Larry Keel - One of My New Musical Favorites!

 

Larry Keel, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 85mm f1.8

iso 3200, f2, 1/350 sec

 
Larry Keel and Natural Bridge played at the Shepherdstown, West Virginia Opera House on November 30, 2012. It was a special show. It was my first show at this venue, which is really great. A renovated movie house, it now has a nice dance floor, and is a great intimate place for a show.
 
Larry and his band are a Virginia-based alternative bluegrass band.
 
(Click Here) to go to Larry's web page.
 
Larry's lovely wife, Jenny, plays bass:
 

Jenny Keel, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 85mm f1.8

iso 3200, f2, 1/350 sec

 
 

Banjoist Will and mandolinist Mark round it out.

 

Mark and Will, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF 28mm f2.8

iso 3200, f2.8, 1/180 sec

 
This is one fine band. Lots of fun.

(Click Here) see the rest of my pics from the show.
 

A Little Refreshment, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor AF-D 85mm f1.8

iso 3200, f2.4, 1/250 sec

 
DMC-365.blogspot.com

 

First Report I've Seen on the New Lumix DMC-GH3

 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH3

Image Source: http://www.digitalversus.com/digital-camera/panasonic-lumix-gh3-p14468/test.html

 
Digital Versus has posted a short review of the new flagship Lumix DMC-GH3 camera.
 
(Click Here) to read the whole report on Digital Versus.
 
This is not a in-depth investigation of the camera, as you may find on dpreview. I also question whether they have a production model, since they mention some pretty strange software / firmware traits, saying that they should be fixable in later versions.
 
In any case, one thing I learned is that the GH3 has a wireless connection built-in, allowing you to look at images on your cell phone, and trigger the shutter from the phone. Kind of cool. I wonder if it also allows automatic backup to and image display on the Apple iPad?
 
Amazon is listing this camera for $1299 right now, even though it's not yet in stock.
 
If the rumor about an upcoming DMC-GX2 having the same sensor is true, I'm likely to wait for the GX2. I still like my Micro 4/3 cameras to be as small as possible, while incorporating the features I desire. Of course, that will mean an auxiliary electronic viewfinder on the GX2, but I can live with that.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

A Deeper Look at the New Olympus 17mm f1.8 Micro 4/3 Lens

Ming Thein (blog.mingthein.com) has done a very nice write-up on the new Olympus 17mm f1.8 lens. I covered the announcement of this exciting new lens a few days ago.
 
Unfortunately, Ming copyright protects all of his images, so rather than using one of his excellent images, I grabbed this one (also nice) from photoxels.com:
 

Shot With Olympus 17mm f1.8 Lens

Image Source: http://www.photoxels.com/photography/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/olympus-m-zuiko-17mm-f1.8-low-light-photo-pa170026_Art.jpg

 
Ming compares the new lens to two existing ones: the Olympus 17mm f2.8 and the Panasonic Lumix 20mm f1.7. I have the 20mm f1.7, and it's an amazing little lens. However, Ming's article brings out one very important feature of the new Olympus lens that really has me interested - a real depth of field scale! More on that later.
 
Ming says that the Olympus 17mm f1.8 is built similarly to the new Olympus 75mm f1.8, that is, it's one of their premium lenses, with no plastic construction. I can say that the 75mm is built very nicely, and feels great in the hand. Ming also says the expensive Olympus accessory hood is poorly designed, and makes it hard to remove the lens cap.
 
Focus is reportedly "very, very fast," even when compared to the Lumix 20mm lens. I have never felt that the 20mm is slow to focus, but I have read it in other places. Focus speed is not enough to interest me in the new lens
 
The new Olympus lens focuses to a minimum of 25 cm.
 
Ming reports that the field of view difference between the Lumix 20mm and Olympus 17mm f1.8 is nearly negligible; from that standpoint it makes me think that it's not worth adding the Olympus lens to my kit.
 
However, as I mentioned above, the fact that the 17mm has a depth of field scale may change all that. You see, none of my Micro 4/3 lenses have any type of focus scale or depth of field indicator on the lens body. Importantly, you also cannot trust the scale on lenses adapted to Micro 4/3 from other mounts; they are usually not correct. This means that doing zone focus manually (where I use a set f-stop and manual focus to allow for very quick shooting on the street) is impossible, other than a trick for setting hyperfocal distance. This is a major drawback, as I love to use a small aperture (usually f8), and manually focus to get a very large range of distances in focus. I also like to use the depth of field scale to tell me how far away the minimum point of clear focus will be. With my Leica, for example, I can look down and tell myself mentally "anything beyond 8 feet is mine." This new Olympus lens will make that possible on a Micro 4/3 body. Therefore, I've got to give this lens a try.
 
The new lens is reportedly going to be priced at around $500, and should be available in the US in December.
 
(Click Here) to read Ming's full review.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
The new Oly lens is not yet on Amazon. Here's a link to the very nice Lumix 20mm f1.7:
 
 

Felix at efix:photography: "Goodbye M8, hello CL!"

 

Leica CL and Zeiss Biogon 28mm f2.8 ZM Lens

Image Source: http://www.efixmedia.de/photography/2012/11/17/goodbye-m8-hello-cl/comment-page-1/#comment-7663

 
I just found a new (to me) blog, called efix:photography. The operator, Felix, has just sold his beloved Leica M8, as did I.
 
I was lucky enough to replace mine with an M9. Felix, for reasons of his own, went a different and I think very productive way - he purchased a Leica CL film camera.
 
