A New Appreciation For The iPhone Camera

Posted on October 27, 2017 by mfna

While I sit in the airport lounge on a four hour layover, I thought I’d take a little time to put down some recent impressions on the iPhone. You see, for the past two weeks I have been traveling without a camera. As such.

Yet I still have my phone. And I found numerous photo opportunities, and the only recourse I had was to pull out my phone.

As has been my experience with cameras (both film and digital) in the past, I have found that activating the shutter is only the second step in photography. The first is composing the picture. The third is developing the photo.

Right now, software developers are releasing next-generation photo editing programs, and it’s almost hard to keep up. Just recently, new and beta versions of ON1 Photo RAW, Aurora HDR and Adobe Lightroom have seen updated versions with new features (and new licensing schemes, in some cases). Both have released beta versions, and ON1’s beta is public, meaning anyone can download it for free!

My recent travels have taken me to major cities: New York and Boston. Armed with only my iPhone 6s and a laptop with photo editing software, I managed to capture some very nice photos.

Fort Point, Boston, MA at dusk

Taken from the Evelyn Moakely Bridge.

Artist Gianna Stewart created this foam “iceberg” that “floats” in the water.

In the photo above, I used Adobe’s new Lightroom CC (the old version is now named Lightroom CC Classic). When shooting a wide shot, Apple’s iPhone exhibits pronounced barrel distortion. I used the Geometry tool in Lightroom to straighten everything — with a single slide and a click!

Manhattan Skyline in Black and White from the original color photograph.

Another example of straightening (I may need to adjust this one a bit more).

Boston Financial District

Finally, an “arty” photo I snapped on the spur of the moment. What two streets typify New York City? (well, maybe Madison Ave. But you take what you can get).

Getting Right-Sized

Posted on October 13, 2017 by mfna

Has it really been nearly six months since I last posted? According to WordPress and my site logs, apparently so. Time to rectify that.

The summer has been mostly work, work, work. But I managed to get in some “me” time recently, and that’s what this is about.

I struggled to find a vacation that would address my interests, wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, and which could be taken at a convenient time. I searched and searched, considering trips to Alaska (still on my must-do list), a Mediterranean cruise, a visit to Machu Picchu, and other exotic travels. Long flight times, added “single traveler premiums” and other disincentives caused me to pass on some otherwise very enticing possibilities.

Then, I happened to visit my Road Scholar account and saw that a trip I’d put on my wishlist was available, the single premium wasn’t too horrible, and addressed one of my interests directly: A photo journey through Utah’s national parks! I quickly booked it, and the die was cast.

In preparation, I took a day trip and drove to Blackwater Falls, WV to test my camera skills, hiking endurance, clothing choices and mindset.

Blackwater Falls, West Virginia

I felt I was prepared.

A discussion of Road Scholar will have to wait for another post. Suffice it to say that this was my fourth adventure with them, and each has been a very rewarding experience!

My first trip with Road Scholar was also to Utah, where I visited Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon (North Rim) national parks. This trip was a ten-day journey around a circle which included Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley and Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon. The difference: Specifically intended for photographers.

The longest vacation I’ve taken to this point was seven days. I wasn’t sure I would know how to handle a longer time frame. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

Scheduling made this trip different. We would frequently arise early in the morning to do a sunrise shoot,

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise

Camera

NIKON D7500

Focal Length

55mm

Exposure

1/80s

ISO

200

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise

and often would eat dinner around 5:00 p.m. so we could do a sunset shoot.

Panorama Point, Capitol Reef

I love this area of the country. In this day and age, where we measure the time of our lives in hours, days and weeks, the visible geology of this land shows how time is measured in millions of years! The enormity of the rock formations, the petroglyphs etched thousands of years ago, all serve to remind me of how truly small we are in God’s tremendous universe!

Wow

Wow.

The capstone to the trip was Antelope Canyon. I have been enthralled by photos taken in this Navajo-owned marvel, and hoped I could come away with one or two “keepers.” I shot over 250 photos during my 90 minutes in the canyon, and at current count, have at least 19!

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

And guess what? I have been invited to exhibit my photos! This is a first for me, and I’m really flattered, excited and honored to be asked!

Lower Antelope Canyon

Today’s Special: Two Posts!

