Motion Freeze Hi Speed Sync

Technical: Canon EOS, 1/5000 sec, f2.8, focal length 60

I thought that David did a splendid job with the other bee (see August 22). I like this shot better. It it a harder shot to obtain because the focusing is critical. See the wings. The high shutter speed captures the wings in mid beat. Depth of field is narrow. Now for the hard part, get this shot head on with the compound eyes in focus. Hey, I’d be just tickled to have this shot or the other. Either way it was a great technical accomplishment. David got his desired effect in that he wanted the wings to be in focus and stopped by the flash.

London Time Lapse

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1.3 sec, f14, focal length 50mm

David will have to explain how he pulled off this image. The exposure is 1.3 seconds. It looks like a double exposure but the metadata says it was all done in one exposure in the camera. As an engineer, David has produced some very imaginative shots from a technical viewpoint. This is one shot that I admire and will wait till he explains the process. You really got me on this one. (see reply, David explains)

Parlee Farm Flowers

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/160 sec, 13, focal length 18

Out and about among the flowers, Susan maneuvered to get a good panoramic shot. The horizontal lines of the field, trees, and sky make things feel spacious. I’d have liked more close ups of the kids, but their spread is too much. It’s a good image and composed well. Susan, I hope the kids appreciate how good you are. Someday when they look at these photos I hope they will compare the shots of you and Kev as kids and realize what a great thing it was to have such a talented grandma.

Parlee Farm

Technical: Nikon D90, 1/125 sec, f11, focal length 18

Susan is on the annual berry picking visit to the flower farm she has mentioned to me. Isn’t it great to have grandchildren who like this too. Gathering seems to great fun for kids. Mine used to go strawberry picking. Well, it’s a good scenic or editorial. As a portrait, you have to run ahead and get to the front. With the kids skipping through the fields they outnumber you and they have more energy. I count it lucky you got them in one frame together.

Mosaic Wall

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/160 sec, f3.5, focal length 10

It’s another wide angle capture for David. Perspective is always a decision made by the photographer. I have been caught as a lazy photographer who didn’t square up because I didn’t have time or I didn’t want to make the effort to square up against the tiles. A straight on look giving the wide angle fish eye effect its due, might have been a more effective image. I like the color. Once again daylight and incandescent is in conflict. It’s really an editorial decision that the photographer makes when deciding on the angle of view for the image. You should at least try different points of view. As I have said to myself, “It’s not a picture.” And then I didn’t pull the trigger.

Lonely Goose

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/1250 sec, f10, focal length 110

It’s along the California coast that David has made this image. The composition draws the viewer in along diagonal lines to the children posing at an intersection of the rule of thirds. There’s balance and dynamic lines that pull this image together in a great way.

Grand Central

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/25 sec, f3.5, focal length 10

David shot this image with a wide angle 10mm lens on the Canon 7D. You can see the distortion of the people leaning into the center of the image frame. I like the shot for it’s even exposure. The white balance of daylight and mixed fluorescent and incandescent is a nightmare. The incandescent glow is nice. The shot could have done without people. I think without a crowd the image would be diminished. I might have tried a long exposure to get people moving in focus and blurred by motion. Because this is editorial and not architectural, the wide angle distortion is rather pleasing and acceptable.

Fisheye Lens

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/80 sec, f28, focal length 50

Well the technical data says focal length 50. So I make the guess that fisheye refers to the door peephole. That would give you a fisheye effect. David you should look into the “LensBaby” which is an attachment lens to your camera. Actually it mounts to the Canon body and gives you a super selective focus. I view it as a gimmick lens. But experimenting could produce some fairly interesting images. Check it out online. You also can experiment with other Canon lenses by renting them to try. I have done this and it’s great fun to play with expensive glass that you would otherwise never buy.

HDR & Normal

David shot this with a tripod and presents two exposures of the scene. I guess there is more detail in the normal image. I suppose that is better. There is more mood in the HDR. It’s a matter of taste. Shooting RAW also gives you options. It’s a problem to shoot indoors and aim at the outdoors. The window light will overwhelm the interior lights. And then there is the issue of mixed color balance in daylight and incandescent. You could use fill flash indoors to balance the light also. It’s nice to have options. Too many choices and I just go ahead and shoot. You can peek (chimp) at the LCD and then adjust. And, don’t miss the fact that a tripod was used to get these image exposures and registration.

Cannot Freeze Motion

Technical: Canon EOS 7D, 1/8000 sec, f2.8, focal length 60

David will tell you how he pulled off this shot. I’m just admiring it myself. It’s dammed hard to do this! So what we learn is that David has shown that you don’t stop the motion of bee’s wings at 1/8000 sec. I believe that flash is even shorter. Try that next time. Then there was Harold Edgerton at MIT who used high speed flash to show a bullet splitting a playing card on edge. For me without that kind of sophisticated set up, I am perfectly happy that you caught this shot. Really, good!