If you like gorgeous, world class cinematography – GO!
If you like beautiful music – GO!
If you like fascinating “natural history” stories – GO!

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COED, The Ohio State University. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

A candid portrait taken while walking across campus. Canon 20D. Canon 28-135mm IS lens at 100mm (the equivalent of 160mm in 35mm film terms).

Sony has come out with a great 5 megapixel “superzoom” camera that is arguably the best competition to the Canon S2 IS (see the post below). If you are looking for a superzoom point and shoot, which is the best one for you?

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Dancer at “SPECTACULAR”, Graceland University.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

This dancer was photographed during a worship service at “SPEC” (see the previous post). More SPEC photos are here. SPEC reports are here.

SPECTACULAR 2005 group photo. Copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

SPECTACULAR, usually just called SPEC, is going on this week at Graceland University in Lamoni, Iowa. Over 1,000 high school aged youth and staff have gathered from all over the world to spend a week of challenge, learning, worship, sports, music, arts, and fellowship. It is a joyful, exuberant week.

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Red Rocks Lake and Indian Peaks. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

Many of the rocks in Red Rocks Lake really do have a reddish tint, hence the name. It is popular for both fishing and photography. A lot of water lilies bloom in the summer. The Indian Peaks, named for tribes native to Colorado, form the backdrop.

Canon 20, 17-40mm lens at 38mm.

Fall River, Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

Mt. Chapin is reflected in a calm stretch of the Fall River at the west end of Horseshoe Park. This spot is just west of the Alluvial Fan and on the south side of the road.

Canon 20D. 17-40mm lens at 17mm. Aperture: f/16. Shutter: 1/60 second.

Fishing, Big thompson River, Rocky Mountain National Park.
Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

This stretch of the Big Thompson River flows through Moraine Park. My plan was to do a landscape photo. When I found this family fishing at my preferred location, incorporated them into the photo.

Canon 20D, 28-135mm lens at 80mm.

Sunset, Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

This photo was taken from Rock Cut on Trail Ridge Road, just 12 minutes after the marmot photo in the last post. Canon 20D camera, 100-400mm lens at 210mm.

Konica – Minolta Maxxum 7D Digital SLR

Mike Johnston wrote a “Rave” review of the Konica-Minolta 7D at the Luminous Landscape website. If you have Minolta lenses for a Maxxum film body and have been thinking about getting a digital SLR, you should read this review.

There is also a review at DP Review where the K-M 7D received a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, the site’s highest.

Pop Photo magazine compared this camera to several similar digital cameras. I published a summary here.

Personally, I would put a lot of weight on the reviews by Johnston and at DP Review. If you already have the lenses and you want to go digital, this is a great way to do it.

Fireworks over Yukon, Oklahoma. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

From the Declaration of Independence, signed July 4, 1776. Written by Thomas Jefferson (1762-1826). 3rd US President (1801-09).

To see an engraving of the original and George Washington’s personal printed copy, go here.

to read the entire declaration, click the page 2 link at the right

Kodak recently announced that they will discontinue the manufacture of black and white printing papers. This is a sad day for photography. There is nothing quite like the luscious look of an exquisite black and white photo that has been printed well on black and white paper.

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Canon Powershot S2 IS

Although a lot of digital point-and-shoot cameras have come out since I bought a Canon Powershot G3 several years ago, none of the newer models have tempted me to upgrade – at least not until now.

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Jan Kraybill at the organ, The Auditorium, Independence, Missouri. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

I recently spent several days documenting the World Conference of the Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri. This photo of organist Jan Kraybill is one of my favorites. The photo was taken during one of the worship services with a Canon 20D camera and an EF-S 10-22mm lens set at 10mm ( the equivalent of 16mm on a 35mm film camera). The exposure was 1/60 sec at f/6.3 in manual mode at an ISO of 800.

More conference photos are here (scroll down to the “2005 World Conference” albums). 2004 conference albums are farther down the page.

Nikon is back! The D2X is a superb digital camera with a high resolution, 12.84 megapixel CMOS sensor, and great features. This is a top level digital camera for those who want optimum performance and are willing to pay several thousand dollars to get it. It is the first digital camera to provide real competition to the superb Canon 1Ds Mark II, and for significantly less money. Competition is good for all of us and Canon may need to drop prices on current or future models.

DP Review gives this camera a HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, their highest. Read the glowing review here.

Dancer, Ballet Manila. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

The annual Asian Festival in Columbus, Ohio is a great opportunity to take pictures. This photo of a dancer with Ballet Manila is one of my favorites for the day. Ballet Manila is on their 2005 U.S. tour.

The festival is held every spring on the Franklin Park Conservatory grounds on E. Broad Street. This year (2005) the festival is May 28-29. More information is at the the festival website.

The photo was taken with a Canon 20D digital SLR and the Canon EF 70-300 DO IS lens. The lens is sharp. On the full size digital file you can count every eyelash.

My online album of festival photos is here.

Canon and Lexar have both announced problems with lost images under certain circumstances when using Lexar CF cards in Canon digital SLRs. Details follow.

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Epson has announced replacements for all of its upscale, archival printers. The new models are the 2400, 4400, 7800, and 9800. They replace the current 2200, 4000, 7600, and 9600. A new ink set has been created for these printers which includes three black inks. Preliminary testing indicates that prints will have an even longer archival life than the already excellent life span of prints from the current printers. The street price for all four printers should be about the same as for the printers they replace.

You can read more at Digital Outback Photo and The Luminous Landscape.

New Epson 2400 archival printer

Will, all set for the prom. Photo copyright (c) Jim Doty, Jr.

I was taking a short water break from mowing my lawn and I noticed Will’s sister was having trouble with her camera. I would rather take pictures than mow, so I went to grab my camera. Will was all ready to leave for the prom and we only had a couple of minutes to do a few casual portraits (the style of the portraits is casual, certainly not the clothes). This one is his favorite.

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Mid-May is prime time at Point Pelee National Park in Canada. If you are a bird-lover, bird-watcher, or bird photographer, Point Pelee in May should be high on your “A list” of places to be. It is considered to be one of the five best bird-watching sites in all of North America.

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Where do you go for reliable photo equipment information, especially when so many photo magazines provide information that isn’t really helpful? You want to know how good the item REALLY is before you put your hard earned money on the line. This is my guide to some trusted sources.

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