Posted on March 6, 2017 by mfna

I had a fun week. So much fun, in fact, that I’m going to make two separate posts covering different aspects. This post, is about my recent Caribbean cruise to the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. This was originally planned to be a carbon-copy of last year’s trip, but no sooner was I on board the Carnival Paradise, than I learned the ports of call had been

Carnival Paradise Cruise Ship

changed; gone was the stop at George Town, Grand Cayman, and added was a visit to Costa Maya, just down the coast. That was OK with me, as I’ve been to George Town several times and wasn’t interested in more than lunch ashore. Tulum, on the mainland from Cozumel was where I wanted to go. Truth be told, I was interested in purchasing a replacement obsidian cartouche for my granddaughter. The original never made it home from Florida last year.

So, I said if I ever had another chance…

Learning that Costa Maya offered a second opportunity to photograph Mayan ruins, I was all in. After all, photographing Mayan ruins while on a cruise was my impetus for purchasing a Nikon Coolpix P900 camera with its super-zoom lens. I lugged my camera gear around in the drizzle last year, and didn’t want a repeat experience. I am delighted to report that the Coolpix did an admirable job. It’s got a smaller sensor (16 mpx) than my D7100, and doesn’t shoot in NEF (RAW), but the super-zoom (24mm – 2000mm equivalent) gets you there in a hurry, and the results are excellent for day-to-day

An iguana, perched atop a walwas watching us tourists line up to enter the ancient city of Tulum.

photography. For example, this fellow was watching the tourists lining up to enter.

Tulum is the only evidence of the Mayan civilization on a coast site. The others are all inland, covered by centuries of jungle. Thus, Tulum not only offers great insight into the Mayan society, but also provides unfettered chances for photographing out in the open. The down side? Sunburn!

Perhaps the most iconic image of Tulum that makes the travel pages is the Temple of the Wind God, which sits perched some 39 feet above the seashore.

Temple of the Wind God, Tulum, Mexico

The super-zoom makes photographing this temple a dream of creativity.

Temple of the Wind God

Temple of the Wind God, Tulum, Mexico

The day was so nice that I was able to walk to the other side of the clearing and see the temple from another angle. The Castle Pyramid is the most impressive edifice, but the is also the Temple of Frescos, the Temple of the Descending God (yes, the tilt of the roof is intentional) and more. Despite the richness of the site, experts say it’s a small outpost. Map of Tulum.

Now, how to figure out placing photos on this page without requiring a lot of extraneous text….

Temple of the Wind God

Temple of the Descending God and Castle Pyramid

Temple of the Descending God and the Castle Pyramid.

Oh, I haven’t forgotten Chacchoben (“chak-CHO-ben”). This site was “rediscovered” in 1972, but it wasn’t until 1994 that the Mexican government set to restoring it. Work continued until it was opened to the public in 2002. It’s currently a small site, with only three pyramids restored. As money and time permit, more will be revealed.

The primary pyramid is the Temple Pyramid.

Temple Pyramid at Chacchoben, Mexico

There is ample evidence of other structures under the jungle overgrowth, as some of these photos show.

Temple Pyramid, Chacchoben, Mexico

Chacchoben Jungle Growth

Up next: Fine dining at sea and on land.

45 Years, Give Or Take A Few Months

Posted on May 27, 2016 by mfna

In the summer of 1971, between my freshmen and sophomore years of college, three friends of mine and I took the summer to make a looping trip through the countries of western Europe. I was attending the University of Maryland, Munich Campus at the time, which was central to our trip, and the starting and endpoint of it.

One of the first cities we visited was Copenhagen, Denmark. To this day, I still feel this is one of the nicest cities I’ve ever visited, and Denmark itself refers to Copenhagen as “Europe’s Friendliest City.”

Given the opportunity to take some vacation travel time, I chose to re-visit Copenhagen, and see how it had changed in the 45 years since my last visit.

The wonderful thing about European cities is that the new never replaces the old; it adds to it, enhances it, and sometimes alters it, but centuries-old culture and tradition do not go by the wayside.

https://flic.kr/p/GuqACp

As has been my wont for the past few years, taking photographs is a driving force to my travel-planning decisions. So, I packed my (recently repaired) Nikon and its assorted lenses and off I went.

