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The leaf is dead, long live the leaf!



Digging this shot, because you can see where the old leaf was, as well as all the new growth.

Living room window, with the 70-200, waiting out the breeze.

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Taken on Ilford HP5+ 400, with the 70-200.



I haven't been doing much post-processing on my film shots - the occasional contrast tweak, mild sharpening, and cropping are about as far as I've gotten.

For this one, I cranked the sharpen slider all the way up (to go with the subject, you see), did some dodging and burning (at least some of which is way too obvious to my eye), and played with contrast, the black level, and the highlights.

Eh.

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I've been watching this tree at the edge of the parking lot at work bloom, and I've loved seeing the white blooms against the green of everything else.



Took this from halfway across the parking lot to get the framing as close to right as possible.

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My buddy and I went out this evening to commemorate his continued survival, the successful completion of his first semester back to school, and his birthday, a few weeks early.

I'm cheap, so I figured I'd cover all three with one dinner. We also haven't seen each other for a few months, so, it was long overdue.



Our local chapter of the Mohegan Sun empire has some fairly decent restaurants, so, we headed on down. After dinner, and after he successfully lightened his wallet on the slots, we shot the breeze in the parking lot for around three hours.

As we were chatting, I shot the above. If I'm going to take night shots, I really should pack my tripod. This was the 70-200, on a monopod, with the ISO jacked up to 800.

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I think I missed a good opportunity with this shot:



This is, to my eye, a very compelling subject, and I'm having a hard time conveying that on film.

I do intend another crack at this, with the digital, so I can chimp the shots and see where I've gone wrong. I have some ideas, and I'd like to see how they play out on an LCD rather than waiting a week between the shot and the results.

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We had the moms and grandmoms over for a Mothers' Day Brunch, and this is one of the shots I took toward the end of the day:



I probably shot this at around f/4, and about 100mm, give or take. Pity that film doesn't store EXIF data. I did try to keep a log of my shots, but, that didn't really pan out. Again, pity.

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Today, I was able to lend my meager talents to a great cause.

A great friend and fellow photog has a niece with Cystic Fibrosis, and every year she participates in the Great Strides walk and fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Not fully understanding the nature of the walk (specifically, the walking part) I naively asked L if she'd like me to swing by and shoot her and the rest the walkers. At this point I was thinking that, since the walk was in Kirby Park, it would be around a track. I'd bring a nice long lens, a monopod, and maybe a chair. I figured I'd set up alongside the track, and get some portraits of the walkers.

She told me that she's been drafted as the official 'tog for the local CFF chapter, but, was gracious enough to invite me along anyway.

I never brought up the whole "track" thing.

So, for those of you out there who are unfamiliar with the concept, when a group like this gets together to walk, they walk.

A lot.

Everywhere.

For miles.

I knew my assumptions about the day were wrong when I pulled into the park at the same time as a group of walkers wearing Rainbow Walk shirts.

I said to myself "Oh." Just, that. Oh.

All of a sudden, my nice long lens looked more like a damn heavy lens. My walkabout lens looked like another damn heavy lens. The flash seemed like a damn heavy flash. The "good" digital body? Damn heavy. Even the monopod seemed damn heavy. Pack all that damn heavy gear onto a damn heavy photographer, toss in a few miles of hoofing it, and it adds up to a disaster. I consoled myself with the fact that I was in too much of a hurry on my way out the door to grab a chair. Why would you need a chair for a walk?

As it turned out, the walk portion of the day was scrubbed due to rain. Would I have kept up with the crowd? Hard to say. At least we got some good shots for the CF Foundation.



Right now, there are some really exciting developments on the CF front, but the realities of pharmaceutical research, trials, FDA approvals, and finally acceptance mean time and money, and lots of both. If you can help with either, I'd urge you to do so.

POTD 126 of 365

So, I've got this shiny new lens, one of the finest lenses Canon produces, and what do I do?

I put it on a camera that's fifteen years old, loaded with cheap medium-speed film, and take it on a walk along a garbage-strewn path behind the office.

Heh.

Pictures soon - have to finish, develop, and scan the roll.



This lens is going to be way too much fun. I've finally broken the shackles of EF-S mount lenses. I'll never, ever, ever purchase another lens built for a crop sensor again. This baby works on all of my digital bodies, my current film body, and any other body I can see purchasing in the future.

I believe I've also broken out of my Tri-X prison, as well. This was shot on Ilford HP5+ 400, so, basically a direct competitor to Tri-X. It dries flat, like all the other Ilford films I've shot. Only downside, if you'll call it that, is that it's an extra minute in the tank developing it, but, I'm assuming that means it's even more forgiving of developing variations than Tri-X.

Anybody wanna buy some Kodak Tri-X 400? I've got a few rolls!

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Ho boy. So, I got a damn fine deal on a new piece of equipment. I've been lusting after looking at this lens for a while. I had considered the Non-IS version (to save a few hundred dollars), but, shooting at f/2.8 the other night indoors with the 17-55 proved that I needed the IS, even at high ISOs.

