Testing a Teleconverter….and a Bluejay!

I am thinking of purchasing a Canon 2x teleconverter, and was able to borrow a friend’s to test. I would only be able to use it on my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS lens due to the design. For about $350 it would give me a 140-400mm f/5.6 lens. The closest Canon lens to that is the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS which sells for about $1700. this makes the 2x teleconverter pretty attractive for a non-pro on a budget! The friend who lent me the T.C. said he did thought it was soft, but he mainly shot it wide open – at f/5.6, and handheld. This would be about the worst setting for the lens. I chose to take that into account, and made sure I tried it at f/8 and f/11 as well. My testing was not very scientific, but my conclusion is that it would be worthwhile for my purposes.

A squirrel in the backyard provided a great target! First shot, f/5.6, 1/200, ISO 400, 235mm on a monopod (cropped from original). Second shot, f/8, 1/60, ISO 400, 400mm on a monopod. Along with another test I did earlier, I have to say I may get this in the near future – especially when compared to the Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS for $1350.00 more!

Later this morning after the squirrel left the deck, a bluejay came by to wrestle with a peanut my daughter left out for him.  I have not seen many bluejays around so it was a treat!  These were take with my Tamron 1.4 teleconverter on the same Canon 70-200mm f2.8 L IS lens. That made it a 98-280mm f/4 lens. The first shot was taken at f/5.6 and 1/640, ISO 640, at 280mm. The second was taken at f/5.6 and 1/800, ISO 640 at 280mm – both shots were handheld (and cropped a little).

I think if you have good technique, and/or a ‘pod of some sort, and you do not shoot wide open, then teleconverters can do a good job to get photos you may not otherwise get. They can also save you money!

Night photography

Our photo club had a night photography excursion the other evening, we just went downtown, but we had a great time!

I love helping other people, but sometimes I don’t spend any time on my own photography – that evening had a great balance of both!

You can get some great blues in the sky after the sun goes down…

This was taken at f/5.6 for 2 seconds at ISO 400. Tripod mounted, and a focal length of 17mm on my Canon 50D.

You can get some interesting colour casts when shooting at night. One way to deal with them is to simply go to black and white.

This was taken at f/22 for 10 seconds at ISO 100. Tripod mounted again, and at 44mm focal length. The small aperture give the star effect to the lights.

Here is another in black and white;  f/11 for 13 seconds, ISO 100 and 21mm.

 

 

Bang a drum.

As you may or may not know, my wife is an excellent Henna Artist. She has been talking for a while now, about applying henna to a drum head. She finally found a willing participant!

It turned out really well, and she asked me to take photos – I had some time, so I put some extra effort into the task.

She was happy with the photos, and so was I.

Note: The glowing of the drum head came from putting a flash inside the drum.

Equipment:

Camera: Canon 50D

Lenses: Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Nikon Micro-Nikkor AI 105mm f/2.8 with EOS adaptor

Flashes: Canon 580EX II, Canon 580EX, Nikon SB-24, Cactus v4 radio triggers, optical slave

Other: Background stand with black backdrop, light stands, Manfrotto 190D tripod

Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS

Just arrived today! I cannot wait to try it out! Now you may be wondering why the heck I would buy an inexpensive ‘kit’ lens when I have the BOLD and beautiful  70-200mm 2.8 IS ?

Do you know how heavy that thing is? No, really!?

I went out the other day with the kids and a friend, and thought I just want a camera in a small bag to take some snapshots if the occasion arose. I did not want to lug ALL the gear for a couple of snaps….so I brought my Canon 20D and my newly acquired 18-55mm IS ‘kit’ lens, and my old Canon EF 70-210mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. But the 70-210 gave me a bunch of err99 messages – hmph. At home I tried it on my 50D and I got err01 – about 1/2 the time….. Oh, well it was a good lens in its day – but I needed a replacement. My first thought was a Canon EF 75-300mm. I knew these were not the best, but I already owned the best, and wanted something cheap and light. Things have changed over the last few years – my research taught me that the Canon 55-250mm IS is now the best of the bottom of the barrel :) Suits me fine – so I saved a few $$ by finding a refurbished one at Adorama!

I now have both kit lenses – the Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS, and the Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS.

 

Pair those with my Canon 20D and I have a lightweight and flexible snapshot kit that will go anywhere is a small shoulder bag!

