Angie on the Rocks
November 20th, 2018
Obviously I haven’t been posting on here for a while. I’m not sure it makes a difference. It looks like no one is visiting except for a few bots. But I guess I’ll post now and then just in case. If you are reading this leaving a comment would be a good way to encourage more posts.
These are a few photos of the wonderful model Angie taken not far from my home in Ohio.
That’s all for now. Let me know if you want me to keep this blog active.
More That Old House With Ayn
September 17th, 2018
There’s more to my old house than just the attic and basement. So I went back with Ayn and did some photos in the main part of the house playing with the sunlight coming through the windows.
And, even though it’s been done a million times, it’s still hard to resist shooting with the striped sunlight coming through blinds.
I think this last one is my favorite from this shoot.
Ayn at That Old House
September 2nd, 2018
I did several more shoots at our old house after it was emptied out. Of course I took Ayn there.
The light in the attic was lovely, but it did present some challenges for my GX8 and the 12-60mm lens. As you can see in this shot, flair could be an issue.
Move the light source a little away from the corner of the frame and the flair got a lot better, but was still there. It’s always good to know what your equipment can and can’t do. This was my first time to encounter this issue. Now I know about it and can deal with it as I’m shooting.
Here’s some thing with a little more conventional use of the window light.
There is, of course, a lot more to this house than the attic. We did some shooting in the main part of the house too.
Lots of fun light down there too.
There will be more to come from the old house with Ayn and other models. Stay tuned.
Confessions of a Micro 4/3 Photographer
August 27th, 2018
That’s my current photography kit above. I just recently “completed” it with the purchase of a wide-angle zoom. I primarily shoot with the two Panasonic GX8’s on the right and left, but still occasionally use the two older 16mp cameras in the middle, a GF7 in the front and a G5 in the back.
This entire kit cost me a total of $3,985. I noticed the other day that the total cost of this system, which covers the 35mm equivalent of 18-600mm, was slightly less than the cost of one of the new Nikon mirrorless cameras with one lens. Hmmmm.
Here’s what’s in my current kit with what I paid for each item:
Panasonic G5 with Panasonic 14-42 $300
It came with the 14-42 which I seldom use, but I didn’t deduct anything for that. This was the camera I bought when I started getting serious about Micro 4/3. That was in 2013.
Panasonic 45-200 $270
This was my first serious lens purchase, also in 2013. I wanted to do more bird and animal photos when traveling. I thought (incorrectly) that this lens would be the right choice for that.
Panasonic 100-300 $500
The next year, after realizing that the 45-200 didn’t have the reach I wanted for birds and animals, I went ahead and plunked down the big bucks (for me) and got this lens. I still use both of these telephoto zooms for different things, so I keep them both in my kit, though I usually only take one or the other when I go out to shoot. If you aren’t familiar with the Micro 4/3 format note that the lens focal lengths are exactly 1/2 of the equivalent focal lengths for 35mm full frame. So this 100-300 is equal to a 200-600 in 35mm.
Olympus 9mm f/8 fisheye body cap lens $100
Also in 2014 I was feeling the need for something a little wider, so I bought this cheap Olympus fisheye. It’s a fixed f/8 lens and is no bigger than a body cap, weighs nothing, and takes up no space in the bag. And, with software it’s a simple matter to straighten out the curved fisheye effect and make it into an ultra-wide angle lens.
Panasonic GF7 with 12-32mm lens $330
By 2016 I was pretty happy with Micro 4/3, but still using my Nikons for serious work. It was time to replace the little Canon S90 camera that I’d been carrying on my belt all the time for years. I thought this little GF7 might do the job. It didn’t. It is a little too big and the 12-32 compact lens is just not quite enough on the telephoto end for the way I shoot. But it’s a nice little camera and has the last generation of the 16mp sensor, so it stays in my bag, along with the G5, as a spare body.
Panasonic GX8 with 12-60mm $850
This is the camera that meant the end of my use of my Nikon system. This is a big deal for me. I’ve been shooting mostly with Nikons since 1968. But the GX8 is the best camera I’ve ever owned, film or digital. It’s a wonderful little camera. Handling is excellent. The controls are right where they belong. It’s weather sealed. It has great image stabilization in the body which works with the image stabilization in some of my Panasonic lenses. And the 20mp sensor is very nice, has excellent dynamic range, and handles high ISOs beautifully. I will shoot up to 1600 ISO and can’t really tell much difference in the files. It can go up to 6400 and still make very usable files that clean up just fine in DxO, my RAW processor. That 12-60 is a beautiful lens, too. It covers the focal range that I use for at least 90 percent of my photos, so I can go out with just this camera and lens and be fine for a day of shooting.
Panasonic 42.5mm f/1.7 $350
This is a sweet little lens. I got it mostly for portraits where I want to control depth of focus. It’s the equivalent of an 85mm lens on a 35mm camera. My manual focus Nikkor 85 f/1.8 was a favorite lens back in the film days. This lens gives me a very similar look, so it stays in the bag for the times I want that look. It’s small and light (a major difference from the old Nikkor which could double as a hockey puck) so it is a minor addition to the bag.
Panasonic GX8 $850
I was so happy with the GX8 that I was looking forward the release of the GX9. But, when I saw what they had done to “improve” the GX8 I was very disappointed. Many of the things I like about the GX8 were changed or even eliminated from the GX9. And the sensor is the same as the GX8 sensor. So, I watched for a sale and bought a second GX8. It wasn’t quite as good a deal as the first one I bought…same price, but no lens included…but still a pretty good price for such a fine camera. And this is the first time in my 50-year career as a photographer that I’ve had two identical cameras to work with at the same time. It’s nice to be able to have two lenses mounted and ready to use without having to switch lenses, and with all the camera controls exactly the same.
