Asian Festival – Columbus, Ohio. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
CANON 5D REVIEW
In August, I did a “First Look” comparison of the Canon 20D and the new Canon 5D. A few days ago, Phil Askey at DP Review published a detailed review of the Canon 5D.
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CANON LENS RECALL
DREW AND RYAN
As promised, a few more photos.
Our son Jim shows his son Drew the sliver of a moon next to Venus in the early evening sky.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Our grandson Ryan. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Drew talking to his uncle Jared. The call was at the end of supper so he isn’t cleaned up yet. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Ryan. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
GRANDCHILDREN
Our grandson Ryan. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
As my friend Vern recently observed, once you are used to having your grandchildren around, it would be really hard to have them move away. Vern is right.
We are taking advantage of a chance to spend a couple of days with our children and grandchildren. These are moments to be treasured. Two photos from our last trip are above and below. More photos from our visit are here and here. Photos from this trip will appear here soon.
Our grandson Drew. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
PHOTO OF THE DAY: THE PATH
The Path, West Lake Nature Preserve. Portage, Michigan. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Michigan has some of the most splendid fall color in the country. Maple trees turn orange, red, and crimson, and fill the hillsides with glorious color.
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PHOTO OF THE DAY: HOUSE FIRE
House Fire. Photo copyright © Jim Doty, Jr.
It was cloudy and raining when I took this photo so I set my camera at ISO 400 to give me a small enough aperture for enough depth of field plus a shutter speed fast enough to keep from blurring the fire.
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CANON 20D COLOR INFRARED PHOTOGRAPHY
Canon 20D Color Digital Infrared Image. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Color infrared photography with film and filters can yield some wonderful and oddly colored images, but the significant complications involved kept most photographers from delving into the infrared realm. Kodak Ektachrome EIR film is great stuff but hard to work with. Fortunately, it is much easier to do color infrared photography with a digital camera. Now you can have the fun of doing color infrared photography without all the hassles.
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2nd LOOK: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L lens
I wrote about this lens when it was announced last August. Enough reviews have been posted to give this lens a second look. The news is very good. Read more at my article here.
You can buy this lens in this section of my Amazon powered photography store.
FALL COLOR
MEMORY CARD QUESTIONS
O’HAVER LAKE IN INFRARED LIGHT
O’Haver Lake and Mt. Ouray (Colorado) in infrared light. Canon 20D digital camera with Hoya R72 filter. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
It is possible to capture infrared images with the Canon 20D, the Canon 10D, and a number of other digital cameras that aren’t specifically designed for infrared photography.
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LONG’S PEAK
Long’s Peak Reflected in Nymph Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, colorado.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
It was late in the day and the last bit of sunlight was disappearing as shadows of other mountains crept up the side of Long’s Peak. I tried several locations on the shore of Nymph Lake and chose one which would show the rippled reflection of Long’s Peak along with a rock in the water to add a foreground center of interest at lower left to balance the mountain ridge at the upper right.
Canon 20D. Canon EF 28-135mm lens at 28mm. Aperture: f/16, shutter: 1/5 second.
THE FALL ELK RUT, RMNP, COLORADO
A bull elk struts his stuff, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
If you go to Rocky Mountain National Park during the fall rut, you are almost guaranteed to see large herds of elk. The rut begins in early September and ends in mid-October. The last week or two of September through the first week in October is a good time to go to see both elk at their best and fall color.
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MARSHALL PASS ROAD, COLORADO
Aspen, Marshall Pass, Road, Colorado. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
A prior post featured a photo from Marshall Pass Road in Southern Colorado. This is one of the most beautiful drives in Colorado if you are looking for fall color.
When I was growing up, my family would go camping several times a year at O’Haver Lake, south of Poncha Springs. I would watch the rare vehicle drive by on the road up above the lake and wonder where the road went. It wasn’t until I was married and had children of my own that we decided to find out. We drove the Marshall Pass Road for the first time. That must have been over 20 years ago. We were stopped before we reached the top by 20 foot snow drifts across the road. A second attempt a year or two later was successsful since we waited late enough in the summer for the snow to have melted. It has been a favorite drive of mine ever since.
Aspen, Marshall Pass, Road, Colorado. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
There are large stands of aspen at what seems like every turn in the road. It is a beautiful drive in the fall as the aspen turn gold. It is a good drive any time from mid-morning to late afternoon. Going from east to west, Marshall Pass Road leaves U.S. 285 a few miles south of Poncha Springs (take the O’Haver Lake Road, and then take Marshall Pass when the road splits). It crosses the Continental Divide on the south slopes of Mt. Ouray and connects with U.S. 50 at Sargents, Colorado. The road is passable (once the snow melts) by any passenger car or truck.
