How I Shot That - Clouds and a Falling Leaf

How I Shot That - Clouds and a Falling Leaf

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Sony a6000 / Sony 50mm f1.8

When the Fall comes, the weather gives us special opportunities.  One of these opportunities came from a set of trees in La Crosse that are nearly 100 years old.

Every fall, these few tall trees around Riverside Park shed their leaves.  It is the hight that gives me options.  And that day the clouds were spotty and the wind was just enough to rest the light collector away from the branch.  

Since it has so far to fall, the wind really carries it away.  I get enough space away from the tree to take that out of the frame.  And then I need to spend much of a day by this tree, running down leaves.  Sometimes I need to spend multiple days in order to get the photo I want.  This one, I had actually come back to the same place multiple afternoons to get the photo of a single leaf with the clouds in the background.

Something else that helped take this photo, was a new camera (at the time) that had a much better focus system than my old point and shoot bridge camera.  This was from my Sony a6000.  I used the 50mm f1.8 lens.  The a6000 was made as a starting sports camera.  So I was able to get my focus on the leaf pretty well.  I also had to shoot pretty fast.  So 11 frames a second was nice to have.

If you were to purchase this photo, the best way to do it justice would be on a large metal print.  Think 12x18.  That would be gorgeous.

How I Shot That - Late Afternoon Marsh Bench

How I Shot That - Late Afternoon Marsh Bench

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Lens: Sony 50mm 1.8 OSS - http://amzn.to/2tT6LvK
Camera Sony a6000 - http://amzn.to/2FFH6fF

Golden Hour... 

Besides the fall, spring can give you a magnificent glow.  Morning and evening will give different properties so you want to choose your times wisely.  This article will discuss the ending time of light.  

Usually, shooting into the Sun isn't going to be helpful to your photo.  But, like you will find so often in Photography, rules are more like guidelines. And in this case you can find the exception in this: the shadows are not too much.  

Some of this is because many of the latest sensors like the one in my Sony a6000 have great dynamic range.  That means it can bring out the details between shaded and lit areas very well.  I did need to sacrifice one thing, the sky.  

But what happened to me today?  How did I come up onto this place, it could almost be cropped further for different aspects to give a new outcome.  This spot could be used for different types of portraits, nevermind all of the foliage and wildlife that surely must be near this.

By my nature, I'm a very distractible person.  (I try to keep these posts short because of it.)  But this time when I went out with my camera, I used that distraction.  In fact, I had been shooting what I could of wildlife and random people.  This was part of a path that forces you to turn around and head back as it becomes a dead end.  But photography is almost always a matter of perspective.  And walking a path in multiple directions helps me release my distractions and swim in them at the same time.  

So I was heading back from the dead end, and I realized the sun had produced an extra glow due to all of the pollen in the air.  This location was probably one of the richest in pollen thickness in the air... you could smell everything (if it didn't overpower your nose).

And the glow struck me that the shade never was completely dark.  The glow made me wonder because a portrait would give an air of magic to the subject.  The glow made it possible to break so many 'rules' you could find in photography.  

If I had to come back to one thing, that is to explore... even if you can't travel, explore the same places.  Probably more important when you are new than anything, because it gives you experience.  It gives you ideas for the future.  Explore the same thing at different times of day and of the year.

If that skill was good for Ansel Adams (autobiography, http://amzn.to/2FFC96i), I'm sure it will help me out here and there too.

Equipment - Reviewing my Olympus OM-D E-M10ii

Equipment - Reviewing my Olympus OM-D  E-M10ii

Olympus OM-D E-M10ii - http://amzn.to/2DmIH3W

 

During the spring of 2017, I attended an event for Drink and Click in Madison, WI.  We went to Lucky's Brew Pub where Olympus came to sponsor the event.  We got to try their cameras and shoot with a model.  It was a fun event and at the end of the day, they gave this camera away, the OM-D E-M10ii (Amazon Link).

