Camera Gear: free to a good home!

I'm cleaning out my gear closet and have a couple items that are free to the first person who emails me to claim them (North America only). All you have to do is cover shipping costs and if you're in the US, any taxes or duty are your responsibility.

1) Pentax manual camera system (I inherited this from my grandmother when she died and have never once used it).
Body: Pentax ME-F
Lenses (2): SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2, SMC Pentax 28mm f/2.8
Flashes (4): Sunpak MX118, Kako 828, Bauer E16, Black's X-28

2) Epson P-2000 Multimedia Storage Viewer (40GB)
This is a refurbished unit that Epson had sent me on warranty repair. It works perfectly when plugged in, but not on battery. I'm not sure if it just needs a new battery, or if it's something else.

Send me a note with your address if you want either of them.
Cheers!
Ethan

Lion's Head Lighthouse, Bruce Peninsula

Lion's Head lighthouse, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario

EOS 1Ds mark III, TS-E 24mm II tilt-shift lens (shifted slightly to keep the lighthouse straight); Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer; mirror lock-up and cable release; Exposure: ISO 100; 1/30s at f/11

The town of Lion's Head boasts one of the most scenic harbours I've found on the Great Lakes. The lighthouse, blue water of Georgian Bay and distant Niagara Escarpment cliffs make an excellent combo for photos. Only a half hour from my place, I often drop in to shoot if the afternoon light is right.... as I did today.

Having photographed this lighthouse many times, I'm always looking for fresh perspectives and elements. I knew that having a person in the scene would add scale, but I was solo. No problem! With a remote/timer cable release set to shoot a frame every 10 seconds, I simply walked into the scene and posed myself for a series of photos. OK, so I'm not a supermodel... just a temporary fill in for the occasional outdoor photo!

Happy shooting!

Yes, more sand ripples!

Sand ripples and clouds, Dorcas Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park


I couldn't resist the dramatic clouds that rolled in a couple nights ago! I shot this from a slightly higher perspective than the photo in the previous post..... and managed to stay dry for a change!

EOS 1Ds mark III, TS-E 24mm II tilt-shift lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 2 stop hard edge ND grad (4x6" size, handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; Exposure: ISO 100; 2.5s at f/18

 

Sand Ripples at Sunset, Bruce Peninsula

Sand ripples at sunset, Dorcas Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park
EOS 1Ds mark III, TS-E 24mm II tilt-shift lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad (4x6" size, handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; Exposure: ISO 100; 0.6s at f/16

Just a quick post....

About 10 minutes from my place, this beach faces west for unobscured sunsets and has extensive bands of sand ripples along the water's edge. When the skies look promising for a good sunset, I often race down there for a quick shoot. It's been the perfect spot to work with the new tilt-shift lens. To get these kind of photos, I lie in the wet sand with my Gitzo tripod lowered to ground level. The low perspective exaggerates the foreground sand ripples and adds depth to the photo. I end up soaked and covered in sand after shooting here, but that's part of the fun of nature photography!

Sunrise on Georgian Bay with the new 24mm Tilt-Shift lens

I seem to be doing more socializing, exploring and photo work lately than actually getting out shooting. There are many old friends to catch up with now that I'm settling back into life on the Bruce Peninsula. And after being on the road for a year, I'm finally tackling business projects that have been on the back burner for far too long. Top of the priority list is a searchable photo database for my website, which is pretty much essential to run a stock photography business.   

In the overall scheme of pacing, taking regular breaks from shooting keeps my photo mojo fresh!

The weather over the past couple days has been incredible, so I hiked out in darkness this morning to the Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park for a sunrise shoot with my new tilt-shift lens. What a beautiful, crisp morning!

It's going to take me a bit of practice to become comfortable and efficient shooting with the tilt-shift lens. With full depth-of field my goal for landscape photos, getting the tilt adjusted just right and paired with an optimal aperture, requires a bit of fooling around.... I'm sure I'll have the hang of it soon. 

Although I've only shot this lens a couple of times now and am still learning how to use it, I am already amazed by the sharpness! And I'm similarly impressed by the depth of field that can be achieved at middle-of-the road apertures. Sweet!

Above photo: Predawn glow over Georgian Bay in Bruce Peninsula National Park; EOS 1Ds mark III; TS-E 24mm II tilt shift lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad (handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; ISO 200; 4s @ f/16

Above photo: Waves crash at sunrise, Georgian Bay shoreline in Bruce Peninsula National Park; EOS 1Ds mark III; TS-E 24mm II tilt shift lens; Singh-Ray LB warming polarizer & 3 stop hard edge ND grad (handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; ISO 400; 1/15s @ f/11

For this photo, I needed a shutter speed of 1/15s to blur the wave slightly, yet still have defined streaks of water. I also wanted full-depth-of field in the photo. The solution: tilt the lens and set a moderate aperture which allowed for the desired shutter speed.

Check back soon for more tilt-shift photos. And if you want to see some results from Canon's new 17mm tilt-shift, check out this post on Mac Danzig's blog.

Photoshop and Nature Photography: How Far is Too Far?

Here's a link to a brilliant article written by Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou on Naturephotographers.net online magazine/forum:

Photoshop and Nature Photography: How Far is Too Far?

Entertaining and thought-provoking, they tackle the great debate between the "Purists" and "Processors". Their photos are, of course, excellent too. Kudos to Darwin and Samantha for hitting this one bang on!

Trip retrospective on the Singh-Ray filters blog

Check out the latest post on the Singh-Ray Blog - a retrospective look back at my travels over the past year. Their blog is well-worth following.... the photos are inspirational and it's an excellent resource for learning how to use filters in outdoor photography!

First photos - Canon 24mm Tilt-Shift lens (TS-E 24mm II)

Above photo: Sunset over Dorcas Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park

EOS 5D mark II; TS-E 24mm II tilt shift lens; Singh-Ray 2-stop reverse edge ND grad (handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; ISO 200; 1/6s @ f/11

Above photo: Sunset over Dorcas Bay, Bruce Peninsula National Park

EOS 5D mark II; TS-E 24mm II tilt shift lens; Singh-Ray 3-stop hard edge ND grad (handheld in front of lens); mirror lock-up and cable release; ISO 200; 1s @ f/11

I've been dying to get out with my new 24mm tilt shift lens since buying it last week, but the weather has been so dull... I had resorting to shooting in my kitchen and living room! You can imagine how elated I was to see the skies shaping up for a great sunset this evening. Off I raced to a prime sunset spot along the Lake Huron shoreline.
 
Becoming proficient with a tilt-shift lens takes some practice, and I am far from good at it yet. But the initial results have me extremely excited. This lens is razor sharp from corner to corner, without the soft edges, vigneting and barrel distortion issues that plague Canon's other wide-angle lenses [these problems are most obvious on full-frame sensor bodies]). I expect the tilt-shift is to become my bread-and-butter lens for landscape and outdoor recreation photography... and it's only a matter of time until I get the 17mm version too.
 
For the above photos, I used the tilt feature to increase depth of field so everything was in focus from the foreground (only inches from the lens) to the distant horizon at f/11 - amazing! With other (non tilt-shift lenses), it would have taken a small aperture of f/22  to get the same depth. The tilt-shift lens allows you to shoot at more optimal apertures for lens sharpness and with faster shutter speeds.   
 
By the way, I would normally use a polarizer for these photos (to cut the bluish glare of the water and wet stand) - but I had to order a larger size to fit the new lens (it has an 82mm front end). Once it arrives - look out - this will be a deadly landscape photography setup! More to come.