Tahoe Fall Colors Starting
Posted by latoga | Filed under Musings
This past weekend I spent in the Lake Tahoe area. The downside of the trip was that I was working for most of the weekend helping my wife out with flowers for a Tahoe style wedding (more on this later). The good news is that we were able to get out and go for a hike this afternoon to check in on the status of the fall colors. Fall in the Sierra’s, specifically the Eastern Sierra’s, is filled with spots of beautiful Aspen turning yellow and orange. The tricky part of heading up to the Sierra’s in search of this color is timing (see Resources page). Some years peak color can last only a few days. Some years you don’t get much color due to environmental conditions. I have a gut feeling that this year will be the later.
Today we were able to head up to a high alpine meadow and found some great Aspen groves. Some of them were already turning brilliant Orange. Most were still just starting to turn. I think the Tahoe area will be seeing peak color in about 2 weeks. The downside is I feel that this year might be a short peak. There were small groves of Aspen that I spotted that were well advanced in color. But they seemed to be going from yellow or orange very quickly to brown, I think because of the drought conditions.
I’m hoping to head up to the Sierra’s for one more trip this fall. And what better reason to get yourself out of the house and out in nature than to see it in the splendid color of fall!
Travel Tips: On this trip, we discovered a few new interesting eateries. When traveling to Tahoe from the Bay Area on Highway 80, you will pass through Auburn, CA just as you start your climb up the Sierras. Auburn is at about 2800 feet elevation and about 45 miles west of Truckee, CA. If you’re passing by and need to grab something to eat, here are three recommendations (in no particular order):
- Old Town Pizza, Old Town Auburn (exit Lincoln Way): Amazing pizza; located in the basement of one of the remaining oldtime hotel buildings in Auburn.
- Auburn Alehouse, Old Town Auburn (exit Lincoln Way): Great Pub with variety of beer and food; located in renovated historic building, the interior has rustic charm with a modern feel.
- Ikeda’s Tasty Burgers (exit Bowman Road); “Looks like dive on the outside, gourmet on the inside.” Some of the best burgers you will ever have. They also have fresh pies that are absolutely amazing!
Tags: Aspen, Fall, Lake Tahoe, Sierra Nevadas
Thoughts on Canon 5D Mark II
Posted by latoga | Filed under Gear, Musings
Canon 5D Mark II courtesy Canon
A few weeks ago I gave Brian Auer, of Epic Edits,a little twitter grief about the new Sony A900 announcements. Last week, he ping me back once the Canon 5D Mark II was announced, this is the camera that I told him I was waiting for as my next potential upgrade. Unfortunately, I was busy with a trade show in Las Vegas and didn’t have time to comment on the new release. And I wanted to wait till I could see some low light sample images from the camera
Yesterday my wish came true. Yesterday Vincent Laforet posted Reverie, a short video he shot in full HD on the 5D Mark II (Don MacAskill had a full HD version posted thanks to Laforet until Canon asked that it be taken down; it was amazing in full HD. I was surprised to see Canon follow Nikon’s example and give the camera pre-release to a professional photographer to run it thru it’s paces…to bad Canon was so short sighted to realized the viral marketing they were getting for free).
Wow! Watching this short video, I was amazed at the low light abilities of this camera. Even more amazed when you realize that it was a DSLR - I love the behind the scenes movie and the expression on the faces of the crowd as they watch the film crew rig up a DSLR on the hood of a car…to shoot a video. Beyond the movie example from Laforet, DPReview’s 5D Mark II preview has a set of sample images. Even at the higher ISO settings, there seems to be very little noticeable noise and impressive low light abilities.
So, I have to admit that I have been waiting for this camera. The 20D is a little long in the tooth and I really need the full frame sensor at times to get the true 24mm and 17mm from my lenses. But honestly, I was expecting Canon to release this camera with about 16-18 MP, not 21 MP. I figured there would be the sensor dust reduction feature, new DIGIC processor (or two), faster bus to the memory card, maybe a few more AF points (but not near the 1D Mark III). And some other minor improvements. That was it. I didn’t put much faith in the rumors of three replacement cameras for the 5D as that would fracture the market segmentation way too much. I expected Canon to play it safe and improve on a work horse but fall just short of the Nikon D90.
I’m glad that Canon didn’t sit back. However, there are times when I wish the marketing wars would just stop. First it was megapixels, now it seems to be video from your DSLR. Most of the time I need higher quality pixels, not more of them. And I’m still not sure I need a video camera inside my DSLR. It does make me wonder if the comments of the possible anonymous Canon engineer were true, that Canon marketing is holding the engineers back.
Getting my angst over the marketing out of my system, more megapixels does mean more options (not to mention more storage). 21 MP does give me more options when it comes to cropping an image and still having enough information in the image to be usable. And even though there are three video cameras in my house and, to date, I haven’t every used one of them, putting that capability into my DSLR and I’m likely to actually play around with it (funny how in the past there was talk of trying to get high quality stills from a video camera and now you can get full HD video from your still camera…). And I would have to agree that the mixture of HD video and DSLR still photography in the same body will lead to some very interesting developments over the next few years.
