Costa Rica, Fisherman with a Broomtail Grouper (Mycteroperca xenarcha)lit with an SB800 off camera flash and edited in black and white

Costa Rica, Fisherman with a Broomtail Grouper (Mycteroperca xenarcha) lit with an SB800 off camera flash and edited in black and white, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

I was in Costa Rica in March and apparently it wasn't the right moment, in fact it was a very wrong one. Thus, even though the fishing was as slow as a dead snail, we enjoyed our stay in that wonderful country, together with our hosts: a french gentleman and a Tica guapa y simpática, who took care of us as they would have done with their own family. Eventually, during the last day we also made contact with a lot of fish, once a part of our group decided to use bait instead of lures.... This Broomtail Grouper was caught on a bucktail jig though, I lit it with an SB800 through a Lumiquest Softbox III
www.pechesportivecostarica.com

Dubai, large yacht moored at the dock with the city behind it. Fake HDR, 3 exposures +2 and - 2ev

Dubai, large yacht moored at the dock with the city behind it. Fake HDR, 3 exposures +2 and - 2ev, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

This image has been sitting there for a couple of years now and when I saw it yesterday I thought it was sure worth a try. I edited in Lightroom and couldn't get where I wanted so I made a couple of virtual copies, at +2 and - 2ev and tone mapped them in Photomatix. I wanted details and contrast, and eventually I managed to get both of them. In my humble opinion is quite a well balanced image, with a lot of interesting elements to keep your eyes scanning it for a while.

www.nicolazingarelli.com
www.caranx.net

Sunset on the spanish fields.

Sunset on the spanish fields., a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

I didn't have much time on a late Saturday afternoon, we were playing cards until 6:00pm and with the summer days getting short couldn't scout too many places. I wanted to go back to a lake I have photographed a couple of years ago but eventually I got lost and couldn't find it. So I took an anonymus dirt road and looked around for a nice place to photograph. To be very honest with you, I didn't find anything interesting so I took some average photos waiting for a better light to come. When the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the sky started to turn into a deeper blue and the puffs of clouds picking up the colors of sunset. Here's what I got for you today, nothing to rave about, yet a serene sunset on the spanish fields. Life's good!

The Spanish meseta. Dark sky, bright field

The Spanish meseta. Dark sky, bright field, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

Sometimes thinks cannot go any better than this. The sky is dark, gloomy and menacing and the sun sneaking from under the clouds, around sunset time. The light is almost perfect, and the whole atmosphere is pretty dramatic. The converging lines bring the attention of the viewer to the dark sky that for me is the most important subject of the image, together with the color contrast. I worked hard on Lightroom to enhance the colors, clarity and contrast of the image and make it look the way I saw it. Sometimes, things don't get any better that this...

Bijagos islands, Guinea Bissau. The boats ready to leave for the day's fishing

Bijagos islands, Guinea Bissau. The boats ready to leave for the day's fishing, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

Nice memories of a fishing trip not so successfull in terms of fishing, yet beautiful as far as scenery, wildlife and photography is concerned.

For this shot I had to be in the water with the camera, something I'm more and more afraid to do nowdays... Anyway, the sun was coming up fast, as it happens in the tropics, and the fishermen all excited and getting ready to leave. For someone who love the sport is one of the best moments of the day.

www.caranx.net
www.nicolazingarelli.com

Iguela, Gabon. Surf fishing at sunset

Iguela, Gabon. Surf fishing at sunset, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

If you notice, this image has been cropped on the horizontal side. The reason is that I didn't have a tripod with me on that trip, and had to put the camera on top of the cooler, and a corner of it was visible in the shot. The sunset on the western coast of Africa is pretty dramatic, and even though the colors have been saturated they're not far from what we could see every evening.

www.nicolazingarelli.com
www.caranx.net

Andaman Islands, India. Red Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) caught with a stickbait. SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash

Andaman Islands, India. Red Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) caught with a stickbait. SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash, a photo by Nicola Zingarelli on Flickr.

The Orbis Ring Flash sure is a great light modifier for my fishing portraits, is just a tad bulky to carry on a suitcase full of lures, reels and all kind of tackle. Fort this reason I not always bring it with me, but when I do I never regret. She is pretty, has a gorgeous smile and can perfectly hold a fish, a great plus for a fishing photo. I love the specular ring on her sunglasses, is a kind of brand signature of the Orbis.

SB800 through Orbis Ring Flash triggered with Nikon CLS