Twilight over the Gas Station

Twilight over the Gas Station
Twilight over HyVee Gas, West Broadway, Columbia, Mo. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 21mm; exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/5, ISO 400

This is the view that greeted me as I pulled into HyVee last evening to pick up a couple of groceries.  I thought it a fitting tribute to our picture story class’ ongoing  exploration of the street that connects so much of the city.

2nd Thirty Days – Day Seven

2nd 30 Days - Day 7 - I guess I won't be going this way!
I guess I won't be going this way! | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 lens @ 26mm; exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/5, ISO 400.

I walked out of my apartment Thursday morning to head down the hall to get my car and go in to school when I discovered that the reason I thought I heard footsteps on the ceiling above me is because there were, indeed, people walking about the roof…and the folding ladder was (in)conveniently between myself and my destination.  I took the back way, but not before making this picture…my only one on Thursday.

PMA 2010: Sony joins the mirrorless revolution…

Ultra-compact new camera with interchangeable lenses, APS-size sensor and AVCHD; more additions to α DSLR line-up
Ultra-compact new camera with interchangeable lenses, APS-size sensor and AVCHD | image from dpreview.com

On Sunday, DPReview.com syndicated Sony’s announcement at PMA of a new line of mirror-less, interchangeable-lens compact cameras using a proprietary lens mount.  But who cares?

Camera Design of the Future?

For owners of 35mm SLR cameras, the idea of owning a camera that does not allow you to see through the lens–directly through the optics–seems strange.  It seems a throwback to the days of the rangefinder.  Of course, if that was truly the case that no one would want it, then why would Leica, let alone is M9 35mm digital rangefinder, still exist?

The answer, to put it succinctly, is that these smaller cameras with their smaller, but quite fine lenses, bring the fun back into photography.

And with no mirror in the way (electronic viewfinders are getting astonishingly good, and you can have a live preview of what the histogram will be at your given exposure), the lenses can be reduced in size dramatically.  Ever wonder why a 35mm Leica lens looks so different from one from Canon?  Single-lens-reflect requires a retrofocus design to compensate for the distance between the end of the lens and the film plane.  While this is over-simplified, the shorter that distance between film plane and lens, the smaller (and lighter!) the lens can be.

Recycling...They're doing their part...
They're doing their part... | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 45-200mm f/4-5.6 lens @ 45mm; exposed 1/60 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400.

For over a year now I’ve been working with a Panasonic Lumix G1–you can see all the photos I’ve posted with it–and along with its standard lens, a telephoto zoom, and an Olympus pancake lens that I’ve borrowed on occasion, it has enabled me to make pictures that I wouldn’t otherwise have because I don’t always want to schlep along my 5D Mk. II and 24-70 f/2.8L lens.

The G1 and its 14-45mm lens weigh in at one pound, six ounces.  The 5D and 24-70 weigh four pounds, five ounces.  Is the quality the same?  Of course not. But I wouldn’t have had the images without the lighter camera, because I don’t want to have bad knees and shoulders because of camera gear.  A bird in the hand…

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Thirty Days – Day Twenty-one

The twenty-first day of this Thirty Day project brought me a little closer to my home territory…

Thirty Days - Day 21 - Rick Shaw at POYi
Rick Shaw, director of POYi, applies gaffer's tape to the locks of the doors to the Fred Smith Forum at the Reynolds Journalism Institute to allow visitors to the judging of the contest to enter and leave without causing a distraction. | Panasonic Lumix G1 and 45-200mm f/4-5.6 lens @ 72mm; exposed 1/250 sec. @ f/4.3, ISO 800.

Runners up for today’s posting after the jump…

Continue reading “Thirty Days – Day Twenty-one”