All in all, the 5D Mark II is the likeliest canidate for my next camera. I have used the 5D in the past for a few projects and found it to be an amazing camera (some have complained about shutter lag, but I didn’t notice it). The only real disappointment that I have iwth the Mark II would be the FPS, I would have like this to be a notch more. I am aso highly disappointed that we didn’t see some revolutionary features like auto exposure compensation in an HDR mode; let me flip a switch and get 3-5 exposures bracketed in rapid fire succession with one push of the shutter! Makes me wonder if that is one of the features being held back by Canon marketing?
Tags: 5D mark II, Canon, HD Video, Musings
Photo & Words: 9-11 In Remembrance
Posted by latoga | Filed under Cityscapes, Musings, Photos, Travel
Photo By Jon C. Hodgson
I wasn’t planning on posting anything today about the 9/11 Anniversary, but after hearing a few references to the day I changed my mind.
First I heard someone say “Remember” with reference to today. That kind of struck a chord with me as the saw it as a politically charged word. 9/11 has been used as the reason for too many bad decisions and then to reinforce those bad decisions. Personally I think “In Remembrance” is a much better term to use for 9/11 as it removes the politics from the day without forgetting the impact that the day had.
Second, I was listening to Talk of the Nation today as they discussed Seven Years Later, Listeners Reflect On Sept. 11. I found it interesting the different reactions that people had seven years after the day. One women didn’t want her young son to know about 9/11 in order to protect him from it’s ugliness. I feel that this is wrong as that young boy will be living with the ramification of that day for the rest of his life; missing out on that day having any impact on him as he grows up is wrong.
I was also shocked how some major news outlets let the moment that defined 9/11 pass with indifference. I can’t believe that the media already chooses to ignore 9/11. Is this an attempt to persuade people that the problems we face today were not created by the decision made in the shadow of 9/11? I think right now is the ideal time to do a deep dive revisiting of 9/11. Let’s sit backward on our horse for a moment and take an honest look at the mistakes of the past seven, ten, twenty, or thirty years. Especially with this being such a key election year. Let’s put the rhetoric aside and do some introspection.
This afternoon I took some time to remember this morning seven years ago, the bright blue sky as I drove my convertible into my office located in the DC suburbs. I remembered the strange feeling as I walked into the office and saw people huddled around a TV in the main conference room. I remember sitting in my neighbor’s office watching TV five minutes later and watching the first tower collapse as I uttered “that’s it, we’re going to war”. Of watching the second airplane and then desperately trying to contact people from my company that I knew were traveling that day.
I remember sitting at home later that afternoon, watching the same images over and over on TV with my roommates. Realizing how unhealthy that was and forcing ourselves to go out and do something to take our minds off it. Heading to the tennis courts on the outer edge of Arlington, VA where we lived. Hearing the deafening silence of the world around us and then being shocked as we heard an airplane. Watching that airplane, Air Force One with an escort of 4 fighter jets, fly over the southern sky as it descended into Andrews Air Force Base.
I remember being one of 5 passengers on an flight a week after 9/11; having more flight attendants than passengers (and how the airline still made us sit in our assigned seat class). I remember my visit to New York City a month later to visit a customer on Wall Street. That un-natural silence still embracing New York City a month later; no horns honking, no crowds bustling. Of sitting in my customer’s office watching snipers on the roof tops of the buildings around us as the President visited Ground Zero.
Time passes.
Memories fade…but not all.
What are your remembrances of seven years ago?
About the Photos
World Trade Center Tribute in Light was taken by New York City photographer (and close personal friend of mine) Jon C. Hodgson. It has been featured in various New York City area publications and used here with permission.
Bruised & Battered But Still Standing was taken by me during a trip to New York City in April of 2002. The Sphere was a sculpture that was part of the World Trade Center plaza fountain and (mostly) survived 9/11. It was moved, in it’s damaged state, to Battery Park where this photo was taken.
Tags: 9/11, Anniversary, Remembrance
You Can Photoshop That
Posted by latoga | Filed under Musings
My biggest pet peeve when it comes to photography is the statement “you can Photoshop that [in/out]“. I have a friend who is getting into photography (he does have a background in technology, which relates to an old post of mine) and that is his favorite phrase to use. And it drives me crazy!
(I’ll give Bruce his due credit…he says it mostly now because he knows it drives me crazy.)
So I found it interesting today when I came across a number of threads online discussing the use of photoshop and if it has gone too far. Reed Hoffmann commented on his Photoshop Overdose. George Barr shared his Thoughts On Creating/Cheating/Modifying Images last month. In general, it’s an individuals choice on how much photoshoping to do to your images. Personally, I prefer to spend as little time on the computer with the images as possible just because I already spend most of my day on the computer working on other stuff. Photography is to get me away from the computer.
