David Truland: Blog

Mohawk and Hudson River Flooding and Notice

(David Truland) — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 19:54:19 GMT

The rivers were above flood stage after a warm and rainy day yesterday. Here are some samples. A collection with 43 photos and a two minute video can be viewed at https://trulandphotography.com/1223flood.

Battery Park, Hudson River, WaterfordCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 240mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Visitor Center, Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 100mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk River, WaterfordCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk River, WaterfordCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Front Street, WaterfordCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 400.

Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Lock E2 WaterfordCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 28mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400.

Saratoga Spa State Park

(David Truland) — Thu, 14 Dec 2023 20:40:30 GMT

I took a walk around Saratoga Spa State Park this morning after a night with temperatures below freezing. There are a few interpretive signs at the park that explain that the park does not have geysers, which are powered by steaming hot water. The Island Spouter is cold water which is powered by gasses and therefore not a geyser.

Nevertheless, a lot of things at the park are named geyser including Geyser Trail, Geyser Loop Road and Geyser Brook. Here are some photos from this morning.

Geyser BrookCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 240mm, f/6.3, 1/160 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Island SpouterCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 37mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 94mm, f/11, 1/80 sec., ISO 400. Orenda SpringCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 105mm, f/11, 1/160 sec., ISO 400. Hall of SpringsCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 35mm, f/11, 1/640 sec., ISO 400. Hall of SpringsCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 52mm, f/11, 1/400 sec., ISO 400. Hall of SpringsCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 87mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Thanksgiving Sunrise

(David Truland) — Thu, 23 Nov 2023 13:24:10 GMT

Here are some of the scenes from Northampton Beach State Park.

Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 55mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 94mm, f/22, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 40mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Northampton Beach State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400.

Battlefield Compilation

(David Truland) — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 15:24:54 GMT

Shortly after my last blog post I made a slight lens change and now have a Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens in place of the other two zoom lenses. Here are some images I've made with the lens at Saratoga Battlefield over the past week.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 79mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 33mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 42mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 129mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400.

Amber Trails

(David Truland) — Tue, 07 Nov 2023 20:10:42 GMT

I walked around Peebles Island this morning for some after the foliage scenics.

Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

November Color

(David Truland) — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 20:39:41 GMT

The reds, oranges and yellows are starting to change to maroons, golds and ambers in my area. There are still some pockets of bright colors though which can be interesting to document. One nice thing about this time of year is that the sun stays lower in the sky so it's decent shooting pretty much all day.

Here are some scenes from Saratoga Battlefield today including a video from the British Headquarters field with the wind noise removed.

Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., iSO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., iSO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/180 sec., iSO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/250 sec., iSO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/125 sec., iSO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., iSO 200.

British Headquarters Field British Headquarters Field11/3/2023 Silent video from Auto Tour Stop #8.

Fall Color at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:00:11 GMT

The conditions were almost perfect after noontime today for a few hours before the clouds filled back in. Here are some scenes from Oakwood Cemetery.

Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 52mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 42mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200.

Enjoying It While It Lasts

(David Truland) — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 19:25:03 GMT

The warm weather continues for another couple of days and I plan on taking advantage. This morning started clear but became cloudy as I hiked the Wilkinson Trail at the Saratoga Battlefield. This hike is always good for between 5 and 6 miles with over 300 feet of elevation change depending on what little side paths I take.

Canon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 100mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 183mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 100mm, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 100mm, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 ISTM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 ISTM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 123mm, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 800.

Champlain Canalway

(David Truland) — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:37:23 GMT

I will have some visits to the battlefield later in the week but there was time today, between errands and a flu shot, for a quick walk along the Champlain Canalway Trail in Halfmoon, NY. I wanted to get some time in with the 28mm pancake lens.

Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. CPL Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. CPL Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. CPL Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200.

Back To The Battlefield

(David Truland) — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 17:17:25 GMT

It's been over a week since I had hiked the trails at Saratoga Battlefield. I much prefer early morning hikes but I don't run into nearly as many park visitors as I do on afternoon hikes. But, my volunteer hours get counted whether I see people or not.

Here are some shots from this morning, which got sunnier as the morning progressed.

Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 99mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 I STM at 85mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 28mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/11, 1/1500 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 68mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 400.

Maine Getaway Day

(David Truland) — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:26:48 GMT

The Maine shooting is all wrapped except for the usual stop at Cape Neddick Lighthouse which is rarely good for photos due to the time of day. This morning's sunrise was cold and cloudless with more than a few people stomping around in front of me with cellphones. There are good things about 5AM sunrises.

Here are some of the results.

Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/6.7, 1/125 sec., ISO 3200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 35mm, f/6.7, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 70mm, f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 42mm, f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/11, 1/90 sec., ISO 400.

More Maine

(David Truland) — Thu, 12 Oct 2023 19:24:10 GMT

Today has seen the nicest weather of this Maine trip so far. Here are six of the over 100 images I uploaded to https://trulandphotography.com/maine2023.

Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 400. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Perkins CoveCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Ogunquit BeachCanon EOS R6, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM at 118mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Ogunquit BeachCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Rachel Carson National Wildlife RefugeCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400.

Ocean Sunrise

(David Truland) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 17:41:21 GMT

Here are some images from this morning's sunrise at Ogunquit Beach, Maine.

Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/60 sec., ISO 6400. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 70mm, f/6.7, 1/60 sec., ISO 3200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 73mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800.

Before and After the Rain

(David Truland) — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 21:04:05 GMT

Today is the beginning of a three night stay on the Maine coast with unsettled weather for the first afternoon. Here are some shots from Ogunquit Beach before the rain and from above the Ogunquit River after the rain.

The images from this trip as well as those from back in April can be viewed at https://trulandphotography.com/maine2023.

Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 30mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 50mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 60mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 44mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 70mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

Thacher Park

(David Truland) — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 22:01:22 GMT

It has been decades since I've visited Thacher Park in Albany County and walked the Indian Ladder Trail. Thacher Park is much farther away than Grafton Lakes, Saratoga Spa or the Saratoga battlefield so it's unlikely I will return frequently but I could see making a few trips a year. A gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/thacherpark and here are some samples.

Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 70mm, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Thacher ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Location Decisions

(David Truland) — Sun, 01 Oct 2023 16:30:28 GMT

Now that I am a park volunteer for the trails at the Saratoga Battlefield, I need to be there more often than I would be otherwise. As a result, other local locations will be visited less frequently.

As a government shutdown looked likely, the National Park Service announced that parks would close beginning on Monday. Next week's weather forecast is for temperatures in the low 80s and I had expected to be able to get around to some New York State Parks. Now that a shutdown has been put off for a time I will spend some of those nice days at the battlefield, the week leading up to the 146th anniversary of the October 7th battle.

So, this morning I visited Grafton Lakes State Park where a bit of fog was still burning off as I arrived. Details are in the captions and descriptions.

Mill PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Mill PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 68mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 105mm, f/8, 1/5250 sec., ISO 400. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 32mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400.

It's Now a Lens Quintet

(David Truland) — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 21:49:29 GMT

I could not pass up a deal I ran across to add a 24-105mm lens to my four RF STM prime lenses. Earlier this year I had three RF f/4 zoom lenses which, together, cost me about $3,600. The RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM alone has a list price of $1,600. But I then I decided to use Minolta manual focus lenses, then Canon EF L prime lenses, then inexpensive Canon RF STM prime lenses and the RF L zoom lenses went in exchange.

The RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM lens has a list price of $400 and Lens Rentals is selling their used copies in like new condition for $140. I took a chance that it would be good enough to use as a supplement to the STM prime lenses which I am enjoying, Today is my first use of the lens but it seems to be fine.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 46mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 24mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 35mm, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R6, RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM at 35mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Between the Battles II

(David Truland) — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 17:20:16 GMT

I had a nice 2 1/2 hour hike around the Saratoga Battlefield this morning, my first as an official park volunteer with a focus on the hiking trails.

Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/10 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 800.

Between the Battles

(David Truland) — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 17:11:52 GMT

The 18 days between the battles of Saratoga is one of my favorite times of year to walk around the battlefield. During this time the British were fortifying their positions and the Americans were waiting behind their positions to see what would be the next British move.

It's a time of year with crisp, foggy mornings and warm afternoons. Unless it's raining. Today was nice and sunny and I ended up using the 28mm pancake lens as I drove along the tour road with some walks along the way.

Neilson FarmCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/8000 sec., ISO 100. Neilson HouseCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Neilson FarmCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100. Barber WheatfieldCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100. Cropped. Barber WheatfieldCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Great RedoubtCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100.

Crisp September Day

(David Truland) — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 17:17:19 GMT

I had a brief chance to walk around Oakwood Cemetery with the downsized kit in a new backpack late this morning. I ended up using the 16mm lens.

Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/22, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100.

Almost Battle Time at Saratoga NHP

(David Truland) — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 15:21:24 GMT

The first battle of Saratoga took place on September 19th, 1777. Several of the histories I've read include descriptions of the weather over the three weeks the armies were encamped at the location. Cold, wet and fog are common details. Difficulty moving cannon by horse and gun carriages are not hard to imagine when walking the muddy trails.

Here are some scenes from this morning at the battlefield, two days before the 246th anniversary of the first battle.

Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Fall Forest Scenes

(David Truland) — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 18:09:37 GMT

Here are some still life photos from the woods at Grafton Lakes State Park this morning,

Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/180 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/90 sec., ISO 800.

A Portrait Length Completes the New Lens Lineup

(David Truland) — Thu, 14 Sep 2023 17:01:49 GMT

The last of my inexpensive lens acquisitions arrived yesterday and I tested it out this morning. I especially wanted to use the claimed 8 stops of image stabilization on slow shutter speeds with moving water. The slowest of these are 1/15th of a second.

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/20 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/15 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/30 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/15 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 100.

Another Lens Transition

(David Truland) — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 18:23:47 GMT

I wrote about a contemplated change in lens philosophy on the Gear Blog here. I tested out the first two incoming lenses this morning at a warm, muggy and foggy Grafton Lakes State Park.

One lens, the RF 16mm f/2.8 STM I briefly owned before returning it back in July. Luckily, this lens is currently cheaper than back in July thanks to a special sale at B&H. The second lens is the RF 28mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens which is a new offering by Canon. My copy, in fact, was manufactured in July of this year.

Here are some shots with the two lenses from this morning,

Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/90 sec., ISO 200. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Second PondCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Shaver PondCanon EOS R6, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Shaver PondCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Shaver PondCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200.

Day Four

(David Truland) — Sun, 03 Sep 2023 14:30:17 GMT

The nice stretch of weather continues despite some overnight rain. I decided to stay more local and visit Peebles Island State Park in Waterford. Peebles Island is a very small park and in order to get the kind of distance I've been looking for lately I have to also walk to the park.

By zigzagging almost all of the trails on the island and including the walk back and forth I managed 5.64 miles. This is just shy of the 5.68 miles the other day at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve but today's walk had 246 feet of elevation gain versus 21 feet for the flat nature preserve.

Here are some of the scenes from this morning.

Hudson RiverCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/4000 sec., ISO 100. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/6000 sec., ISO 100. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/90 sec., ISO 100.

