Tag Archives: coastal photos

Newborn Baby Gray Whale Near Anacapa Island

A rare encounter with a newborn baby gray whale this past week left us in awe as we watched it learn to swim and frolic in the water with its mother. Judging from its size and swimming ability, we figure it was only hours old…days at most.


As wildlife and nature photographers, we spend many hours searching, observing and waiting for the right moment, lighting, composition, etc.  This was a day when all the stars aligned and we were there, ready to capture it. The only thing to overcome at that point is the excitement and adrenaline knowing that we have something very special happening in front of us. That is when we are grateful for all the preparations we have made to be ready for the moment. It is fun for us to share the beauty we see that many cannot ever see first hand.

One Year Anniversary Celebration! October 18th

Join us in celebrating our one year anniversary at our beautiful gallery in downtown Ventura. The year has flown by and we are having so much fun displaying our work on the beautiful brick walls of our 100 year old building at the corner of Oak and Main Streets. Join us the weekend of October 18th for lots of fun activities!

Celebrate with us for our one year anniversary in downtown Ventura

Saturday, October 18th
Noon- 9pm Open House
5:30pm-8:30pm Champagne Reception

Latitudes Fine Art Gallery
401 E. Main St.
Ventura, CA 93001
805-279-1221
www.LatitudesFineArt.com

Photographic Magic: Images of Ventura County’s Coast Trigger Something Deeper | West Is Eden | SoCal Focus | KCET

Photographic Magic: Images of Ventura County’s Coast Trigger Something Deeper | West Is Eden | SoCal Focus | KCET.

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Book Release!!

Stephanie Hogue and Steve Munch have published their first coffee table book: “Latitudes…Coastal Photo Explorations”

"Latitudes...Coastal Photo Explorations" by Steve Munch and Stephanie Hogue

“Latitudes…Coastal Photo Explorations” by Steve Munch and Stephanie Hogue

This beautiful full color 13×11 hard bound book contains over 100 gorgeous photos with many two page spreads.  Each turn of the page takes you through awe inspiring beauty from dolphins, whales, seabirds, to piers and classic California scenics. A handful of images come with exciting stories and thoughtful insights.
Books are available at the gallery and also online.

To order online, click here

 

Latitudes Fine Art Photography Gallery in Ventura CA. Located at 401 E. Main Street.

Latitudes Gallery Promo Video

This new video gives you a peek at Latitudes Gallery in Ventura, California. Quick interviews of Stephanie Hogue and Steve Munch are blended with stills and video footage that they have created on the ocean and on land. Their work is permanently on display and for sale at their downtown Ventura location.

 

Wave Photography

IMG_2438_webIMG_1462_webAfter receiving a new water housing from Sean at SPL Water Housings last month a whole new world has opened up, shooting wave photography is beyond challenging 🙂 Photographing anything at a Gallery quality level is extremely difficult, having that composition disappear in the blink of an eye is mind boggling :0 I am learning to see and react to scenes that have not yet materialized and maybe never will 🙁
But when they do it’s a thing of magic. Here are a few Images from my attempts at understanding this difficult but extremely rewarding new path!

Enjoy!!

PierfectionAqua Curtain
Wind Surfing Pelican

Photographs of Humpback Whales at Santa Cruz Island

Got to spend the day at Santa Cruz Island with my older brother Mike, I had asked him to put his wood carving talents to work and to carve a series of Humpback Whale pieces to display at upcoming shows we are participating in and what better way to gain perspective of your subject than quietly observing these giants at times just a few feet away.

The display included fin slapping, tail slapping, surface lunge feeding and an interesting obsession with floating kelp paddies. It was quite an experience and education in Humpback behavior. Looking forward to seeing what he can come up with.

Humback whale fin near the coast of Santa Cruz Island.

Humback whale fin near the coast of Santa Cruz Island.

Humback whale fin slapping

Humback whale fin slapping

Photography Shooting Tips:
The day was overcast with not much contrast. The whale would appear for only seconds and then be gone.

  • #1 I set my ISO to 800
  • #2 I set my shutter speed to 1/1000 on TV mode (shutter priority)
  • #3 I set my exposure compensation to + 1

The ISO is high to ensure that I can use a fast shutter speed to allow for the quick change of direction the camera and lens have to make to follow the action, it also with give a more useful aperture f/8-f/11.
The +1 compensation will help with the expected flat dull light.
Shutter priority (TV MODE) are a must in this situation where the camera in constantly on the move, it also gives great sharpness to the drops of water on the tail and fins.

-Steve Munch

Hampback Whale

Hampback Whale

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