Advent Scenery

Saw this scene this afternoon and had to get a photo of it.

Canon Digital Rebel XT, 50mm f1.8, ISO 100

While I have newer equipment, sometimes my older Rebel XT with a fast prime lens does just fine. The room where this was photographed had windows open in available light (though not full daylight, what with clouds and a winter sun and windows facing away from the direction of afternoon light). The shutter speed was set high enough to only show the light the candle was casting (you'll notice some highlights in the upper portions of the cross from the natural light which the open windows in the room provided). 

Panorama Downtown Scene

Living on the coast, my wife and I decided we needed to take the time to shoot some photos at the docks near our downtown. Parking is free, and the weather happened to be good one Friday morning. Below is one of the scenes we spent some time around. 

5 Panel Panorama. Canon Eos-M 18-55 @ 18mm. Auto ISO and Exposure. Circular Polarizing Filter.

The five panels were shot in JPEG, processed in a photo editor [Affinity Photo, to taste], stitched together, and this was the result. Two other panoramas were shot as well, but water photos and horizons make for some challenging panorama conditions, especially handheld. The above was the best of the day. 

Panorama extravaganza

Panorama's are fun. Ever since I got an iPhone 5, I started playing around with the panorama feature build into the software. I remember thinking I would love to be able to do that with my camera, and I went digging around the internet to try to figure out how to make a panorama work. I discovered that programs such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop have features built into it that would merge photos together and create a panorama.

Above is a panorama of Yosemite National Park in which I merged a series of six separate photos into one large panorama.



This panorama is a series of photos I took overlooking La Jolla California. What I discovered when I did this one, is that the program sometimes has a hard time merging together photos of water. I originally intended to have the water extend father out in the photo but this was all it could handle.

Landscape

Canon 70D 18mm 6.3/F

I have found that I tend to gravitate towards landscape photography. This particular photo was taken at Horseshoe Bend in northern Arizona. Horseshoe bend is a stunning feature of the colorado river north of the start of the Grand Canyon. I was there during Christmas week while my Fiancé (now my wife) was back visiting her family. It was an overcast day which greatly effected the lighting conditions. That being said, I'm glad I stopped and spent some time there. 

Close up Set up

Canon 70D 18-135mm lens with close up filter attached

I have discovered that I enjoy Macro photography. Unfortunately, a macro lens is not inexpensive. I read somewhere about a poor man's macro photography setup which consists of buying close up filters that thread onto the lens itself. I tested it out on a bougainvillea bush and was pretty pleased with the results. 

This is my set up. About three years ago I was looking to upgrade my photography equipment. I had a Canon power shot and I wanted a little more control over the process so I bought a Canon 70D. I heard good things about it and it was a DSLR that fit my budget. I'm overall very happy with the camera and I am glad I decided to spend the money on it.

My lenses consist of a 18-135mm, 50mm, and a 14mm which I use mainly for astrophotography. I also have a few closeup filters for getting a macro effect without having a macro lens. 

Moon with Canon 75-300

Shot with a Canon EOS M with EF-EF M adaptor and Canon EF 75-300mm at 300mm

Nearly full moon just a few days ago. Shot on a tripod with autofocus enabled, auto shot settings, RAW. Post-processed in Canon's Digital Photo Professional 4 (DPP4) for sharpness and to eliminate any aberrations or color fringing (which are prevalent on this lens, I found out).

Still Life on a Porch for Practice

Still life offers a place to practice. I find myself photographing plants and such when I don't want to leave my apartment (or don't feel particularly well, as I did today).

Canon EOS M with a Rokinon 12mm for EF-M cameras. 

The above is a common house ficus, which is nothing to show in and of itself. But, it doesn't have to be. It's just a place to test out a manual focus lens, such as the Rokinon 12mm F2.0, without worrying about movement, especially when there's absolutely no wind to even move the leaves.

Canon EOS M with Rokinon 12MM attached. 

The left is my setup. I purchased the EOS M during the fire sale Canon was having when the camera didn't go over too well in the United States. All I have to say is: lucky me! It was extremely cheap for what it offered, as long you would be willing to live with a relatively slow autofocus.

With the Rokinon, this is not a problem, as it has no autofocus capabilities. It is a basic, manual lens. But very sharp. Hence the still life.