UPDATE 9/5/23: The streak ended after four days as yesterday was overcast and parks would have been busy due to the holiday and this morning is similarly overcast and I am waiting on a FedEx delivery.

Day Three

(David Truland) — Sat, 02 Sep 2023 16:06:06 GMT

I began this nice stretch of weather with a hike around Long Pond at Grafton Lakes State Park on Thursday. I followed that up yesterday with a long hike at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve and it's environs. This morning I walked the Wilkinson Trail at Saratoga National Historical Park, about five miles with a side detour if you start measuring from the parking lot.

The summer like weather continues into next week as will my visits to local parks and trails. Here are some photos from this morning,

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 38mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 38mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400.

Fall's First Day

(David Truland) — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 17:54:34 GMT

Meteorological Fall, that is. September and October are the best months for shooting outdoor locations and events and I'm looking forward to the next couple of months.

These two months are when the battles of Saratoga occurred in 1777 and reenactments are again being scheduled at Saratoga Battlefield and other parts of Saratoga National Historical Park for the first time since COVID. I also have a trip to the Maine coast scheduled.

This morning I enjoyed a 5.7 mile hike along the old Erie Canal in Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve and west along a canal corporation road. Here is a graphic of the walk followed by some of the resulting images.

Screenshot

Vischer FerryCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Vischer FerryCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Vischer FerryCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Vischer FerryCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Vischer FerryCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 45mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400.

Summer's Last Day

(David Truland) — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 16:22:39 GMT

Meteorological Summer, that is, although the next week is forecast to be very summer like with high temperatures approaching 90 degrees. I'm going to try and take advantage of the nice weather to check out a park or trail every day for the next week or so.

Here are some images from Grafton Lakes State Park this morning.

Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2, 1/8000 sec., ISO 100. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2.8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Second Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100.

Foggy Riverscapes

(David Truland) — Mon, 28 Aug 2023 14:57:10 GMT

It was nice and foggy this morning as I took a four mile walk around the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers.

Old Water Intake Structure, Hudson RiverCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Waterford Boat Launch, Hudson RiverCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/1.4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/30 sec., ISO 400. Lock E2Canon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/190 sec., ISO 200. Lock E2Canon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 200. Lansingburgh Waterfront, Hudson RiverCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 100.

Saratoga Battlefield

(David Truland) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 18:05:49 GMT

I visited the Saratoga Battlefield this morning for the first time since I gave up on the Minolta lenses and picked up some Canon EF lenses and the EOS 6D. I carried the 6D with the 24-70mm f/4 lens and the R6 with the 50mm f/1.2 lens.

All of this year's images from the Saratoga National Historical Park locations are in the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp2023.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 50mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Battlefield, Nielsen HouseCanon EOS 6D, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Battlefield, Nielsen HouseCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Battlefield, Nielsen HouseCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/1.2, 1/750 sec., ISO 800.

Northampton Beach

(David Truland) — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 13:29:38 GMT

I've had better sunrise conditions but any time there's water in the scene there are possibilities. This morning I was at Northampton Beach State Park in the Adirondacks around sunrise time with two lenses and my EOS R6.

Canon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400.

Robinson State Park

(David Truland) — Sun, 06 Aug 2023 15:03:47 GMT

I continued to check out the 24-70mm zoom lens this morning at Robinson State Park in Agawam, Massachusetts. This is my second visit and I access the park via a trailhead away from the main entrance as parking for out of state cars is $30. Luckily, it's a nice trailhead with a farm to table retail store right across the road.

Here are some shots from this morning:

Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, F/19, 1/20 sec., ISO 1600. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm, F/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, F/4, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 41mm, F/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, F/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 27mm, F/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, F/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Robinson State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, F/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 800.

A Lens Quartet?

(David Truland) — Thu, 03 Aug 2023 15:00:23 GMT

One of the issues I've had with the fast prime lenses is having to decide on a lens or two when I'm not really focused on making artistic images and just want something along other than my iPhone. I came up with a possible solution and am renting an EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens for a week to see how it works.

I have owned two copies of this lens in the past and traded both of them in, most recently eleven months ago when I was switching back to R series bodies and lenses from my 5DS bodies. The lens is roughly the same size and weight as each of my three prime lenses and covers all the focal lengths plus 70mm with a closeup feature.

Although at least three stops slower than my fast prime lenses, f/4 versus f/1.2 or f/1.4, for daytime editorial or documentary purposes it's a very good lens. The purchase price for the rental lens is lower than other options currently so if the lens works out over the coming weekend I'll take advantage of the opportunity to keep it.

Here some shots from my 5.5 mile walk around the neighborhood this morning:

Hudson River BridgeCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Waterford HarborCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Lock E2Canon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 53mm, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 45mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/20 sec., ISO 200. Cohoes U-HaulCanon EOS R6, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200.

Retired Paper Mill

(David Truland) — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 21:28:18 GMT

I've made a couple of photo visits to the old Empire Mill at Rock City Falls in Minton, New York. Milton is in Saratoga County and the mill is on the shore of Kayaderosseras Creek which flows into Saratoga Lake. On a previous occasion, exactly 13 months ago, I used my EF 16-35mm f/4L lens on my EOS 5DS R, both of which are traded for R series bodies and lenses, which are also now gone. A blog from that visit is located at https://trulandphotography.com/blog/2022/7/rock-city-falls.

Hopefully the massive gear migrations I've done over the past two years are now a thing of the past. Today, I used the EF 24mm f/1.4L II lens on my EOS R6. The conditions were similar with today's clouds a bit more defined and I did use a polarizer filter for some of the shots.

Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200 Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. CPL. Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/4, 1/1800 sec., ISO 800. CPL. Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 800. CPL. Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 800. CPL. Rock City FallsCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. CPL.

The Fixed Up Minolta 28mm Lens

(David Truland) — Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:21:18 GMT

The Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5 lens has had the fungus cleaned and it sat under a blacklight bulb for ten days to clear up the yellowed Thorium lens elements. Today is the first time I've used the lens since its makeover as I've been concentrating on the Canon L series Prime lenses I've been acquiring.

The lens is now useable. My next step with respect to the Minolta lenses may be to get the 100mm lens cleaned as I have no Canon lenses longer than 50mm and I'm more likely to use the longer focal lengths than focal lengths that duplicate Canon lenses I have. The 100mm lens, to my eye, has more internal dust than I like but we'll see if Allen at Camera Works thinks it's necessary. The 200mm lens, which cost me $20, has quite a bit of very fine scratches on the front element but it probably doesn't affect images and if it does it would only be a slight softening.

Here are some of the images from today with the 28mm lens.

Pond Near Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5. Pond Near Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5. Pond Near Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5. Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5. Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5. Lock E6Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-SI 28mm f/2.5.

Jazz & Roots Festival

(David Truland) — Sun, 23 Jul 2023 10:54:40 GMT

Here are some shots from the Springfield, Massachusetts Jazz & Roots Festival last evening.

Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/60 sec., ISO 1600. Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/120 sec., ISO 1600. Springfield Jazz & Roots FestivalCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/90 sec., ISO 1600.

It's Now a Lens Trio

(David Truland) — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 20:33:24 GMT

When I was walking around Saratoga Spa State Park the other day testing out the 24mm lens it became apparent that in many cases 24mm is just too wide to get what I want. It's not so much that the coverage is too wide but that more distant objects are just too small in the scene.

In some cases the 50mm lens features objects very nicely but it doesn't encompass enough of the scene to get what I want. I decided that what I needed was a 35mm lens equal in quality to my two other lenses.

Due to cost and size considerations I decided on the first version of the EF 35mm f/1.4L lens. This lens was introduced in 1998 and replaced by a larger and more expensive version in 2015. As it happened, MPB had two copies of the lens for sale, both listed as in excellent condition. MPB includes photos of the actual lenses in their listings and most of the time the date code is visible at the camera end of the lens. One of the two lenses was manufactured in August, 2015 and must be one of the last ones made as the version II was introduced in October, 2015. The lens also included all the original packaging and paperwork. It's now my lens.

Another great thing about MPB is they're located in Brooklyn and for me, their free shipping is over night. I tested out the lens along the Shaver Pond Trail at Grafton Lakes State Park after FedEx made the delivery today. You can see a comparison scene with the three lenses here.

Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. CPL filter. Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/4.5, 1/250 sec., ISO 800. Shaver Pond TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 35mm f/1.4L USM, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200.

The Smoke Is Back

(David Truland) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 20:18:51 GMT

It seems that lately it's either been too hot, too rainy or too smoky for hiking around with camera gear. There hasn't been a day in weeks without at least one of those features. My last outing it was just hot. Today is was fairly smoky and in the 80s.

Although I had both lenses with me today I used only the new 24mm. Here some shots from Saratoga Spa State Park in the early afternoon.

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/2, 1/45 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/4.5, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/4.5, 1/45 sec., ISO 100. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 800.

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.2L II USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 800.

The Other Half of My Lens Duo

(David Truland) — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 18:37:27 GMT

I've completed another smooth, successful transaction with MPB.com. I have sold them gear alone, I've bought gear alone and I've had combinations of trading in gear and buying gear in the same transaction. The combined transactions have the advantage of eliminating sales tax on the gear you are buying. Like when you trade in a car.

This transaction saw my last EOS R and my RF 14-35mm f/4 lens heading down to Brooklyn via FedEx and a like new EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens heading in the reverse direction. Along with some funds heading to my bank account.

It's not where I thought I'd end up when I started selling and buying back in May but I think it will be a good kit for the kind of work I want to do going forward. Here are some of the first samples with the 24mm lens from a quick walk up the Canalway Trail in Halfmoon earlier this afternoon.

Abandoned Automotive ShopCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/3.5, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 100. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 100. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R6, EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100.

A Small, Inexpensive Ultra Wide Prime Lens

(David Truland) — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:58:08 GMT

I sold my 35mm and 85mm RF STM lenses back in May when I decided to experiment with Minolta vintage lenses. Unanticipated back in May was that the Minolta experiment would lead to a much more expansive change when I sold one of my EOS R bodies and two RF L zoom lenses to pick up an EOS R6 body and the EF 50mm f/1.2L lens. That change took place during June and since then I've solely used the R6 and 50mm f/1.2 lens.

I'm in the process of trading my second EOS R body and last remaining RF L zoom lens, the 14-35mm f/4L for an EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens and cash.

So, facing the absence of a focal length wider than 24mm, I took advantage of a 20% discount on the already inexpensive Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM lens and have another week left in the return window to decide whether it will be useful or not. Another brand new similar lens which will shortly be available is the RF 28mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens. [Update 7/9: I've decided to return the 16mm lens.]

Here are some shots with the 16mm STM lens with corrections for distortion and vignetting in DxO PhotoLab 6 and straightening in Apple's Photos app..

