Lately I feel like I’m only taking photographs when I go on trips. Whether it’s our never ending attempt to see the Country or heading back to Hutch, this seems to be the time when I bust out the photo gear. I don’t really know why…maybe it’s the lack of responsibility when getting out of town; not constantly contemplating the 437 things I SHOULD be doing instead of peering through a lens, or just the change of setting. This spring I’ve been needing to remind/convince myself that not only do I enjoy snapping the shutter; but it’s amazingly good eye training for roto/compositing/mograph and all around practice for shooting video.
To that end I’ve started to invest is some fantastic ‘vintage’ gear. When shooting video, and to a lesser extent stills, on these new hybrid HDSLRs the need for good manual focus lenses becomes paramount. Modern stills lenses just don’t have the control surface that the older lenses do, the manufacturer assuming that you’d use autofocus instead. Well, in video mode we’re currently out of luck in the AF corner. However, older Olympus, Nikon, and a few other brands can easily be converted to work with modern Canon cameras by using a relatively cheap adapter. And hooray for that adapter.
So, I’ve been eBay stalking a few vintage lenses from the 70s, if for no other reason that they can be had for cheap. I’ve had my eye on an Olympus OM Zuiko 28mm f/2.8 forever, and I finally snagged one that is in mint condition. I’ve been needing a wider lens for a while and the Zuiko 28mm is the perfect fit.
I finally got out last week with the intent of testing it for timelapse photography out at the Baker Wetlands south of Lawrence on 31st. It this gorgeous little patch of land that has been embroiled in a battle over highway access for decades. After that evening I think I’m firmly in the camp of keeping it. Forever. Here is the painfully short timelapse I was able to capture of a spring sunset in KS. I was fighting with my equipment for too long before being able to get things going, so I didn’t get enough frames shot to capture more of the moment. Regardless, I’m very happy with how it turned out overall and can’t wait to continue using my TI-83 calculator as my intervalometer. I suppose this is the reason I took Calc in school?
While getting everything setup and properly exposed I snapped this sunset which I’ve fallen in love with. I’m still kicking myself for not starting the timelapse sooner. I could have gotten even more of this!
I’ve also needed to invest in a telephoto lens. Wanting to get into more wildlife photography, I’ve realized I’m never going to get close enough with my nifty 50mm, and my 80s era 28-70mm wasn’t long enough either. So, I looked into some of the 70s era Nikkor (Nikon) glass and came around to this gorgeous Nikkor-Q.C Auto 135mm f/2.8 (second one down). It is one serious lens, and I’ll admit it, just looks cool attached to my camera. The 135mm was what I used to take the shot below of my Dad. As I said these lenses are completely manual, including focus, so I was thrilled that my first time out with it I was able to grab a semi-decent sports/action shot. There is hope for being able to use it as a long portrait or action lens yet. It felt really good to be manually controlling all aspects of the shot; everything from aperture, shutter speed, iso to focus – it was my capture. No computers doing the work!
I’ve never decided if this here blog is supposed to be a personal or professional space? It’s definitely flirted with both, but somehow it seems that I’m in a place where those two things seem to be constantly mixing and collapsing in on themselves. One of my oldest friends lost his Father in the past couple of weeks. It was a tough loss, not only for him and his family, but for just about every life he touched. And in relating it to this post, I was very happy to have snagged a shot like this of my own Dad. He’s been a runner forever, pushing 100 miles a week in College, and while I’ve never been much of an athlete I was very pleased to be able bond with him over taking photos out at his latest race. Doing so really made the whole weekend heading back for the funeral come full circle for me.
Anyway, the last few months have been incredibly busy around here between the day job ramping up into another round of research/product testing, to lots of freelance rotoscoping work. It’s been hard to step back and have a lot of time for the Lady and family. These past two weeks have been really nice as things have slowed down a little and allowed for a little bit of reflection. Being able to capture a moment out in the relatively solitude of the wetlands, along with a bonding moment with my father has made all the difference for me and I’m glad I got off my duff and made it happen.
