dreams, and I’ll go anywhere and do anything to make those dreams come true. From the mountains to the islands, there is no wedding destination too far or too difficult for me and my team of wedding photographers. Get in touch with us at www.paulbellinger.com

BILLINGS MONTANA PHOTOGRAPHER – STREET PHOTOGRAPHY INSPIRED BY INDIA

Travel is one of my favorite pastimes, and I was very fortunate to spend 17 days in India this winter with my family.  It was my third trip to India and it seems to get better every time I visit.  For someone who grew up in Nebraska, India is a different world to me, and I find it endlessly fascinating.  Curiosity makes for great photography and I kept my camera handy.

These photos feature my wife’s hometown, mostly at night.  Most of them were made one evening when I tagged along with my wife’s parents for a quick trip to the market.  But my favorite photo of the set was made next door to my wife’s house, in a building that was under construction.  I noticed that each day some of the workers would start little fires in the lower level to keep warm as it cooled off in the evening.  I’m not sure if they were cooking with the fires, or if they were camping out in there over night, or just using the fires to heat themselves up at the end of the day.  I never found out.  But I did stop by one day at about the right time and made a few frames.  I didn’t realize there were three people sitting around the fire until I got home and looked at the photo on my big screen.  There is a lot going on in this photo and I can’t wait to print it really large to show off all of the little details.

Thinking about going to India? 

Here are more of my thoughts about travelling to India:

BILLINGS MT PHOTOGRAPHER – BANDRA NIGHTS!

I have some very cool family in Mumbai!  This is the view from the roof of my aunt and uncle’s home in Bandra, which is a suburb that has been described to me as the Tribeca of Mumbai.  Well it’s also kind of the Beverly Hills of Mumbai because some of Bollywood’s leading movie stars live on the famous Bandstand road featured in these photos.  It’s interesting to note that according to my uncle, the fishing village in the foreground of the top photo is older than the city around it.  As a result, the fishing village has land ownership rights that predate the city and thus cannot be pushed out to make room for new condos.  It’s so India to have a humble fishing village in the middle of one of the most expensive and high demand neighborhoods in the world!  This is why I love India, I never know what is going to be right around the corner and I’m in a constant state of amazement as a result.  Thank you to my amazing family in Mumbai for showing us such a wonderful time!

Tips for photographers: Stay ready to shoot and don’t be lazy! Some of the best photos are made in a matter of a moment.  Part of the reason I only took my Sony A7 to India and not my big heavy Canon 5D Mark III, is so I could always have my camera with me without it being too cumbersome or conspicuous for travel and street photography.  On this night our family threw a fabulous dinner party so I didn’t do too much photography, I was busy eating and drinking.  But when we went up to the roof for a drink the view overwhelmed my laziness and I went downstairs and grabbed my camera bag.  I didn’t have a tripod so I propped the camera on the ledge of the roof using the camera strap under the camera to level it out and get the angles I wanted.  I knew the wide angle shot with the fishing village in the foreground was going to be my favorite, but I had the 135mm on and made a quick image with it (the bottom photo) before switching to the 35mm for the top photo.  Both of the exposures are 30 seconds taken with the Sony A7 and Canon L lenses.  It took me about 5 minutes of shooting between drinks to make these two photos.  I am always amazed at how quickly beautiful photos are made compared to how long it takes to find them sometimes.  The afternoon these photos were taken we flew back to Mumbai from Goa.  I thought Goa would be a very inspiring place for photography, but it turned out that Bandra would steal the show.

I love Billings MT, the city we live in, but I don’t think there is any better way to pass the time than travel.  Everywhere I travel, whether I like the place or not, gives me a new perspective.  Sometimes that new perspective is not much different than my normal perspective.  But there is no doubt in my mind that India will always give me a wildly different perspective than the one I am used to.  I can’t wait to go back soon.  http://portraits.paulbellinger.com

AFTER SUNDOWN

After Sundown, Rocheport MO

The final of three sunset photos from our trip to the "best beach in Missouri" on the banks of the Missouri River.  I usually plan to stay for an hour after sundown and take photos during the blue hour when the light goes cold and blue.  I really love the way the camera catches that deep blue light.  This photo was taken just after sundown.  See my previous posts from the best beach in Missouri here and here.

