Your Canon Photos No. 33: 17th to 23rd December 2023

And now, for some negative space.

Steve Thomas

A lot of nice pictures already in this thread and we still have a week to go with this one 👍😀
Let me add also a few.
The weather was finally okay again this weekend, after a lot of rain we did go out for a hike at a local military proving ground and training area called M.O.T de Haar near the TT circuit in Assen.
This proving ground is still regularly used by the Dutch 11 Air Assault Brigade.
Today we used the proving ground to test a new addition to our gear again and enjoy this hike.
Finally getting used to the Sigma, and first results are actually nice. This 60-600 is sharper than the 160-600 we used before.

Canon Eos 5D Mark IV - Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports:

We did use some of our other camera's to ofcourse 😂

Canon Eos RP - Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM:

Canon Eos R - Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM:

Mocha,

Thanks for your comments about the Christmas Tree Lighting. Part of me doesn't want to go outside when it's raining and the other part knows that I could get some good photo opportunities. So I do it. 😀

Dunlin,

Thanks for your comments about Photo No. 12. I turned around while walking back to the car and thought that this looked nice. So I snapped off a photo. A lot of times, I just don't want to stop taking pictures after leaving the event and this was one of them.

Steve,

That's a lonely tree. Why is it all by itself? Is it in a farmer's field?

Photobygms.

That's neat that you got a new super telephoto lens. Yes, we got to have them. 😀

I see also that you used three different cameras...that's cool also...love seeing those pictures from them. Is it hard to get closer to the deer? I've only have seen deer a few times. One time I knew where a deer could be found, so I walked towards that area. All of a sudden the deer came half-way out from the bushes. I had my 10mp Olympus E-510 then with the Zuiko 70-300mm lens. I quickly took the photo and it turned out super. Since the deer was so close, I may gotten it at 70mm FL. I'll never forget that. I could also see some pretty yellow flowers next the deer; most everything was in focus (as I recall).

Subject: Four More HDR Photos At Night

Here's four more HDR photos I took at night that last Saturday. I wrote comments about each one. They are not designed to be shown here as "perfect" photos, but rather I'm sharing what I've accomplished and learned etc. from a new camera. I'm planning to do a lot more of these with different versions. If you can do the same, I would love to see them either created with software or from your camera. If you have suggestions for other improvement I better understand things when I see your pictures, rather than what you describe. My emphasis is to get the best photos from the camera first before trying to modify them later with software. My goal is to minimize post processing, since I take often hundreds of photos weekly of most anything. Also I try to live a normal life where I have extra time outside of photography too. 😀

Photo No. 1 - I thought I should have taken this at 1/15th of a second. Maybe that would have made it more sharp. Or I could have used a tripod. Next time, I'll either brace the camera/lens better or use a higher shutter speed. There's room to double it. Or possibly it's too dark at this location. I was pushing the boundaries a lot on this one.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/8 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 6400
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 35 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 2 - I thought this one came out well. It's only one version, although. If you want to know what I mean by versions, please let me know.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/15 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 4000
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 24 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 3 - There's a little glare from a light above. I should have moved to another location. There was also enough lighting here. I should have dropped the shutter speed.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/80 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 16000
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 24 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 4 - I like Pizza Schmizza. 😀 Again, I should have dropped the shutter speed. The reason I did not stay long at this location and take a lot more HDR photos and modify the settings was that it was very cold. When we don't get rain this time of year and there are no or little clouds, the temperatures can drop quite a bit. I was wearing mittens but it was still freezing cold on the fingers to where it hurt a little.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/80 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 16000
ExposureBiasValue - -0.33
FocalLength - 24 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

@Digirame
When we do go we both normally have a two digital body setup, one for the longer reach and one for wide to normal(ish)
This weekend the setup was:
She used the RP with the one of our RF 24-240s and the 6DII with a EF 16-35L this weekend
I wanted to test the 60-600 with the 5DIV so I opted for the RF 24-105L on the R and took the RF 16mm but didn't use it.
And as an extra the Eos 1V was also used with a EF 24-105L

The roedeer were still at some distance, That image is a 3000x2000 crop from the full image (6720 x 4480) 😀
They tend keep a distance but are used to some noises (it's still an acvtive proving ground/training area)

Those HDR photos do like nice, might have to try that also 😃

Photobygms,

I like that you all have normally a minimum of two digital body setups each and sometimes more...wow...I think that is neat. I do the same, where I usually bring with me a minimum of two cameras with lenses attached in my side bags. Usually the most body setups I have is three. A few times I've had five body/lens setups, but that was when I was doing some testing and comparisons.

Speaking of the deer, you reminded me of another time I was trying to get close to two of them. I was trying to be a good stalker and go slowly towards them. I was walking on soft green grass. No matter how careful I was trying to be, where I could hear nothing when I walked, it only took one quiet step and their heads would pop up and the ears would remain upright. I was impressed how sensitive their ears are to sounds that I could not hear. They were probably about 70 meters from me. They were eating the grass in an open area with their heads down until I alerted them, a short distance from some trees. I knew if I went too fast towards them with my steps, they would run away towards the trees and I would never see them again. I ended up having to stop and be satisfied with the photos I had of them at that distance.