Van Schaick MansionCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Van Schaick MansionCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

Waterford Harbor Visitors CenterCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100 Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100 Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100 Lock E2Canon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100 Hudson River BridgeCanon EOS R6, RF 16mm f/2.8 STM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100. Cropped to 4:3

Three Sisters Sanctuary

(David Truland) — Mon, 03 Jul 2023 23:03:08 GMT

Three Sisters Sanctuary is a pretty amazing mix of nature, art and gardening. I didn't really know what to expect. I now see there are several online videos which would have filled in some of the blanks but I didn't see them before visiting. I'm very glad I visited and I certainly hope to return in a different season.

I created a gallery for images from the sanctuary which you can view here. Here some samples:

Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/4000 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/3500 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100. Three Sisters SanctuaryCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100.

Avoiding Smokey Skies

(David Truland) — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 18:09:06 GMT

The smoke from Canadian wildfires is back in my area again and the air is really bad. There was a classification of unhealthy for sensitive groups this morning and since then it has been raised to unhealthy for everyone.

But it's been rainy and I haven't been out in a while so I decided to visit Saratoga Spa State Park where there are nice close up subjects which also don't require a lot of walking.

Here are some images:

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/4, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/1.8, 1/6000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec., ISO 1600.

Oakwood Cemetery Gets the 5 Cent Treatment

(David Truland) — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 19:14:24 GMT

When I was looking for old Minolta MC lenses I noticed that the 300mm f/4.5 lens is labeled 30cm rather than 300mm. So there's no reason not to refer to a 50mm lens as a 5 cents lens. I had a few minutes today between errands and walked around Oakwood Cemetery with my newest lens.

I'm very happy with the lens and am going to be relying on just the two bodies and two lenses although I will play with the Minolta lenses occasionally. This is what the gear looks like in my Lowepro Stratus 15 shoulder bag. Straps, filters, batteries, etc. are mostly hidden away.

And here are some images from the cemetery:

Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/1.2, 1/4000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/1.2, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100.

More EF 50mm f/1.2L Samples

(David Truland) — Mon, 19 Jun 2023 19:55:00 GMT

I had another opportunity this morning to test out the new lens, this time along the trails at Ashley Reservoir in Holyoke, Massachusetts. As the subjects today called for stopping the lens down some, all the images were very sharp with almost no undesired artifacts. I shot the vertical composition into the sun with the tree especially to test out the lens and my software with respect to chromatic aberration and the results are very nice.

I created a gallery for images from Massachusetts as I should be over that way more often in the future. That gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/mass.

Here some of the photos from this morning. The Water Lillies and the Heron are cropped some but not drastically.

Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 400. Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100. Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/2.8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100. Ashley ReservoirCanon EOS R6, EF 50mm f/1.2L USM, f/9.5, 1/180 sec., ISO 100.

The Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L Lens Has Arrived

(David Truland) — Sun, 18 Jun 2023 15:08:55 GMT

The experiment with vintage Minolta lenses ended with my decision to purchase a used Canon EF 50mm f//1.2L USM lens to use with the EOS R6. I don't consider the experiment a failure, however. Without it I wouldn't have swapped an EOS R for the R6 to gain in body image stabilization. Without it I wouldn't have reconnected with using older lenses with flaws. Both of those were necessary for me to settle on this lens.

The lens is far better used on camera bodies like the EOS R6 than on the DSLR bodies for which it was designed. Autofocus is far more precise, features like eye focus tracking where the camera automatically focuses on the eye and then follows it are incredible. Focus peaking, magnification and exposure simulation in the viewfinder render a lens like this more useable.

I posted a full size file of the vertical 9/11 monument on the mini blog for examination. There is some chromatic aberration visible but when you click on the image twice you're looking zoomed in at 200%. Here's a direct link: https://trulandphoto.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-not-disappointing-lens.html

And here are some of my first images with the lens from this morning.

Canon EOS R6, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at f/2.8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R6, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at f/5, 1/45 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R6, Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM at f/4, 1/6000 sec., ISO 400.

Bumps in the Road

(David Truland) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 17:07:35 GMT

A few days ago I mentioned that I had two more Minolta lenses on the way. They were a 28mm f/2.5 and a 135mm f/2.8. Both of these transactions had issues.

The 28mm lens arrived with fungus on an interior lens element despite an eBay description of "no fungus." Since it was in otherwise good condition, I brought it to Camera Works to have it dealt with. That will take a week or so.

I had to contact the eBay seller of the 135mm lens, a camera "store" in Dearborn, Michigan, after not hearing anything for five days after paying. The response I received was:

"I have a problem; it appears that I am out of stock on this exact lens. We recently had an accidental re-listing of multiple items that sold through our storefront which this is victim to."

I checked out the seller's feedback on eBay and it seems this is not a rare occurrence. But supposedly a refund is in the works. A reminder that these are cheap lenses. Less than $50.

Now that I have an R series body with image stabilization, I've been thinking about the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L lens. It is an older design, from 2006, but it is still being sold new by Canon. Used copies are not rare. It is a fraction of the cost of the RF version It's also not nearly as good. It has a classic quality like the much older Minolta lenses but has autofocus and weather sealing, among other things. I may decide to rent one.

While I'm thinking about it, I took my MD 50mm f/1.7 lens to Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve this morning. I haven't been using this lens much, preferring instead to test out the slightly older MC lenses. Here are some images from this morning:

[Update 6/15: I decided against renting and instead went ahead and picked one up from Camera Exchange in Waterford, Michigan along with the necessary adapter. It should be in hand in a couple of days. And while the lens dates from 2006, this copy was manufactured in May, 2016. So, the experiment with the Minolta lenses for everyday use ends. I bought five lenses, some hoods and two adapters with a total cost of about $400. I will keep them for occasional use when I want to play with something different.]

Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-X 50mm f/1.7.

Saratoga Battlefield With Minolta

(David Truland) — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 15:02:00 GMT

I carried my new camera combination around the battlefield this morning. The EOS R with RF 14-35mm lens and the R6 with a couple of the Minolta MC lenses, the 58mm and 100mm.

I have two more Minolta MC lenses on the way. When they arrive I will have 28mm, 35mm, 58mm, 100mm, 135mm and 200mm options from the MCII era and a 50mm f/1.7 lens from the slightly more recent first MD era.

While I did get some shots with the ultra wide zoom and the EOS R, here are some of the photos made with the R6 and the Minolta lenses.

Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5 Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5

A 1970 200mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 04 Jun 2023 14:40:12 GMT

I've been both using, and searching on eBay and elsewhere for, the Minolta manual focus lenses. Yesterday, another lens arrived. This one is an MC 200mm f/3.5 lens from 1970 which I found at a camera store in Waterford, Michigan for $20.

On Thursday, the EOS R6 with sensor based stabilization arrived. I was out of town on Friday and Saturday and didn't get to use the gear much. This morning, I walked around Peebles Island with the two most recent lenses and the EOS R6.

The image stabilization worked nicely with both the 100mm and 200mm lenses. You have to set the focal length of all manual only lenses in the camera settings for optimal results but there are a few camera setting tricks which make this pretty easy, even with multiple lenses.

It's generally accepted that sensor based stabilization - where the sensor moves to compensate for camera and lens movement - works best with wider focal lengths and lens based stabilization - where elements in the lens move - works better for longer focal lengths. The stabilization effect is noticeable with the 200mm lens but it isn't rock solid like with the 35mm and 58mm lenses.

Here are some images with the telephoto lenses from this morning and one from the other day with the 35mm, all handheld, although I think with the 200mm lens a monopod will be a help going forward. I will put shutter speeds in the caption.

Mohawk River at Lock E13Canon EOS R6, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400 Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R6, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-QF 200mm f/3.5, 1/180 sec., ISO 800.

Yet Another Old Lens

(David Truland) — Wed, 31 May 2023 15:22:26 GMT

A Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5 lens arrived yesterday as I continue to evaluate using Minolta 1960s lenses on Canon R series bodies. Reviews accurately describe this lens as a bit on the soft side which makes it perhaps better suited to portraits than landscapes. Even stopped down it doesn't get as sharp as modern lenses. I also was not using the rather large lens hood which might have contributed to lower contrast on the shots facing the sun.

The nice thing about these lenses is they are very inexpensive which makes it reasonable to experiment with different models and even different copies of the same model to find the best characteristics. I also live within walking distance of a long established camera and lens repair shop which can deal with whatever issues a lens I pick up on eBay might have.

Here are the images with the new lens from this morning. Most are cropped, to varying degrees.

Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, Minolta MC TELE ROKKOR-PF 100mm f/2.5.

A Plan Comes Together

(David Truland) — Sun, 28 May 2023 16:01:36 GMT

I've been using the Minolta lenses for a bit now and I really like them even though there are Minolta lenses out there that are rarer and better than the ones I have. But I have used the 35mm, 50mm and 58mm lenses I own enough to know they are a legitimate option for what I want to do. I also have a 100mm f/2.5 lens and extension tubes on the way which are of the same era as the 35mm and 58mm I recently acquired.

The plan I have is to use the Minolta lenses with a Canon EOS R6 which has sensor shift image stabilization. I will trade in one of my EOS R bodies and the RF 24-105mm and 70-200mm lenses to fund the purchase of the R6 plus about $500 extra for vintage lens purchases.

This will leave one of the EOS R bodies for use with the 14-35mm lens. Ultra wide angle lenses have a lot of aberrations which a lens profile corrects either on the computer or in the camera. Lens profiles aren't an option with the Minolta lenses so there's not much point picking up lenses wider than the 35mm I already have.

It will take a couple of weeks for all this to come together but today I carried my two EOS R bodies on the Wilkinson Trail at the Saratoga Battlefield, one with the RF 14-35mm lens and the other with the Minolta MC 58mm lens. I added 23 Images from both setups to the battlefield gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp2023. Here are some images made with the Minolta lens.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, MInolta MC ROKKOR-PF 58mm f/1.4.

Another Old Lens

(David Truland) — Thu, 25 May 2023 19:13:25 GMT

I am enjoying adapting Minolta manual focus lenses from the middle of the 20th Century to my EOS R. The latest lens I picked up is a MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8. This is not a great lens and is a bit soft until stopped at least to f/5.6. I will probably replace it with an f/1.8 version if the experiment with these lenses lasts.

Here are some images from earlier this afternoon, some with a polarizer filter.

Waterford HarborCanon EOS R, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8. Peebles Island BridgeCanon EOS R, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8. Peebles Island BridgeCanon EOS R, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8. Waterford Lock E2Canon EOS R, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8. Abandoned Price ChopperCanon EOS R, Minolta MC W.ROKKOR-HG 35mm f/2.8.

A New Old Direction

(David Truland) — Mon, 22 May 2023 15:32:18 GMT

I might have mentioned that I sold my Canon RF STM prime lenses in 35mm, 50mm and 85mm. Those lenses were nice and sharp and two had image stabilization. I was not a big fan of the slow STM focusing motor these lenses used and they were plasticky.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s I used Minolta manual focus film bodies and Minolta MD lenses. I still have the MD 50mm f/1.7 lens that dates from the 1970s and which came with an XG-M body.

I decided to pick up an adapter to allow me to use this lens on my EOS R bodies. While there is no autofocus or image stabilization, and you change aperture via a ring on the lens rather than a dial on the camera, it works out well.