This is a five-exposure HDR and the exposures range from .5 to 8 seconds in one-stop increments.  After the sun had set I was still set up facing directly toward the sunset.  But Nini pointed out that the Southeastern sky was glowing purple!  I quickly recomposed to get some of the purple light in the frame.  It was gone before I could get off six exposures, so I was left with five to work with!

Once again, CreativeLIVE is LIVE today and it's free.  The workshop is "Posing Masterclass" with Bambi Cantrell.  You can go to www.creativelive.com/live but if your internet is slow I recommend the low resolution link here:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/creativelive-lowres

Photo taken Feb 22, 2012

DARK SUNRISE

Beach #5 Dark Sunrise, Havelock Island, India

It was still quite dark when the sun made its first appearance.  I love the low tide at Beach #5 and I can't wait to see it again someday.  See my previous posts from Beach #5 here and here.

Being on the beach in January was a nice treat for a Nebraskan who doesn't get to see many beaches.  I photographed two sunsets and two sunrises while in the Andaman Islands.  After each shoot I looked through the shots on my camera and was always disappointed.  I may have gotten one or two good shots I thought, but nothing great, and certainly nothing close to the potential I saw with each sunset and sunrise.  My biggest hindrance was that I was always in a rush and didn't have time to look around and compose the perfect photo.  This problem was compounded by the fact that I don't have much practice with beach photography.  I tried the best I could in a hurry and with my limited experience.  But I learned some things in those four short shoots and I'm still learning more as I process the photos and continue to study other photographer's seascapes to see where I went wrong and what I did right.  In the end, the shots were better than my first impression from the back of the camera.

Photo taken Jan 9, 2012

VICTORIAN SUNRISE - SINGLE EXPOSURE

Victoria Memorial Sunrise, Kolkata India

I have shared a few HDR photos of Victoria Memorial in the past (see previous two posts), but this is the first single exposure I have shared.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  DO YOU PREFER THE HDR OR SINGLE EXPOSURE?

I'm amazed at how quickly my processing techniques evolve.  I always think my most newly processed photos look the best, and any time I re-process something I usually like the new version better than the old.  In some ways processing is similar to writing, and the first version you make is just a first draft, which gets better and better with each revision.

Can you spot the sun in this sunrise?

Photo taken Jan 12, 2012

VICTORIAN SUNRISE

Victoria Memorial Sunrise, Kolkata India

Continuing with the story from my previous post, this photo was taken with Nini standing directly to the left of the camera so that it could not be seen by the guards at the main entrance and in the middle of the grounds.  By the time the sun was this high more than 500 morning walkers were getting their exercise walking around the huge park within the gates of the Victoria Memorial.  Some were meditating, others playing badminton or frisbee, and there were several workout groups of mostly men doing stretches, sit ups, push ups and jumping jacks.  It was an older crowd, the average age was probably around 45 or 50.  It was very cool to see so many people using the beautiful park early in the morning.  Even with all of the walkers the park is so big that it was not crowded at all. In fact, I don't think you can spot any people in this photo, even in Original size.  In comparison, the crowd at sunset was massive, check out the crowd in larger sizes of this photo.

Daily photo: Jan 21, 2012, taken Jan 12, 2012

VICTORIA MEMORIAL SUNSET

Victoria Memorial Sunset, Kolkata India

Kolkata was the British capital of India and this is the memorial they built for Queen Victoria. There are many other British memorials and government buildings around Kolkata but it is amazing how the modern city has swallowed them up. Because Delhi is now the capital, it seems that the old government buildings and memorials are a bit more isolated there than in Kolkata.

When I first set up my tripod and started composing the first batch of photos, I placed my tripod on the concrete bank of a reflecting pool. I was careful not to break any rules, and we didn't see any signs warning us against it. But after about three minutes a couple of guards started hollering at me from the other side of the reflection pool, making quite a scene. There were thousands of people on the grounds and many were already staring at me. Now everyone was looking as Nini and I made our way to the guards. They simply said "no stands," and walked off.

ON THE TRAIL FOR SUNRISE

On the Trail for Sunrise, Gretna NE

We returned from India on the evening of January 16th, and by 7PM I was fast asleep.  But I awoke at 5:30AM the next morning and could not go back to sleep.  So I made myself some steak and eggs from a leftover steak from the dinner I slept through the night before.  Then I woke up dad around 6:30, picked up my boy Big Red, and headed to Gretna to make more photos of the Holy Family Shrine.  Since it was so early in the morning I let Big Red run with me, but don't tell anyone.

For more information on the Holy Family Shrine see my older post here.

