Documentary in Six or Less Photos

So I guess the pictures are supposed to speak for themselves ... ummm... I'll see what you all think about them before saying what I had in mind.

Thanks!

Maiden Lane

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14-45mm

A Bridge in Yosemite

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 85mm f2.0

We went to Yosemite last weekend for a few days. The weather was perfect. I had an opportunity to practice a bit more with the G1. I'm beginning to know the camera better now, but I still have a way to go before knowing it completely. For this trip, I brought 3 lenses, 2 were native M4/3 lenses (Lumix 20mm and Lumix 14-45mm), and the 3rd was my Nikkor 85mm f2.0 to give me something on the telephoto end (170mm equivalent).

This is one of my shots taken with the 85mm. I'm also beginning to get more comfortable with using adapted lenses on the G1. The operating procedure is: 1) open to full aperture for optimum focusing 2) press the buttons that bring up the magnified live view for focusing (if necessary) 3) set focus 4) choose preferred aperture (if necessary) 5) compose and shoot. It sounds cumbersome, but with practice, this routine becomes second nature, and can go fairly quickly. The silky smooth focusing ring action on my 85mm Nikkor is a joy to use, and these M4/3 camera bodies give new life to all vintage lenses from any manufacturer, as many photographers have already discovered.

I would be interested to know what feelings or emotions this image evokes from you. It's okay if it doesn't evoke anything, and you can tell me that too :).

By the way, April is almost over, and nobody else (besides myself) has posted anything related to our April Project. For those of you who promised to participate, I hope you've been busily shooting for the project :). It's also time to talk about the May Project too. Any suggestions? As I said at the end of last month, we can also give it a rest for a while too, to put less pressure on ourselves :).

--Warren

Heavenly Spotlights

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 20mm f1.7, Nikkor 85mm f2.0

Yesterday, after work, I looked out our back window and saw a spectacular cloud and light formation. For a brief moment, I contemplated rushing outside, but I realized that I had to catch the scene before it changed forever. It's a true, special moment in time, that will probably never be repeated the same way ever again. I had my Lumix G1 handy, and immediately took some shots with the 20mm that happened to be on the camera. I then looked on my desk for the right telephoto to use. I decided on the Nikkor 85mm, and it already had the M4/3 adapter mounted on it.

By any chance, did any of you folks in the SF area see this yesterday? If so, I hope you had a camera with you :)

--Warren

Photo Archaeology

Here's a scan of a 37-year-old negative. If I remember correctly, I tried to print this one back in the day, but never got a good image out of it. The negative actually is fine, with a lot of detail. If I had to guess, I didn't have paper that was high enough contrast to do it justice.

I took this picture one Sunday at Penn Station in Baltimore, back in the days when you could wander around the platforms without causing anyone any anxiety. It was just a few days after I bought a Leica IIIc and a Canon Serenar 50mm f/1.8 lens.

Tonight, I scanned this negative, along with some others, on my Epson V500 scanner. I've only used the scanner for documents up until now, but its raw specs implied it would do a good job on negatives and slides. I cranked up the resolution to its maximum, 4800 dpi, and it yielded a 28-megapixel file. I noticed in Photoshop that it was 26" x 17" at 240 dpi. Just a little manipulation in Photoshop to adjust the blacks was all it needed to make a compelling image. I didn't even apply any sharpening, as the scanned image just didn't need any.

On-screen and on the web, I think the image looks great. I'll have an 18x12 print made from this file to see how that looks, but for the time being, I'm very happy with the film-scanning ability of the V500.

Coffee Shop Reflections

Panasonic DMC-G1, Lumix 14-45mm

Do you recognize this location? I'm sure some of us have been there a few times :)

--Warren

Wet Mockingbird

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 500mm f8 Reflex

We had a brief period between today's rain showers, and I saw this mockingbird flying around in the backyard trees. I quickly mounted the 500mm onto my G1 and snapped a few shots before it flew away.

He really blends into his surroundings :).

--Warren

Me Abstracted

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 50mm f1.4

Another byproduct of my continuing experimentation with adapting lenses to the G1 body, and also pushing limits of the format in terms of exposure and sensitivity. This is a handheld, low light, and highly cropped mirror shot, so that's my left eye/left side. Lots of apparent noise/grain, but hopefully the content and composition offsets it a bit. :)

--Warren

Egg Yolk Sunset

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 500mm f8 reflex, on monopod

Tonight's sunset, looking out my back window.

--Warren

Twilight at Stow Lake

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 24mm f2.0

Aquatic Park Piers

Canon G11

Retired Marquee

Canon G11

I'm finally getting to some shots that I made while testing out Dennis F.'s Canon G11. I have a few more to post soon.

--Warren

Backyard Cat

Panasonic DMC-G1, Nikkor 500mm f8, monopod

I was testing my G1 with my Nikkor 500mm Reflex lens (1000mm equiv. in 35mm), and I saw a convenient subject sunning himself across the way in my neighbor's back porch. This was taken through a window. I look forward to using this combo for some extreme telephoto shots outside one of these days.

--Warren