Blue spade

Blue spade unexpected

Just another flower post. This one wasn’t a flower I was after nor did I have any expectations upon entering for a unpretentious stroll in a house back garden. I was, certainly, eager to put to test a Canon 100mm macro I had acquired recently and was curious to check its sharpness and what it was capable of.

I wasn’t let down by this lens and am looking forward to more pictures of flowers, insects and other creatures in the near future. Shades of green always make a nice background for a flower picture and this was the case this time. I hope you enjoy it.

Canon EOS 50D
EF-S 100mm f/2.8 USM
1/640sec • f/2.8 • 100 mm • ISO 100
RAW proccessed with Adobe Camera Raw
TIFF proccessed with Adobe Photoshop CS4

Changing seasons

Changing seasons

Upon arriving at Lake Louise, I was kind of taken aback by the rapid changing conditions of the weather. The day before, the weather was warm and wind wasn’t present. On this day, however, the weather was cold. It had snowed overnight and wind was a factor.

Despite of this, the cold and snow gave this landscape a new, interesting look. It was misty, a bit mysterious and dark. I really enjoy going back to the same location over and over so I can have the chance to see it under different conditions.

The once thing that caught my attention this time was the contrasty scene that was created with the red boats. If it weren’t for the boats, this pictures would have been totally dull, but the red in the composition gave it a punch that was much needed.

Have a nice weekend everyone!!

Canon EOS 50D
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
1/15sec • f/16 • 12 mm • ISO 100
RAW proccessed with Adobe Camera Raw
TIFF proccessed with Adobe Photoshop CS4

Peyto lake

Peyto lake

Renting a camper van and driving up the famous Columbia Parkway was the best thing I did in a recent trip to Canada’s British Columbia and Alberta. I got to this location in early October, which is a shoulder season and that’s awesome. Fewer people and cars on the road are always good when you’re traveling.

What’s great about this region is that you always think that you’ve seen it all, that the best has been done, but Canada always surprises you. This was one of those occasions. I expected this lake to be nice. After seeing Louise and others, it seemed impossible that something would top those. But… It did. The view of Peyto Lake is truly amazing. I wish I had the time to stay much longer, camp near this lake somehow and photograph it under different lights and times of the day. Maybe another time. I’ll keep hoping.

Canon EOS 50D
EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
1/320sec • f/16 • 12 mm • ISO 100
RAW proccessed with Adobe Camera Raw
TIFF proccessed with Adobe Photoshop CS4

Beauty in isolation

Beauty in isolation

This photo was taken at VanDusen Botanical Garden. This  Botanical Garden in Vancouver is reviewed as one of the best in the world. I was really impressed with the sheer variety of plants, colors and shapes. It was one of those places where you don’t know where to start. Every time I have the opportunity to be in a place like this, I feel like I’m in some type of wonderland. It does make me very happy.

This flower was shot in an early afternoon hour. Despite of this, the light was somewhat diffused; there were some clouds and the branches of a tree helped to block some of the light. I’m usually using tripods when shooting flowers, but this time I didn’t use one. I was giving my Canon 70-300mm a go at this type of photography and it performed fine. The IS feature helped stabilize the glass elements and made this 300mm shot possible.

Canon EOS 50D
EF-S 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
1/320sec • f/6.3 • 300 mm • ISO 400
RAW proccessed with Adobe Camera Raw
TIFF proccessed with Adobe Photoshop CS4

Splash of light

Splash of light

This shot was taken on one of those days when you know there are no interesting cloud patterns in the sky. Actually, very few clouds at all. But, as I was feeling like photographing that day, I just had to go out and see what I could find. The sky right above the horizon was red in a way I hadn’t seen before and the way the light hit the rocks and the tones were very interesting. I really like these rock formations and find myself going back there time and time again. But it is a tricky spot. When tide is low, no problem. It’s an easy walk and climb up the rocks. Now, when the tide is high… Oh, it’s a totally different story. Hike up the hill, jump some 20 times over, at times, slippery rocks, jump some more at the very end of the hike and you’re there. Worth it? Every time.

Canon 50D
Canon 10-22mm at 12mm
25second exposure at f/16
1/2 hour before sunset
Singh Ray hard and soft ND grads 0.9 + 0.75
No polarizer.
ISO 100
RAW file processed with Photoshop

Puffin

On the majestic island of Hoy, north of Scotland, one famous bird can be found. Its name: Puffin. And I have to confess that prior to seeing it for the first time, I had seen several pictures of Puffins. Nice little birds, I thought  to myself. Days later, when the opportunity of going to Hoy materialized, I was curious to see if I would find one. I asked a fellow traveler about it and was told that seeing these birds was a rather rare treat. I then spoke to the boat captain (the boat I took to get to the island) and he told me they were hard to spot. Not exactly what I wanted to hear from a local. Arriving on the island, the driver of the van that took me to the start of the trail leading to The Old Man of Hoy also told me I should keep my hopes low.