Version II of this lens was just released, so, the price did drop on the Mark I lenses. When one popped up on one of the sites I frequent, at a good price, and with IS, I told my wallet to look the other way and did it.



Yup.

EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS, Mark I

You want speed? It's got it.

You want reach? It's got it.

You want weight? It's got it.

You want bokeh? It's got it.



But since it's not about the gear (right?) let's talk about the shot.



I used a trick I've used in the past to light this.

There's a pane of glass suspended between the stools. On top of the glass is a piece of white posterboard.

Below this setup is the 580EX II at 1/8, through the LTP.

The two 430EZs, set to 1/16, are blowing out the background.

The 160WS Strobe, at a little over 1/8, and through the big softbox provides key on the shot.

Shot at f/8 for detail and the most in-focus areas I could get.

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So, I'll cop to having taken this shot a few days ago.



I pulled into work just as the skies opened up. I reckoned the deluge would pass relatively quickly (and it did), but, I didn't want to get drenched, and I had nothing better to do for a few minutes, so, I took the shot.

Eh. Better than nothing, I suppose.

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My folks and sister came over for dinner this evening.

The Missus and I made Chicken Marsala served over homemade fettuccine, and one my favorite tools in the kitchen, aside from the stand mixer, is the pasta roller:



And anything else I have to say is rendered (even more) insignificant right now - just watched The President tell us that our Special Forces killed Osama Bin Laden, and took his body into custody.

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The Missus!

I saw the late afternoon light coming in through the bedroom window, so I asked The Missus to pose in the sunbeam.



Of course, immediately after I dropped the shutter on the last frame on the roll, I realized I should have turned her more towards the window, and, with the way the weather has been lately, I have no idea when we'll see the sun again.

Hopefully, I remember this for the next time it doesn't rain.

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The Missus...requested...my presence at the Luzerne County Historical Society annual diner this evening.



Not much to say about the picture - I centered the AF point, adjusted the zoom on the lens, and handed it to a friend of ours to make the shot.

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Took a few shots of a bright blue sky with fluffy white clouds this evening with the 620. They were shot on Tri-X 400, through a red filter, spot-metered on a cloud and bumped to +2 EV (to move the clouds into Zone 3), and, just for fun, I held a circular polarizer in front of the lens (because it's too big to thread on) to have a darkening effect on the sky.

I have four more shots left on the roll - I can't wait to see what these new ones look like.



Very little done in post to this shot - a quick, very minimal curves adjustment (after converting to RGB) and a light output sharpening was all it took.

I may have to get a CPL that fits my nifty fifty.

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Want to see a happy sight?



That's 27 rolls of film, 11 cans of cheap beer, and 7 more cans of beer (not shown) on the door.

Is it any wonder why I like it down here in my office?

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Shot some textures today while I was stuck in traffic. The 620, loaded with Tri-X and the the nifty fifty.

The sun was poking up over a big rig on my right, and hitting the rocks on my left, looked OK.

Wrapped up on as-yet-undeveloped roll. Once it's developed, I'll scan it and post it. You know the drill.

Ah, the hell with that noise - how about a picture of some cloud-to-cloud lighting, instead?



Storm's rollin' in.

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Shot an abandoned gas station today - finishing up my roll of Ilford Delta 400.

If the 400 base is anything like the 3200 base, I don't think I'm going back to Tri-X. Compared to Tri-X, the Iford film dries flat, rather than curling along the short axis, and, consequently, is a joy to scan and store.

Also, call me crazy, but the base isn't purple, like Tri-X, it's grey. Even though I'm scanning in B+W, I'm a little more confident that the tones are going to be more accurate coming from a grey negative.

So, yeah, gas station. I'll be developing the roll tomorrow, which means a scan in the near future.



And, I believe I'm a convert to Ilford. The base is purple, but, it dried flat. Now, before I do anything rash, like tossing out the last few rolls of Tri-X I have, I also realized that I've been running my Hypoclear at 400% strength, which may account for the flatness. I've got a roll of Tri-X in the camera now - once it's done, I'll process it using the too-strong Hypoclear and see if it dries flat, too.

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Easter - a time to reflect, be close to your family, and participate in chocolate bunny genocide.



You may recognise The Missus - surrounding her is a goodly chunk of her awesome family.

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Following this tutorial on StudioLighting.net, I built myself a C-Stand today.



Total cost for the stand, pre-tax, from Home Depot, is under $60. To put that number into perspective, the big two camera stores in New York are selling mini Century Stands for around $100 each.

I did modify it a bit, by adding pipe insulation around the base, and ditching the casters. I also dropped two compression springs into the base to cushion the landing a bit if the top tube lets go.

I'm working on adapting a paint brush holder into a boom arm, because this is heavy enough to support a boom with very little counter-weight.

I'm also planning on building a second one of these in a very near future. Light stands are good.

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I think the noise of the nifty-fifty racking back and forth hunting for focus woke him up:



Immediately after taking the shot, he got up, hit me in the head, and ate my camera.

Developing this roll was a bit of a challenge after that.

Kidding.

Seriously.

Kidding. No cats, cameras, or photographers were harmed in the making of this shot.