Dusk at the Old Homestead - Outside El Reno, Oklahoma

Nikon Df, Nikkor 35-70mm f2.8 Lens at 35mm

iso 1600, f4, 1/30 sec.

 

I made my trip to Oklahoma with only one lens on the Nikon Df. I must say that I found it slightly limiting, but also liberating. No decisions to make, no fumbling to change lenses.

 

I made this shot right after sundown. I couldn't find the right spot for my tripod, as I was shooting from the roadside, and there was a fence in the way. So, I cranked the Df up to 1600 (no problem at all for this camera), leaned on a fencepost, and shot.

 

Can you imagine the stories this old place could tell?

 

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Playing With An Old Image - Pigeonholed

It's fun to go back and see what you were shooting several years ago, and with what gear.

 

Here's a shot I made ten years ago with my Nikon D70 (my first DSLR) and Nikkor 70-300mm ED lens:

 

Pigeonholed, by Reed A. George, 2004

 

I decided to play around with it a little in Snapseed on my iPad. Here's what I came up with:

 

Pigeonholed, Ten Years After

 

I understand that many will prefer the straight, original shot. For me, it depends on my mood. Tonight, I like the dark, slightly ominous version.

 

That old D70 was really a decent camera. Nothing to compare to my new Nikon Df, but still quite a camera. And the 70-300 ED lens was a pretty good zoom, too. Now I have replaced it with the VR version, which is even better.

 

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Wild Birds Flying by Paul Nelson

Wild Bird Flying, shot by Paul Nelson

Image Source: http://www.lostateminor.com/2013/09/11/wild-birds-flying/?utm_source=feedburner

 

I was browsing the great site "Lost at E Minor," which covers various aspects of art, design, and creativity, when I came across this cool photo project by Paul Nelson. Capturing wild birds in various poses of flight, Mr. Nelson produces intimate views of birds that are impossible to see watching them in real-time.

 

Capturing birds in flight is a challenging and rewarding pursuit. There are multiple ways to go at it. It looks like he uses strobes of some kind to freeze the motion so effectively. This approach would make it very difficult to capture a natural look in the images, but that's not his goal. Instead, he isolates the birds from their surroundings, and I think to great effect.

 

(Click Here) to go to Mr. Nelson's web page and see more of his work.

 

I enjoy capturing bird pictures that show more of their natural environment. Here's one where I got the timing pretty much right:

 

Wings Spread, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO Lens (rented) at 500mm

iso 640, f7.1, 1/1600 sec.

 

I rented this Sigma 150-500mm lens at Baker Photo & Video in Yukon, Oklahoma, while I was visiting my parents.

 

(Click Here) to find Baker Photo. If you're ever in that area, be sure to drop in. It's a real camera store with very knowledgable and helpful staff.

 

The Sigma 150-500mm is a very good birding lens. Just barely hand-holdable (at least with my arms), the image stabilization worked very well for me. It would be a challenge in anything but bright daylight, but that's the norm in bird photography. I don't really understand why Sigma makes their zooms so wide. I can't really imagine carrying this lens around to shoot at 150mm. But, that said, I was quite pleased with the images I captured with it. If I were looking for a handheld birding lens, especially for birds in flight, I would seriously consider this lens.

 

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Some Fun With the Lumix DMC-LX7 and Snapseed

I am on the airplane, returning home from a visit with my parents in Oklahoma. I didn't do a lot of photography on this trip, but did get out for a morning hike at Roman Nose State Park, near the town of Watonga. Here's a simple shot I made of a butterfly at Roman Nose.

 

Backlit Butterfly, by Reed A. George

Panasonic DMC-LX7

 

Certainly what caught my eye in this instant was the backlighting, with the pattern showing through the thin translucent wings.

 

I thought I'd play around with this shot on my iPad, using Google's Snapseed program. Here's what I came up with:

 

After Snapseed Adjustments

 

In order to get this effect, I used one of Snapseed's vintage film colorations, cropping, and of course a custom frame. I tried not to overdo it. I find it reminiscent of cheap color print film and drugstore processing. Kind of fun.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

 

Oklahoma Tornadoes - I Watched The Storm Develop

I am visiting my parents in El Reno, Oklahoma on May 20, 2013, the day of the horrendous tornadoes in Moore, Oklahoma. We knew that severe weather was coming; the local news stations had been warning for days.

 

The storm formed just to the East of us. I got in the car to see if I could safely get a shot or two.

