Broader fov [s]

My 20mm f/2.8 came today, the one with the 62mm diameter. Doctor Daddy wants me to shoot his kid's first birthday party and the 50mm and 105mm won't cut it. The plan is to foreshorten the crap out of them (below) so they all look like bobbleheads. That's cute, right?



The 20 will likely be my default lens, good for shooting renovations, people, and events.



Speaking of renovations, I've started on the fiberglass insert in the master bathroom. Jon and I learned form the first one that you want to detach the edges first since they're the most solid parts. Though you still have to rip it apart, piece by piece.



I've cleared the rocks out of the top terrace, irrigated it, and tossed on some seeds.



The middle terrace is still greenifying. Also I've patched the various holes made from reducing electrical boxes and carelessness.



Monday is the day one at work. There was some casual celebration.



My next vehicle is going to be a truck. But that's only cause the ft86 is a year away. That'll round out the dream stable: Itie sport bike, high power tourer, beater truck, and light rwd with low miles.



This week is my first head to head with Jon. He was apparently so overcome with confidence in seeing the schedule that he drafted two kickers with the same bye week. He's either still optimistic or unwilling to spend $5 on a trade.

Said by R: '... and then let me homestead on your land.'

Normally I outro with a cute puppy photo, but I found something cuter.

My first F [p]

I had always coveted the F100, but until now I've languished in the N series (or, properly 10-99). With many miles on my D70, the time has come to move up to the D700 (image source), derived from the F100. I'm looking forward to the full frame, cmos, and five fps. Perhaps a Saturday morning at Palomar might be in order.



Barely related, I came upon a circular polarizer for my 105mm. It's amazing what eliminating reflections will do for color - I easily maxed out what jpgs can represent (check out the obvious stepping). Of course, the above image is straight off the camera.

This piece will be clutch when I get back out to autocross since it's always quite sunny and reflecty.



The house has gotten plenty of attention too. I swapped out the crusty old exterior fixtures for shiny new ones.



The new valves throw much easier and, naturally, don't leak.

The irrigation is coming along. I ran a half inch line to the front yard with drip inserts in the necessary places. I'll be good to go should I decide to plant anything under the front windows.

I wanted to run a dripper to the fern next to the steps, but there was no easy way to go across or under the path. So I used overhanging branches to go above the path, where just a few inches of dripper can be seen. With the newfound supply of water, I don't imagine the trees will take too long to span the remaining gap.

The poly pipes were not handling the water pressure very well at the fixture, they leaked out the twist-couplings. To remedy this I epoxied some parts together and added a splitter to the faucet so the other branch could relieve some of the pressure. Tomorrow will be the first test.

The pile of trimmings, sauna pieces, and random junk leftover from the previous owner has been divided between the trash and a nicely stacked woodpile in a useless corner of the side yard. That was most of a Saturday, but I now have an empty area in the front yard and a decent stash of firewood.

And on a final programming note, I'm slowly updating all the tags from my previous posts. E.g. "renovation" will give you all of the home improvement material.

Full frame [s]

I rented a d2x this weekend. It handles quite well, all the extra frills don't diminish usability. A d3 is probably out of the question for the next camera purchase, but I'll be interested to see how the d700 compares. The most noticeable differences are the focus speed and frame rate, also the color management blows the d70 away.



This afternoon I had a jonesing for ditch digging, so I bought some materials for a drip system. I have a half inch line running along the fence on the upper terrace and several quarter inch drip lines branching off. The big [known] unknown is how close the drip lines have to be to irrigate a continuous area. I have a patch of Korean grass with a drip underneath serving as the guinea pig. Either way, the papyrus and birds will be better off.

Said:

• Took a long walk, no pee. Back in the house one minute, pee on the bed. ... A sleepy puppy is a good puppy. - Another new puppy owner.
  
• Hey you over there with the big white butt! ... You got a puppy? What a little flirt! I thought you've already got a girlfriend. ... I may be willful but I'm still innocent! ... Ew ew ew. I have to scrub my eyes out! - Lover of exclamation marks.
  
• I'm not one of your kind [not a cannibal] so I wouldn't call it that [cannibalism]. - Indulger of jokes.
  
• It's a good thing I don't believe in karma or I wouldn't have a chance in hell at happiness. - Introspecticus.
  
• I'll just piss in the car on the way home. - Locked out of a bathroom.
  
• Went to work instead [of surfing]. Bad life choice, I know. - Hobbyless.
  

The weekend in summary [s]

I headed for Palomar bright and early Saturday morning after making a quick stop at Calumet to pick up a 80-400mm vr lens. I decided on Turn 6 as it met most of my criteria:

• It's a good corner for getting a knee on the tarmac, but fast enough that panning is effective.
• It features an elevation change.
• I could safely stand on both the inside and outside part of the turn.
• It had a ditch on the inside so I could easily hold camera at the same elevation as the road surface.
• There were cliffs above parts of the road that afforded a great straight-down view.
• There was a nearby turnoff to leave my bike and not worry about getting hassled for it.
• It had some shade, and at least enough to protect my staged equipment from the sun.
  