Aspen, Marshall Pass, Road, Colorado. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
BE READY
Coyote near Bear Lake Road, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Years ago, I read a book by Erwin Bauer that recommended having a camera and long lens ready to go when you are in locations that might provide brief opportunities to photograph wildlife. Not long after that, I was driving across the Texas panhandle and a coyote stopped right next to the road. I pulled over and looked at it and it stared at me for 10-15 seconds before it took off. I would have had a nice picture if my camera was ready, but it was zipped up in my camera bag. Not enough time to get it out before the coyote disappeared.
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BIGHORN SHEEP, HORSESHOE PARK
PHOTO OF THE DAY: MARSHALL PASS, COLORADO
Aspen Leaves, Marshall Pass, Colorado. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty,Jr.
It was a beautiful fall day on Marshall Pass, in southern Colorado. Aspen leaves were beginning to blanket the road. To emphasize the fallen leaves, the camera and lens were placed low to the ground. A 10mm focal length was used to give a very wide angle of view (equivalent to 16mm on a 35mm film camera) . The aperture was f/22 to maximize depth of field.
Canon 20D, Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens at 1omm. Aperture: f/22. Shutter: 1/8 second.
PHOTO OF THE DAY: WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY, COLORADO
Wet Mountain Valley, Marble Mountain, Crestone Needle, and Crestone Peak.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
The Wet Mountain Valley in southern Colorado is sandwiched between the Wet Mountains on the east and the Sangre de Cristo (“Blood of Christ”) Mountains to the west. It is a beautiful place to take pictures. The whole Sangre de Cristo range rises dramatically from the valley floor and is quite spectacular, especially when snow covered. Pictured above is a small slice of the range.
Canon 20D camera. Canon EF 28-135mm IS lens at 105mm. Aperture: f/11. Shutter: 1/30.
BEAR BASIN RANCH, SOUTHERN COLORADO
Bear Basin Ranch, Westcliffe, Colorado. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
How often do you get invited by someone you just met for the first time to visit their horse ranch, wander the grounds, take pictures, and even take pictures inside their cabin?
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YOU CAN HELP – PART TWO
PHOTO OF THE DAY – INDIAN PEAKS WILDFLOWERS
FAMILY VISIT
GRANDPARENT’S DAY
Our grandson Drew
Sunday, September 11, is Grandparents Day. Ironically, I didn’t know this until I heard it on the radio yesterday while going to visit our grandchildren. The photos of Drew (above) and Ryan (below) were taken last night, not long after our arrival.
We will have a great weekend visiting our children and grandchildren. If you are a grandparent, you already know that any day spent with one of your grandchildren is grandparents day.
When I was growing up, my mother used to say “When you have children, you will know what life is all about.” When our children came along, my mother would say “When you have grandchildren, then you will REALLY know what life is all about.”
If you are a grandchild, call your grandparents Sunday and say hello. Actually, any day is a good day to connect with love ones.
Wherever you are, have a great day!
Our grandson Ryan
JEWEL-BOX LIGHTING
Helene Center for the Visual Arts, Graceland University.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
“Jewel-box lighting” is a technique for photographing lighted buildings in late evening light so it looks like night but there is some color left in the sky. It works best if the exterior of the building is at least partially lit by flood lights. The technical challenge is to balance the lighting on the building with the deep blue of the sky.
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YOU CAN HELP!
CANON 5D vs CANON 20D
The Canon 5D is a great new camera with a full-frame, 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensor and it costs $4,600 less than the only other full-frame D-SLR currently in production (see the post below). It has a a 60 jpeg frames continuous buffer (17 RAW) at 3 frames per second. It adds spotmetering to center weighted, partial, and evaluative metering. It has several major advantages over the Canon 20D which makes the upgrade worthwhile if the price isn’t too big of an obstacle ($3299). The Canon 20D does have some minor advantages over the 5D.
NEW: CANON EF 24-105 f/4L IS USM LENS
One of two recently announced (Aug. 22) Canon lenses is the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. If this lens is up to the usual L series quality expectations, this lens will be a great choice for photographers looking for a lighter weight alternative to the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens. The EF 24-70 f/2.8L lens has long had a reputation as one of the sharpest mid-range zoom lenses, but it is big and heavy, and costs around $1,140 USD.
IT’S OFFICIAL: NEW CANON 5D
Canon 5D digital camera
It’s now offical. After lots of rumors and a Canon news leak a few days ago, today Canon announced the EOS 5D digital camera with a full frame, 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensor with an expected price around $3300 USD. For everyone who has been wanting a full frame sensor in a less expensive body, this is a huge step in the right direction.
PHOTO OF THE DAY: FALL RIVER ROAD
Fall River Road, 360 degree panorama.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.
Fall River Road begins at the west end of Horseshoe Park in Rocky Mountain National Park and ends at the Alpine Visitor’s Center. This photo was taken near the upper end of the road.
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