I have some positives and negatives to say about this.  But like my other recent articles, I want to keep this at least not-long.  I think it has kept things easy to read online.

I was introduced to Micro 4/3 sized sensor with this camera and event.  My main camera is a Sony a6000 (Amazon Link) at a sensor size standard of APS-C.  So I do not have a full frame camera just yet.  However, it means that the effective reach of my 200 mm focal length on APS-C is similar to 300 mm from a full frame and with the M4/3 sensor it gives me equivalent zoom of 400 mm.  Sports and wildlife tickle me with being able to reach out further with these cameras so it is why I didn't start with full frame.

What I liked:

What I have to say is that this camera is for is the starting photographer that isn't shooting sports or fast activity of any kind.  For an experienced photographer you can take advantage of certain things that can give you a good second camera.  

The new photographer will find two things familiar to you on your cell phones: a touch screen.  In a user friendly configuration, you will find as soon as you touch the screen, it will take the picture.  So just touch what you want to focus on and it will take the shot.

Additionally, you can get a camera that has decent auto modes and scene modes.  You can choose coloring and other affects.  This is like when you are on instagram for different styles.

One of the things that shine for this camera is IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization) on the sensor.  Along with your kit lens (that is also stabilized) video feels like you are on a gimbal.  This means the movements of the camera will feel very smooth.  Along with touch screen focus, you have a versatile starting system.

And what I like as a more professional photographer: 

I still love the IBIS.  

I like the M4/3 format as it is easy to adapt a non-M4/3 lenses to it.  You need an adapter, but since this is an open standard that multiple companies and people have worked on ways to adapt other brands to this camera.  Old lenses look great with this... even though you need to manually focus you can still get things fairly sharp since you have eliminated camera shake. 

Just because it is a small lens, does not mean it won't give you a great reach.  I picked up this old 135mm lens, and it means it will reach out as far as 270 mm equivalent focal length.  I can go out and shoot something that isn't moving fast, like a squirrel in a tree or a perched bird or duck in the water.  And I can do this because the camera will show me what is in focus with focus peaking.

The camera is also fairly silent.  You don't have a loud noise when clicking the shutter.  You can hear something (it isn't 100% electronic), but it won't be like a big clunk from my Sony a6000 (Amazon Link).  It won't disrupt sensitive events, and animals won't be completely disrupted.

Some of what I didn't like:

Autofocus system is terrible.  If you like having the viewfinder by your eye, there isn't a wide area autofocus continuous (af-c).  This camera does not have eye auto focus like many other cameras, such as the Sony a6000 (Amazon Link) and the  Olympus  OM-D  E-M1ii (Amazon Link).

The menu system.  There are a ton of options in the Olympus menu.  However, it gets too big and too confusing.  For example, there is a feature called setting effects.  When using the camera through the viewfinder or the screen on the back, you can set it up to see the exposure before you shoot or it will just give you a similar view like from an optical camera.  But I had the hardest time setting it up this feature.  Since I want to see how the exposure will affect my shot before I take it, I had to adjust 4 or 5 different settings in the camera before it would work like I wanted it to.  People have said Sony menus are bad, but there is only one menu item I need to adjust in the Sony before I change this type of feature.  

But that may be a feature most people that pick up this camera are not worried about.

If I had to rate this in a 1-5 star rating comparing it to all of the other cameras out there, I would give it a 3.  It is a solid body.  It can do what you want it to do.  It does have limits.  But it is great for a starting photographer that isn't looking to make it a possible career.

If you are comparing it to all of the starting level cameras out there, I give it a 4 out of 5.  But the area wide auto focus can be a limitation.  If you like pointing at everything on the back screen to focus on and then photograph then it is kinda fun.  Or if you set the focus to be a single point on the camera then it will do well.  But many cameras today have a much more intuitive focus system and make the experience much more fun.

And video, while not the main point of this review, is nice with 5 axis image stabilization on the sensor.  So that video will look way better than anything from your cell phone.

Ultimately, you will be seeing me use both this Olympus camera and my Sony in the months to come.