Walking from the central train station to my hotel (a walk of about two city blocks), my first sight of the hotel nearly filled me with dismay: McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Hard Rock Cafe and 7-Eleven were all situated next to the place I was going to call home for the next week.

https://flic.kr/p/HgpYn7

However, my dismay was quickly dismissed, as I soon found out the hotel was 100% Danish, and that I was under no obligation to eat, or even look at, the Americana that abounded.

The week was spent walking and riding (a bicycle as well as buses) around the city. The original weather forecast called for cloudy, rainy weather, but I was delighted that the entire week was partly sunny with temperatures in the mid-60s. Perfect weather for sightseeing and photographing!

Herewith are some of the photos. Of course, no trip to Copenhagen is complete without a visit to the famour Little Mermaid statue, so that’s up first.

https://flic.kr/p/Guqp4T

Other scenes are noteworthy: Tivoli Gardens, Rosenborg Castle, Christianborg Castle, Christiania, Nyhaven, and more.

https://flic.kr/p/HmUAJU

https://flic.kr/p/GCcSGN

https://flic.kr/p/HgpUCy

https://flic.kr/p/GuqrmD

https://flic.kr/p/HgpVvW

As I go through my photos, I may upload more. This is just a teaser: Copenhagen today is every bit a nice and friendly as it was 45 years ago!

The Armory

Posted on February 4, 2016 by mfna

I don’t profess to be a Constitutional scholar, but I do proclaim to be a Constitutional adherent. This means that I believe the Constitution is and was the document that described how the United States of America should be governed; that neither the Constitution nor the government grants rights to the people, but rather enumerates the rights bestowed upon man by God, and limits the government’s ability to restrict or revoke them.

Thus, I believe the Second Amendment was presented in that order to demonstrate that the First Amendment’s protections of free speech, free assembly and the free exercise of religion was backed up by the force of arms, should the government ever become tyrannical. To that end, I am part of a “well regulated militia.” As a gun owner, I attend classes, train regularly, clean and inspect my firearms, and do not break the law or behave in a manner that would draw attention or disdain.

Much of the reason that I behave the way I do is because owning and carrying a gun is a tremendous responsibility. Because I have the means to defend myself with deadly force, and understand the repercussions of doing so, I prefer to avoid confrontations or situations where I would have to use my gun. Pulling a gun is the very last resort; it means that I am in a position of having to defend myself or someone else from lethal harm with no other recourse.

Years ago, the very idea of carrying a concealed weapon was so far from my mind that I would have rebelled at the thought. That was before the growing incidences of “active shooter” reports and the shadow war that is being waged against fundamentalist terrorists. Knowing that the police are not legally obligated to protect anyone (see Warren v. District of Columbia, 444 A.2d 1 (D.C. Ct. of Ap., 1981)), it becomes clear that the Constitution affirms a person’s right to defend himself.

Thus, I am now a gun owner. In fact, I find I really enjoy going to the range and learning how to shoot. I’ve started a small collection of guns, and appreciate their mechanical engineering and their aesthetics. Here then, are some photos (incorporating one of my other interests) of my weapons.

Sig Sauer P938 9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol

My first gun. A Sig Sauer P938. This is a subcompact 9mm (caliber) semi-automatic pistol that is modeled after the Browning M1911 that was the standard issue sidearm of the U. S. Armed Forces from its introduction in 1911 (hence its name) to 1986. The 1911 is still favored by a large number of gun owners today.

Smith & Wesson M&P9 Pro C.O.R.E.

Next, is a Smith & Wesson M&P (designated for “Military and Police”) 9mm Pro Competition Optics Ready Equipment (C.O.R.E.) . This is a full-sized handgun, and on it I’ve mounted what is known as a “red dot” sight. The sight adds a bright red dot that lines up with the gun’s sights and lets the shooter focus on the target quickly and accurately. Red dot sights are becoming the standard in competition shooting.

Springfield Armory XD-S .45 ACP 3.3″

Wanting to go to a larger caliber, yet stay in the compact (i.e., carry-able) size, I added a Springfield Armory XD-S subcompact pistol in .45 ACP. With a 3.3″ barrel, this little handgun can pack a terrific punch!

Physics would suggest a .45 caliber round would produce too much recoil for a weapon this size to handle, but I’m happy to report Springfield has managed to make this a very “shootable” gun!

Here are some group shots.

Trio of Pistols

The trio posing together.