(Click Here) to read the post on efix:photography
 
The Leica CL, which was produced through a collaboration of Leica and Minolta, is an excellent camera. It has a slightly shorter rangefinder base than the other Leica M bodies, which means that theoretically it is harder to focus to high accuracy. I have never had any problem with this in real experience. The CL is the most compact Leica rangefinder camera, and will mount any Leica M lens. Back in the day, it came with a 40mm f2 Summicron (sometimes labeled as a 40mm Rokkor by Minolta). That's what I have attached to mine. The 40mm lens is just plain spectacular. The finder on the CL has lines for 40mm, 50mm, and 90mm lenses. There is also a CL-matching 90mm f4 that is tiny and super sharp. I don't have that one. Another important feature of the CL is a built-in exposure meter. This makes it a very self-contained, easy to use camera.
 
The 40mm Summicron, by the way, is a wonderful "normal" lens for the M8, with it's 1.33X crop factor. This gives it a field of view equivalent to ~53mm on a full frame 35mm camera when used on the M8. The 40mm Rokkor f2 was my most-used lens on the M8.
 
How much do I like the CL? Well, I'm leaving soon for a trip to Barcelona (I'll be back by the time this posts), and am relying on Lumix Micro 4/3 cameras for the trip. However, I do have the CL and 40mm Rokkor in my bag as well. It's the only non-Panasonic camera going with me on this trip. I have a few rolls of Tmax 400 in the bag as well. I know I'll use the CL while I'm there.
 
So, check out Felix's blog, and watch for what he's going to produce with his new camera - the Leica CL!
 
Here's a sample shot from my CL:
 

Chinese New Year Antics, by Reed A. George

Leica CL, exposure unrecorded

 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Spanish Girl on Train

I took these two shots on a train, on the way to the Spanish coastal city of Sitges. Individually, I don't think they say much. Together, they remind me of some of the details of the day - the weather, the sounds of the train on the tracks, the day we had exploring the Mediterranean beach and sights.

Spanish Girl on Train, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Processed with Snapseed

 
I'm in the process of working out how to use my iPad for photo backup on travel. I'm not quite there yet. As a result, these pictures don't have metadata associated with them (a problem I think I know how to fix), so I can't say the exposure details at this point. Not that they matter much - it's the feeling and details of these shots that mean something to me.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Those Blasted Pop-Up Flashes

 

Shot With Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3 by nonnit on mu-43.com

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/f43/portraits-using-gf3-one-popup-flash-36944/

 
Anyone who's used one knows the limitations of those little pop-up flashes that are built into your cameras. Nearly every photography seminar I've attended tells you to leave them down, rip them off, whatever, don't use them. On a few exceptions, I've been told to use them the opposite of your first thought: turn them off inside or in low light, use them outside or in bright light for fill-in flash.
 
Those little flashes have a few major problems. First, they're small. That means they have low light output, and are only good close up to your subject, if you're relying on them as the main light in picture. Second, they are built-in. That means that they're optimally placed to give you "red eyes" in your subject, as the light coming from the flash reflects directly back into your lens. Finally, they give very harsh light. This is a result of them being very small sources (nearly point sources) of light, and being directly aimed at the subject. They can really make a nice-looking person ugly.
 
So, what are they good for? If you can dial down the intensity, they're fine for fill-in flash in otherwise good lighting. For example, if you're taking outdoor pictures in strong midday light, that little flash can fill in those deep black shadows under your subject's eyes, and provide a little catch-light at the same time.
 
They can also be used to trigger other flashes wirelessly.
 
nonnit on mu-43.com demonstrated both in his recent post of images shot with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3.
 
(Click Here) to see nonnit's post on mu-43.com
 
So, don't literally rip that little flash off of your camera; just use it very carefully.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com
 
 

Getting That Film Look From Digital - Theme Presents a Nice Summary of Software Options

 

Black and White Conversion Done in Lightroom

 
It's pretty interesting how there seems to be a persistent interest in shooting film, or at least getting results that look like film. I started this morning's blog story search with an article on Theme about how some photographers (I won't say "many"), including some pros, are sticking with film.
 
(Click Here) to read how some pros are continuing to shoot with film.
 
That led me to another article on Theme, about using software to make your digital images look like film. In this piece, they cover five optional add-ons to your normal photo editing software (Adobe Lightroom in my case):
 

1. DxO FilmPack
2. Alien Skin Exposure 4
3. Nik Silver Efex Pro 2 (for black and white)
4. Nik Color Efex Pro 4 (for color)
5. TrueGrain (specifically for grain effects)

(Click Here) to read the whole piece on Theme.
 
The article describes how Sebastiao Salgado refused to switch to digital until he could recreate the look he's always gotten with black and white film (Kodak TriX 400). Now that he's switched, he processes his images with DxO FilmPack, and even transfers them to a film base digitally.
 
Both DxO and Nik have free evaluation versions. Theme suggests that DxO is less expensive, and does the job very well.
 
Personally, I don't like spending time editing images, but do a fair amount of conversion to black and white. I have been doing it all within Lightroom, which allows me to save presets. However, I'm interested in finding out what I've been missing with one of these other packages.
 
I'm tempted to try DxO. However, I already have Nik's excellent HDR Pro software for high dynamic range imaging, so I may try Silver Efex. Maybe I'll try to do this over the holidays. I'll report back after I've had a chance to play a little.
 
Of course, I continue to shoot film as well. I see no reason to be exclusive in my approaches.
 
DMC-365.blogspot.com