Five Favorites for 2013

Here are five of my favorite shots from 2013 shown here in chronological order, along with some technical information.

The first shot, from April 15th, was made with the EOS 5D Mark II and EF 300mm f/4L IS USM lens. Aperture was f/8 and shutter speed was 1/2000th of a second. ISO was 800

Crocus

The second shot, at a high school production of Grease, was made on April 17th, again with the 5D Mark II but with the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM lens at 115mm. Aperture was f/2.8 and shutter speed was 1/350th of a second, ISO was 1600.

The Teen Angel

The third shot is a three file HDR image of Cohoes Falls made on June 12th. I used the 5D mark II and EF 17-40mm f/4L USM lens at 31mm. Aperture was f/11 and the shutter speeds were 1/10th, 1/30th and 1/90th of a second. ISO was 100. I believe that I also used a 3 stop neutral density filter to obtain the slow shutter speeds.

Cohoes Falls Rainbow

The fourth image was made with a Canon EOS 7D and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens plus an EF 2X Extender II at a focal length of 342mm. Aperture was f/5.6 and shutter speed was 1/1500th of a second. ISO was 400.

Hummingbird Moth and Bee Balm

The fifth image was made with the 5D Mark II and EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens at 102mm. Aperture was f/8 and shutter speed was 1/250th of a second. ISO was 100.

Sandscape in Maine

Of the gear used for the photographs, I no longer have the EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM or EF 2X Extender II lenses. The 300mm and 70-200mm lenses were sold to purchase the IS II version of the 70-200 f/2.8 lens. I rarely used the 17-40mm lens wider than 24mm and I have the 24-70mm f/2.8L lens. Proceeds from that sale were used to purchase an EOS M and a couple of EF-M lenses. I was seldom pleased with the quality of images made with the 2X extender and found that I was frequently using it in the range that could be reached with the base lens or the lens with the 1.4X extender anyway.

I have decided to keep both camera bodies I've used for these shots, at least for the time being. 

Out Of Focus Treetop Star

I was playing with some gear this morning and decided to attempt some out of focus shots of Christmas lights.

Using the EOS 7D and EF 70-200 f/2.8L IS II, I set the lens to the closest focusing distance and aimed at the star at the top of my yet to be completely decorated Christmas tree. After trying out various settings I decided that f/5.6 gave me a nice blurred subject and ISO 800 enabled a hand holdable shutter speed of 1/60 of a second given the image stabilization on this lens.

200mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 800

And here is what the star looks like in sharp focus:

200mm, f/8, 1/30 sec., ISO 800

Playing With the EOS-M

I had a chance last evening to play around a bit with the EOS-M at a high school holiday concert. I knew what the lighting would be like as this was the same auditorium where I had shot the high school play last month. I also wanted to be able to isolate groups of kids and get the entire groups without having to move around. I chose the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L lens which gave me a field of view of 38-112mm in 35mm camera terms.

This is what the setup looked like, with the EF to EF-M adapter between the lens and the camera.

Here are some samples. The only post processing is a slight reduction in highlights. The EOS-M handled the white balance in this auditorium better than did the 5D Mark II that I used for the play.

35mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., 1600 ISO

70mm, f/2.8, 1/750 sec., 1600 ISO

70mm, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., 1600 ISO

50mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec., 1600 ISO

Big Change in Gear

I haven't been posting much on the blog recently as I work through some significant changes in gear. I'm sticking with Canon but streamlining my lineup of both bodies and lenses.

I'm part way through the process, having sold my EF 17-40mm f/4L lens and purchased an EOS-M kit with the proceeds. I have decided to sell my EOS 5D Mark II body and use the 7D and M as my bodies going forward.

The 7D will be paired with the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II, EF 40mm f/2.8 STM and 1.4X II extender lenses, 430EXII speedlite, 500D closeup lens and filters. The EOS-M will be paired with the EF-M 22mm f/2 pancake and 18-55mm STM lenses together with the EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens via EF to EF-M adapter. The 270EXII speedlite will be used with the EOS-M

For sale also is my EF 2X Extender II. Items that may or may not be sold in the future are my 580 EXII speedlite, Promaster extension tube set and ThinkTank Photo and Lowepro backpacks.

I hope to have some EOS-M samples soon.