Photography as a hobby

I'm interested particularly in close ups (macros) because of its still challenging by the digital cameras. In macro photography you have to use in most cases had adjustemnts only to get the correct results. See my youg lizard example. This picture had been close to impossible to shoot by using "automatic setting". In most cases the area you need to be sharp is not the one you'll expect when using automation. In guestion of living animals you have just a second to shoot the only "best" frame and then you have to wait for an other possibility if there will be any.

Shooting dragon flies is easy in the morning when tehy are clumsy of cold night. In most cases you can aven find them if you can look from correct places. Even in the middle of a hot day they sometimes are a sleep and easy to snap a photo.

Flies are some time as well easy to catch when you are careful enough not to frighten them a way. You can even get very detail rich close up in bright sun shine.

Butterflies are a bit different group of insects. In most cases its close to impossible to catch them in the picture except without "dosing" them. In the butterfly life there are still moments when they are not so lively and the close up can be taken rather easily. For example when a butterfly who is mostly flying by evening or by night has been found on day time.

Hannu Kuukkanen 2007. This picture has been shooted by my daugter Maria Kuukkanen.
She's growing up to a photographer of high standard.
The best light is coming from behind.

My other hobbies are:
Travelling, Guitar playing and making music, renovation or building houses, building scale models, writing and reading books. Mainly historical - novels or classics.

 

E-mail to hannu.kuukkanen(@)webcag.fi

Hannu Kuukkanen as professional


Shoud the photo become edited? This is the key guestion heard here and there today. Professionals have accepted editing from the times of paper copies. Here you'll see a smple reason how the main motive of the picture can be rised up to its real value. "I am cute"


Before. The original raw picture is here. After seen this its easy to understand reason why this picture has been edited. The tooth bites on the legs of the chair belong to the picture definetly. "I'm still cute but the light table on the left takes too much attention from my tender eyes".

Edited picture
This is the old familypicture of Mr. Lasse Raustela. I have edited it carefully not to distroy it's "damaged feeling". Left faults remind us about the lived history. The picture is printed in Lasse's book Meijeristi muistelee.
Before
Comparing this to the edited version - only the most critical parts have been corrected. The face of the woman in the middle was the most difficult to retouch because part of it was completely lost.