Bonuses I had not expected:

• The inside shots had plants in the foreground that added a non-intrusive framing, depth of field, and sense of motion for the shots.
• It featured a great view down the canyons showing the road snaking in and out of visibility.
  

Too bad:

• There was an outside guard rail, I'll spray paint thick vertical stripes on it next time so it doesn't take away from the background blur. Also just kidding on the vandalism.

When I was overcome with thirst and hunger I headed up to Mother's Kitchen. It was on this stretch that I saw a Corvette had clipped a CBR (or so the two-wheelers asserted) and the road was closed to a single lane. Happily, judging by the nonchalantness of the first responders and the superficial damage to the bike, I expect the rider was in better shape than one can expect from a head on - albeit glancing - collision.



Once at the cafe, I chowed down on a very tasty quesadilla and the camel's share of water. I listened to the idle conversation from the abnormally small population of bikers. After snapping a few cultural shots and kicking myself for not deciding on a business card-web site arrangement beforehand, I headed down to find another sniping perch. One of the kids I was following ended up in the dirt a few twists down, but we quickly assessed that he would need little more than a dust off to be back in action. He took the following runs a bit more gingerly, but much respect that he got right back in the saddle.

I waffled a bit on locations and settled on what I like to call Carter Corner. It wasn't nearly as good as my previous spot, but I'm not one to complain (when I don't have anyone to complain to). Motorbike traffic was significantly decreased at this point so there weren't a lot of opportunities to get a good shot, or even practice.

After an hour or so I reluctantly pulled up stakes and began the journey to La Crescenta.

The Ducati Supersport is not a touring bike. Hunter Thompson said it and I'm here today to agree with him. Add triple digit heat, leathers, and a backpack full of camera gear and you have a rough journey.

But I arrived safely and paid homage to ice cream and air conditioning. Jes and I hit up the Americana mall in Glendale. It was pretty snazzy but there wasn't much shopping to be done. We were contemplating riding the trolley SF-style but since the only passengers were seated Jessica mused, 'They probably don't get a lot of hop-ons.'

I set out for regions unknown the following morning in an attempt to capture the Angeles Crest scene. I tagged along with a group for twenty miles or so before wondering if they were doing an entire circuit, rather than linear laps like most Paly rides. I settled on a turnout situated on the outside of a high speed corner; as such there was no bothersome guard rail. On account of the vast network of grapevine roads, the prevalence of law enforcement, and the lack of tight turns, there weren't many knees on the ground that day. Another difficulty stemmed from the fact that approaching four cylinder bikes sound almost identical to the flies which were in no short supply.



Back at the La Canada gas station, I commiserated with some Yam riders and shot the locale, so integral to canyon riding. They voiced their grief that everyone on the hill is so head-tap-happy that the gesture no longer provides useful information. I did notice quite a few false positives on my excursion.

The return through LA was as can be expected, I arrived just in time to go see some loud music at House of Blues.

Prime or zoom [a]

Connie sent me the link to an oped advocating zoom lenses. For the most part, I disagree. But some worthwhile points are made.

The author's two reasons for getting zoom are:
1. Cheaper; "By the way, if you are not under any specific budget restraints, ignore everything I said and buy that 600mm f/4."

Keep in mind that lens technology won't change much. The focus speed and vibration reduction will get better - marginally. The optics leveled off in 1980, now they may fluctuate according to ROHM, weight, and meeting a target price. You'll need a new camera every few years, but your lenses should survive quite a few bodies. Thus it is much more cost effective to buy an expensive lens. Yeah 10g's is a bit much, but when you're talking $1000 for a good lens versus $1500 for a great lens, spend the extra dough.

2. Laziness; "When I'm precariously balanced on a rock in a mountain stream, or at the edge of a cliff overlooking a great canyon (Zion canyon above), not having to change lenses to change focal length, or not having to move forward or backward physically to improve my composition is a real plus (puffins below)."

He's knowledgeable, but I'm not a fan of any of his shots. Yes, it's all aesthetics. But if he's complaining about the price of a 600mm or having to do the work of an assistant (fetch lenses), he isn't the creme de la creme. Indeed most pros don't change lenses, they change cameras (one lens per camera per assistant). You shouldn't let extra weight dictate your lens choice unless it's going to affect your ability to get the job done.

And he goes on to marginalize the prime benefits of speed, clarity, af speed, vr, minimum focus distance, etc. These can be hard to quantify and always depend on the subject/situation. But the bottom line is you always want the best equipment if it's feasible.

I grant there will be rare times that you will want a zoom lens because there's no time/space to change lenses. But think about the other 99% of your photographic life. Will THE ONE SHOT occur in this 1% or will it be in the other 99%? Could it be that in this other 99% you'll miss THE ONE SHOT because your focus was too slow? Because you paused to compose with zoom rather than snap on instinct?



"When you don't have a lot of room, these lenses can be lifesavers. When you are hiking and trying to save weight this a great way to go."
Depends on the lens. Weigh and size your zoom versus your 50mm and 35mm. Toss each against the wall to see which survives (but don't really). There are lots of factors to consider when you're going outdoorsing.

