June 12, 20242 yr To the rebels! https://petapixel.com/2024/06/12/photographer-disqualified-from-ai-image-contest-after-winning-with-real-photo/
June 17, 20242 yr Taking this out of of the freezer for a trip this weekend. It’s supposedly been frozen since 2002. I’m still gonna run it at 200, I think.
June 18, 20242 yr Screwing around with the 5D Classic a bit more lately. I have to admit having a somewhat limited dynamic range sensor, no auto-ISO, and a wildly inaccurate matrix metering in some situations (I shot most of this weekend one stop under, often shots at least one stop over), can be a bit challenging. Hey, at least from the modern perspective the shutter speed was on the money. 😉 Edited June 19, 20242 yr by blessingx
June 18, 20242 yr That’s a great picture Ric! Not a very good picture, but I had a gift for my mother. I hoped she would see she was still beautiful, but she complained: my mom, ladies and gents and everyone else.
June 18, 20242 yr Author In March of last year, the skies over MV got really weird. All I had with me was my iPhone 13 and a newly purchased version of the Moment cameraphone app. I barely had idea how to use it at that point, but (as always) the best camera is the one you have with you. In classic me fashion, I then sat on the photos and did nothing with them until last week. These weird, undulating formations are called asparagus asperitas clouds and these photos do not come close to doing them justice. I pulled over in a couple different locations and photographed them as best I could. I met a nice elderly lady and her dog (not photographed). The woman said she'd lived on the Vineyard for 50 years and has never seen anything like it. The dog indicated that the clouds did not warrant a delay of walkies. There's entirely too much pseudo HDR math going on in these photos, even with Moment. With that said, it was the only camera I had on hand it's more than likely I will not live to see another phenomenon like this.
June 24, 20242 yr Last Days of Summer: California Skateboarding Archive 1975–1978 https://petapixel.com/2024/06/22/dreamy-photos-show-the-birth-of-skateboarding-in-california-in-the-1970s/ The North American Indian https://petapixel.com/2024/06/21/this-photographer-documented-native-american-tribes-before-they-vanished/ Edited June 24, 20242 yr by blessingx
June 30, 20241 yr This guy is one of my favorite makers to watch. He always makes something interesting. This time, the world's most elaborate pinhole camera... Edited June 30, 20241 yr by swt61
July 2, 20241 yr Chronicles of an Affair with his Secretary “Devil salad is eaten. Everything is okay again.” https://www.messynessychic.com/2015/03/25/chronicles-of-an-affair-with-his-secretary-found-in-an-abandoned-suitcase/
July 3, 20241 yr A phone pic taken at my bachelor party. Everything else was medium format; won’t have it for a while. I think this is quite good. Maybe Doug will have something to say about it, as gatekeeper.* *I’m aware I’m being shitty, I’m just hurt. I’m not trained. I only know how to develop the shit, not take it. Edited July 3, 20241 yr by EdipisReks1
July 4, 20241 yr Author Bringing out the big guns: Cracking open a roll of Velvia 50 for the first time in 16 years. I've been going out to Sweetened Water Farm (the property across the street from me) many evenings during the golden hour. It's an amazingly scenic vista that is largely unspoiled. The family that own the farm were smart and bought up a lot of MV property when it was cheap and have sold it off over the years. That means they've been able to keep such prime real estate in its agrarian state. Normally I shoot with with my 5D IV and either the 50/1.8 or the 17-40, with a side order of iPhone. I thought "what if I do the same thing, but make it much more difficult and expensive." That thought process lead me to best (and among the least forgiving) film stocks on the planet. Of course, this evening came and I didn't expose a single frame of Velvia. For the past few days there's been a spectacular spider web floating in space by the pond. I tried to capture it with my 85mm (which I had attached for the above shot) and realized immediately I a significantly longer focal length. I dug out my 300mm Nikkor and spend half an hour wrestling a tripod framing, manually focusing and cursing. TBH I could really use a 400 or 500mm lens. Don't hold your breath. With that said, 300mm is not exactly a useful focal length for normal photography. I really have to work to do ...anything with it. I puttered around the yard, attempting to find interesting things to frame. I didn't get much, but I do like this shot:
July 5, 20241 yr Had a surreal moment at work the other day - I was out walking with our public affairs staff planning for an upcoming major event when my specialist made the following comment, "Maybe we should use the nice camera in the closet for this?" I responded asking WTF she was talking about, what was this camera, where was it, how long had it been sitting around, etc. What followed was a mind numbing conversation about how her higher-HQ had shipped her a camera last year to use to document some of the work we're doing. She took one look at it, decided it was way-too-complicated and put it in a storage closet. So on Monday I unearthed a mint condition Nikon D4S complete with a Nikkor 28-300 lens. I have always wanted to tinker with a Nikon FX body. I am the only one that can figure out how to use a camera without a green auto function 🤦♂️. So I've got it home with me for the long weekend trying to figure it all out and re-learn some Nikon functions after going to the dark side of Sony for the last three years.
