Saturday, May 14, 2022
Been a while?
Friday, May 10, 2013
"Service" - Shot 2013-05-04, Arlington, VA.
Canon 5dII, 40mm lens, ISO 100 f6.3 @1/160 sec. Shot in color, converted to B&W
Was out for a walk on a spring morning, taking laundry up to the cleaners. Sunny day, mild weather. Took the camera because, well, why not. I've walked or driven past this hydrant hundreds or thousands of times. Always there, always faithful, always ready to serve. Weathered and peeling, but still there, still standing, steadfast.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Thursday, August 16, 2012
August 16, 2012 -- Shimano 105 rear cogs on a Gunnar Sport
Playing Macro a bit. Canon 5dII + 40mm lens and a Macro Extender tube. I hand held a 430exII speedlite with a Rogue FlashBender setup as a snoot. Flash was fired via a Canon ST-E2.
The bike was my birthday present to myself. Cyn had gotten a new commuter bike earlier in the year, and my older bike, a GT Karakoram mountain bike was around 17 years old - it was frankly painful to ride for any distance. I test rode a couple bikes, without having found one that felt right. We were about ready to head out, and the sales guy we were working with at Spokes Etc pointed out the Gunnar up front. I took it for a spin and was hooked. Expect to see more bike and biking photos in the future!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
June 20, 2012 - First world problems...
Sunday, June 17, 2012
June 17, 2012 - Bees of Bluemont
June 17, 2012 - Bees of Bluemont
Bluemont park is walking distance from my house, along the system of trails which connect to the W&OD here in Arlington. Among the features of the park are several gardens, which always have something blooming. Today was this orange colored something with smallish flowers. The bees were clearly enjoying themselves.
Photo Details - Canon 5DmkII, Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 IS USM L lens. Image was shot at 300mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/500th.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
June 3, 2012 - Frog at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County VA
June 3, 2012 - Frog at Riverbend Park, Fairfax County VA
This was taken on a hike - though it was a bit more like a walk in the woods than a hike - at Riverbend Park in Fairfax County, VA. Riverbend is one of a string of parks which can be found along the Potomac - it is traversed by a trail called the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail. I was with a couple friends - we drove out and parked, then headed north along the river. The trail here is well marked and generally flat. There are a few rises, but even for my out-of-shape condition, were a pretty easy walk. After one of these, we descended into a small glade with a large algae covered pond. There were several small wooden over looks at the water edge. We could hear the sound of many many bullfrogs and took a few minutes to grab some photos.
The above is one of several good ones I got. I also have a wide angle photo that I'm currently using as the background on my monitor at work. The above was shot with my Canon 5dII and my Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 zoom, at 300mm. The camera was set on Auto-ISO and picked 1600. Aperture was f9.0, shutter speed 1/250th. I rather like shooting with the Auto-ISO on some days - I still can/do assume control over the shutter and aperture, but it seems to help make sure I end up don't end up with as many blurry, long shutter speed shots. And, thankfully, the 5dII is pretty good as far as sensor noise, even at higher ISO's.
Yes, I do still believe in knowing what all the settings do, and I believe any photographer should know the relationships between aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, etc - but I also believe that there are times when the computer brain can do things better and faster than I can. I have no qualms about using some of the "auto" settings, if it will help me get more consistent results.