Second Amendment

Photo Resources

Posted on July 22, 2015 by mfna

The Internet can be a wonderful thing. Oh sure, there’s a lot of spam, malware and general lameness online, but I’m awed by how much it has added to my personal wealth of knowledge!

When I returned to photography after what now seems a millennium, the entire field of digital photography baffled me. After realizing that basic concepts about light, composition, depth of field and so on, still held, the how was still a bit of a mystery.

Enter the Internet. There are videos galore on YouTube and Vimeo. A plethora of web sites, both professional and amateur, exist to lend guidance, support and inspiration.

Here then, is a brief list of web sites I find useful for a wide range of photographic information:

Photography Life – one of the first sites I found. It covers reviews, tips, news, and more.
Digital Photography School. As the name suggests, mostly tutorials and tips.
Picture Correct. Techniques and tips. There’s always an annoying pop-up when you first visit, but dismiss it and enter the site.
iPhotography, an online (for pay) course in digital photography.
ON1 Tutorials. ON1 makes the nifty Perfect Photo Suite of photo processing software, but these tutorials are free for all (with an emphasis on PPS, of course).
Light Stalking. Tips, downloadable tutorials, more.
Camera Labs. Camera and lens reviews.
Digital Photography Review. Camera and lens reviews. Very popular.
Snapsort, compare cameras (features, prices, capabilities).
Ken Rockwell, a professional photographer reviews and opines.
Photzy – sign up and receive a “digital locker” where you can download and store free (and paid) content.

And of what value would these sites be without a place to store and view our photos? Here are some sites and programs I use:

Dropbox. A free account (which includes photo syncing) of about 5Gb. Pay for more.
Copy. Like DropBox, with a 20Gb account.
Flickr. Owned by Yahoo! Gives you 1 terabyte of storage and an online photo editor.
PictureLife. Much like Flickr. Maybe some developers left and started this? You gain space by referring others. Contact me. 🙂
Adobe’s Creative Cloud. Yes, you’ll need to be a subscriber, but at US $9.99/month for full, current versions of PhotoShop and Lightroom, this is a pretty sweet deal: 1 TB for your creative efforts.

There are many, many more. I may revise this list from time to time, or add another. For now, this is a quick “bookmark” for ones I use frequently.

New Digs, New Paths

Posted on September 15, 2014 by mfna

I’m feeling a little guilty about not having written anything for months, so I’m assuaging that guilt by writing a meaningless update.

Earlier this month I moved into my new home! That’s right, I decided to stop renting and bought a nice little two-bedroom condominium just two miles from my former apartment. It increases my drive to work by 1.1 miles; oh, the horror! 🙂 But as rents were increasing, I found my first mortgage payment and condominium fee combined were less than the rent I was about to pay. Nice timing, if I say so myself!

My photography hobby has been up and down. Mostly up, although I admit I haven’t been out shooting every day like I thought I might. On the other hand, I took a trip out west to Yellowstone and the Tetons (which is the original reason I bought the camera) and had an absolutely fabulous time. Note to self: Post some photos…

Grand Teton Reflected

So, let’s see. Probably the best shot I took from nearly 1,000 I took, was the “postcard” of Grand Teton.

As my eye becomes more critical and discerning, I review my photos and find some that need “fixing” and others that turned out better than I had originally thought. I got a “thumbs up” from Frank Lee Ruggles on one of my Mount Rushmore photos, and that gave me a good feeling. George Through the Trees

While this is a somewhat unusual perspective of a familiar sight, it’s not my favorite. No, that probably has to be the series I took using my 55-300mm zoom at its full focal length.

Now things have settled a bit. This weekend I will fly to St. Petersburg, Florida, where I am to be invested with the Order of Salvador, an honor bestowed upon me by the Salvador Dalí Museum for my dedication and interest in the artist and his work. I am humbled to be so considered.

Let me conclude this meandering missive by declaring my intent to post more often. I’ll also suggest to the one or two readers who might happen upon it that they check out the site where I’ve been posting more of my pictures, the oddly named Ugly Hedgehog.

Woohoo — Photo Tech!

Posted on April 14, 2014 by mfna

I feel like the stubborn mule who has to get its head walloped just to get its attention.

