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Forum: General Photography
08-15-2017, 07:24 AM
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There is zero chance of a DSLR, even from Pentax, ever really encroaching on mirrorless size. The Rebel SL-1, as small as it is, is still bigger than a K-01. Yes, you will probably want an extra battery or two if you are going out for a full day of shooting, but mirrorless camera batteries are tiny compared to DSLR ones, so that's pretty irrelevant. I suppose that you could argue that putting a huge lens negates the size advantage of a mirrorless camera. You could also say that putting a 500mm lens on a SLR negates its size benefit vs a 4x5 rail camera, which is at least partially true, but also not really a reasonable argument at the same time. And comparing a EVF to a television is either hyperbole or you being a curmudgeon. Ever used live view before? It's basically the same thing, only better. It's also more accurate than a OVF for manual focus, and has the added benefit of actually showing you DOF without darkening in all but extreme circumstances.
Now I will say that as a general rule I slightly prefer a DSLR to a mirrorless camera, but offhandedly dismissing mirrorless cameras just because they aren't your favorite is similar to dismissing digital photography in favor of film. You may prefer film, but if you do nothing but mock digital photography, you kind of sound like a grumpy fool.
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Forum: General Photography
06-02-2016, 04:32 PM
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Two years after I first started planning the trip, Mr frogoutofwater and I are now back on dry land after a 15-day cruise in the Galapagos Islands. The experience far surpassed what I hoped it would be in terms of what we saw, learned and photographed.
I have many more photos to review and process but I've started to organize a gallery here:
Galapagos Islands 2016 - frogoutofwater photography
We also spent a day volunteering as photographers for Rescate Animal Ecuador, a rescue group that has been working hard to help pets (and their people) affected by the devastating earthquake that struck the coast of Ecuador in mid-April. We collected a large suitcase full of donate collars, leashes, harnesses and muzzles as well and brought that to RAE, which will use them for their own work and also give them away to foster families and adopters:
Rescate Animal Ecuador - frogoutofwater photography
I haven't had the time (or sleep) to fully sort out "lessons learned" from this adventure, but here are a few initial impressions (mostly photography-related):
1. I used a lot less photography equipment than I expected to. It was very hot and humid, and you're schlepping gear up and down ladder-like stairs, in and out of Zodiak boats, onto beaches (wet landings) or slippery steps (dryish landings) and then walking on tippy lava boulders. I think I was well-served by the K-3 and several zooms: I used the 55-300 about 75% of the time, and for the remainder I used either the 10-17 fisheye or the 16-85. My husband carried two cameras most of the time, usually with the 55-300 on and a macro on the other.
There was one guy in my group who carried a heavy tripod, a full frame Nikon with a big zoom and a second DSLR with a medium-sized lens. I'm sure his image quality is better than mine was - but that gear was a major burden. He moved more slowly and took most of his photos from a standing position. I was lying in the sand with the sea lions and iguanas. (He was also a lot bigger and stronger than I was.)
A really good bridge camera with a long zoom range is probably going to be a good option for many people. Three people in my group of thirteen (including an ex-photojournalist and someone who had been seriously into film cameras many years ago) had the Lumix DMC-FZ1000 (20MP, 25-400 f/2.84, shoots RAW and video). I haven't seen their photos but they seemed to be happy with the performance of their cameras.
2. I was glad I'd brought my laptop and a travel hard drive with me. I spent 30-60 minutes per day reviewing photos and doing some basic processing. That helped me have an idea of what I still wanted to achieve with my photos, what to look for, what didn't work, what did work, etc.
3. I think I learned a lot about light on this trip. And photographing for 4-5 hours a day for 14 days in a row is good practice. Sometimes the light was breathtakingly beautiful, sometimes it was painfully harsh, sometimes it was great but lighting the animal from the wrong side. Our guide (Juan Salcedo) is not a pro photographer but has worked with a number of pros on his trips so he was able to point out beautifully lit photo opportunities for us and was also good at directing our Zodiak captains to position the boats for the best photo opps from a lighting perspective.
4. You're going to want to shoot video - either underwater (with a GoPro) or for certain situations on land (e.g., the courtship rituals of Blue-Footed Boobies). I didn't shoot video, but Mr frogoutofwater did. He wished he'd practiced more before the trip (but got better as he went along).
5. I finally took my Cotton Carrier chest harness out of its box and used it for this trip and it was awesome. It was great to go hands-free when I need to be careful walking and the harness also took weight off my back and put less strain on my hands, since I only held the camera when I was shooting - instead for hours at a time. Originally, I thought I'd wear a small backpack (with extra gear) as well but it was far too hot to do so. So I ended up clipping a medium sized pouch to the harness and that served me well. When we transferred from the ship to the Zodiak, I'd usually secure the camera in the harness, pull a drybag over top of the camera (the drybag didn't seal at the top but provided splash protection), cover the harness with my life jacket and I was good to go. If it was going to be a splashy Zodiak ride, I'd take the camera out of the harness and seal it in the drybag until we were on land.
6. Your guide and the trip operator make or break your trip. I'm sure there are other wonderful guides out there, but our guide Juan Salcedo (also the owner of our ship the Samba) was extraordinary. His knowledge, enthusiasm, organizational and managerial skills, as well as pure showmanship were captivating and our trip ran smoothly from start to finish.
7. And finally, I will share the most important lesson of all: never attempt to pull up your underwear with both hands when the boat is travelling. (I have the massive bruises from falling in our tiny bathroom to prove that this is a bad idea.) :)
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Forum: Post Your Photos!
08-17-2015, 06:44 AM
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Three osprey chicks.
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Forum: General Talk
08-15-2013, 05:27 PM
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This has got to be one of the most truthful, compelling photos ever taken...:D
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