The sunrise was pretty lame, the sun peaked out for about five minutes before being engulfed in clouds.  Also lame: ISO 640!  I made an amateur mistake and forgot to reduce my ISO after my previous shoot, which was indoors in very low light.  Whoops!  As a result, this photo required more noise reduction than I normally like.  This is a six exposure HDR.

Photo taken Jan 17, 2012

MISSOURI RIVER MAJESTY

Purple River Majesty, Rocheport MO

Nini and I took the dogs to our new sunset location the night before last and were lucky to see a beautiful Missouri River sunset.  This little sandbar is just below the Katy Trail outside of Rocheport Missouri.  The Katy Trail is a 240 mile state park that runs along the old M.K.T. railroad line (Missouri-Kansas-Texas).  To access the sandbar you have to climb down a steep dirt cliff, but there are plenty of tree roots to help lower yourself down.  The dogs were down in a skip and a jump.  One passer by said, "How in the heck do I get down there?  That's the best beach in Missouri!"  We had a fun time watching the sunset on the best beach in MO.

SUNRISE AT BEACH #5

Symphony Palms Sunrise, Havelock Island, India

I was very lucky to wake up early and witness a stunning sunrise during the low tide at Beach #5, also known as Govind Nagar Beach.  It was one of the most beautiful sunrises I can remember seeing.  I highly recommend the Symphony Palms resort which is as close to the beach as you can get without a tent.  There is a constant cool breeze blowing through shady palms; a nice retreat from the 80 degree temps and hot sun.  In addition, the restaurant at Symphony Palms is excellent, and serves the coldest beer in the Andamans.

Beach #5 offers stunning blue and green colors due to the shallow water (see previous posts).  During high tide it is only about five feet deep for the first 100 meters or so, most of which is exposed at low tide. The low tide reveals some excellent rock formations and sand patterns, and creates some nice reflection pools for photographing the sunrise.

I asked several locals in Port Blair where they had seen the most beautiful scenery in the Andamans, and without fail, every single person said Havelock Island.  If you're into beaches, I can't imagine any more beautiful than those on Havelock.

This photo is a single exposure taken with a circular polarizer.  On a full frame body such as my 5D a circular polarizer can create extreme light falloff in the corners of the frame, so much so that the very tips of the corners are totally black at wide focal lengths (of course this depends on your camera, focal length and the thickness of your polarizer and other filters).  I added some vignette to help it blend in without having to crop too much.

The staff at Symphony Palms recommends booking your room three months in advance in order secure a cottage close to the beach, although they are all within a three minute walk of the beach.  You can visit the Symphony Palms website here:
http://symphonypalmshavelock.com/site/the-resort.html

Photo taken Jan 9, 2012

THE BOAT

The Boat at Beach #5, Havelock Island, India

This old boat was tied to the tree for the two days we were on Havelock Island. It doesn't seem to get much use these days, but it sure makes for a great photo op. Any time I had some free time to take photos on the beach I always found myself coming back to this boat.

The shallow waters at Beach #5 make for a beautiful mix of blues and greens. See my previous post for more info about Beach #5.

This is a four exposure HDR. This is a case where I really don't see any alternative to HDR given the extreme lighting contrasts that were present at the scene. The water color is accurate. If you visit this beach you'll see for yourself.

Photo taken: Jan 9, 2012

BEACH #5

Gentle Beauty Beach # 5, Havelock Island, India

The bright midday sun doesn't lend itself to long exposures, but I brought my ND filter and circular polarizer so that I could slow things down a bit and capture the soothing motion of the sea.

Beach #5 is not the main attraction on Havelock Island, and is usually overshadowed by the far more famous Radhanagar Beach (Beach #7), which is considered one of the best beaches in the world. I would have to agree that Radhanagar Beach is the best for swimming, as the water gets deeper close to the shore, the sea floor is free of rocks, and the beach itself is long and wide, offering plenty of space to find a private spot to hang out for the day or camp overnight on the beach. In addition, Radhanagar Beach offers a stunning view of the sunset.