There is no need to press a button for depth of field preview as you are always seeing through the shooting aperture. Using Aperture Priority, the camera chooses the shutter speed. With exposure simulation enabled, the viewfinder and screen instantly adjust to the correct exposure. With focus peaking, the portions of the scene that are in focus are outlined in red.

I visited the Photo Center of the Capital District which has hundreds of manual focus cameras and lenses waiting for someone to use them. I left with a good condition copy of the MC 58mm f/1.4 lens which dates from the late 1960s as described below from 678 Vintage Cameras.

This lens doesn't seem to be quite as sharp as the 50mm f/1.7 I have but I might just have been using it at wider apertures. It is all metal and I obtained it for $50. I also found an original Minolta D55NA lens hood on eBay which, while costing half as much as the lens, results in a nice package at a good price.

I will put images made with the Minolta lenses in a gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/minoltalenses. Here are some from the past few days.

Canon EOS R, Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7. Canon EOS R, Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm f/1.7 Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4. Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4. Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4. Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4. Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4. Canon EOS R, Minolta MC Rokkor PF 58mm f/1.4.

Opening Day 2023

(David Truland) — Fri, 19 May 2023 15:25:21 GMT

It's time for the canal system to begin public operations again. A large number of pleasure craft gather at Waterford Harbor prior to the opening before they head either west or north. This morning there were heated arguments between boats which had been moored for days waiting and boats which arrived from down the Hudson River to jump the line. There's nothing like seeing wealthy white people getting upset over important things like this.

Adding to people's irritation was the fact that, historically, the first passage commences at 7AM when the canal system opening is scheduled. Regular hours for the system is 7AM to 5PM daily. This year, on the canal system's web page, "extended hours" of operation during the "peak navigation season" (which starts today) are listed. Hours for the Waterford Flight are 8AM to 6PM. And, yes, the first locking took place at 8AM with boats lined up in the channel at about 6:45AM.

Last year, the first locking fit eight boats. This year, due to a couple of extra large craft in the first group, only six made it through the first locking.

Here are some images:

6:38 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. 6:45 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. 7:19 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 800. 7:37 AMCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 800. Cropped. 8:06 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. 8:17 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. 8:24 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. 8:26 AMCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/6000 sec., ISO 400.

Two Michigan Nature-ish Locations

(David Truland) — Sun, 14 May 2023 16:03:49 GMT

I made a quick trip to two locations this morning. One is a micro nature park in Southfield and the other a larger park with nature trails in Farmington Hills.

American Commerce Centre Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. American Commerce Centre Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. American Commerce Centre Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Heritage ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Heritage ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Heritage ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Heritage ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 98mm, f/8, 1/120 sec., ISO 400. Heritage ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400.

Detroit Zoo

(David Truland) — Fri, 12 May 2023 11:16:44 GMT

Here are photos from a trip to the Detroit Zoo yesterday morning. I added 25 images from this, my third trip to the zoo, to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/detroitzoo.

Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 200. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Cropped Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Detroit ZooCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400.

Presque Isle State Park

(David Truland) — Thu, 11 May 2023 12:37:01 GMT

The skies weren't blue but it was decent weather for a short stop at Presque Isle State Park yesterday morning. My Erie, PA gallery is probably as full as it will get as trips to MIchigan are probably over after this one. And now that COVID restrictions are no longer in place for transiting Canada, taking that route is shorter and nicer.

Here are some of the photos from yesterday:

Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 21mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 89mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 86mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200.

Presque Isle Bay

(David Truland) — Wed, 10 May 2023 11:15:33 GMT

Erie, Pennsylvania is a good location for one night stays with a picturesque waterfront on Lake Erie's Presque Isle Bay and a large state park on the peninsula into Lake Erie which forms the bay. There is a gallery of photos from the past few years located at https://trulandphotography.com/eriepa.

Here are some images from the waterfront made yesterday evening.

Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/6000 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 91mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Cropped. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Presque Isle Bay, Erie, PACanon EOS RF, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

If I Could Only Have One Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 07 May 2023 21:18:47 GMT

Here are some images I made this morning with the RF 24-105mm f/4L lens. I'm glad I don't have to limit myself to one lens but if I did, this would be the one I chose.

Hudson River Waterfront, Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Hudson River Waterfront, Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/22, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk River, Peebles Island, Bald MountainCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 94mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 100mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Lock E2, Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 61mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

Canon's Cheapest Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 15:15:07 GMT

The Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens is one of the best Canon lenses ever. It's big and heavy compared to the EF version. It's also $2,300 new.

It also doesn't have image stabilization so one of Canon's R series bodies with in body stabilization is advisable. I don't own one of those bodies.

But, the lens is amazing and it's impossible not to be tempted to forgo some other, more flexible, options in order to enjoy the image quality of the f/1.2L. I would have to sell at least my 24-105mm and STM prime lenses and both EOS R bodies to get this lens and an EOS R6II, which has in body image stabilization.

One of the STM prime lenses I currently have is Canon's cheapest lens, the 50mm f/1.8 STM. The optical design for this lens is the same as the last three versions of the same lens in EF mount going back many decades. The images are very soft until f/4 where they become very nice. This lens is $126 new.

Yesterday morning I walked around with the 50mm STM lens to again fix the 50mm focal length in my mind. I used only f/4 so the images would be decent but still with some sense of a shallower depth of field.

In fact, I created a gallery to upload images as I occasionally use the cheap 50mm lens when I get tempted by the f/1.2L version. The gallery can be found at https://trulandphotography.com/50f4 and here are some of the first images.

UPDATE 5/13/23: I decided to sell my Canon RF STM prime lenses (35mm, 50mm and 85mm) and my two smaller Peak Design Sling bags. My new plan for when I want to play with a small sized setup is to adapt Minolta MD manual focus lenses. Back in the manual focus film days I used XG-M and then X700 bodies with a variety of Minolta and other MD mount lenses. I still have a 50mm MD Rokkor-X f/1.7 lens from the 1970s. I am awaiting an MD to RF adapter so I can use the lens with my EOS R bodies. If it works out like I hope I can then fill in with other inexpensive lenses as I come across them. Updates to follow.

Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 100.

85mm Lens

(David Truland) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:19:02 GMT

As I discussed a few blog posts ago, I'm planning on using the two EOS R bodies with the 35mm and 85mm STM half macro lenses as a lightweight combination from time to time. *

I didn't end up using either of the STM prime lenses in Maine last week as there wasn't really the right situation for it. This morning I did, however, walk around with the 85mm lens on one of the EOS R bodies.

Here are some of the results:

Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/2.8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400.

Wrapping Up Maine

(David Truland) — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 20:46:54 GMT

It was, for the most part, good weather for the trip to Maine with the exception of arrival afternoon and all sunrise times. I didn't do a blog post yesterday but added a bunch of photos to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/maine2023 which ended up containing 119 images.

Here are some from this morning.

Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/4, 1/125 sec., ISO 1600. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 800. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 186mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 400. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Marginal Way SunriseCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Ogunquit Beach at Sunrise

(David Truland) — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 13:05:58 GMT

After a day of rain, the forecast this morning was for overcast skies with fog so I only carried one camera with the 24-105mm lens in a small bag to limit moisture exposure. As it turned out, conditions were better than I expected and I could have carried both cameras in the open without protective filters.

I have opened a gallery for this year's Maine photos at https://trulandphotography.com/maine2023. It currently contains 29 photos of which here are 10 samples.

Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 39mm, f/4, 1/8 sec., ISO 800. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 800. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/16 sec., ISO 800. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 61mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/60 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Ogunquit, MaineCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 400.

A Good Walk Around Combination

(David Truland) — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 17:11:58 GMT

I'm getting ready for a trip to Maine next week and wanted to try out a lightweight setup that might be good to use when I don't want to lug around the heavier zoom lenses. I paired my EOS R bodies with the RF 35mm f/1.8 and 85 f/2 STM lenses in a Peak Design Everyday Sling 10L. Without any extras in the bag it was very comfortable on a pretty long walk this morning.

I have carried both these lenses with a single body on occasion and the tendency is to not change lenses as often as I'm likely to simply grab the other camera. It seemed to work well this morning. Here is a sampling of images from the 28 images I uploaded to the Waterford Flight and Waterford Village galleries.

Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 IS STM, f/9.5, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/125sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/180sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, f/8, 1/180sec., ISO 200.

Easter at Vischer Ferry

(David Truland) — Sun, 09 Apr 2023 17:58:31 GMT

Here are some shots from a 5 mile stroll around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve this morning.

Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/22, 1/90 sec., ISO 800. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 17mm, f/9.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/9.5, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Cropped.

Oakwood Cemetery, A Little Greener

(David Truland) — Fri, 07 Apr 2023 15:53:14 GMT

It's been ten days since I mentioned that while the Daffodils were up at Oakwood Cemetery they were not yet blooming. I visited again today and they have begun to blossom but haven't reached their peak and certain patches have yet to get beyond the leaf stage.

After a short walk around parts of the cemetery where I know there are Daffodils I drove over to Cohoes to get a closer look at the falls which I could see from the Robert Ross monument. Here are some photos from the two stops this morning.

Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 98mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Oakwood Cemetery, Warren ChapelCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 73mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Cropped.

Cohoes Falls From Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Cohoes FallsCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 90mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Cohoes FallsCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 85mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400.

Tour Road Opens at SNHP

(David Truland) — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 16:31:38 GMT

The tour road at the Saratoga Battlefield opened this weekend after the winter closure. I had last driven the road back in mid October.

Two stops that were closed back in October, the Neilson House and the American River Fortifications were accessible today although renovations are not complete at either. The other notable difference was a section of uprooted trees which had fallen across the road and been cleared.

It was not a particularly picturesque morning but I do try and drive around the park when the road first opens in April. Here are some shots from the two locations I hadn't visited since last year at this time.

Neilson HouseCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 19mm, f/22, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. American River FortificationsCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. American River FortificationsCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. American River FortificationsCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/22, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. American River FortificationsCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 25mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. American River FortificationsCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 200.

Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 19:34:12 GMT

I walked around Oakwood Cemetery this afternoon with the 14-35mm lens with a polarizer filter. A nice walk around the perimeter roads is about 3.5 miles with over 300 feet of elevation. It's a nice location this muddy time of year due to the paved roads.

I did notice that the Daffodils are up but not blossoming quite yet. It won't be long. Here are some of today's images.

Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. View From Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 26mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 32mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 21mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Oakwood CemeteryCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f.4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200.

Long Hike

(David Truland) — Sun, 26 Mar 2023 20:38:53 GMT

I've been trying to work up to longer hikes in preparation for nicer weather. Some locations, like Saratoga Battlefield and Grafton Lakes State Park require a lot of walking to get to some areas. I also have a trip to Maine coming up in three weeks which will include a lot of walking.

Today's hike along the Champlain Canalway Trail in Waterford ended up just shy of 5.5 miles. I carried the 70-200mm lens on an EOS R.

Here are some of the results.

Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 188mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 86mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 78mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/60 sec., ISO 200. Champlain Canalway TrailCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200.

First Day of Spring

(David Truland) — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 18:51:39 GMT

I've been looking forward to today's weather conditions since late last week. Temperatures in the low 20's over night with temperatures rising to the low 50's in the afternoon. My plan was to get somewhere as the temperatures were getting close to 30 degrees so that trails remained frozen but there was nice sunlight.

