Year Ends, Project Ends

2025 will go down as one of the most horrible years in American history. It's yet to be determined whether 2026 will surpass it or if a semblance of sanity will return. [Update 1/3/26: That didn't take long. 2026 will be much worse. A lawless government, a lawless military, a totally disgusting country.]

It was, however, a good year in terms my photographic endeavors with the decision to limit my camera body and lens options paying off. Hopefully, the benefits of not changing up gear so often will carry over into 2026 and beyond. I took the summer off from volunteering at Saratoga National Historical Park [see the paragraph above] but started up again at the beginning of September, just in time to get back in the swing of things for the government shutdown during which I enjoyed helping the skeleton staff keep track of trail conditions.

The two wall calendars I created, one color and one B&W, are examples of the year's efforts. The photos that made up those calendars can be viewed in the folder of wall calendar galleries at https://www.trulandphotography.com/Wall-Calendars.

My year long project of black & white photos of Cohoes and Waterford ended with today's additions. The gallery containing 350 images can be viewed at https://www.trulandphotography.com/Black-White/BW-Sprouts.

Here are some images from today's walk around Waterford.

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 45mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 53mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 40mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 76mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

Changing Weather

Here are some scenes from Waterford Harbor after some snow and single digit temperatures. Temperatures tomorrow are headed to the mid forties with rain so the snow and ice won't hang around for long.

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100

Henry Knox Artillery Train Again

Today, the events commemorating the Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery, the successful transport of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to high ground over Boston Harbor 250 years ago, travelled through Waterford and Cohoes, New York. I ended up with 47 images from the two days which you can view in the gallery here.

Here are some from this morning,

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 79mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 47mm, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 97mm, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 65mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 94mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 92mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 56mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 53mm, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

Henry Knox Artillery Train

There are several local events this weekend commemorating the Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery, the successful transport of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to high ground over Boston Harbor 250 years ago which persuaded the British to abandon the city and retreat to Nova Scotia. Today's activity took place in Schuylerville, NY at Hudson Crossing Park, Fort Hardy Park and the old Champlain Canal tow path linking the two parks.

Tomorrow there are events in Waterford and Cohoes, which I can walk to from home. Here are some shots from today.

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 89mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 45mm, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 56mm, f/4, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 43mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 94mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 67mm, f/4.5, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 74mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

New Lens Tryouts

The RF 45mm f/1.2 STM lens I've been waiting for arrived this week and I finally was out with it in good conditions. I plan to use the lens this weekend, along with my 24-105mm zoom, for several events commemorating the Henry Knox Noble Train of Artillery, the successful transport of cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to high ground over Boston Harbor 250 years ago which persuaded the British to abandon the city and retreat to Nova Scotia.

My plan was to keep both this new lens and my RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM, at least until I was sure that the new lens was sufficiently decent. But, the cost difference is too much to justify keeping both lenses as even with a wholesale used sale to MPB the 50mm lens will bring me nearly twice the cost of the 45mm lens. Yes, there are compromises but the better lens was overkill for my uses.

I have a gallery for images with the new lens at https://www.trulandphotography.com/Prime-Galleries/Winter-of-45. Here are some from this morning at Waterford Harbor.

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f//1.2 STM, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

Empire State Plaza

The purpose of this morning's trip to the Empire State Plaza was the Capital Area Flute Club's mini concert on the plaza concourse at noon. Time also allowed a trip up the elevator to the observation deck in the Corning Tower. 

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/1.4, 1/60 sec., ISO 200

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2, 1/20 sec., ISO 200

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/8, 1/2 sec., ISO 200

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

The artwork on the concourse is also worthy of some snapshots.

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2, 1/125 sec., ISO 400

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2, 1/90 sec., ISO 400

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2, 1/90 sec., ISO 400

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2, 1/45 sec., ISO 400

Year Long Project Nears an End

I began the B&W Sprouts project near the end of December last year. It will end sometime in December this year. The plan was to document, in black and white images, the communities that comprise what was known as "the sprouts" at the time of the revolutionary war. 

Anticipating the end of the project, I spent some time over the past few days in the communities looking for scenes that might not already be covered or were covered differently. Today, I used the Minolta 200mm lens which I hadn't yet used for the project.

Saratoga Ave., Waterford, NY
RF 24-105mmm f/4L at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

Lock E2, Waterford, NY
RF 24-105mmm f/4L at 35mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

Waterford Harbor
RF 24-105mmm f/4L at 24mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

Cohoes Music Hall
Minolta MD 200mm, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100

Cohoes Music Hall Building
Minolta MD 200mm, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400

Cohoes Falls, Mohawk River
Minolta MD 200mm, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200

Canon's Current Normal Lenses

As I await the release of the Canon RF 45mm f/1.2 STM lens next month, I wanted to post a summary of Canon's various current options in "normal" lenses in the 45mm to 50mm range. The only option I currently own is the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens introduced in 2024. Other lenses in the RF mount are the 50mm f/1.8 STM and the 50mm f/1.2L USM lenses.

Although it is the older SLR and DSLR EF mount, the EF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens is the one I think is most comparable to the new 45mm lens. This is why I've preordered the new 45mm lens. The EF lens can be used on R series cameras with an adapter. I used it on a Canon R6 for a time back in 2023.

These lenses differ from one another in size, weight, build quality, image quality, maximum aperture, control features, element design, number of aperture blades, focus motor type, degree of weather sealing and cost. You can see a comparison chart at DPReview.com here. Keep in mind that DPReview is not known for the accuracy of its specifications.

The easiest difference to show visually is lens element design. I'll start with the two double Gauss design f/1.2 lenses then the other three 50mm RF lenses in order of cost.

RF 45mm f/1.2 STM
2025
9 aperture blades
no weather sealing
$470

EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
2006
8 aperture blades
weather sealing
$1,600

RF 50mm f/1.8 STM
2020
7 aperture blades
no weather sealing
$240

RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM
2024
11 aperture blades
weather sealing
$1,550

RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
2018
10 aperture blades
weather sealing
$2,600

Some of the cost (and quality) differences between the lenses are the manufacturing method of the lens elements. Ground elements are more expensive than molded elements and glass molded elements are more expensive than resin (plastic) molded elements. The most expensive of these lenses uses a lot of ground elements and glass molded elements. The new 45mm f/1.2 uses a resin (plastic) molded aspheric element, one reason it is less than a third the cost of the EF lens and less than a fifth the cost of the RF 50mm f/1.2L lens.