This is Awesome

I'm sitting in a small service station getting my truck inspected right now. I put a reminder on my phone's calendar to keep me engaged in this thing I call a photography blog. I have a WordPress app on my Android phone. I figured out how to upload photos and post them to the blog, although I don't have any pics for today.

I think it's awesome to have these tools and the capability to do this remotely and whenever I find a free bit of time, such as now. (some of you are probably thinking I've been behind on tech and I'm just catching up, and you're right)

But the effect of this rather meaningless post is that the photo bug is planted in my head, and hopefully I'll give some thought to photography throughout the day today.

Getting Back Into It

Photography has been a huge part of my life for the past 10 years. I've spent a lot of time on photography. I've taken photos, studied photography, gone on workshops, given workshops, and more. I've done it because I have enjoyed it.

In the past year or so, I've grown further away from it. I've been distracted by other events and other hobbies. But my love for it and my enjoyment in it remains the same.


Mumford and Sons at the Woodlands, Sep. 17, 2013

I'd like to challenge myself to make one post a day here on this blog. It doesn't have to be a photo. It just has to be something related to photography. That will keep me active.

I'm not sure if I can pull it off. It's a bit like starting a new diet. I can only try :-) I have to keep reminding myself how important photography is to me and how posting here will help me stay engaged.

(And I'm doing this from my phone. It really helps me if I can have access to posting when mobile.)

Sunrise

You know you need to get out and photograph when you find yourself watching sunrises and sunsets every day.





I'm itchin' badly here. I can't wait to get outdoors. I have a big spell of serious landscape photography coming up in my favorite place in the world. I can't wait...

Random Thought of the Day

I managed to motivate my lazy, procrastinating self to clean out my junk drawer in the kitchen last night. I found an old fortune that I'd kept from a meal long ago.








At some point, every photographer has heard the advice to not pass up an opportunity. I've missed many over time, and I've slowly learned to take the time, stop, and take advantage of any scene or event that I think has potential.

Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. But you never know unless you try.

Which reminds me... my camera is doing me no good sitting in the closet at home ;-)

New Content!

I have finally gotten my lazy rear-end moving and uploaded some new content to my website. Three new galleries are now online (links below).

I am also making moves to reorganizing my website. Step one has been to implement a new gallery format. The galleries were created using SimpleViewer Pro. Unfortunately, my long-lasting resistance to using Flash has lost. However, if you do not have flash, the galleries should default to a simple thumbnail view that should still link to the full-res images. (this is important for folks viewing on mobile devices)

Step two is to update the portfolio part of the website. You'll notice a new link to a "gallery". It's under development right now, so there is no content yet. But I will be working on this soon!

Anyway, on to the new images....

This gallery contains random images that I've taken this year. It isn't a big gallery, but I will add to it as time goes on.

MISC Gallery - click to enter

In late February, I went on a fishing trip to Toledo Bend Reservoir on the border between Texas and Louisiana. The lake is enormous, and we only explored a small part of it. It is a man-made reservoir that was created by flooding a heavily wooded valley. You'll notice this by the numerous bare stumps sticking out of the water.

Toledo Bend Gallery - click to enter

This last gallery presents my recent efforts to shoot the local wildflowers. I have been exploring Barker and Addicks reservoirs (particularly George Bush Park and also Bear Creek Pioneers Park) in west Houston.

Wildflowers Gallery - click to enter

Local Wildflowers

Lately I have been exploring the "wild" areas nearby in search of flowers. I've been exploring Barker and Addicks reservoirs on foot and on 2 wheels.

I've also been using a new camera - a mirrorless system. More about all this later.

This is also just a test post. I'm still figuring out how to keep my blogs updated from my mobile devices :-)

2013 Workshop News

Thank you to everyone who has inquired about a 2013 workshop. I've received a lot of emails over the past 2-3 months.

Unfortunately, I am not planning on a workshop this year. I have made many plans and commitments for 2013, and I've run out of time. (I'm learning here... many times in the past I have over-committed myself and have made my life difficult. I don't like to be in that situation. So, it was a tough decision, but I will not hold a 2013 workshop.)

2014 Workshops

Based on the feedback from emails received, there seems to be a lot of interest in another spring-time workshop. Therefore I am tentatively planning on a workshop for February-Mar 2014.

A quick check of the moon phases and rise/set times reveals that Feb. 28 - Mar. 4 looks ideal. At that time of year, the Milky Way rises in the east a few hours before dawn.

This is a shot of the Terlingua Ghost Town church at that time of year:

If you would like to be placed on my announcement list, please contact me.

Comet Pan-STARRS

Comet Pan-STARRS



(just a test post from my phone to see if I can post an image)

Site Update & News

I'm sorry for the long absence from posting here. I am still taking photos :-) and enjoying photography.