Dry summer = little water

Here is another detail shot of a waterfall – details are about all you can get when the summer has been as dry as it has. This waterfall is but a shadow of its former self.

Lower Henderson Brook (Shaw) Falls

This was not with my normal gear setup…I shot this with my newly acquired kit lens (18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS), resting on a beanbag and my camera bag, using the 2 sec. timer and live view. I haven’t really used live view before, oh, and my wife had my tripod…

Details: Canon 50D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6, @ 55mm, f/22, ISO 500, 1 sec., and circular polarizer

more birds

Here is another – the action shots are very challenging with the little birds. Here is a poor go at it, but it illustrates what we typically see. Here are a male and female Goldfinch on  the feeder with a Black-capped Chickadee coming for a snack….

Canon 50D, Tamron 1.4TC, Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS @ 120mm, f3.5 (f4), ISO 400, 1/640th sec. about 60% cropped.

Birding…in the backyard

We have 4 feeders going and ton of birds. We have Goldfinches, Mourning Doves, Grackles, Sparrows, Chickadees, and we actually saw a regular pigeon the other day, oh and don’t forget the Squirrels hanging off the feeders. I have posted a few shots before, but I could not resist adding some more. We got some hooks and moved the feeders to the edge of the deck instead of near the house – much better shooting angle. Here is shot of a female Goldfinch.

The gear: Canon 50D, Tamron 1.4TC, Canon EF 70-200 2.8L IS.

The settings: f2.8 (really f4 due to the TC), 200mm (effectively 448mm with the TC and cropped sensor), IS on, 1/400th sec., –2 EC, center weighted average metering.

Editing: Set cloudy WB in ACR, cropped about 40% from the original photo. Increased exposure by 1/3 stop, toned down highlight on perch, +5 on Recovery, Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation in ACR. Sharpened with Scott Kelby’s ‘portrait’ sharpening settings in PS and used Bicubic Sharper when reducing size for web.

I have a few more to post when I get another ‘round tuit…..

Hayes Falls

 

Canon EOS 20D, Canon 70-200mm f2.8 @ f/11, 70mm, 2 sec., ISO-100.

Save money while carrying your Gear!

I have been buying things recently, and shopping all over (online) for gear, gadgets, and stuff - call them accessories. I know that when I start shopping, am thinking that the items I buy will help me take more and better photos. The truth is, and it took me a while to figure this out, is that I just need to get out and shoot more - I have all the gear I really need (oops - did I say that?).

This time I decided it would be justified if the price tag stayed low, and the items were useful. :)

What did I get?
I recently purchased a large telephoto lens that was pretty expensive. I wanted to make sure it was well protected, so I ordered a Lowepro LC4 padded lens case for about $45 taxes in - reasonable, right? (Henry's on EBAY)

I also ordered another set of Cactus v4 flash trigger/reiceivers. I have one set, and I dropped the trasmitter once (whoops), and it opened up, but it still worked fine after I put it all together. I should have a backup, right? $50 US (shipping in) - Reasonable, and I got a second reciever so I can trigger 2 flashes at once!. (Gadget Infinity)

The cables that come with the Cactus have a PC connector at one end, but it is not a screw lock type, so it could be more secure, so they don't come off unexpectedly and get damaged - reasonable, right?. Couple of cables....$25 or so. (Flash Zebra)

I was surfing around and thinking about the Lens case I ordered, and I have a few other cases which belong to Lowepro's slip-lock system. These can attatch to a special belt, and loops on their backpacks, etc. I looked up the Deluxe Padded Belt....$53 - ouch... I am not saying it is not worth it, I have never tried one, but at this point it was too rich for me. You are probably wondering about the title of the post now, after I listed all the money I spent...I found a padded tool belt that works with the slip-lock system at Canadian Tire for $14.99 (57-0006-4) !!!!

I will try it out this weekend :)

....I am also eying a $20 USD Remote Timer for my Camera from LinkDelight.....hmmmmm (did I mention that the Canon version is $150 USD?)


AUG. 21 Update...I just bought the above mentioned timer remote. :)
...and I forgot to mention that I picked a cheap tripod carrying strap on e-bay and...I cannot forget the $2 lens hood for my new 'backup' lens - the Canon EF-S 18-55mm 3.5-5.6 IS - which I picked up on Kijiji for $40. :)

I think I should stop.