Olympus 9-18mm (used) $435
That pancake Olympus fisheye wasn’t really giving me all that I needed for the wide-angle end of the focal length range. So I started shopping for an ultra-wide. I would have preferred to just get a prime lens with a fixed focal length of 7-9mm, but, much to my surprise, there is no such lens in the Micro 4/3 system from either Panasonic or Olympus. Why is that? Seems like a major gap in the system to me. But, anyway I was thinking I’d buy the Panasonic 7-14mm, but I couldn’t find one anywhere to look at in person. I even went to a Panasonic event in Columbus to try one, but that was the one lens in their system that they didn’t bring to the event. I did try the Panasonic 8-18 at that event. It was nice, but cost more than I wanted to spend. Then I noticed that Olympus had this 9-18. Not only was it about half the price of the Panasonic wide angle zooms, but it was much lighter and more compact than the Panasonic lenses. Then, when I saw a used one on Amazon for even less money, the decision was made. I’ve only shot a few frames with it so far, but it seems like an excellent lens that does exactly what I need.
So, now the kit is complete. My wife says there’s no reason for me to ever buy another camera or lens. We’ll see about that. But I’m very happy with this kit. And my back is much happier when I load these small, light-weight cameras and lenses up and go out hiking.
More From the Old Home Place
August 18th, 2018
Some personal issues have kept me away from the blog over the past week or so, but here are some more of Underground Lynn up in the attic at my old house.
The attic windows provided some very nice light and there were some nice backgrounds up there.
And Lynn did a great job of helping me take advantage of the opportunities that the attic presented.
But, with a name like Underground Lynn, there was no way I could resist taking her down to the creepy basement for a few shots.
This will do it for this shoot, but I did manage to shoot at the old house a few more times before we sold it, so there will be more to come from there. This is not the end…
Court Rules 2257 and 2257A Unconstitutional
August 10th, 2018
I am one of the named plaintiffs in a lawsuit, originally filed in 2009, seeking to have the laws commonly known as 2257 and 2257A declared to be unconstitutional.
We have finally won that lawsuit.
The judge has issued a ruling that says the laws are unconstitutional in nearly every aspect and has issued an injunction preventing the government from enforcing all but one provision of the laws.
The sole remaining requirement from these laws is the requirement to check the identifications of models to confirm that they are at least 18 years old. I don’t think anyone has a problem with that requirement.
A little more detail:
The court has struck down under the First Amendment the recordkeeping requirements; struck down the labeling requirements; struck down the applications of the statutes to secondary producers, who do not actually produce the images but publish depictions produced by others; and struck down the criminal penalties, which included prison terms and large fines, except for primary producers who fail to check ID’s of performers. In addition, the court struck down the inspection provisions of the statutory scheme under the Fourth Amendment.
The government may still appeal this ruling, but as it stands now 2257 and 2257A have been struck down in all but the requirement to check IDs. Other than that one provision the court has enjoined the government from enforcing the provisions of the law.
Old Home Photos
August 2nd, 2018
I gave up my studio, but, at least for a while, that didn’t mean I had no where to shoot. At that same time I was moving out of my old house and into a new one and getting the old house cleaned out to put it on the market. And there’s nothing quite as good as an empty house for a photo shoot.
Underground Lynn came over and we spent quite a bit of time up in the attic.
Lots of nice angles and lots of nice light up in that attic.
There’s more to come from this shoot…
Drink and Click
July 27th, 2018
Last night I went over to Columbus for a Panasonic “Drink and Click” sponsored by Midwest Photo. I do most of my photo work these days with Panasonic GX8 cameras. I was hoping to try out their 7-14mm wide-angle zoom which is pretty much the only lens I need to have a complete kit for those cameras.
Well, they had everything. Lots of new cameras and lenses available to try. A couple pretty models all made up and ready to be subjects for photos. Pretty much everything except, of course, the 7-14. I settled for shooting a bit with an 8-18mm which is a more expensive lens than I need.
Here are a few snaps I took at the event. All shot with one of my GX8s. Some with the 8-18 and a few with my own 12-60.
They had an LED ring light set up and wanted me to try it…I think they were trying to get other folks to pay attention and come over to do photos with it of this lovely lady. I’ve never cared for ring lights. I don’t like that weird doughnut catchlight in the eyes…but I shot a couple photos anyway.
Gypsy Photographer
July 25th, 2018
With no studio and the weather not yet warm enough for outdoor shoots, I felt a little like a Gypsy wandering around looking for places to shoot. Ayn found this one for us and we explored the space and made a few photos.
But is it art? Who knows? Maybe this next one comes close.
Coffee in the morning…
New Year, New Project
July 21st, 2018
As I started 2017 I also started a new project. I decided I’d like to try shooting some contortionist models in my favorite outdoor settings. The problem I encountered, and am still having a problem with, is simply finding contortionists to work with. I started with a casting call on Model Mayhem. The first response I received was from Underground Lynn.
It was January and, of course, much too cold to shoot outdoors. So I rented a studio to give us a chance to get acquainted and so Lynn could demonstrate her contortion abilities. These are a few of results from that shoot.
Lynn, as you can see, is a lovely woman, not to mention quite flexible. She’s also very pleasant to work with. When the weather warmed up we did an outdoor shoot that will eventually make its way to the blog.
I’m still working on this project. I’ve shot several more highly flexible models and I’m still looking for contortionists to work with…the more extreme their contortion abilities, the better…so if you are a contortionist or know a contortionist, I’d love to hear from you about working together.
With such a lovely lady I couldn’t resist doing a few soft portraits of her as well. Here’s one of those:
