The same night of the Supermoon there was a significant electrical storm that passed over the house. I would have liked to position the camera to be clear of the roofline but didn’t want to get too many water spots on the frame/lens in case it would have shown up in my images so I put it right to the edge. I still had plenty of misting but, nothing that messed with image quality too much.
Curtis
For this first shot on the 23rd the lens is pointed West to include Venus (thickest trail bottom center) and Jupiter (just below Venus).
The second shot on the 24th I was at my limit of available space in the yard to get that Polaris directly above the tree top and it’s not too far off, though I could have used another foot. Orginally I wanted the Polaris positioned directly behind the tree’s mid section but couldn’t block out other yard obstructions to achieve that without losing the wide angle and I wanted to retain Venus and Jupiter before they were too far apart so I figured I’d save that for another atttempt. As it was I was out there with the pruning sheers clipping quite a lot of the neighbor’s encroaching bush and still had to shoot at 8mm rather than the 7mm I used the night before.
Curtis
A creative video advert for a product that’s not nearly as exciting as the feel you get from the edit. Well done!
http://www.theory11.com/playingcards/steampunk.php
-Curtis
The Snowtrooper Big Air
By Avanaut, on Flickr
Just the other day I witnessed it again. A camera store employee feeding false information to a prospective buyer and clear novice to the world of digital cameras. Normally I pay little, if any attention to the retail purchases of others, but this time the cameras in question were of the new(er) mirroless variety of which I too was there to get my hands on. What caught my attention wasn’t what models were being demonstrated rather which were not. This guy had every brand represented on the glass counter, Samsung, Sony, even the new Nikon 1, yet the Olympus Pen series and Panasonic offerings stayed positioned in the display case behind. ‘Typical’ you might say…and it was. Until one comment caught my attention:
“Now this camera right here…this one is the one that created this whole market…” claimed the salesman while handing the buyer the Samsung mirrorless camera.
Hang on now, the m4/3 cameras are still tucked away in the display case and if we’re being technical where does that leave the 1959 Pen? How can this guy be so blatantly (and surely knowingly) incorrect? I suppose the answer is simple and widespread. When it comes to modern camera equipment most in the community push the trends (regardless of factual truth) as the measure of competency rather than the talent, skill or working knowledge of the photographer holding the machine. The real truth is, reading the manual, taking a class, practice and experimentation are the true avenues to being successful with any camera regardless of make and model. In the end, it’s only the small population of camera tech geeks that care about WHAT you use, where as the real world will reward the end result. Do what you can to become a more competent photographer and leave the popularity contest to the impressionable consumer.
World Champion, Allyson Sydor works a very muddy Chapman Hill on the opening lap of the 1995 Iron Horse Bicycle Classic in Durango, CO. Due to intense rain the night before and the morning of the race started not with riding, but rather hiking up the steep 1st climb.
Camera – Olympus OM-1
Ektachrome Film
-Curtis Lewis
Ivan Basso (ITA)
Elia Viviani (ITA)
-Curtis Lewis
(All content, including images Copyright 2011 Curtis Lewis)