 

The Oklahoma Tornado Storm Forming, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7

 

 

Enormous Storm Cloud, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, in-camera panorama

 

I did not get close to this storm. It was just too ominous.

 

About 20 minutes after I took these pictures, we started hearing about tornadoes on the ground. The strangest thing is that where I was, we never even got any rain. Forty miles away, mass destruction was happening. I'm still struggling with the images and news we've been seeing on the television all day.

Storm Clouds Over the Plains, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7, in-camera panorama

 

My thoughts go out to all those affected by the tornadoes.

 

DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

Film Challenge Results - Seven Rolls in Seven Days

 

Oklahoma Irrigation, by Reed A. George
Leica M4-2, 50mm f2 Summicron
Exposure Not Recorded
 
 

American Girl, by Reed A. George
Leica III Model G, Canon 50mm f1.4
Exposure Not Recorded
 
 

Red Rock Canyon, by Reed A. George
Leica CL, 3.5cm Elmar f3.5
Exposure Not Recorded
 
I wrote earlier about the experience of entering the July Seven Rolls in Seven Days Challenge on rangefinderforum.
 
(Click Here) to see all of the results, and comments by the OP on rangefinderforum.com
 
Each entrant was asked to pick three best shots to share; most of us got the message (not all).
 
As I've mentioned before, this was a wonderful experience for me. I got to shoot some of my old Leica cameras, and the drive it took to shoot a full roll per day, even on boring days, was great. In fact, I got very ill during the experience, but pushed through, finishing my roll on a couple of consecutive days between the hours of 11:30PM and midnight. But, I made it.
 
Everyone should try this.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Inspiration Requires Patience

 
I just read an excellent piece on Kirk Tuck's Visual Science Lab regarding how patience leads to inspiration in photography. His example is a commercial shoot of water treatment facilities.
 
(Click Here) to read Kirk's thoughts on the subject.
 
I once found a very sad and interesting place, a Mennonite Cemetery in Oklahoma,on the site where their church used to stand. It is now an open field, with only a few headstones, and the old church stairs.
 
 

Mennonite Church Stairs, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24mm f2.8D Lens

iso 400, f2.8, 1/100 sec

 
It is a sad place, in my opinion. These people were buried near their church, a place that felt like home to them. The church has been moved and restored, which is nice, I suppose. But, the graves are now left in this desolate place.
 
Anyway, this was an example of when it took me a good hour on the site to begin to capture pictures that I hope share how I feel about the place. This was no "swoop in, shoot it, be gone" situation. My tripod was a necessity to allow me to think and compose. Somehow in the end, it worked.
 

Sunset Over Mennonite Cemetery, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24mm f2.8D Lens

iso 400, f2.8, 1/2000 sec

 
 

Unknown Mennonite Grave Marker, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 50mm f1.2 AIS Manual Focus Lens

iso 400, f2, 1/500 sec

 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 
 

I Finished the July 7 Day Film Challenge - and LOVED IT!

 

Sunrise Watering, Hinton, Oklahoma, by Reed A. George

Leica M4-2, Leica Summicron 50mm f2, exposure unrecorded

 
I finished up the "one roll per day for seven day" challenge this week. The challenge was posted on the rangefinder forum.
 
(Click Here) to read more about it.
 
I was able to complete it between July 3 and 7, but it was not easy. First, it was challenging to find enough interesting things to shoot on regular workdays. Then, I got very ill on the trip to Oklahoma where the image above was shot. On two consecutive evenings, I got up at 11:30PM in a fevered haze and shot pictures around my Mom's house, just to make sure I stayed in the challenge. As it turned out, those pictures are very meaningful to me, and really remind me of exactly how badly I felt. Not exactly pretty pictures, but full of feeling for me.
 
I shot Leica film bodies the entire time. I shot a 3.5cm Elmar f3.5, 50mm f2 Summicron, 90mm Elmarit f2.8, and Canon 50mm f1.4.
 
So, now I'm considering becoming the "Panalog Photographer," mainly focusing my digital work on Lumix as before, but including a lot more analog (film) photography. Just for fun, I've posted a poll at the top of the blog page. Let me know what you think of that idea.

None of this is exclusive, and you'll still see my work with Nikon and Leica digital from time to time. The main change is that you'll see film work much more often.

So, I hope that sits well with my readers. I'm very excited about the idea.
 
I'll post my selected three images once I submit them to the challenge forum page.
 
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