Despite of it all, I had a feeling I would see this bird. I wanted to see it so much. But, to my disappointment, after an hour walk and a few more I spent along the coast of the island, no sign of Puffis. No problem, the coast of the island was amazing and I was busy shooting lots of frames. There were climbers going up the Old Man of Hoy and that kept my attention also. I just thought that was so dangerous and crazy. Well, another hour went by, and then another… and I started to contemplate the idea of returning. But I saw something move a few meters down the cliff where I was standing. I leaned over and… there it was!! Not one, but two great Puffins. One was looking at me, but wasn’t afraid. The other flew off quickly. The brave one that stayed on the rock is the one you see in this picture.

Moments later, more of them came along. And, I couldn’t take the smile off my face for the whole time they were there. It was an opportunity I’ll never forget. In another post, I’ll include a shot I took of those climbers.

Treasure island

Another one from Fernando de Noronha. A little island I named Treasure Island although it has its own name. Out of the 10 days I spend on this island, I woke up at 5 am 8 times and enjoyed the sunrise near this location. The shades of blue and green keep changing as the sun rises. It is delightful.

Also, the rocks are more or less wet depending on tide, humidity and rain the may have fallen through the night. On this day, the rocks were reasonably wet and reflective. And that made photographing this location all the more interesting.

Drum player

It isn’t my style to shoot portraits on a regular basis. I really prefer to focus on other subjects, such as anything involving nature.
Having said that, from time to time I see somebody that I just have to shoot. This drum player on the streets of Edinburgh was one of these characters.

His eyes and facial expressions had such a powerful force. Additionally, his outfit was really interesting. I spent sometime photographing himself while he jammed with his band. It’s fascinating that street photography has so much to offer. Especially in a city such as this one. This is one of the strongest memories I have of the wonderful country of Scotland.

A great weekend to all of you!

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L USM Lens Review

Like many people my decision on a telephoto zoom lens came down to buying the Canon 70-200mm f/4L or the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM.  I read a bunch of reviews and decided to go with the former.  It is true that user comments and ratings in a variety of websites are slightly more favorable for the L lens. The 70-300mm has an improved IS and of course a longer focal length.

Upon trying the L lens handheld a few times, I was initially disappointed. Of course I knew I’d have to compensate the lack of IS with higher ISO, but in the field tests, it proved to be more difficult than that.  Photos of flowers or birds in the shade demanded ISOs as high as 800. And that crippled the quality of the photo a little bit more than I would’ve liked. To avoid camera shake you need to shoot at the reciprocal of the focal length or faster. Sounds simple but with a Canon 50D you need to consider the camera’s 1.6 multiplication factor. So at 200mm you need a shutter speed of 1/320 or faster. I thought that I would be able to handhold at 1/200. But reality knocked in and showed me I couldn’t do it.

Another thing that may be a problem (it was for me in a couple of situations) is when you need to go unnoticed when shooting. The L lens makes it hard to do. It is white and big and people will look at you.

Still I have some mixed feelings about my decision. When the light is good this is a fantastic lens but with the IS feature offered on the 70-300mm I would probably get photos that I will miss with this lens. So I’ve decided to go ahead and get myself a Canon 70-300mm IS. It is arriving in a few days. I don’t like to have to use a tripod all the time and the 70-200mm forces me to do so when I’m shooting in the shade, which is often.

I can’t fault the performance of this lens for its limitations and I have given it 5 stars. In other words it does what it is supposed to do very well but my message to other buyers is to consider where you are most likely to use the lens before buying. Remember IS becomes increasingly important as you extend the focal length.

Conclusion: Well, IS would be nice for those low-light 200mm hand-held shots. Otherwise, this lens is nearly perfect in build quality and most importantly, image quality. It is ultra sharp with eye-popping contrast and accurate colors wide open at f4.0 over the whole range from 70-200mm. Definitely one of the best pieces of glass out there.

Fernando de Noronha seascape

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to have taken a trip to the majestic island of Fernando de Noronha recently. It was truly an amazing experience.

This place is so peaceful and because of low season, few people were there. And because of this, it wasn’t hard to be alone anywhere. Result, easy photography opportunities. It gave me a sense of tranquility, an almost meditation like feeling. This rock showed itself a little more at this time because of low tide. Tide varies quite a bit in this place and you’ve got to know where to go and at what time.

This photo was taken at 6 pm with the help of a Singh Ray 3 stop hard filter.