For some reason, when photography went digital, I adopted the belief that what the camera saw was absolute: what the lens saw was recorded digitally and the end product was the finished photo. Post-processing? Please. I held the belief that post-processing, through the use of software like Adobe PhotoShop, was somehow “cheating,” and thus wasn’t “authentic” photography.

Boy, was I wrong. Thanks to some wiser and more experienced digital photographers, I was able to see the error of my ways. The light came on (pun intended) when it was pointed out to me that developing my own black-and-white prints from film was nothing more than post-processing. Why should using computer technology be any different?

As one who has made a career in the computer industry, all of a sudden it seemed like a natural fit. Fortunately, Adobe makes available for 30 days a nifty program called Lightroom. Thanks to the folks at MacUpdate, Adobe Lightroom I was alerted to a new version of this program and decided to check it out.

Four days into my 30 day trial, I went to Adobe’s site and purchased the product!

And that’s not all. I also learned of a program called easyHDR that includes a Lightroom plug-in. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, which is a method of combining two differently exposed shots of the same subject into one, allowing a finer resolution of highlights and shadows. It’s a bit more complex than that, but now all of a sudden I have a quiver of computer tools at my disposal to enhance and correct the shots I take.

I have been going through photos I’ve taken over the past few years, and with just some minor tweaks, have turned some “good” shots into pictures that “pop!” I may not be ready to enter any photo contests, but I’m finding out there’s a lot more to digital photography than just taking the picture!

Introducing… My New Camera

Posted on April 1, 2014 by mfna

After my recent trip to Iceland, where I took three cameras and was disappointed with the results, I came to the conclusion that compact, point-and-shoot cameras only have one thing going for them: They’re compact.

When I first made the plunge into digital photography, I bought an Olympus C3030-Zoom 3.3 megapixel camera. I bought it because Olympus is/was a respected name in photography, and the camera looked like a serious photographer’s tool.

Olympus C3030-Zoom

Digital photography was taking off, and soon the C3030 was pretty much obsolete. It also went through batteries like crazy; I had a rechargeable power pack that I hooked to my belt to keep the juice flowing to the camera.

As I traveled, and world events made it harder to pack and carry luggage, I chose to “go small” and while in Denver, Colorado, decided to buy a “pocket camera,” the Fuji Finepix f40fd.

Fujifilm Finepix f40fd

At eight megapixels, the Fuji had over twice the image power of the Olympus despite its very compact form factor. I even bought a belt pouch to carry it in, so that I could whip it out on a moment’s notice. Unfortunately, digital cameras have been evolving, and so now they also take movies, include special effects, and have more settings than the hairs on my head. With aging eyes and the desire to take “grab shots,” squinting at dials and having to use a display panel rather than a viewfinder, a lot of the shots I took didn’t turn out the way I’d hoped.

Once again, I “moved up.” My next purchase was based on the emerging “mirror-less” form factor, also known as a four-thirds camera. I bought a package deal that included the (then) new Nikon 1 and two lenses that Nikon had designed specifically for this line of cameras.

Nikon 1 J1 with two lenses

Complete with camera bag, charger and USB cable, this package could still fit inside my suitcase. If I packed judiciously, I could still have all my luggage as carry-on.

Once again, the size got in the way. With all the features (and the need to convert image size into something I could work with mentally), I wound up getting “stuck” at the wrong time, choosing the right lens, trying to focus, choose settings, compose the photo, and shoot. I can’t begin to count the shots I missed just getting ready for it.

Thus, I upon my return from my latest trip, I decided to go back to what I knew. In college, I had actually made money with a Minolta SRT-101 35mm SLR and a bag full of equipment (lenses, flash, tripod, filters, etc.). I know I’m not a bad photographer, and an artist doesn’t blame his tools, so I figured sacrificing the false economy and comfort of a small camera for that which I was more familiar was the way to go.

So, last week I plunked down the cash for another “move up.” I bought a Nikon D7100 DSLR (or is it more properly written, dSLR?) with two lenses, bag, wireless connector (for uploading directly to a smartphone) and even signed up for a course to learn how to use it!

Nikon D7100

A few days later, I ordered a third lens, a fixed focal length (35mm) “fast” (f/1.8) lens that I expect to use as a “walking around lens.”

Now, all I have to do is walk around, and take photographs!

Running FROM Office

everyone is entitled to my opinion

Category Archives: Photography