This is part of the reason why I love Lightroom. I do 90+ percent of my image processing in Lightroom simply because I usually don’t want or need to do anything more in Photoshop. I just need to add a little pop to my images. Only in those instances where I need to make the image match what was in my mind’s eye when I pressed the shutter button do I go into Photoshop anymore. Otherwise, I try to do as much “image processing” as possible by capturing the photo correctly at the time I press the shutter.
Tags: Lightroom, Manipulation, Photoshop, Processing
Knowing, Accepting, Changing & Displaying
Posted by latoga | Filed under Musings
What better way to spend a Sunday morning than to listen to the birds chirping out the window (actually their blackbirds and they mostly squawk), enjoy the comforts of the little used formal living room furniture, and catch up on some photography blog reading that I have fallen way behind with. The problem with this? Well, I guess I subscribe to too many blogs that engage me intellectually about photography and art; I’m 2 hours into it and only cleared a couple hands full of posts (and comments). Then I have one of those the universe is talking to me moments and now I have to stop my reading and start my writing. The reason: a number of recent posts that delved into some deep thoughts on photography.
Displaying my photography is an area that I have spent probably way too much time thinking about over the years (much to the chagrin of my photography). How does one display their work? I recently shared my online archive with some members of a new photography group I joined. One of the comments was:
Maybe too many photographs? It all depends on what do you want to do. If you want to be your own stock agency, that’s a good thing to have a lot of photographs, but if the website is more of a showroom, to present your work, this number of photographs can be distracting. What I would like is a way to see your best photography, it will be an easy way to evaluate and enjoy your work.
The issue I had with this response was the whole “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” concept. With a small gallery of just my best work, inevitably what appeals to some won’t appeal to others. With a large collection of work that spans multiple areas of photography (yes, I’m a Gemini, I can’t just focus on one thing…) someone is able to explore my work, if they so desire. Not to mention the trap of that word: best. What constitutes best? My opinion of best? Another person’s opinion of best? The popular opinion of best? But, how do you strike a balance of everything and still have time left to shoot?
All of these issues and questions has caused me to think a lot about my photography over the years.
Unless you want to just blindly go through life snapping away pictures with a goal to get your photo collection into the Guinness Book of World Records for it’s sear size (a short lived record to be sure), all photographers eventually have to ask themselves what do I really want from my photography? If you come back with the answer of creating the largest collection possible then great, you’ve taken the first step of knowing thy photography. The truth is that there is no right answer that others can give you, you have to discover your own right answer. Sometimes that includes the duality or multiplicity of answers (see previous comment about Gemini). This isn’t a bad thing either as long you reach the second step of accepting thy photography. This acceptance allows you to let go of the internal fighting and focus on the producing. Just realize that for the circle to be complete you have to also realize that producing results in growth which changes thy photography.
Now, that the easy stuff is behind us we can focus on the fun stuff of how to show thy photography. Once I got serious about photography, I experimented with printing as well as online display. I realized that online provided greater accessibility to my work and was going to dictate heavily the future of photography, but the tools of the time lacked the controls and flexibility I desired (technology is my shtick so I can see past what’s available to what is possible). I had a vision of what I wanted, a balanced solution to all my photography needs. Since the realization of that vision, I have slowly been working to find or build the pieces I needed for this vision stuck in my head. Meanwhile, I just built an online archive using a service that was available (which ultimately helped to further define my vision).
This new site, was the first step in realizing that vision. And my patience will be tested with regards to how long it will take to make that vision a reality. This vision includes a single destination where I can talk about my photography and photography in general (check); an online archive of all my work for others to explore (if it becomes a stock archive, so be it); a set of portfolios of what I consider to be my favorite/best work; maybe even a portfolio of what the popular opinion is of my best work (wouldn’t that be an interesting gap analysis); and the ability to earn income from my work in order to help feed my photographic habit (this includes going full circle back to printing and being able to offer a few true limited edition fine art prints that are hand crafted by yours truly). Maybe then I’ll even be able to put together some printed Portfolios and hit the gallery circuit…or maybe not. Hey, if you’re going to have a vision, make it a grand vision!
I’m sure you’re wondering: have you been too focused on the before and after of photography and not been actually doing photography? Of course not! All this time, I have been still been shooting. The problem is finding the time and energy to spend more time behind the computer to process my images. (Is it possible to have an allergic reaction to long term exposure to the keyboard?). The backlog of images keeps building, as do the bills and other life stuff. Thus the need for a day job (which has me behind the computer) to pay the bills. Someday balance will be achieved and the backlog eliminated.
Now that I’ve give you enough seeds to engage your photographic intellect for the rest of the day and shared my vision for latoga photography, time to get to work on a few small pieces to make that vision a reality. Maybe even process a few photos…
Tags: Meaning, Online Sharing, Portfolios, Vision