Beautiful Prince Edward Island

I was lucky enough this past July to have 2 separate trips to PEI. The first was a working trip for my wife, and we (the rest of the family) tagged along and went adventuring. The second trip was an organized vacation with 3 other families to a rented ‘Villa’ for a week. We had an awesome time!

I did not make much time for photography – as I was having way too much fun with friends and family - but I did get a few scenic shot of the areas we visited. What a great place!

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

Jones Mill Falls

I love my little New Brunswick Waterfall book! Thank you Nicholas Guitard!

My Plug: Waterfalls of New Brunswick: A Guide – get it at Westminster Books!

Anyway – I looked up a new spot that seemed easy to get to, and called up a friend and said “Let’s go!”.

What a little adventure we had! First, we left a little late, and grabbed some Tim Horton’s breakfast one the way. After driving for about 45 min., we thought we were probably getting close, and we pulled off for a water, and a snack to take with us, my friend also picked up some sunglasses as he lost his last pair. The falls were a little farther than we thought, and after a few circles we realized that the road indicated in the guide was incorrect and we needed to start to try a few to find the right one…It was about this time that my friend decided the jerky he recently ate was not agreeing with him, and we needed to pull over soon so he could leave it in the bushes. Back in the car, and off to find the falls, 2 min later my friend declared he left his sunglasses with the jerky. We decided to get them on the way back, and found the path to the falls minutes later. On the way down the path we saw 2-3 piles of scat, which I was told was from a bear – great. We spend about an hour shooting the falls, picked up the sunglasses on the way home, got back about an hour after we planned, and had a great morning in the end.

Vomit, Driving, Sunglasses, and Bear Poop. What an adventure!

Oh yeah, the falls…..

In the Paper!

I have been shooting dress rehearsals for Theater New Brunswick for over a year now, and I had one of my photos in the Telegraph Journal!

Theater New Brunswick is running this awesome commissioned work for 24 shows (I believe).

This time, I was only able to shoot during a preview performance (like a dress rehearsal with audience), and was limited to where I could shoot from. (normally I move where I want to in the seating area during a dress rehearsal)  I stood behind the audience for the first half, and to the left of the audience for the second half.

This photo was taken with my Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 @ 50mm and f/4 @ 1/250th sec. ISO 2000 on my 50D – and run through Neat Image to reduce noise.

I was shooting with the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 on my 50D and the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 L IS on my 20D. Halfway through (when I moved closer to the front) and switched the 70-200mm for the Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5. My ISO was 1600+ on both cameras, and I generally kept the aperture between 2.8 and 5.6, and the shutter speed at 1/focal length or higher.

I like candids, and the actors invariably have great expressions to capture – but I am there to get a good record of the show, stage, lighting, etc for documentary purposes (and maybe a little advertising). I have to push myself to go for the wider shots more and more.

What fun!

Lumberjacks at Summerfest in PEI

Also during our first trip to PEI we got to see the West Coast Lumberjacks Show at Summerfest. I had seen them before in Alberta, and they are always fun to watch - great skills and funny too!



Here are some more photos.

Mostly shot with my Canon 70-200mm 2.8.

Canada Day Fireworks

We were in PEI for Canada and took in some fireworks at Summerfest. It was a great show - and while I was not properly equipped for shooting fireworks (read - no tripod), I did get some photos using a high ISO....

I was using my Canon 50D and my Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 at about f4 and 1/100th sec. @ ISO 800+.



Canada Day Fireworks!

I got a ‘round tuit!

Well, my time and dedication to editing my hobby and snapshot photos changes like the tide. Which is appropriate as I spent 2 weeks in July in PEI! The first trip was with my own family (my wife was working at Summerfest during the Canada Day week). The second (a week later) was in a luxury rental property with 3 other families – it was great!

My first post is a link to a small collections of BMX stunt shots – these guys were great! and Crazy! Enjoy…

BMX show at Summerfest in PEI 2010

All the shots were taken with a Canon 50D and Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8 L.

Birds

A couple of recent examples of birds, and some more exercise of my new lens…

My wife and I went to the Fundy Trail a few weeks ago, just outside of St. Martins, NB. We found a wonderful fruit tree (apple?) with much buzzing – turns out that there were about 5 hummingbirds (ruby throated) having a feast. Out came the lens, those are small birds – would have been nice to have the 1.4x TC! I am glad for the 15MP of my 50D – the following photo is about a 50% crop of the original.