July 6, 20241 yr Very cool! I've only held a D4 family body, but it felt goood. Can't wait to see what you do with it. And gear matters! https://petapixel.com/2024/07/05/couple-spends-150-on-disposable-cameras-for-wedding-learn-hard-truth/
July 6, 20241 yr If anyone is considering, PM me as I haven’t completely gone through my Pixii customer service experience, but this is exciting. I guess it comes down to if the asking price, which makes sense for such a small company, makes sense for targeted consumers, especially with used Leica and Hassy prices, unfair as comparing new and used models are. There have rarely been used Pixii/Pixii+ models come up (I can remember two). I wish them luck. Edit: Let’s see how an electric shutter only goes over (as all Pixii’s have been). My guess is while the 1/3 the price Panny S9 was heavily criticized, the Pixii Max will get a free pass. Edited July 8, 20241 yr by blessingx
July 9, 20241 yr I'm starting to get to know my new Canon R6 Mk II. A very different world from my 90D. I know there are hundreds of videos on YouTube about this but please, do you have any tips or recommendations for me? Shooting the 90D continues to give me great joy (within my complete ignorance of course) but photography (like the music) has been one of my favorite distractions during my treatment and at the moments when I couldn't ride a bike. You already know that I am generally very clumsy. These are some photos that my wife asked me to take of her flowers with the 90D.
July 13, 20241 yr Author There's a guy on MV selling a bunch of DSLRs for quite cheap. Most were of no interest to me (Canon Rebel T2i, Canon D40, Nikon D90, Nikon D3200) but he also had a 2005 vintage D200 paired with the 18-200mm VR (which is apparently a really good lens.) My main interest is attaching my 300mm F/4 to it and using it as an effective 450mm. The seller dropped it off this afternoon and I've been testing it out. Of course, it's absolutely pouring right now so I'm somewhat limited in what I can do. With that said, That's the 300mm successfully attached. I had to figure out how to remove the Nikon F to Canon EF adapter (a nontrivial task.) Did you know you have to set the aperture to smallest and flip a switch on the lens before you mount it or the camera displays a "fEE" error? Nikons are weird. The other lenses are the 18-200mm VR and a 50mm F/1.8 D I bought from a certain DACses hoarder like 15 years ago(!) Looking out the back door (with apologies to John Fogerty) with the 18-200. A not very good photo of a Night Herron taking shelter from the downpour. I should not be handholding a 300mm in the rain) or at any other point.)
July 13, 20241 yr I've been playing with the D4S all weekend. Man, it's funny how familiar the Nikon controls feel after so many years with the D7000 and how easy it is to fall back into workflow/process. Still working on nailing focus points. Low light performance is impressive. That was in an essentially dark room with the little man lit only by the light of his phone.
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