But Beach #5 is more ideal for photographers wanting to get a shot of the colorful waters prevalent across all of the Andaman Islands. Two factors make the colors pop at Beach #5. First is the shallow water, which creates the turquoise and green colors for the first 200 meters or so, giving way to the blues of the deeper waters further out. Second, and more importantly, Beach #5 faces Northeast, allowing photographers to shoot away from the sun and preventing the colorful water from being blown out by the sun's harsh reflection. Radhanagar Beach on the other hand, faces West making it difficult to capture it's beautiful green and blue colors except for a few hours early in the morning. So if you want to get the colors at Radhanagar Beach, you have to go early the morning. The catch, however, is that it does not provide any view of the sunrise, which many photographers are eager to shoot, and is quite stunning at Beach #5. See this sunrise and I think you'll agree.

Daily photo: Jan 11, 2012, taken Jan 9, 2012

CHIDIYA TAPU SUNSET

Chidiya Tapu Sunset, South Andaman Island, India

Chidiya Tapu, also known as "Sunset Point" and "Bird Island," is one of the best places to see the sunset after flying into Port Blair, the main hub of the Andaman Islands.  The beach is located on the furthest Southern tip of South Andaman Island 25 kms South of Port Blair and takes about 45 minutes to get there by car (or over an hour by bus).  The road traverses through dense jungle/rainforest that opens up along the coastline in a few places.  There are "beware of crocodile" signs along the way, and the sign on the beach at Chidiya Tapu reads "Beware: Crocodile Infested Beach."  We didn't see any crocodile during our three days in the Andamans, and no one we met had seen one either, although our drivers said they do see crocodiles every now and then.

While Chidiya Tapu is probably the best sunset spot accessible from Port Blair, the horizon is obstructed by the hills of Rutland Island across the bay.  As a result, the best colors come out about 30 to 45 minutes after the sun dips below the hilly horizon.

This is a six exposure HDR and these were the last six shots I took before heading back to Port Blair.  The exposures range from one second to 30 seconds in one stop increments.

Photo taken Jan 8, 2012

BE MY VALENTINE!

I'm so lucky to have this angel to be my valentine every year!  This photo is from Nini's house in Hazaribagh, in the state of Jharkhand, India.  Isn't she pretty?  I used a small reflector to create the catchlights in her eyes and spent about 15 minutes processing this photo in lightroom.  Overall, it's pretty simple when you have a beautiful model!

Photo taken Jan 4, 2012

THREE AMIGOS, HAZARIBAGH, JHARKHAND INDIA

Ever been to Hazaribagh in the state of Jharkhand India?  It's a small town by Indian standards, but I love it there.  When I'm travelling in India people are always asking me how I like it and what part of the country I like the most.  I always say Hazaribagh and most people have either never heard of it, or say something like, "I can't believe you went to Hazaribagh, Indians don't even go there."  But I love the small town pace and hospitality, and of course my amazing family that lives there.

From left to right, Kaushik, Dinesh and Paul.  In total I've spent about a month in Hazaribagh over the last few years and I've never seen a cloud in the sky.  But on this day it was quite cloudy and I knew there could be a nice sunset.  So I convinced my father in law to let the three amigos climb up to the roof for some sunset photos.  Kaushik is Nini's brother and Dinesh is the handy-man of the house.  The three of us are always getting into trouble when I'm in town.

This is a three exposure HDR.  The selective de-ghosting tool in Photomatix has opened a whole new world of HDR portraiture.

RAJGIR SUNSET, BIHAR INDIA

The view from a hilltop in Rajgir, a holy town for Buddhists.  We made a quick one night trip to visit Nini's Aunt and Uncle during our trip to India in late December 2011.  You can see the row of tour busses carrying mostly Japanese and Korean buddhist travelers.  The main road was completely swamped with people wanting to see the holy hot springs where Buddha himself once bathed.  I much preferred the view from the hills and the fertile valleys beyond.  It was amazing that in one minute I was on the road below, stuck in a traffic jam and breathing fumes with thousands of others, and 10 minutes later I was on top of the hill, all alone, taking in this beautiful view.  Everyone was amazed that I could run up the hill so fast!  I was amazed no one else wanted to do the same!

HOLY FAMILY SUNSET

On December 22 2011, my little sister and I went out and photographed the Holy Family Shrine near Gretna Nebraska.  The Holy Family shrine is located about 20 minutes West of Omaha on Interstate 80 and is clearly visible from the interstate.  Look for exit signs on the interstate that will lead you right to it.  The chapel is a stunning combination of glass and wood designed by famous architect E. Fay Jones, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright.  To find out more about the The Holy Family Shrine you can visit their website here.

This is a seven exposure HDR.  There were serious halo problems around the top of the shrine that took a lot of time to fix and I'm still not totally satisfied with it.