Big Glass of My Dreams

I've been drooling over a lens at Tempe Camera for several weeks now. It's a used 400mm f 2.8, in pretty good shape. Yesterday when I dropped in for 4x5 sheet film, I brought my D 90 body in to try out this lens. We took it in back, threw it on a tripod (figuratively, this lens is too heavy to throw) and fired away through the window. I chose to take one shot and break it down for the viewing audience. Here's the shot:

 

So, you can see that this is already doing pretty well. This is wide open, at f 2.8. This lens is manual focus, but very sharp and with bright focus image that makes it very easy to quickly zoom in on a target. I was instantly impressed with the fact that there is no softness in the frame, even the edges are precise and defined.

Once I'd gotten to looking at things, I realized that there was a lot more detail than is visible when one's looking at the whole frame. I threw it in iPhoto and zoomed in a bit.

Here, in detail, is the tower on the top of Hayden Butte, along with the people enjoying their Monday afternoon.

 

Now we can zoom in a bit more.

This lens is sharp as a tack. I was just shooting JPEGs to test this lens out, using the medium size and fine quality settings. Aperture was 2.8, ISO 400 and I was shooting at about 1/800. Shooting in RAW or full size JPEG will produce even more detailed images, especially upon a sturdy tripod without vibrations.

Here's where things are as seen in Google Maps:

View Line of Sight in a larger map

Things are clear now how clear this lens is. I'm saving what I can, but of course that really is difficult since I have no job right now. I think I'll be looking into the census, to see what they need in terms of people in the Valley of the Sun. Plus, I do have my tax return to look forward to, even though it just covers rent for a while. Man, I wish the Arizona Republic could use a stringer. 

Bird of Paradise

Bird of Paradise, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

From the Hampton Inn near Sea World, in San Diego

Last weekend's regatta went well for our team. While not nearly as competitive as te front of our fleet, we are getting better. We we get good starts, we consistently stay in position or even pull ahead. However, those starts are hard to come by, and there are boat handling skills that we need to improve on too.

Purple

Purple, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

In front of the hotel

At the beach

At the beach, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

From last weekend's regatta on Mission Bay.

Tempe Sunset

Tempe Sunset, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

The dams have been re-inflated and the reservoir has been replenished. Things are still closed, but at least the water's becoming thinner and there are fewer dead animals left to be skimmed off. The state has pronounced that the flood is officially over, so we can go back to our usual calm lives now.

Trying new things

DSC_0323, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Trying new things can lead to fun.

John Drums

06418_DSC_0168, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

E to S

E to S, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Here I go, finally showing the panorama work. This is the first section, from Turtleback mountain, past Elephant Butte, and passing McRae Canyon. This was what New Year's Day brought to the sailors of New Mexico. Flat, mirror calm waters let me take a panorama instead of trimming the jib on my mom's Etchells.

NE to E

NE to E, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Curving now from the southeast up to the northeast, we see Kettletop, the mountains and the end of Long Point.

WNW to NE

WNW to NE, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

The southern shore of Long Point, as seen from the water.

Cloudy Mountain

Cloudy Mountain, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Yeah, I'm cheating and playing it forward. Here's what the weather looked like a few hours ago, when we were heading south down I 25.

Fresh snow

fresh snow, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Wow, yeah I know, this is way early in the day, and I even put stuff up yesterday. It snowed some last night, and it seems that we got all of half an inch of accumulation. So that meant I knew what my daily photo would be for today. I included my foot to show scale. And yes, the sun is to the right, the speed light to the left, and on camera flash for fill.

Tardis

Tardis, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

As I'm sure all two of the regular readers have noticed, I haven't kept up with my idea of shooting interesting things daily to post on this blog. I've even spent the past few days with fast internet and the camera have all been on standby, but the shootingI have done was totally mundane, and I haven't even done much of that. I've been taking it easy with lots of tea and a bit of coffee, added to a diet rich in cookies and turkey. Throw in some extra family, computer stuffs and a house full of good reading, and you see where I'm at. I should be doing better with a return to 'burque and a leave from reliable internet.

Computer Time

Computer Time, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Christmas tree highlighted from one SB-900. Otherwise, ambient lighting.

Tree Vortex

Tree vortex, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Let's just hope Santa doesn't get too dizzy…

Snow

Snow, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

From the storm of the month in Albuquerque.

Vista

Vista, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

December 21

So, yeah, you might be noticing the lack of anything for Sunday. Well, I admit, I didn't do any shooting Sunday. I was watching football and being lazy. Today, to make up for that, I took the Gila Monster and a couple friends up Cedro to the Vista. The melting snow up there has left mud on the tires. The air was clear, cold and clean, and the usual mountain burgers turned out alright, even though we kept the fire rather tiny at the bottom of our pit. More stuff from this weekend on my Flickr page.

College Students Need Sleep Too!

College Students Need Sleep Too!, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

December 19 (Cheating, it's on the 19th, but in the AM of the same shoot as the 18th's pic)

And That's How I…

And That's How I…, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

December 18

Empty

Empty, originally uploaded by Gerald5970.

Today's pic came into being while I was sitting in the back seat, riding in the car as we drove up the road through George West in southern Texas. It was a very grey day, especially coming after a week of heavy rains and days of stress on us, trying to deal with events unfolding as they come down the pipe. This reflects the way I feel lately, with things going on beyond my control.