I'll tell you I did Shasta zoom was a good choice because space was at an absolute premium. And there was no way I was going to change lenses up there. The ideal setup would have been a 15-50mm. More important than focal length, however, was aperture. An f/1.4 would have given so much more light in those early morning hours.



Bottom line:
1. You only need one zoom lens, for the 30-120mm application. At sub-40 you generally want to get the smallest focal length available, so a sub-40 zoom will spend most of its time at minimum. At over 120 you generally want the largest focal length available. Seldom will there be a time that 200 is desirable and 300 is not.
2. Maintain a nice quiver and take out the right equipment. If you're shooting studio you can bring the kitchen sink. If you're going on a dayhike you can take three or four lenses. If you're documenting civil unrest 30-80 might be your best bet.

Connie: Weight doesn't matter for something like a planned shoot where the distance of the subject is in a controlled environment. however, weight does matter for most cases with lens choice. In most instances a person can only carry one or two lenses.
Chris: For Shasta it was one lens. For a dayhike all I need is water, so I could carry my weight in lenses. There are lots of in betweens but I would say that in most instances a person can drive with ten lenses and carry three or four. And remember you can whittle down your choices of necessary lenses as you gather more information on the shoot.

And even if the person carries more, the time it takes to change out the lens for the right one result in missed opportunities.
Depends on the scenario. If you're doing landscapes or macro in the field you have plenty of time. If you're doing photojournalism of people you can use the 35 all day. You're stuck on this lens changing time. It shouldn't be more than twenty seconds (or two seconds to switch cameras).

For example, surfing in MB, even with the 300mm prime, I was limited in what I could shoot. I could not get the entire wave, only the surfer at the particular spot on the wave.
Not true, you could have switched out the 300mm at any point. But you didn't because waves are very wide and not very tall. Anything zoomed less than 300mm would have been boring. I'll grant people might be interested in one zoomed-out shot so they get an idea of what the day looked like. But that's it.



Also you're thinking like a zoomer. That's your new name, zoomer. The solution to getting a whole wave is not to zoom out. That means you end up with a very small subject and a lot of empty space outside the line. A primer would get down lower (yes it's dangerous) and shoot up the barrel (up the shoulder). That way you get the whole wave, don't waste space, have a clear, big shot of the surfer, and have the sweet depth of field effect down the line.

See what I mean when I say prime shooting encourages creativity?

Yes, I could have walked further south of the jetty, but in doing that I would miss out on a portion of shooting.
True, had you walked south into the water you would have missed out on a lot of shooting.

If I changed out my lens, I would miss out on the time to change lenses.
You missed plenty of shots gabbing with my mom. And that's fine, because there were a lot of waves and a lot of rides. You must realize that even if you have the right lens you still need to be aimed, timed (you had a lot that were just a moment too soon or late), and focused (some of these too).

As soon as you're holding the camera at the ready all the time, quick on the trigger, and perfect with the focus you can complain about how long it takes to change lenses. At that point I'll lend you my d70 to use as a secondary.

And what if there was an instantaneous shot that would be good to have both a far-view and a close-up view. I could not do that in one sitting.
Multiple bodies. And like I said, short of Mavs in winter, anything zoomed out is booooooooring.

THE ONE SHOT seems to be easier captured with a zoom.
Let's assume THE ONE SHOT is something photojournalistic, a once-in-a-lifetime scene that never occurs again (if it's in the studio or whatever, you have all the time and equipment you want). What's the most important thing? Timing. When you're snapping at a thousanth of a second, timing is everything. Composing with zoom will take you a second or two. At five frames/second that's five or ten shots that you just missed. For a once-in-a-lifetime occurance, your opportunity could be gone because you wanted to compose.

Sure cropping is a faux pas, but when you have a ten megapixel image, you can probably adjust your framing after the fact.

Let's say you're Solana shark shooting and you suddenly see him breach. Good example, you could sell it to Reuters for bank and it'll never happen again. It's virtually impossible to pan to him in time. But say you do. You don't have time to zoom, so you're better off without the temptation. Every millisecond spent not focusing means more frames - so here focus speed is key. Yes if you had a 1200mm lens there's a chance the frame would miss some important part of the scene. Doubtful. More likely, the less blue water around your frame, the more you'll see jagged teeth and piercing eyes.

Minor factors that could have impact would be lens speed and vibration reduction. For all of these factors prime lenses are superior to some extent.

Now back to the possibility that THE ONE SHOT is in a studio with all the time and equipment you want. What are your concerns? Sharpness? Low dof? Better vr? Focus speed? All these are characteristics of prime lenses. And keep in mind these factors stand out much more in a well-prepared studio shot.

I guess prime and zoom both have their purposes.
Yes, and you are all set on zoom with that fifteen pound monstrosity. You don't need twelve zoom lenses. You need one zoom lens and eleven prime lenses. And carry the ones that are appropriate.

Extreme closeup [r]

A 105mm f/2.8g vr arrived today. It's almost time for Pizza Port and to kick Dan out of San Diego, but I squeezed off a few trial frames. Pretty good detail, no?

The watch is an Invicta Racing Chronograph.