 

I also returned for more Osprey photos, and got another good one – looks similar to the first – oh well – nice birds!

 

I also had a few issues with my LowePro Compu-Trekker AW, and LowePro was great about replacing it – I now have a Pro Runner 350 Aw – in my opinion it is a more refined version of what I had – a little smaller, but I think they learned from their previous product and made it better – go LowePro!

Birds and Water

An acquaintance guided myself and a few others for a couple of outings last weekend. It was nice to go with a small group for some shooting time, and a chance to try and tame the beast! (see previous post).

Last Saturday we went to Howland Falls near Bear Island. A nice falls just off the road, about 45 km west of Fredericton. I can see myself going back on a cloudy day for some long shutter shots!

Howland Falls - Bear Island Area

On Sunday we headed out in the other direction to look for Osprey! About 60km east gets you to the Gagetown Ferry Road in Jemseg, where a number of platforms have been erected to keep the Osprey from building nests on the real power poles. I will be going back soon when the chicks have hatched – apparently you can catch much more fishing action!

The new lens performed well, and for my first time with the lens, and shooting birds – I was happy with the results. I was mainly shooting at 640 ISO, and an aperture of f/5.6 or f/8, and a shutter speed around 1/800th sec. I also had my Tamron 1.4x teleconverter attached to give me an equivalent view on my Canon 50D of a 157-

Osprey - Along the Ferry Road

448mm f/4 IS lens. I was shooting in Evaluative metering mode, with AI Servo autofocus mode, and 3 frames per second drive mode, in aperture priority mode.

My main lenses now are the Tokina 12-24mm f/4, Tamron 17-50 f/2.8, and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS. I now realize that I have no large diameter ND filters…..oh well back to E -Bay!

The Beast has arrived!

Yes I finally saved up, broke down, or what ever you call it – I purchased a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L Image Stabilized lens! For a measly $1,900 US (ouch) I get one of the most highly rated Canon lenses, and my first “L” glass (a.k.a. professional lens).

Yay!!!!!!

Recent chatter…

OK – no post for a while :(

Let’s start with a photo…

Here is a warm toned black and white conversion of Garden Creek Falls. This is a great and close place with hundreds of photo opportunities!

The photo details: Canon 20D, Tokina 12-24mm lens @ f/16 and 0.6 seconds, at 12mm with a Polarizing filter. Tripod mounted. ISO 100

I just bought a wonderful New Brunswick Waterfall guide written by fellow photo club member Nicholas Guitard. While some waterfalls take some effort to get to, others, like this one, are literally steps off the highway. And this one is minutes outside of Fredericton! I cannot wait to get to some others, and go back to this one!

Canon service – what a fantastic experience! I was a little upset when I noticed the * button (exposure lock) on my Canon 50D was only working about 20% of the time. I contacted Canon service and filled out their online process and shipped my Camera to Ontario – I think I had it back in a week! Luckily I have a backup (my 20D). Great service, now if only I did not have to pay to ship it to them……

New lens… no, I don’t have it yet, but I am specifically saving up for a Canon EF 70-200 L f/2.8 IS version I. I am 3/4 of the way there and cannot wait! My first L glass :)

That’s all for now – have fun taking photos!

-André

Last minute

Our latest competition theme for the club was 'Saint John River'. I had no photos, and was considering letting this month pass by without entering. But I changed my mind, and went out with a friend at 10pm monday night to see what I could do. I was quite happy with the results, and played with some off camera lighting. Here are the 2 photos I entered:





While I didn't place, my second image got very close, and elicited a booing from the audience when the score was read. :)

What to shoot on a cold day?

Frost on the storm door! What else? But be quick before it melts!

 

Shot with a Canon 50D and a Nikon Micro-Nikkor AI 105mm f2.8 lens (set at f16 I believe, maybe f8), with mirror lockup and remote cable release on my Manfrotto 190D tripod, with a ball head (can’t remember the model right now). White balance was Sunny (Daylight), ISO 100, and a shutter of about 1 second. A little tweaking in RAW and PS (but not much)

BRRRR!!!!!

Christmas Present – A Scott Kelby Book on CS4!

For Christmas I got Scott Kelby’s book “The Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers”. I have the same book for CS2, and this one is just as great! I have started thumbing through it and trying some of the techniques.

Here is something I did up today – you like?

I also did a little learning about Bridge (file renaming and keyword manipulation) I can’t wait to try some other topics as well!