Mother Nature often stages wondrous events for us to see. One of these arrived today.

Those of us who arose early on this crisp Michigan morning had a perfectly clear sky to witness a full lunar eclipse. I peeked out my bedroom window and against a dark, black backdrop viewed a single bright orb slowly become a silhouette behind the earth’s shadow.

To get an better look, free of trees and leaves, I headed to my office a few blocks away to take in the magic show from an unobstructed balcony.

Once there, I grabbed a camera, a long lens and a tripod.

Here’s the lovely scene that graced the western sky.
 

here is where we’re just about approaching the full eclipse	as the moon settles toward the horizon, daylight is starting to lighten the sky
Here, the sun has awakened and brightened up the sky. At this juncture the trees are starting to interrupt our view and we’re about to loose sight of the moon. The sky gazers further west, perhaps in Nebraska or Colorado, are able to view the next stage – the unveiling of the moon as the earth shadow recedes from the sun’s path.

 
 
I thoroughly enjoyed the sights. In case you missed this morning’s, we’ll be treated to another lunar eclipse in April 2015.

What a wonderful way to start the day! Thanks again to Mother Nature for a fine performance.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
 
 

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A Visit to the Lake

This article is the another in a series of articles that I’ve called “About this photo” to draw attention to a few of those memorable photos that may be hiding in a shoebox or on your hard drive.

Every once in a while I find myself wading though the large collection of old pictures that grace my house.

Some are piled randomly in the proverbial shoe box(es), others are stored as strips of negatives and still more in yellow slide containers.

I find this exercise very enjoyable as I rediscover many of the past events that I recorded along the way.

Here’s an image that’s roughly 50 years old. Yet I’m amazed that I can recall many of the circumstances and details of the day on which this photograph was taken.

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My girlfriend and I were in college and year was 1970. We traveled 150 miles or so to enjoy the sandy beach in Holland along Lake Michigan. Although the hour was late and despite the moderate cloud covering, the sky remained quite bright owing to the extended daylight saving time. As my girlfriend was enjoying a spectacular sunset, I backed up a bit to include the pier and tower, placed my camera at a lower vantage point and snapped. The result 50 years ago was this 2-1/4″ transparency which you can see is underexposed.

Yet regardless of its technical (de)merits, this is a memorable photograph for me. It carries me back to an era of youth and free spirit. It takes me to a time in our lives when we had less responsibilities, when we had no idea what the future would hold for each of us either separately or both together.

As it turns out, we’ve been married since 1972 so I guess it’s safe to happily share this photo.

Why don’t you start wading through your photo archives and share them with others?
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
 
 

Like many other dedicated photographers, I’ve somehow accumulated a sizable stash of photo equipment over the years. I’ve also gained a lot of experience knowing what equipment I’ll need for a particular type of shooting.

My last two assignments were a combination of travel and outdoor shoots. My aging back and wobbly knees beg me to travel as lightly as possible for two reasons: a) to minimize the size and weight of the load that I carry and b) to reduce the amount of time I need to get ready for any given shot.

Since I don’t like carrying camera bags or backpacks, I rarely carry extra lenses. On hikes, it’s a chore for me to search for the right lens and change it on the fly, especially if wildlife is the subject matter. It’s far faster for me to slide the desired camera/lens setup on its shoulder strap up to my eye and be ready to shoot in a few seconds.

After these two recent assignments, I’ve zeroed in on a reasonable set of cameras and lenses to use when traveling long and far. I based my choice on the range of the lenses that I typically use: a very wide angle, a medium range telephoto zoom and a long range telephoto zoom.

For several years, I’ve come to rely on Sony’s NEX series of mirrorless cameras. Not only are they compact and lightweight, but they have several features that I appreciate such as the electronic viewfinder which instantly previews your exposure adjustments and a mode that captures in-camera panoramas. One drawback of these mirrorless cameras is that there isn’t a long telephoto lens available. For this I have to stick with a full-frame Nikon DSLR.

Here’s the short list that I’ve found works well for me: For very wideangle, I use a Sony NEX7 with a manual focus Rokinon 8mm fisheye. For the medium telephoto, I use a Sony A6000 with a Sony 18-200mm lens. For the long telelphoto, I use a Nikon D600 with a Nikon 80-400mm lens. As you can see, the Nikon DLSR setup is monstrous next to other two cameras. But lugging this heavyweight around is the price I have to pay for the lens’ long reach.
The NEX7 is a very a very capable camera. I like its large 24mp APC-C sensor, excellent electronic viewfinder and brightly lit tilting LCD. The 8mm Rokinon lens is about 1/4th as large as my expensive fisheye lens for Canon DLSRs. Using the Rokinon lens I have to manually focus and set the exposure so it’s less convenient than the Canon setup. But the savings in bulk is a major plus for me. Below are a few photos using this setup. The extra wide angle lets me record everything in front of me. I especially like how the fisheye exaggeratingly bends the horizon.
The A6000, Sony’s successor to the NEX7 is also mirrorless. Feature wise it is very similar to the NEX7 except that it has a superior autofocusing mechanism. This enables high speed captures at frames rates up to 11fps. When not traveling, the A6000/18-200mm setup is my everyday camera. With a large zoom range I have a wide angle to medium telephoto in a single lens. When traveling, it becomes my primary camera with the other two cameras reserved for special points of view. Below are a few examples that illustrate the versatility of the 18-200mm lenss.
The Nikon D600 is a full-frame DLSR with a 24mp sensor. It weighs in at two pounds which is twice as much as the A6000. The Nikon 80-400mm zoom lens weighs just under three pounds making this setup a combined five pounds. Although this is hefty to carry, the lens lock (prevents the zoom from unintentionally sliding) keeps it secure while carrying it with a shoulder strap. This long telephoto comes off of my shoulder mostly for the long distance shots such as these below.

So there you have it, my equipment of choice for outdoor photography. Of course, not everyone has the same preferences or requirements in the field as myself so this set up may not work universally. But for me being properly equipped has proved to be an ideal way for me to work comfortably, quickly and efficiently.
 
 
Written by: Arnie Lee
 
 
 
 

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