Christmas brought me two light modifiers that I normally wouldn't have bought for myself and so far I'm quite happy with them!

Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible with Speed Mount (Generation 5) is first up for a review. This little dome is listed as a Top Seller and retails at B&H for a little over $50.

The box is pretty sparse so I wasn't real impressed when I opened it up. There is more info on the outside of the box than the small card found on the inside can fit and you are instructed to visit YouTube if you need any further product information. You won't really need anything through. 

Gary Fong Lightsphere Collapsible with Speed Mount (Generation 5) is well worth the money. I know there is a million ways to DIY light modifiers at home, and that is part of the reason I hadn't bought one of these before, but you won't be sorry if you spend a little cash on this puppy. 

​https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1010800-REG/gary_fong_lsc_sm_lightsphere_collapsible_dome_diffuser.html

I'll spend some more time working with it and do a follow up review with better samples in a few weeks. In the mean time.....
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Happy shooting! 

Macro Photography is photographing subjects that are often quite small in a way that creates a larger than life sized image. Macro can be for scientific purposes, or, simply a tool to explore the tiny little scenes that play out around us every day. It's a wonderful type of photography that opens up all sorts of new areas of interest but it also requires a little more patience and control with the camera. Check out my top 3 tips below!

Macro Photography Tips:

1. You will need more light than you think: If it's not a bright sunny day you may need to add some light. There are a few different types of Macro Flashes on the market but if you're not quite that dedicated to macro then simply get creative with whatever you have. You just need to bounce some extra light into the area immediately in front of your lens. On on camera flash modifier can work to do this as well as a reflector. 

2. The DOF can be wickedly shallow: When you are in this tightly to your subject a good amount of background blur is essential in some cases. A sturdy tripod will be a good way to deal with the very shallow depth of field you may elect to use. If you subject is moving then simply move your body back and forth instead of continuously refocusing. 

3. Shoot a lot of frames: When you think you may be done shooting your subject, shoot a few more frames. These small subjects and shallow depth of fields make even a half a millimeter off a very big deal. 

4. Don't take it to seriously in the beginning: Jump in there, have fun, shoot a lot, and explore the tiny scenes on our planet! 

We are getting down to the wire folks!
If you are online shopping for Christmas 2019 gifts pay attention to those delivery dates. 

For Christmas, gifts for clients, engagement gifts, Happy New Year's, birthdays, anniversaries, or any other gift giving reason you may have - here are my top gifts under $30

There are over 130 carefully curated images -  Nature Photography, Landscape Photography, Macro Photography, and Underwater Photography - with themed collections such as Patriotic and  Clean Water. 

Happy shopping!

Looking for some Wall Art?
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Check out these posters for just $18: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/posters
Or, shop Art Prints for $18: ​https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/prints/photographs

Fancy some Home Decor?
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Shop for beautifully crafted Throw Pillows for just $24: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/throw+pillows/photographs
​Or, treat a coffee lover in your life to a new mug for $14: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/coffee+mugs/photographs?sort=recentlyadded

Communicate in style!
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Grab a 10 pack of Greeting Cards for $24.50: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/greeting+cards/photographs?sort=recentlysold
Or shop for phone cases $24: ​https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/iphone+cases

How about a little Carry-all Pouch $22: https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/amelia-pearn/shop/pouches 
Baby shower gifts have never been easier with unique images and baby onesies for only $20: https://amelia-pearn.pixels.com/shop/baby+onesies

​Visit the Gift Shop: ​https://www.ameliapearn.com/gift-shop.html For the full selection of products.

My latest photographic journey has been exploring underwater photography and it has been simply fascinating! I have been casually working on the skills and learning about the available underwater equipment over the last couple years and this has spawned so many new photo adventures. I have become quite passionate about getting out there and seeing what there is to see under the surface. 

So far, physically being in the water has pretty much restricted me to the warmer months. In the colder months I've been using my better photographic gear to photograph underwater scenes from the surface. It is an amazing (and very lucky) thing to have such clean water that you can photograph straight through with very little distortion. (I have a link at the bottom of this blog to those images.)

Right now the plan is to develop new skills in 2020 by taking a SCUBA class in the spring and I am REALLY excited about that. It will extend my water time and allow me to go into new and deeper areas. 

​The main bodies of water that I explore are the Delaware River, the Lackawaxen River, and Ten Mile River. The only real 'deep' one is the Delaware River and I know it has a lot to offer from it's point of origin all the way down to the Delaware Water Gap. Beyond that I'm not real familiar with this river......yet. :)

​​When you slow down and really look below the surface of these rivers you find all these sweet little scenes with the fish, the plants, and the rays of light on the rocks. It's amazing and it's always changing. The riverbeds are all different, the water levels rise and fall, and things wash into and out of areas. 

​I started off shooting last year with just my Android phone but I smashed that on some rocks so I graduated to an iPhone 10 with an AxisGO case for this year. 

The AxisGO case is a very nice case. It works well and seems well constructed. I upgraded a bit and bought a dome for it but I did find that the dome scratches shockingly easily and one bump on a rock really made a big mark on it.  It may be something that can be repaired but I haven't looked into that yet.

I don't know how much more I'll upgrade for phone cameras. If I get the SCUBA class done it may just be easier to buy a dedicated underwater camera so I have a flash, or, go all in and buy the housing for my Canon equipment. 

This photo gallery is simply underwater plants in the Upper Delaware River region. In the future, I'll add new blog posts with other underwater themes such as "little fish". I know have tons of those!

For now, just enjoy these aquatic plants and the oxygen they produce, which is surprisingly abundant below the surface. If anyone knows the names of these plants feel free to list them in the comments below. 

I have quite a lot of underwater videos as well so don't forget to follow my YouTube page and click the bell to get notifications of the videos as I upload them.  I generally post once or twice a week. 

I do have a few, more recent, underwater images that are of better quality and size for wall art, coffee cups, stock photography, and other products. These are included in my Fine Art America "Clean Water" collection and part of my Adobe Stock Photography collection. 

To learn more Underwater Photography check out: https://www.pixpa.com/blog/underwater-photography-guide

- Thank you for reading. If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments below -