I'm planning to overhaul my website and update all galleries. This has been a painful process, but I think I have a clear direction now on what I want to do. I just have to execute it. All I need is time! (don't we all)

I have just uploaded a bunch of photos to my photos-only blog. Check it out:
www.thomasjavery.com/photoblog

Also, I have been using Instagram quite a bit lately. If you'd like to see my photos (and follow me, please!) click this link:
http://www.instagram.com/thomasjavery

Fun With Focal Lengths

Here's a fun series of the same scene shot with different lenses.

click to see larger

Top Shot:
Canon 5D mark 3
Canon 24mm f/1.4L II
30 seconds, f/2.5, ISO3200

Middle Shot:
Canon 5D mark 3
Sigma 50mm f/1.4
30 seconds, f/2.5, ISO3200

Bottom Shot:
Canon 5D mark 3
Canon 100mm f/2.8L macro IS
25 seconds, f/2.8, ISO6400

High ISO Noise Comparisons

I had an opportunity earlier this month to shoot along with a Nikon user (Dave Chudnov) that had a D800e. I also was able to put my new 5D mark III to use shooting high ISO scenes.

This is a quick comparison of three cameras at ISO 3200. Both the 5D cameras (mark II and mark III) are mine. All shots were taken at about the same settings using the same lens (A Canon 24mm f/1.4L II on the 5D's, and a Nikon 24mm f/1.4 on the D800e). Dave sent me some of his RAW files so that I could process them along with my files and make a good comparison.

click to see larger

The samples are all 100% crops from about the same area on the photo. The overall photo for each of the samples is basically the Milky Way on a dark clear night in Big Bend National Park.

Each row has a different level of noise reduction. The top row has no noise reduction applied at all. The bottom row has a little noise reduction applied in RAW processing (ACR for the Nikon file and DPP for the Canon files), and then a final run of noise reduction using the Neat Image plugin in Photoshop.

Also, just for comparison, is a reduced, side-by-side comparison of the 5D mark 3 and Nikon D800e:

click to see larger

The Conclusion?

This test attempted to keep the variables the same per shot, but there are some slight differences. And there's the obvious difference in resolution amongst the cameras: 21MP for the 5DII, 22MP for the 5DIII, and 36MP for the D800e.

My take on it is, after considering the final output and real world applications, there's not much difference between any of them regarding high ISO noise performance.

This is a little disappointing considering the two Canon models. I'd hoped that the sensor in the 5D mark 3 would have had better noise performance than the 5D mark 2. What I'm seeing in files between the two cameras is that they're essentially the same at ISO 3200 in a 25 second exposure (ignoring the obvious color balance differences between shots).

I had expected a significant improvement. Canon had about 4 years between models, and they did not increase the pixel count by much. Following the general trend in sensor technology, you could easily assume that the 5D mark 3 would have much better high ISO performance than the 5D mark 2. But this has turned out to be false.

The jump between the original 5D and the 5D mark 2 was a significant improvement. The mark 2 had nearly double the megapixels, and the high ISO noise performance was at least 2 stops better!

I don't know what Canon has done (or NOT done) in sensor technology going from the mark 2 to the mark 3. Perhaps the advancement is mainly with the video side (something I don't do).

I've also had a chance to inspect my other photos from the 5D mark 3- my daylight landscape photos shot mostly at ISO 100. What I expected here was an improvement in dynamic range. It's not that the 5D mark 2 had poor DR. I was pretty happy with it. It's just that the general trend in sensor technology lately has seen increases in the DR capability of sensors at their base ISO settings, and I expected that the mark 3 would have a bit more DR than the mark 2. This is not so. Both cameras seem about the same.

My conclusion is that I'm very disappointed, and if I'd known the mark 3 was going to perform at this level, then I wouldn't have bought the camera. I'm, however, quite impressed with the upgrades to the body, AF system, menus, etc., but it's not worth it to me considering the lack of improvement in sensor performance.

Considering the high megapixel count of the Nikon D800e, I'm very impressed with its performance. The noise is no worse than the 5D 2 or 3, yet it accomplishes this with 60% more pixels.

I flirted with the idea of switching to Nikon. However, I don't think the improved performance of the D800 is enough to justify the switch, especially considering the substantial investment that I've made in Canon-mount lenses and the amount of money I'd lose in switching systems.

Openings On My Next Workshop

I still have a few spots open on my Big Bend Oct. 2012 workshop. If you are interested in attending, please contact me.

We are going to be in my favorite place for 5 days, and we will enjoy the amazing landscape and dark skies at night. I'm really looking forward to it!

Last of the Big Bend Photos

I've finally finished posting the last of my Big Bend photos on my other photo blog. These photos were from my trip in late February.

click to view