Photography Blog

Friday, September 11, 2026

Tugboat Roundup Day 1

Today was the parade of tugboats up the Hudson River to Waterford Harbor. I tried to get some different perspectives this year as I try to vary the photos I get from an event I've photographed for about 15 years. But, the weather is usually the same, the boats are the same and there's only so many spots from which to shoot.

Galleries from 2013 to 2018 can be viewed at https://davidtruland.smugmug.com/Older-Archives/Tugboat-Roundups. There are also galleries from 2024 and 2025. Photos from this year's event will be added to the gallery at https://davidtruland.smugmug.com/Color/Projects/TBR2026.

Here are some images from day one.

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/4, 1/4000 sec., ISO 200

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

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

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 70mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200

Tuesday, September 8, 2026

A Solitary Lens

It's now been a week since I sent my two f/2.8 zoom lenses to MPB in exchange for a 24-105mm f/4 lens and some cash. The transaction is all processed and I'm just waiting for the f/4 zoom to ship. If it ships today, I should have it tomorrow. One of the perks of residing on the outskirts of the New York City sphere of influence is even free economy shipping gets here overnight [UPDATE 9/9/26: Although MPB did mark the lens as shipped and printed a FedEx label the morning of this post, they failed to get the lens to FedEx. At best, it will actually ship today and I will get it tomorrow, one day before Tugboat Roundup.]

My 45mm f/1.2 lens, therefore, has been my only option over this time. And I've been enjoying it immensely. I did use the Minolta MD 200mm f/4 lens once and put it back into storage.

I continue to add files to the 45mm 4:3 project gallery which you can visit here.

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/1.2, 1/60 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/2, 1/180 sec., ISO 100

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/1.4, 1/90 sec., ISO 800

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/1.4, 1/125 sec., ISO 800

RF 45mm f/1.2, f/2, 1/45 sec., ISO 800

Thursday, September 3, 2026

From Summer to Fall

We're now in meteorological fall which is my favorite season of the year for photography. In addition to foliage colors it's also the season of events, including Tugboat Roundup and battle anniversaries at Saratoga National Historical Park. If I'm going to be making gear changes I want to make sure they're completed before these events get going.

As soon as I picked up the RF 16-28mm lens to pair with the RF 28-70mm lens I had a nagging feeling that I wouldn't be happy for long. Two days ago, I sent the two non L f/2.8 STM zoom lenses to MPB in trade for an RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM (my 4th copy) and some cash.

Some reasons for the swap are:

longer focal lengths than 70mm.
having the 45mm f/1.2 diminishes the need for f/2.8 in an everyday lens.
the 24-105mm L is optically corrected [so much so, that DxO only has a single corrections module for the lens rather than separate modules for RAW and JPG files out of the camera].
my collection of five 77mm filters plus the 500D which brings the magnification of the lens to .5X.
USM focusing motor.
full weather sealing.

I should have the lens by the middle of next week, which is cutting it close for the Tugboat Roundup. Until then, I have the RF 45mm f/1.2 lens and my Minolta manual everything lenses.

Here is a collection of shots since the last post, over a week ago.