Happy New Year 2017!

Happy New Year to all of you! We continued our yearly tradition of running a 5k together (my best time yet), followed by traditional Japanese new year food (Osechi ryori):

 

From my family, please have a wonderful 2017!

 

 

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Contemplative Geology

Contemplative Geology, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso200, f5.6, 1/800 sec.

 

Just part of the geology at the Desolation Wilderness in Northern California. This place is pretty zen.

 

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Those Northern California Clouds

 

All photographed with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100.

 

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16:9 Format - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

Landscape in 16:9, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 400, f5.6, 1/100 sec.

 

I've just uploaded a set of images from my recent trip to the Desolation Wilderness in Northern California to my flickr page. (Click Here) to view them all (or if you want to see this image larger). Every single one of the images in this set was captured with the LX100. What a wonderfully compact and capable camera this is, perfect for a long hiking trip like the one I was on (3 days, two nights camping).

 

I love the native 16:9 format in the LX100, though I did crop a larger image to get it in this case.

 

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Desolation - Lumix LX100

Desolation, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

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Wood - Shot With the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

A series of photos of trees, close up, from my trip to The Desolation Wilderness in Northern California. All shot with the LX100.

 

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Final Day at the Beach

And it already looks like this in my mind... Taken with the Lumix DMC-LX100 and built-in soft focus filter. I think the effect works well in this shot.

 

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Maui Sunset, Lumix LX100

Maui Sunset, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

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Sunrise on Haleakala

 

Sun Worship, Haleakala, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

Long drive up to 10,000 feet of elevation to witness sunrise at Haleakala, Maui this morning. Up at 3:30 AM, back at sea level six hours later.

 

Shooting directly into the sun with the LX100 produces unavoidable flare; I decided to go with it rather than fighting it.

 

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Preparing for Some Travel

Belizean Scene, by Reed A. George

Panasonic DMC-G1, 100-300mm f4-5.6 Lens at 100mm

iso 2000, f5.6, 1/400 sec

 

I'm mentally gearing up for my trip to Maui and California. This is mostly a family trip, followed by a couple of days of hiking in the Northern California mountains. I'm trying to figure out how little gear I can get away with and be happy on the trip. We'll be in transport quite a bit, especially flying the small airlines between Hawaiian islands.

 

For the camping portion of the trip, it's already decided. I'll be taking my Panasonic DMC-LX100 and Fujifilm GS645S. The LX100 is the super-compact, super-capable solution. With its Micro 4/3 sensor and 24-75mm equivalent, fast (f1.7 at the wide end) lens, I'm almost convinced it's all I need for the entire trip. The GS645S will fill my need for a more manual camera, and as a bonus, it shoots medium format film.

 

For the Hawaiian portion of the trip, I'm tempted to take a camera with a longer focal length lens. Since the GS645S is a wide 60mm (35mm equivalent on 35mm format), the longest I'll have is the 75mm equivalent on the LX100. As you can see above, sometimes I like to shoot longer lenses on travel. So, this has me considering a small Micro 4/3 interchangeable lens kit.

 

For some travel gear tips from a real pro, (Click Here) to check out an article and video on B&H's "Explora" website.

 

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Some Fungi - Lumix LX100 in Macro Mode

Yesterday, I posted a couple of images from my hike at Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, Virginia. Here are a few interesting fungi I found along the trail and shot with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100.

This one was enormous (~4" diameter) and looked like it was made of velvet.

The closeup capability of the LX100 is also impressive. Such a flexible camera.

 

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Hiking Practice - Sky Meadows State Park - Lumix DMC-LX100

I've been practicing for a hiking and camping trip I'm going on in August. I'll be going to the Desolation Wilderness in California for a two night journey. At my age, you need to get the body used to carrying a full backpack and walking multiple miles before heading out into the wilderness. I also need to break in a new pair of boots.

 

I've been doing most of my practice in a neighborhood "nature preserve," which consists of a boardwalk over some wetlands. Very flat, but convenient to home. Today I went out to Sky Meadows State Park in Delaplane, Virginia, to add some elevation and hills to the practice. Here are a couple of shots I made there with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100.

Sky Meadows Barn, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100, Edited in Snapseed

Sunflower, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100, Edited in Snapseed

 

The LX100 is the perfect hiking camera. I can wear it on my backpack belt, and it really doesn't get in the way. It may be the only camera I take on the actual hike. But, I'll probably also take along the Fujifilm GS645S medium format film camera.

 

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Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, with Lumix DMC-LX100

Here's another shot showing the capability of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100 for travel.

 

Kiyomizu-dera, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f5.6, 1/640 sec.

 

Now this is a situation where most cameras would do just fine - bright sunny day, outdoors, wonderful subject. But, the detail, sharpness, and color representation of the LX100 really come through here in my opinion. None of my (much) heavier, more complicated cameras would have done significantly better with this scene.

 

I'm quite pleased with the LX100 as a travel camera.

 

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Japanese Street Scene - Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

Intersection, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/1000 sec.

 

I used my Lumix LX100 a lot on my trip to Japan. It is a great little street camera, and is quite capable of good results at high iso settings, though this image was shot at iso 200. I really enjoyed carrying the LX100, which is very compact and light, and exploring what I could do with it. I have not reached its limits yet.

 

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Storm Approaches the Manor House - Lumix DMC-LX100 and Snapseed

I ventured out from the office today as a storm approached. Here's my interpretation of the scene.

Storm Approaches the Manor House, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/250 sec.

Manipulated in Snapseed on iPad

 

Here's the original image from the LX100.

 

The springtime seasonal allergies are killing me right now, so I paid the price for being outside. But, the clouds were so dramatic, I had to run out and get the shot. The Panasonic DMC-LX100 made that very easy.

 

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Today's Image From Japan - Lumix DMC-LX100

Matcha Tea, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 400, f1.7, 1/60 sec.

 

We wrapped up our last day in Kyoto with some very nice Japanese tea and sweets.

 

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Today's Image From Japan - Someone Has to Keep This Place Up!

Shrine Painter, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f5.6, 1/1000 sec.

 

I always like to photograph people at work. This gentleman was painting the shrine; you can see his handiwork right there. He was completely surrounded by tourists, but that didn't affect his concentration on his job.

 

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Image of the Day From Japan

 

Spring Kimono, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f2.8, 1/250 sec.

 

Well, faithful readers, I truly appreciate your dedication to reading my blog. My dedication to writing every day is certainly being tested by jet lag on this trip!

 

I really worked hard to get this shot, as the three girls in kimono were actually taking a selfie with a smart phone. As soon as the phone dropped from sight, I released the shutter. Unfortunately, the woman in the background "photo-bombed" me by walking into the scene. Oh well, the camera captures reality.

 

Our timing was perfect for the cherry blossoms in Japan, as you can see here.

 

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Image of the Day From Japan

 

Kiyomizu-Dera, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

iso 200, f8, 1/400 sec.

 

Yes, it is a little postcard-like, but I loved the view.

 

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Kiyomizu-dera Temple in Kyoto, Japan - Wish-granting Waterfall

My family and I just got back from a visit to Kyoto. We visited Kiyomizu-dera temple, founded in the year 798. (Click Here) to read more about the temple.

 

One of the features of Kiyomizu-dera is the Otawa waterfall, whose water is said to grant wishes to those who catch and drink it.

 

Here's a triptych that I made there with the Panasonic Lumic DMC-LX100.

Otawa Waterfall Triptych, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX100

 

For this day of our trip, since I knew we would be on the move all day, I left the Nikon Df and lenses at the hotel, taking only the LX-100. To be honest, it's almost embarrassing just how good the LX100 is. I didn't miss the Df at all, and really enjoyed my freedom from the heavy camera bag.

 

These images are direct from the camera, just cropped and put together on my iPad.

 

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