I decided on Saratoga Spa State Park as the location mostly due to the running water and trails that shouldn't be muddy. It worked out well. I again carried the pair of cameras with the ultra wide and telephoto zooms.

I added 70 images to the park's gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/sssp. That gallery is arranged chronologically with the newest photos at the end. The gallery now contains 175 images.

Here are some samples.

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 22mm, f/16, 1/30 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 25mm, f/9.5, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/45 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/22, 1/30 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 116mm, f/5/6, 1/60 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 22mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 17mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Late Winter at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve

(David Truland) — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 16:54:53 GMT

Spring is only a handful of days away but a recent snowfall brought back winter scenes, hopefully one last time. I hadn't used my BlackRapid double harness since last summer when I was using an EOS 5DSR and an EOS 90D. Now that I have two EOS R bodies I will again be carrying two bodies on most of my outings.

Today, I used the 14-35mm and 70-200mm lenses at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve. Here are some of the images.

Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/60 sec., ISO 100. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 169mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100. Vischer Ferry Nature PreserveCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 161mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100.

The Neglected 24-105mm Lens

(David Truland) — Mon, 27 Feb 2023 20:10:15 GMT

It seems like I haven't used this lens in quite a while. Similar to the tendency to use the extremes of a zoom lens, the tendency is to choose either the 14-35mm or 70-200mm lenses depending on what the subjects are likely to be. And, I expect that those two lenses will be what I use with both bodies and the BlackRapid Harness when I'm carrying two cameras.

The RF 24-105mm f/4L lens is a very good lens, though, even if you sometimes want wider and longer. Here are some shots from an almost 4 mile walk this morning.

Hudson River, Waterford NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 43mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 61mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 79mm, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 100. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 43mm, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 83mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100. Grill GrateCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/11, 1/180sec., ISO 100. Waterford CanalCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100.

A Tree No Longer

(David Truland) — Sat, 25 Feb 2023 10:58:28 GMT

A large tree overhanging the Hudson River next to the boat launch at the end of my street has fallen. The tree figured in some of my sunset photos from that location over the years. Here are two.

2016 2018 What's left of the tree is now a pile of trunk sections waiting either for Spring flooding or the city to remove it.

2023 2023

70-200mm Lens on Peebles Island

(David Truland) — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 16:44:55 GMT

I walked around Peebles Island this morning with the RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens on an EOS R body. I did manage to get a few shots in between 70mm and 200mm.

I also did see an eagle on the nest for the first time this year. This shot is a 100% crop from the full frame 30MP camera and 200mm lens. It's not nearly long enough for this kind of photography but it's sufficient for the occasional snapshot.

Bald Eagle NestCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/4, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. 100% crop. Here are some of the other scenes from this morning.

Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 148mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 85mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 12 Feb 2023 17:12:43 GMT

As I mentioned at the end of a recent blog entry, I decided to trade the 100mm macro lens and my RP body for a "like new" 70-200mm f/4L lens. This now gives me excellent lens quality from 14mm to 200mm with three constant aperture f/4 zoom lenses.

I finished up my February 15 mile challenge today with a walk along the Champlain Canalway Trail, in the towns of Stillwater and Saratoga, including the northeast corner of the Saratoga Battlefield. I completed 19 miles over 6 outings to the Canalway trails, Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve and Peebles Island.

It's not unusual with zoom lenses to almost exclusively use the two ends of the zoom range. Today, it was 70mm for scenics and 200mm for isolated subjects.

Here are some of the results:

Champlain Canalway Trail, Town of SaratogaCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Champlain Canalway Trail, Town of SaratogaCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Champlain Canalway Trail, Town of SaratogaCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Champlain Canalway Trail, Town of StillwaterCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Champlain Canalway Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Battlefield RenovationsCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Champlain Canalway Trail, Town of StillwaterCanon EOS R, RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM at 200mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Cropped.

Peebles Island With a 35mm Lens

(David Truland) — Tue, 07 Feb 2023 17:54:48 GMT

Today's hike around Peebles Island happened in the morning due to a forecast of increasing clouds leading to precipitation later in the day. I carried the EOS R with grip and the RF 35mm lens. I've only had the 100mm lens on Peebles Island recently so this was different.

Here are some images:

Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. 1777 Revolutionary War BreastworksCanon EOS R, RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

After the Deep Freeze

(David Truland) — Sun, 05 Feb 2023 22:09:46 GMT

Everyone was out and about today as temperatures rose above freezing after a couple of the coldest days of the season with temperatures well below zero at night and barely above during the day. It was very windy as well.

Joining the crowd, I walked the trails on Peebles Island with the 100mm macro lens around noon. The trails were partly bare, partly snow covered and partly ice. I love my slip on ice cleats which allow walking normally without worrying about slipping on the ice.

Here some of the images from today.

Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/11, 1/90 sec., ISO 400 Twisted VinesCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 American BittersweetCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/11, 1/180 sec., ISO 800 Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/11, 1/500sec., ISO 400 Mohawk RiverCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/11, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400

These will be the last group of photos with the RF 100mm macro lens. I'm trading it, with the EOS RP and some accessories, for an RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens. I should have the 70-200 in hand by next weekend.

Nature Preserve Scenics

(David Truland) — Thu, 02 Feb 2023 20:12:45 GMT

It was sunny and around freezing today ahead of sub-zero temperatures forecast for tomorrow and Saturday. I walked around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve with my 24-105mm lens. This is the first time I've used a lens other than the 100mm lens over the past few weeks.

Here are some of the images. And no, I didn't mess up the photo details in the captions. All were shot at 24mm, f/8 and ISO 200. Only the shutter speeds changed.

Canon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Beaver CrossingCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1,500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1,500 sec., ISO 200.

Winter Walks with the 100mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 19:50:14 GMT

I walked around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve and some ponds near the Waterford Flight of Locks today. The snow wasn't deep enough for snowshoes but I did wear my spikes over my cross trainers.

I again carried the 100mm lens with the EOS R. Here are some of the images.

Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

Peebles Island with the 100mm Lens

(David Truland) — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 17:46:37 GMT

Here are some images I made with the RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM lens on Peebles Island today. I've been using the battery grip on the EOS R which works really nicely with this lens.

Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200, cropped. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200, cropped. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 200.

Saratoga Battlefield with the 100mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 08 Jan 2023 19:15:27 GMT

I visited Saratoga National Historical Park today for the first time since October. I carried only the EOS R and the RF 100mm lens as I wanted to test the lens out some more. I did wish that I had a wider lens available for a small creek to get some closeups of the frozen water features with more background for context.

Here some images from earlier today:

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/4, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. 19th Century Well Pump Canon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/2.8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga Battlefield, View fro Visitors CenterCanon EOS R, RF 100mm f/2.8L IS Macro USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200.

RF 100mm Macro Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 07 Jan 2023 21:25:28 GMT

Canon came out with a "too good to pass up" one week 30% off sale on a very useful lens. [note: the sale didn't end the day after I purchased but it was cut in half]

Canon describes some of the features of the lens as follows:

The RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM Lens is the world’s first* medium telephoto AF Macro lens with a maximum magnification ratio of 1.4x. At its minimum focusing distance of 0.86 ft. / 0.26m, the RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM is capable of capturing detailed images while being remarkably versatile in operation.

The RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM lens distinguishes itself by maintaining incredibly high image quality, edge-to-edge, even wide open at its f/2.8 maximum aperture. With 17 elements in 13 groups and a 9-blade aperture system, it can deliver detailed images with gorgeous background blur and versatility in low light.

Because RF lenses are designed specifically for the RF Mount found on EOS R series cameras, the lens and camera combine to share shooting data, helping to dramatically reduce the effect of camera shake that can occur when using handheld. This applies when capturing both stills and video, with up to 5 stops of stabilization** for accurate and clear imagery.

The RF100mm F2.8 L MACRO IS USM features Canon’s first adjustable Spherical Aberration (SA) control ring on the lens barrel that allows you to adjust the depiction of the image’s background bokeh. Used to add a unique emphasis to your imagery, the SA Control Ring allows the user to change the shape and character of the foreground and background bokeh. A minus setting creates a dreamy, soft-focused look, while a Plus setting creates a bubble-bokeh-type look.

Here are my first shots testing out the lens at Oakwood Cemetery:

New Collection From October 2022

(David Truland) — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 20:18:12 GMT

October was an important month with respect to my photography equipment and processing workflow. By the end of October I had completely migrated from Canon EOS DSLRs and EF lenses back to EOS R series mirrorless bodies and RF lenses.

October was also when I purchased DxO PhotoLab 6 after enjoying a thirty day trial of PhotoLab 5. After years of processing bracketed files with HDR software, I went back to processing single files only.

October was a good month with respect to weather and colorful foliage. It had a nice combination of foggy mornings and sun filled afternoons and was quite productive as evidenced by the ten blog entries over the course of the month.

The collection has images from Grafton Lakes State Park, the various parts of Saratoga National Historical Park, the Old Champlain Canalway Trail, Peebles Island, Waterford Harbor and The Hudson River in Kingston, NY. [Update: I expanded the collection to include a September 29 visit to Bog Meadow Brook Nature Trail and a November 3 visit to Saratoga Spa State Park. I also changed the name of the collection to Autumn 2022.

You can view the collection at https://trulandphotography.com/autumn2022 and here is an embedded slideshow.

December Project Photos

(David Truland) — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 19:01:05 GMT

Weather, a trip to Michigan over Thanksgiving and a death in the family meant that I haven't been out of doors with my cameras in over a week. I also needed a dose of exercise so I went up to Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve hoping to get some December contributions to the PDM project.

The best situation for closeups of frost and ice on nature subjects is a sunny morning after a below freezing night. Today was such a day although it was barely below freezing overnight and the frost was melting as soon as the sun hit it.

Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 800.

This Coming Year's Project

(David Truland) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 12:13:31 GMT

I started an occasional project for the coming twelve months with a trip to Saratoga Spa State Park which I documented in a blog entry here. Images from the project will be posted in monthly galleries at https://trulandphotography.com/pdmproject.

I describe the project on that page as follows:

"My project for the just completed 12 months, documenting Saratoga National Historical Park, ended in October, 2022. I've decided that a project for the next 12 months will be to make images that stand on their own, completely independent of the location.

When people see a landscape, a street scene or a building the want to know where it is. I'm looking for images that don't prompt people to ask that question. In other words, Place Don't Matter [PDM]."

Here some sample images made over the past couple of weeks.

Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, f/4.5, 1/6000 sec., ISO 400

Saratoga Spa State Park

(David Truland) — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 20:11:31 GMT

I had new brakes and four new all weather tires put on my Outback yesterday so I wanted to give it a little shakedown drive this morning. I headed up I87 to Saratoga Spa State Park in Saratoga Springs and walked some of the trails.

It has been incredibly sunny and warm lately and it's forecast to continue until Sunday when we will see some rain. I'm finished with my 2023 wall calendars and have started planning a concept for 2024. Time will tell whether I stick with this concept or not. I usually don't.

