About to enjoy a latte made with Kenyan organic coffee beans by a talented barista in the town of Kikuyu outside of Nairobi....
Read more
About to enjoy a latte made with Kenyan organic coffee beans by a talented barista in the town of Kikuyu outside of Nairobi.
Read less
Read less
Views
513
Likes
Awards
Contest Finalist in Cameras Photo Contest
Peer Award
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Ranks
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
We had stopped at a little coffee shop near Nairobi that promotes organic Kenya coffee. Tony, the very talented barista, created a superb latte both in appearance and taste.Time
It was mid-afternoon. We were indoors near a window which created side lighting which was a little bit stronger than the artificial lighting overhead..Lighting
Having some amount of side-lighting always adds depth to a photo that would otherwise appear flat.Equipment
My standard equipment for most of my photography is a Nikon D500 camera combined with a Nikkor 18-300 mm lens.Inspiration
There are a lot of photos of barista artistry, and so I wanted to take a photo that added a novel element. When Joan, my girlfriend, took a photo of the latte with her iPhone I took advantage of the opportunity to snap a couple of photos.Editing
During post-processing, I added a bit of vignetting to aid the viewer in focusing on the subject.In my camera bag
My camera bag is a sling bag which enables me to swing the bag from my back to my front for immediate access to the camera when not in hand. In addition to my Nikon D500 camera and Nikkor 18-300 mm lens, a very useful piece of extra equipment I always carry is a gardener's knee pad which I frequently use in the field to sit on, kneel on, or rest my elbows on depending on what I am photographing. It also serves as protective insulation for my camera when not in use, given that I have removed the existing insulation inside the bag to make room for it. In a couple of extra pockets on the sling bag, I always carry spare camera batteries, spare SD cards, lens cleaning fluid and a lens cloth. Occasionally I will carry an external flash inside one of the pockets and a compact carbon fiber tripod attached to the outside. I also have attached to the camera strap a Hoodman viewer that I don't use much anymore but was incredibly helpful when I used to photograph lots of groups outdoors often in bright sunny conditions and needed to view the results immediately to make sure no one was blinking or otherwise looking unflattering at the critical moment. Without such aid, it is nearly impossible to view photos critically on a camera screen while standing in bright sunshine.Feedback
While initially, I carried several lenses, I have found that having a single reasonably sharp ultrazoom lens pretty much meets all of my needs which these days is mostly wildlife, candid and landscape photography. Using just a single lens not only means being able to quickly take pictures no matter what the condition, but helps ensure no dust gets on the photo processor.