Yeah, that would be neat if you could try to take some HDR photos (day time or night time). There's quite a few varieties I'll have to try too. Someone showed me a cell phone image of a building taken at night and I was amazed how close it looked to the HDR photos I took. Those smartphones must have special software. So with our cameras we should be able to do better than what they produce and it looks like we can if we understand how to do it properly.

Interesting sky this morning 12/20/23

Steve Thomas

Steve,

The sky does look interesting. I like the second picture the best with the colors and the trees.

Dig,

If you blow the first one up, did you see the jet trail running through the middle?
I couldn't decide if it adds to the picture or not. In the end, I decided that it adds just a touch of movement to the scene.
Here it is in color. - Something about the smallness of man amidst the imenseness of space.

Steve Thomas

Subject: Long Shadows

With the shortest day of the year fast approaching, be sure to capture some of the long shadows (for those of us that live where we can see that). Here's some I took last Saturday. OK, get out and go find them. 😀

Photo No. 1 - This candy lane is found in Beaverton, Oregon. Lots of long shadows were seen.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 10
ISOSpeedRatings - 400
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 76 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 2 - Again...notice the blue tent on the far right.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 10
ISOSpeedRatings - 250
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 44 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 3 - This is someone's bicycle securely attached to the bench. We see the blue tent more closely on the right.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 500
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 24 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Photo No. 4 - OK, in the center we see the blue tent among more long shadows. It probably is a homeless tent. I didn't see any others like it. Some areas in Oregon are providing shelters, so some of the tents are disappearing.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/250 seconds
FNumber - 9
ISOSpeedRatings - 400
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 50 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Steve,

Yes, to me the plane and its trail adds to the picture. I see that it is also in the first photo (the first B&W image).

Subject: Lights

Anyone been out looking at the lights this Christmas season? Yesterday I was in Portland, Oregon seeing all of these lights, playing with the new camera some more. Anyone create some good HDR photos?

Here's one of the pictures I took.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/100 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 8000
ExposureBiasValue - 0
FocalLength - 29 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Subject: More Practice With New Camera

A couple of days ago, I was in Portland, Oregon as I explained above. With this new full frame system I took many photos and then reviewed them to see what I could do to improve. It is going to take me some time to get used to full frame, but I hope it won't be long. It's a little different when there is no 1.6 crop factor. So the reason I have so much wide angle distortion at 24mm FL (for some of my pictures), is because the angle of view is the same as 15mm FL on a crop sensor camera such as the Canon M50 Mark II. And for those that take pictures at 15mm FL on your crop sensor camera, you should know what I mean. I haven't compared images from both cameras yet to verify, but that's what I think happens. If I don't quite understand this yet, please let me know. So from now on, if I don't want as much wide angle distortion, I think I will start with 30mm FL to 40mm FL and maybe stay away from light poles that make this distortion more pronounced. Then there's DOF issues I have to understand also. So I looked at a DOF calculator today so now I have a better idea of what settings would be good for street scenes.

For the photo below I could have reduced the shutter speed some and could have increased the focal length. I took a lot of neat night-time HDR photos too, but I was hoping some of you would have taken them also, so we could compare. We can learn together. Mine are a little like paintings in a way, but I think they are neat too.

Here's one I could learn from: With no motion, I could easily have braced the camera and taken this at probably 1/8th of a second (so that the ISO level could be reduced and I could have stopped down the lens a little too if I wanted). Next time, I'll try something like 40mm FL.

Model - Canon EOS RP
ExposureTime - 1/40 seconds
FNumber - 4.50
ISOSpeedRatings - 20000
ExposureBiasValue - 0.33
FocalLength - 28 mm
Lens Model - RF24-105mm F4-7.1 IS STM

Today is the shortest day of the year for us on the north side of the planet. Did you find any long shadows? I could have taken a few pictures more today, but I had other activities. Getting the right exposure for images with many shadows and bright lighting can sometimes be tricky.

@stevet1, Love the skies, you might get even more blue in the sky colors when use a Polaroid filter😊

@Digirame, sorry no HDR today 😂

We finally have a decent day again after all the rain, bad weather and the first winter storm called Pia (in Europe)
Wanted to test the 60-600 again and this time with our Eos R
And took our RP also this time and paired that one with a RF 24-105 F4L USM.
Visited a local small river called "Oudemolensediep" At the moment it is not that small 😮

Canon Eos RP - Canon RF 24-105 F4L USM:

Canon Eos R - Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports:

Photobygms,

I just love seeing your photos of the winter storm waters. That's neat you are enjoying the Sigma 60-600 lens. You motivate me to get outdoors today and take similar photos of the wildlife & habitat, even though we've had some rain (and it could rain some more).

Thanks for thinking about taking some HDR photos. Hopefully, with what I've learned so far, I'll make even better ones. It was neat when I waited for traffic to stop, so I could also include cars in the night-time HDR image. As long as everything stays still for about 2 to 3 seconds, some really nice HDR photos can be produced. I'm anxious to try some of the other settings now too. So far (for the most part), I've just been using one of them.

David,

That's a great looking portrait with the dark background. Monty looks so sweet.

Sounds like our dog. 😀
Great photo.