Today's Eagle Shot - Nikon D810, Nikkor 200-400mm f4 AF-S VR Lens

I got out kayaking on the Potomac River again this morning. I saw quite a lot of wildlife, including a muskrat that swam to within a few feet of my kayak, and a giant snapping turtle that nearly touched it. Both were too close for me to focus with the big lens. I also watched a herd of deer grab their morning drink at the river's edge.

 

Here's the best shot I got today, of an immature bald eagle.

Immature Bald Eagle, by Reed A. George

Nikon D810, Nikkor 200-400mm f4 AF-S VR Lens

iso 220, f5.6, 1/1250 sec.

 

You can click on this image to see it larger on flickr.

 

Man, am I lucky to have access to such a beautiful place to paddle on weekend mornings at sunrise.

 

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More Parkour - Fisheye Shots

Here are some fisheye images I made with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Bower fisheye lens. These were taken at the same parkour workout that I wrote about yesterday.

 

 

I shot these at the end of the workout, choosing to use high iso and no flash. I really need to try some fisheye images with rear curtain, slow shutter flash. That will be cool.

 

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Parkour Photography - Indoors

Last Friday night, I got invited to Urban Evolution in Manassas, Virginia, to photograph an indoor parkour workout. (Click Here) to see what Urban Evolution is all about.

 

Here is a shot where I got the chance to set up multiple wireless flashes. I didn't get it just right, as you can see the backdrop flash at the bottom of the image, but otherwise this one worked well:

 

I shot the entire evening with my Nikon D700, with the exception of a few fisheye shots I made with a Lumix DMC-GX7.

 

The workout was not particularly organized, so after making the shot above, I had to just move around amongst the raconteurs and do my best. Most of these were made with a single flash (SB-800) mounted on the camera hotshoe.

This final shot was made with rear curtain shutter, at 1/15 second exposure. I like the combination of motion blur and sharp image captured when the flash fired.

 

I am encouraged by the first shot, which shows that I can light a scene well with planning. I will try to work with this group again in a more organized fashion, where I work with them to set up a few scenes and light them very carefully.

 

I also figured out that shooting up close with wide angle lenses works very well in this situation. Here I used my Nikkor 28mm f1.8 AF-S and my 20mm f2.8 AF-D lenses quite a lot.

 

I learn something every time I get out to photograph.

 

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River and Roots Festival - Great for Kids of All Ages!

I love music festivals. But, size matters. The huge ones can be a bit much. My two favorite festivals, ever, are held every year at the same place - Watermelon Park in Berryville, VA.

 

River and Roots Fun, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 28mm f1.8 AF-S G Lens

iso 1000, f2, 1/125 sec.

 

The Watermelon Park Fest, held every September, is the larger of the two. (Click Here) to read more about it.

 

I made the photo above at the River and Roots Festival in June, also held at Watermelon Park. This one's smaller, but so much fun. Large enough to attract major acts (the headliner this year was David "Dawg" Grisman), R&R is small enough that there's no stress or hurry to be anywhere. Wonderful. This year, I only made it out for the first day of the festival, going home in time to miss the deluge of rain, yet also missing Dawg and many other great musical performances.

I shot with my Nikon Df, and enjoyed trying out my new 28mm f1.8 AF-S lens. In the shot above, it allowed me to capture enough of the scene to share how it felt, but still shows the emotion and wonder on the little girl's face. I had to get pretty close to pull this off, but not uncomfortably so.

 

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Impossible Project Instant Film - Color 2.0 Beta

I recently picked up a like-new Polaroid 600 series camera, just for fun. I've wanted to support the Impossible Project, who's restarted a factory making instant film for the 600 and SX70 cameras. (Click Here) to check out the Impossible Project.

 

 

I've shot a little of their black and white film in the past. This time, I ordered a triple pack of a new beta-version color film (2.0 Beta to be exact). I've shot one pack of it, and I like it.

 

Looks like Merlin the Dog wants a sip of Coke.

 

As you can see the color is a little on the yellow side. It has nice subtle tones, and reasonable saturation. I took these at the Waterford Store in Waterford, Virginia, in the exact place where I'd photographed my lovely daughter several years before.

 

It's fun to know that instant photography is still available to us. I like the mix of the immediacy we're used to with digital, and the uniqueness of film.

 

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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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And Another From the Handley Library - Fujifilm GS645S

 

Young Adult, by Reed A. George

Fuji GS645S, Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

I absolutely love how this image turned out. The "Young Adult" sign on the back wall was a bonus; I didn't even notice it when I was shooting the image! Too funny.

 

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The Handley Library in Winchester, Virginia - Fuji GS645S Medium Format Rangefinder

I have happily re-entered the Fujifilm camera owners crowd. No, I didn't buy an X100... I re-bought a camera that I had owned in the past, the 6x4.5 medium format film rangefinder GS645S. With a slightly wide angle (38mm equivalent) 60mm f4 lens, this is one perfect little travel camera.

 

I shot a 15 exposure test roll of TMax 400 in my new camera in Winchester, Virginia, last weekend.

 

Handley Library, by Reed A. George

Fuji GS645S, Kodak TMax 400 Film, Red Filter

 

The Handley Library is in my opinion by far the most interesting architecture in Winchester. Built in 1913, it strikes me as a little piece of Europe in rural Virginia. I shot this image with a 2-stop red filter, to darken the bright blue summer sky and bring out the contrast in the clouds. I think it worked.

 

Here's a shot from inside the library, in which I was attracted by the light rather than the subject.

 

Inside the Handley Library, by Reed A. George

Fuji GS645S, Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

I think this image demonstrates what I love about this camera. A wide range of tones, and sharpness that is as good as it comes, if you ask me. Not bad for a 30 year old film camera. I'll write more about the camera in coming days, but suffice it to say the GS645S is a wonderfully compact, if not sturdy, high quality imager.

 

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An Evening with Travis Book of The Infamous Stringdusters

A couple of weeks back, I got the opportunity to spend a Sunday night at my friends (Morgan Morrison and Fiddlin' Dave VanDeventer)'s house, listening to Travis Book, a member of the "newgrass" band The Infamous Stringdusters, play solo acoustic guitar and sing for us.

 

I photographed the Stringdusters a couple of years back, in Alexandria, Virginia. (Click Here) to see those pics.

 

Here are a few images from the Sunday night house concert, all made with my Nikon Df.

 

 

 

 

Travis was on his way to Colorado for a recording session. We were very lucky to have him come up to Northern Virginia a day early, spend the night at Morgan and Dave's, and play for us. I also got a copy of his new solo CD, "Alice." You should get yourself one.

 

What a great way to spend a cold Sunday evening.

 

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First Shots - 6x17 Panoramic Pinhole - "Reality So Subtle"

Some cameras take a while to figure out. Pinhole cameras are definitely different from everything else I shoot, and require a different frame of mind. That's one of the things I love about shooting them. And then there's panoramic format. I remember when I purchased a Hasselblad Xpan, a camera that I never fell in love with. It took me several rolls to get used to composing in the long panoramic format. I did eventually get comfortable with it, but then moved on to a panoramic 35mm back for my Bronica ETR.

 

Anyway, I digress. The subject of this post is the "Reality So Subtle" 6x17 medium format panoramic pinhole camera that my lovely wife gave me for my birthday. (Click Here) to read my post about the camera.

 

Here are some images from my first two rolls of film through the camera. Remember, there are only four exposures per roll of 120 film, so this hit rate may not be too bad. I shot one roll of Portra 160, another of Portra 400.

 

These first three were shot at Great Falls National Park in Virginia.

 

 

 

This next one came from the new Metro station in Reston, Virginia. It's my favorite of the bunch. There were actually some people walking through as I shot this one; they didn't show up because they were only there for a small fraction of the time the shutter was open.

 

 

So, I'm pretty pleased with this camera overall. That said, I need to use my head to find the right applications for it, and learn to use it just right. And that's not cheap. At four exposures per roll, plus the fact that my favorite film processor, thedarkroom.com, charges $10 extra per roll for panoramic format (!), I figure these cost well over $6 per exposure. That leads me to the conclusion that I'll start shooting black and white film in it for a while, and develop the images myself. That will bring it back to the "reasonable" level of about $1.50 per shot or so. That's less than a Polaroid image.

 

So, wish me luck! More to come.

 

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Deer Season in Virginia

As a young man, I was a hunter. Now, I prefer not to kill anything if I can help it. So, it's with mixed feelings that I took in this scene recently, in the parking lot of one of my favorite camera shops, no less.

 

End of the Season for This Buck, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor AF-D 28mm f2.8 Lens

iso 1250, f14, 1/125 sec.

 

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