How I Shot That - Spinning Competitive Figure Skater

How I Shot That - Spinning Competitive Figure Skater

Lens Sony 70-200 f4 G OSS - http://amzn.to/2oUsCx8
Camera is Sony a6000 - http://amzn.to/2ELLKIr
Setting 1/500 second, ISO 1600, 200mm Focal

This is Kendal at a competition in Grand Rapids, MI.  Michigan was hosting the State Games of America competitions back in August of 2017.  This was a large cross section of sports from winter sports (hockey and figure skating) to the classic summer sports (baseball, track and field, boxing).

Kendal's heart was into this competition.  She had been used to this music for a long time.  I had to play catch up in terms of feeling the music and anticipating when movement would ensue.  So it is interesting that I feel like, even though I am not a skater in any way, that I've started predicting some movement.  Such as spins versus jumps. 

I've mentioned in a previous post that at this event I prepared by renting the Sony 70-200 f4 G OSS lens from Lens Rentals .com.  It was very useful with photographing these skaters on the ice rinks.  Even though this photo had to be zoomed in all the way, it was able to help capture all of the movement up and down the sheet of ice. 

When a skater starts spinning, it can be pretty nice for us photographers.  The spins usually have to be done several times in each position to be counted as a position, add to that that the skaters are trying to do several positions per spin!  Wow, what opportunity!  Here, Kendal is working on the grab portion of her spin, elongating her position with her hand over her head and yet maintaining balance.  I know I have the shutter speed set to freeze the motion, but this still tells you that there is movement. 

Something about a skater's dress, and the crystals on them.  Figure skaters have crystals such as these Swarovski ones that were applied to her dress. The dress had many added to it.  They were added to help her to be visually accentuating to her movements and position.  As you can see, it is easier to identify her bend backwards needed for this move.  Crystals like these are available in bags such as these from Amazon.com

Something of a technical nature when shooting photos at an ice rink, your light meter in your camera is going to be wrong. You will need to keep the meter at about plus 1 if you shoot manual. Make sure when shooting skaters that you have some room to move.  These skaters move fast so you need to be able to turn with them.

How I Shot That - The Waiting Skaters

How I Shot That - The Waiting Skaters

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Amazon SP Teri Skate Search
Amazon Edea Skate Search
Amazon Riedell Skate Search

Figure skating, like in a lot of things, is filled with an atmosphere of 'hurry up and wait'.  I couldn't think of a finer personification of that statement than with this moment.

Every year, the City of La Crosse Park and Recreation and Forestry department puts on an ice show for the people that participated in their winter figure skating program.  Over the years, through my wife, I have gotten to know many of these kids quite well.  At the time, the camera I was using was still new to me (Sony a6000).  But I loved how flexible it is for me in this environment.  Specially since it let me get a shot like this.

This is a little bit before the ice show started.  I had previously determined that this location is where I would shoot the entire show from, because the door there would open up to the ice.  At this moment, many of the higher level skaters were lining up at this door for the show's opening number.

One of the  challenges about figure skating and photographing kids is a lot of people don't always like their kids faces online.  So I'm always looking for a photo that will be universal of sorts.  When we were waiting for the show to start, I'm seeing all of these kids with all of their skates.  For me what I think worked best, very few of the skaters had the same skate as someone else.  What got me excited was, everyone skating with whatever they had... an incredible cross-section of skaters.

So I got low with my camera (from Amazon: Sony a6000) and I kept on my 50mm f1.8(from Amazon) lens.  By focusing on some of the middle skaters more of the skates could stay in relative focus (I didn't need bokeh balls in the background).  I could get the shot down to 1/60th of a second but still needing my ISO up to 1000.

And I must say, the best reward of this photo was printing it on metallic paper.  This is a shot that needs to show the shine of the blades while making the skates shimmer a little bit.  I liked it cropped or like this.  So it can be taken down to 16x9 and it still looks great!  Honestly, I think ice rinks all over could have this photo to decorate with.