Here are some scenes from today. There is a gallery dedicated to this state park at https://trulandphotography.com/sssp.

Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/6.7, 1/45 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/6.7, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/16, 1/750 sec., ISO 1600. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Spa State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 19mm, f/16, 1/350 sec., ISO 800.

Later October Color

(David Truland) — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 16:09:47 GMT

Despite a very dry summer, it has been a pretty colorful autumn here in the Hudson and Mohawk River valleys. All it will take is one night with a mid 20's low temperature and most of the remaining leaves will fall. Temperature reports for this area come from the Albany airport which is at a significantly higher elevation and away from any body of water so low temperatures are generally five degrees or so higher than reported for Albany.

This morning's 4.5 mile walk took me over to Van Schaick Island in Cohoes and then up through Waterford and Peebles Island State Park. I made a first entry in the new twitter substitute for some shots from Van Schaick Mansion and am posting some scenes here from the park, which includes the northern part of Van Schaick Island.

Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/16, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm, f/6.7, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Peebles Island State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm, f/16, 1/750 sec., ISO 800.

Late October Color

(David Truland) — Sat, 29 Oct 2022 16:49:59 GMT

I carried my EOS R and RF 24-105mm lens on a 4.34 mile walk over to, and around, Waterford this morning. There is still some nice color along with lingering fog and blue skies.

I'm resurrecting the old blog to use as a twitter substitute I'm calling an Instablog for when I only have a few photos to share and don't want to do a whole blog entry. The URL for that site is https://trulandphoto.blogspot.com/.

Here are some of the scenes from this morning.

Waterford, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Peebles IslandCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 94mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Waterford, NY WaterfrontCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 50mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Waterford Harbor, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Waterford Harbor, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 25mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Waterford Rural Cemetery, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Waterford Rural Cemetery, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/16, 1/250 sec., ISO 800.

Kingston Cruise II

(David Truland) — Thu, 27 Oct 2022 22:01:07 GMT

I posted some images from the Hudson River region around Kingston, New York, back in June here. Now, the scenery is different with the Fall colors past peak but still striking.

There are now 92 images in the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/kingston. Hare are some samples from today.

Rondout CreekCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 85mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Rondout CreekCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200 Rondout CreekCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 58mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Hudson RiverCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Esopus Meadows Lighthouse, Hudson RiverCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200 Hudson RiverCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/5.6 1/4000 sec., ISO 200 Hudson RiverCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Rondout Creek LighthouseCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 63mm, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200

Finally Using the Backup Body

(David Truland) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 18:26:33 GMT

I picked up an EOS RP a couple of weeks ago to have as a backup body for my EOS R while they are still available new. I also had purchased the inexpensive RF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens on sale but I hadn't used either the RP or the 50mm lens.

This morning I walked over to Waterford and Peebles Island to try them out. I have owned copies of both the body and lens previously so it was just a matter of making sure they functioned properly while I was still within the return period for the body.

Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4.5, 1/500 sec., ISO 100. Peebles Island, Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Peebles Island, Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 100. Peebles Island, Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island, Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/4, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Peebles Island, Waterford, NYCanon EOS RP, RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Ending the SNHP Project

(David Truland) — Sat, 15 Oct 2022 18:29:50 GMT

I started a yearlong project to document Saratoga National Historical Park on October 28, 2021. I ended it today with a trip to all five parts of the park.

The restrictions caused by the improvements to the auto tour stops have been very frustrating so I won't miss having to drive past places I'd like to photograph. Here are some of the images from the final day.

Victory Woods, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Victory Woods, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 21mm, f/6.7, 1/90 sec., ISO 800. Saratoga Monument, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 25mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Surrender Site, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Battlefield, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Battlefield, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga Battlefield, Saratoga NHPCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 65mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Peak Foliage at Grafton

(David Truland) — Fri, 14 Oct 2022 19:57:57 GMT

I'd say the foliage is currently at about peak color at Grafton Lakes State Park. The day started with dense fog, which partially burned off to allow some sun toward the end of my visit.

I ended up using only the 14-35mm lens and ended up with 50 images to add to the Grafton gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/grafton. Here are four samples each from Long Pond and Mill Pond.

Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 30mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 800. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 27mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 800. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 18mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 800. Long Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Mill Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Mill Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 23mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Mill Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 18mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Mill Pond, Grafton Lakes State ParkCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Four Days After the Second Battle

(David Truland) — Tue, 11 Oct 2022 16:14:16 GMT

I've been hoping for a forecast of some serious fog around the battle dates to plan an early morning trip to the battlefield. Fog is frequently mentioned in accounts of the time the armies were in the area. Cold air at night combined with the relatively warm water of the Hudson River can create quite a dense fog.

Not only does the fog add to the atmosphere of photos, I get to use my fog lights on the 20 mile trip up along the river. I added another 35 images to the park gallery. Here are some samples.

Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 96mm, f/58, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Two Days After the Second Battle

(David Truland) — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 17:30:24 GMT

Today is two days after the 245th anniversary of the second battle of Saratoga. It is also the day that the American army left their fortifications to pursue the British army north along the Hudson River in an attempt to keep the British from escaping back to Canada. That attempt succeeded and the British surrendered on October 17th about eight miles north of the battles. At that point the British forces numbered about 6,000 and the Americans about 17,000.

I hiked the entire Wilkinson Trail this morning and used both the 14-35mm and 24-105mm lenses. I added 35 images to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp as the end of the year long project nears. I plan to make another visit to Schuylerville close to the date of the surrender to do another walk around Victory Woods, the final refuge of Burgoyne's army.

Here are some of the scenes from this morning.

Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 53mm, f/9.5, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 58mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 81mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 18mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson Trail, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 17mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400.

Schuylerville Time of Year

(David Truland) — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 21:24:49 GMT

This is the time of year for the battles of Saratoga followed by the siege of Saratoga (now Schuylerville) which led to the British surrender on October 17th, 1777. The area was "owned" by Phillip Schuyler at that time and he had a country home and business enterprises in the area where Fish Creek empties into the Hudson River.

The original house was burned by the retreating British as they crossed Fish Creek to prevent its use by the pursuing Americans. Schuyler had the current house built immediately after the surrender and it was completed in about a month.

The house and grounds are now a part of Saratoga National Historical Park and any photos made there are included in the park gallery. This weekend had reenactment encampments representing both British and Americans. Today's visit to the area included a portion of the Champlain Canalway Trail, Hudson Crossings Park and Saratoga Apples orchard. Here are some samples.

Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 42mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 26mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 14mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 22mm, f/6.7, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM at 22mm, f/6.7, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Schuyler House, Schuylerville, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 65mm, f/5.6, 1/4000 sec., ISO 400.

Fall Color at Shaver Pond

(David Truland) — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 17:32:43 GMT

I took a walk around Shaver Pond at Grafton Lakes State Park this morning. The Grafton area does not appear to be at peak color yet.

The high clouds diffused the sunlight but also prevented blue skies for fall color backgrounds. I'd like to make at least one more trip to Grafton in the next couple of weeks, perhaps even braving the fire tower.

Here are some shots from this morning. I used the RF 24-105mm lens but 15 of the 20 images I uploaded to the Grafton Lakes gallery, including all of these, were shot at 24mm,

Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Shaver Pond Trail, Grafton, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

A Newly Found Nature Trail

(David Truland) — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 19:33:29 GMT

I have driven past the Bog Meadow Brook Nature Trail in Saratoga Springs on a couple of occasions, making a mental note to stop and investigate at some point. I was up that way yesterday and a quick stop to check it out turned into a 4.3 mile, 1 hour 47 minute hike along the two mile old railroad bed and back.

I carried the EOS R in a small backpack and used the RF 24-105mm and EF 16-35mm lenses. Some of the results are posted here and there's a 33 image gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/bogmeadowbrook.

Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 65mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 30mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Bog Meadow Brook TrailCanon EOS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 31mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Five Days After the First Battle

(David Truland) — Sat, 24 Sep 2022 19:17:19 GMT

245 years ago today, the British were fortifying the Freeman farm area where the fighting on September 19th took place. The Continental forces had withdrawn after that day's fighting and to insure a positive spin on the day's events, the British remained on, and fortified, the field of battle.

I arrived at the Saratoga Battlefield a little later than usual this morning so the tour road was already open. I had decided ahead of time that I wanted to walk around the Barber wheatfield, where the fighting on October 7th began. I also walked a bit along the tour road near the site of Burgoyne's headquarters due to some colorful fall ferns. My longest sojourn was down to the lower level from the great redoubt, up along the old Champlain Canal and back.

I carried the EOS R with the RF 24-105mm lens and the 5DSR with the EF 70-300mm lens. Here are some of the results.

Barber Wheatfield looking at Willard Mtn.Canon EOS 5DSR, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L at 300mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Barber WheatfieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 32mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Frazer Monument, Barber WheatfieldCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 47mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 70mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 26mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga National Historical Park, Old Champlain Canal TrailCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga National Historical Park, from the Great RedoubtCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 65mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Saratoga National Historical Park, looking over the Hudson River from the Great RedoubtCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 98mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200.

End of the Late Summer Gear Migration

(David Truland) — Mon, 19 Sep 2022 12:16:37 GMT

Ever since the trip to Burlington I've been involved in refining my photography gear, both selling and buying. Out went two camera bodies and five lenses. In came one camera body and three lenses. The balance sheet is almost even with a slight advantage to the plus side.

The system is simplified in some respects, fewer lens options and only one sensor size. But it is more complex in another respect, two different lens mounts. The EOS R will be able to use the RF lenses natively and the EF lenses with the adapter. RF lenses can not be used on the 5DS R.

The Think Tank Airport Essentials will now hold everything except flashes, which I rarely use. Here is a photo of how it is arranged:

Airport Essentials Backpack

I was out yesterday with the EOS R and two of the new lenses, the RF 24-105mm and RF 85mm. I rented the newest version of the EF 24-105mm lens back in early August with a view toward purchasing it but the images were very soft on the edges. This RF lens is very good and RF lenses have more effective image stabilization than their EF counterparts.

Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 105mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 IS Macro STM, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 85mm f/2 IS Macro STM, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Old Champlain Canal Trail, Halfmoon, NYCanon EOS R, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Two Days Before the First Battle

(David Truland) — Sat, 17 Sep 2022 16:02:43 GMT

The first battle of Saratoga took place on September 19, 1977, 245 years ago this coming Monday. The weather forecast includes a chance of rain tomorrow and Monday so I made sure I got up to the battlefield this morning.

I traded in my fisheye zoom lens, and my two 28mm lenses for an RF 24-105mm f/4L lens. I expected the lens by the weekend but it's on a truck in a FedEx warehouse so I had to reactivate my EF 24-70mm f/4L lens, which is waiting to be sold along with my EF 85mm f/1.4L lens. Taking the place of the latter is an RF 85mm f/2 IS STM lens which is smaller, lighter and cheaper than the EF version.

Today, I walked the western part of the Wilkinson Trail with the EOS R with the adapted 24-70mm lens and the EOS 5DSR with the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens.

Here are some of the results.

Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 200 Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400 Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/90 sec., ISO 200 Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 26mm, f/8, 1/2180 sec., ISO 400 Saratoga National Historical ParkCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 214mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/6.7, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 800. Cropped. Barber Wheat Field, Saratoga BattlefieldCanon EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400

Tugboat Roundup 2022

(David Truland) — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 14:06:47 GMT

All of the photos from this year's Tugboat Roundup are located at https://trulandphotography.com/tugboatroundup2022. While I had both cameras for last evening's parade up the Hudson River, I ended up only using the 5DS R with the 70-300mm lens.

This morning, I used the EOS R and 24-70mm lens. I'll keep this lens as it is really nice with the R which leaves the fisheye zoom as the only lens I'll probably sell. At least for now.

Here are some of the images from both yesterday and this morning.

Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 176mm, f/4.5, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 41mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS 5DS R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Tugboat Roundup 2022EOS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 200.

A New Body, Thinning Out the Bags

(David Truland) — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 15:38:51 GMT

As I wrote after getting back from Burlington, "the six day trip was very useful for helping me decide on a gear path going forward." Here's how that has played out.

I had left the 5DS and 90D bodies home for that trip, only using the 5DS R. That was fine and I have sold both of those bodies.

I had left the 70-300mm lens home. I missed having that lens so it is back in the bag. Placed in storage for the time being are my 8-15mm fisheye and 24-70mm f/4 zoom lenses.

My intention was to pick up a refurbished 5DS R body, which would cost less than my trade in for the 5DS and 90D bodies. The 5DS would have been fine to keep but it had an intermittently malfunctioning AFON button on the back of the camera which was annoying me.

But, the 5DS R was introduced in early 2015 and the availability of refurbished bodies seems to be diminishing rapidly so after a week of checking the Canon Direct listings, I decided to once again get into the Canon EOS R series with the original R model from late 2018.

I previously had a pair of EOS RP bodies so the EOS R is both familiar and yet significantly more capable than the RP. It doesn't have the resolution of the 5DS R but it has a lot of other advantages. I anticipate using both bodies going forward.

This morning, I dug out my EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens for a walk over to Waterford with the EOS R. It's a nice light weight combination although it lacks image stabilization. I wanted to use the 50mm focal length again after having the 28mm and 85mm f/1.4 lenses as options on recent trips. A future possibility may be to sell both of those lenses and get a really nice RF 50mm f/1.2 lens.

Here are some samples from this morning, the day before this year's Tugboat Roundup, all with the EOS R and EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens, which is soft until you stop down to f/4 where it is razor sharp.

Women's College Soccer

(David Truland) — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 09:20:38 GMT

The EOS 5DS R is not an action/sports camera. Its frame rate is only five frames per second and its high ISO abilities are ~~not that good~~ absent given the 50MP sensor. What the 50MP sensor does allow is extreme cropping.

Yesterday saw bright, early evening sun descending over a soccer match at Hartwick College that I was mostly just watching. For the first half of the first half, however, there was enough light to shoot at ISO 400 and f/5.6 with fast enough shutter speeds to stop the action. At least on sunlit portions of the field.

To really shoot sports like this an f/2.8 lens and a body which shoots eight to ten frames a second and can handle ISO settings up to 6400 without too much noise are needed. Especially under the lights.

But here are some samples of what is possible with a less than ideal setup.

Leaving Lake Champlain

(David Truland) — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 11:49:02 GMT

There were two attractions I wanted to visit on the way back down from Burlington. The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum and New York's Crown Point State Historic Site.

It was a great day for photographing both although there were passing showers while at the museum. The six day trip was very useful for helping me decide on a gear path going forward. More on that later.

Here are some of the images from the final day of the Vermont trip. Everything except the Crown Point photos are in the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/vermont. The Crown Point photos are in a gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/crownpoint.

Lake Champlain Maritime MuseumCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Lake Champlain Maritime MuseumCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/20 sec., ISO 800. Lake Champlain Maritime MuseumCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/30 sec., ISO 400. Lake Champlain Maritime MuseumCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200.

British Fort, Crown PointCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. British Fort, Crown PointCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. British Fort, Crown PointCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. British Fort, Crown PointCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. French Fort St. Frederic, Crown PointCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

Shelburne Farms

(David Truland) — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:05:03 GMT

Shelburne Farms is a working farm that also has many other great attributes. Rather than take up space here, you can learn about the farm and non-profit at https://shelburnefarms.org/about.

Getting down to the Inn and formal gardens for visitors requires hiking about two miles each way via the more direct route and longer via winding trails through fields and woods. Guests at the Inn and farm workers get to drive the gravel roads.

Yesterday, I carried the EOS 5DS R and Sigma 28mm f/1.4 ART lens. The vastness of many of the scenes got me to playing with the camera's crop modes as 28mm was clearly not going to be sufficient.

It's always possible to crop while I'm processing RAW files but doing it while shooting saves a couple of processing steps while preserving the original full RAW file. The 5DS bodies have 1.3X and 1.6X crop options which, with the camera's 50MP sensor, result in 30MP and 20MP files, respectively. Plenty large for pretty much any purpose. I have a multifunction button next to the shutter button programmed to toggle among these modes.

Here are two sequences showing the full image followed by the 1.3X and 1.6X crops. With the 28mm lens, the crops show full frame fields of view of 36mm and 45mm.

The Inn is present in all these scenes. The next time I visit this location I'm definitely going to carry more gear with me.

I added 47 images from the farm property to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/vermont. Here are some shots of the Inn and formal gardens down by Lake Champlain.

Burlington, Vermont

(David Truland) — Sat, 20 Aug 2022 12:06:01 GMT

I decided to reduce the weight and complexity of the gear I brought with me for a trip to the Burlington, Vermont area. I've been considering options to go back to the Canon R series, using a combination of some of my current EF lenses and one or two RF lenses. This would require trading in all my DSLR bodies and most of my EF lenses - and then some.

So, I chose my Think Tank Photo Streetwalker backpack, one body and five lenses. Left out were two DSLR bodies and my 70-300mm lens. While I continue to evaluate what I really need to shoot what I want, I already missed the telephoto zoom for shots across Lake Champlain toward the New York shore both during the day and at sunset.

Here is an iPhone shot of the bag and gear followed by some scenes over the course of the day yesterday. The gallery for the trip is located at https://trulandphotography.com/vermont.

Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/4000 sec., ISO 200. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 45mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 100. Burlington, Vermont Waterfront - Lake ChamplainCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/750 sec., ISO 100. Cropped.

August at the Battlefield

(David Truland) — Sat, 13 Aug 2022 17:07:24 GMT

This is the tenth month of my year long project at the Saratoga Battlefield and other parts of Saratoga National Historical Park. August is when the Americans began fortifying Bemis Heights in 1777 in order to block the British advance south from Canada which began in the Spring.

I will be visiting the battlefield and the Schuylerville area sites often over September and October, when all the activities took place.

Today, I walked the Wilkinson trail down to the Freeman Farm area before the tour road was open. I carried both my full frame bodies with the Sigma 28mm and Canon 85mm lenses.

I added 37 photos to the gallery which now contains 375 images.

Canon 5DS, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200 Canon 5DS R, Canon 85mm f/1.4 IS USM, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200 Canon 5DS R, Canon 85mm f/1.4 IS USM, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 200 Canon 5DS, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 Canon 5DS, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 400 Canon 5DS, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400 Canon 5DS, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/8, 1/90 sec., ISO 200 Canon 5DS R, Canon 85mm f/1.4 IS USM, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

Telephoto Scenics

(David Truland) — Thu, 11 Aug 2022 19:19:17 GMT

I took a walk along the Old Champlain Canal Trail in Halfmoon this morning with the EOS 90D and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. It has been way too hot to hike around much lately.

This body and lens combination has a full frame equivalent field of view of 112mm to 480mm. With the 32 megapixels of the 90D, there is room to crop in further if desired. The captions will indicate if cropping has been done beyond just an aspect ratio change from 3:2 to 4:3 or 2:3 to 3:4.

Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 244mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 135mm, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 244mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Cropped. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 229mm, f/6.7, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 at 176mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400.

Dragon Boat Racing 2022

(David Truland) — Sat, 06 Aug 2022 18:38:24 GMT

The last time the Pan Am Dragon Boats were in Waterford was about this time in 2019. That gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/dragonboats2019.

That was a day not unlike today. Thin, hazy clouds with temperatures in the 90s. My strategy on both occasions was to be there early and be home processing photos before afternoon temperatures kicked in.

This year, I had the opportunity to ride along in the chase boat for one of the races before the noontime break. That vantage point worked out really well. With action sports, closer is always better.

I used my 5DS with a rented EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II USM lens and my 90D with my EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. This year's 68 image gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/db2022. Here are some samples from both setups.

Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 260mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 72mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 5DS, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 95mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 81mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 5DS, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 97mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 5DS, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/5.6, 1/750 sec., ISO 400.

Paradox Lake Rainbow

(David Truland) — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 11:12:09 GMT

I made a quick day trip up to the Adirondacks yesterday, not for photography purposes. I only brought my crop sensor 90D and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS lens which has a full frame field of view of 45mm. As always happens when I don't have all my gear with me a photographic opportunity presented itself for which I was underprepared.

While passing the west end of Paradox Lake a rainbow appeared. I hadn't been raining where I was but you could see rain off to the east. A full frame body and 24-70mm lens would have been much better tools with which to capture the scene.

Here are some of what I did get with what I had.

Paradox LakeCanon EOS 90D, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400.

Paradox LakeCanon EOS 90D, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400, cropped. Paradox LakeCanon EOS 90D, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. Paradox LakeCanon EOS 90D, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Paradox LakeCanon EOS 90D, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 400.

Historic Schuyler House

(David Truland) — Fri, 29 Jul 2022 14:35:13 GMT

Schuyler House in Schuylerville, New York is a part of Saratoga National Historical Park although located about 8 miles north of the battlefield along the Hudson River. The house sits on a small part of the property of Philip Schuyler in what was then called Saratoga, now Schuylerville. Schuyler, based in Albany, owned and operated textile mills and lumbering operations in the area. Laborers, including African slaves, were housed on the property.

The current house was built in the Fall of 1777 following the burning of the existing structure by the retreating British in October, 1777. The site of the British surrender on October 17th is found a bit south of the house.

You can read more about the historic structure at https://www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/schuyler-house.htm.

This past Sunday, the house was closing early due to a summer heatwave with temperatures in the mid 90s so I only had about a half hour inside. Also, the second floor was closed due to renovations.

I carried my EOS 5DS R with the Sigma 28mm f/1.4 lens attached. Here are some of the results. I will head back before the close of the season with a wider lens to capture more of the inside scenes.

Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 100. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/6.7, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/2, 1/45 sec., ISO 200. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/2, 1/60 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/2, 1/180sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/2.5, 1/45 sec., ISO 1600. Canon EOS 5DS R, Sigma 28mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

Natural Stone Bridge & Caves

(David Truland) — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 21:57:26 GMT

Trout Brook flows into the Schroon River in Pottersville. The Schroon River flows into the Hudson River near Warrensburg. The Hudson River flows into the Atlantic Ocean at New York.

Along the shores of Trout Brook is Natural Stone Bridge and Caves, a nice geological feature and old school Adirondack tourist destination. You can read more about it at https://stonebridgeandcaves.com/.

While there was very little water in Trout Brook today, that is not always the case. Watch this youtube video of massive flooding at the site over Halloween in 2019.

Here are some photos from today, these and others were added to the Adirondack Scenics gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/adirondacks.

EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 34mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 18mm, f/4, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/5.6, 1/500 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/4, 1/15 sec., ISO 1600. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/5.6, 1/350 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/4.5, 1/180 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. EOS 5D S, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/6.7, 1/125 sec., ISO 400.

Adirondack Lakelife

(David Truland) — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 19:50:01 GMT

I went for a walk this afternoon and carried my 5DS R and Sigma 28mm f/1.4 lens. At 2:00 PM this time of year the sun is very high and a polarizer filter is effective at decreasing reflections in the region of the horizon thus darkening skies and water and emphasizing clouds.

The sky will not be a uniform color if the lens is too wide but 28mm is not quite wide enough for that to be a problem. I forgot to adjust the filter for a different direction for one of these shots which left the sky a bit less saturated.

Rock City Falls

(David Truland) — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 16:12:49 GMT

Rock City Falls is a tiny community in the town of Milton, Saratoga County. It thrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with several mills along the Kayaderosseras Creek.

Cottrell-Harrington Park is located on Route 29 at, and just down stream of, The Empire Mill, which produced paper bags up until 1930. Built in 1840, it was at one time the largest manufacturer of paper bags in the world.

Making a quick stop on my way to the Southern Adirondacks, I used the 5DS R and 16-35mm f/4L lens. Here are 9 of the 19 images I added to the Anthropogenic Scenics Gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/anthropogenicscenics.

Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 19mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Empire Mill, Kayaderosseras Creek.Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 200. Kayaderosseras Creek, Rock City Falls, Milton, NYCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200. Kayaderosseras Creek, Rock City Falls, Milton, NYCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 21mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

90D on Peebles Island

(David Truland) — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 15:49:48 GMT

It's been a while since I took the 90D body out, and I hadn't yet carried it around Peebles Island. I did so this morning with the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens, to which it remains attached in the bag.

With the 90D's 1.6X crop factor, this combination has a maximum focal length equivalent of 480mm and the 90D's 32 megapixels allows a further 1.6X crop with a resulting 12.6 megapixel image with an equivalent focal length of 768mm.

I have separated my gear into two separate bags on a trial bases. The landscape and wildlife gear is in my Think Tank Airport Essentials backpack and consists of the EOS 5DS and 90D and EF 16-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-300mm lenses.

A Think Tank Speedwalker backpack contains my EOS 5DS R, my two fast prime lenses: the Sigma 28mm f/1.4 and Canon 85mm f/1.4; and the Canon 8-15mm fisheye zoom lens which is really just two prime lenses, circular fisheye at one end and diagonal fisheye at the other. I also recently picked up a Canon 500D closeup lens (which screws on the front of the 85mm lens) and alters the closeup ability from .12X to .31X. [update 7/26/22: I've since swapped out the Speedwalker backpack for a Lowepro Stratus 15 shoulder bag but it's basically the same kit.]

Here are some shots from this morning.

Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/10 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/30 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 70mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 800. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/3000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400. Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/2000 sec., ISO 400.

Kingston Cruise

(David Truland) — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 13:19:58 GMT

Yesterday was a clear and windy day, perfect for a two hour cruise on a solar powered boat which visited two lighthouses on the Hudson River in the Kingston, New York area. The silent running of the boat really added to the experience of being on the river as you could clearly hear everything going on around you - wind, waves, birds, trains and other boats.

I carried the 5DS R body with both 16-35mm and 24-70mm lenses. Image details are in the photo captions which appear when you hover the cursor over the photo.

The photos from this trip can be found in a gallery for Kingston area locations at https://trulandphotography.com/kingston.

Solaris on Rondout CreekCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Rondout Creek LighthouseCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 61mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Solaris on Hudson RiverCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200. Esopus Meadows LighthouseCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Esopus Meadows LighthouseCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Hudson RiverCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Lighthouse and FreighterCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. FreighterCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/3000 sec., ISO 200. Rondout Creek LighthouseCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200. Rondout Creek HulksCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 47mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200.

Peebles Island and Waterford Lock

(David Truland) — Fri, 10 Jun 2022 15:01:07 GMT

I tried out a new combination of camera and lens this morning on a walk over to Peebles Island. The EOS 90D, being a crop sensor body, records a field of view with the 28mm lens equivalent to that of a 45mm lens on a full frame body. I've had 45mm lenses to use with full frame bodies and it works out OK for general photography although you sometimes wish for something a bit wider.

The lens is small and light, with image stabilization, and it fits well with the smaller 90D body. The other similar lens I can use with the 90D is the 50mm f/1.8 STM which has the field of view of 80mm on the crop body.

Here are the images from today showing the 45mm field of view.

Work Crew Descending Lock E2

(David Truland) — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 16:06:06 GMT

I was out on a walk this morning and happened to catch this work crew of two tugs and two barges finishing up the Waterford Flight of Locks prior to heading up the Hudson River. All photos are with the EOS 5DS and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS lens and were added to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/waterfordcanal.

Beating the Crowds

(David Truland) — Sun, 05 Jun 2022 16:17:36 GMT

One annoying thing about Saratoga National Historical Park is the limited access to the tour road. The tour road is closed in winter and doesn't open until 9:00 AM when it is open.

9:00 AM is fine in the fall, when sunrise is after 7:00 AM and the sun stays lower in the sky, but this time of year the sun is up shortly after 5:00 AM and goes straight up. Today, I was at the visitors center around 6:00 AM and used the Wilkinson Trail to get down to the Freeman Farm area of the battlefield.

I carried the 5DS R with the 16-35mm lens and the 90D with the 70-300mm lens. I added 53 images to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp, which now contains 318 photos.

Looking Down From Visitors CenterCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200. Wilkinson TrailCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. White-tailed DeerCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/250 sec., ISO 400. Outline of house near Breymann RedoubtCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 200. Wilkinson TrailCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/350 sec., ISO 200. Wilkinson TrailCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 200. Yellow WarblerCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400. Wilkinson TrailCanon EOS 5DS R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 200.

A Body and Lens for Wildlife

(David Truland) — Sat, 04 Jun 2022 15:27:46 GMT

Ever since I sold my EOS RP bodies and RF lenses last summer, I haven't really had a useful camera and lens for wildlife. With that gear I had 600mm of full frame reach but only at f/11 and 26 megapixels.

I've replaced my last remaining 6D Mark II body, which replaced the RP bodies, with a crop sensor EOS 90D body. When paired with the long end of my 70-300mm lens, I have 460mm of full frame reach at f/5.6 and 33 megapixels. A further 1.6X crop gives me 768mm of full frame coverage and 12.6 megapixel images. It's a much better setup as the 90D will shoot 10 frames a second versus half that for the RP bodies and my 5DS bodies.

I went to test out the 90D this morning at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve. Before I ran across anything interesting airliners started to pass overhead from Albany Airport a few miles away. I guess 6:00 AM is a popular time for flights. Over a dozen took off in the two hours I was walking around.

Here are two uncropped images of the first two of the jets.

Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400

Here some nature examples with this camera/lens combination:

Canada GeeseCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 260mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 400 PhloxCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 400 FernCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 200mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400 Great Blue HeronCanon EOS 90D, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens at 300mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 400

I also carried my EOS 5DS R body with the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens for scenics. You can see all my photos from the nature preserve at https://trulandphotography.com/vfnp.

Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm, f/6.7, 1/250 sec., ISO 200 Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/180 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400 Canon EOS 5DS R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 31mm, f/8, 1/60 sec., ISO 400

Memorial Day with Leica Q2 Imitation

(David Truland) — Mon, 30 May 2022 13:20:55 GMT

I think I've settled on the gear which will constitute my Leica Q2 imitation kit. The Q2 is a 47MP full frame mirrorless camera with in body stabilization with a fixed 28mm f/1.7 lens. My imitation consists of a 5Ds, which is a 50MP full frame DSLR, attached to a 28mm f/2.8 lens with image stabilization.

I'm also carrying along a 24mm lens and a small flash unit. My last remaining 6d Mark II body is currently for sale with my EF 35mm f/2 IS USM lens.

I was out early on this Memorial Day with the above for a walk over to Waterford. Here are some samples.

Soldiers and Sailors Park, Waterford, NY Soldiers and Sailors Park, Waterford, NY Waterford Rural Cemetery, Waterford, NY Waterford Rural Cemetery, Waterford, NY Lock E2, Waterford, NY Lock E2, Waterford, NY Lock E2, Waterford, NY Lock E2, Waterford, NY

Day 3, Better Light

(David Truland) — Sun, 22 May 2022 13:22:23 GMT

Today is day 3 of the navigation season with much better light than on Friday. All the photos from Waterford Harbor and the locks can be viewed at https://trulandphotography.com/waterfordcanal.

Entering Waterford HarborCanon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 44mm. Entering Waterford HarborCanon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm. Canal CrossroadsCanon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. Waterford HarborCanon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. 7:08AM - Waiting for the LockCanon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm. Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm.

Opening Day

(David Truland) — Fri, 20 May 2022 14:25:06 GMT

Today is the first day of public navigation on the New York State Canal system. Many boats were lined up to traverse the Waterford Flight of Locks which raises the canal from the Hudson River to the Mohawk River. I added 32 images to the gallery of Waterford Harbor and the flight of locks.

I followed the boats entering and leaving lock E2, leaving lock E3 and entering lock E4. Here are some samples.

Leaving Waterford HarborCanon EOS 5Ds R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. Entering Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm. Inside Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 39mm. Exiting Lock E2Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 37mm. Exiting Lock E3Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 300mm. Exiting Lock E3Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 188mm. Exiting Lock E3Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 70mm. Entering Lock E4Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 160mm.

Northampton Beach Day Use Area

(David Truland) — Tue, 17 May 2022 23:40:41 GMT

Great Sacandaga Lake is high after filling with water from the Sacandaga River to help prevent flooding on the Hudson River. I took my 5Ds and 28mm lens on a walk down to the state park while on a quick day trip this afternoon.

I've been using the 28mm f/2.8 lens on the 6D Mark II, and now the 5Ds, to replicate the characteristics of a Leica Q2 which has a built in 28mm f/1.7 lens. I want to understand the concept of a $5,000 camera limited to a single prime lens. While my 28mm lens is over a stop slower than the Leica, it does have image stabilization. And while the 6D Mark II is only 26MP and the Leice Q2 is 47MP, the 5Ds, at 51MP is as close as you can get with Canon bodies and lenses.

[Note: I didn't realize when I processed these that the 5Ds body did not have the lens profile for this lens installed so all the lens aberration corrections are missing in these samples. I did reprocess and replace the full versions uploaded to https://trulandphotography.com/northampton.]

Detroit Zoo

(David Truland) — Thu, 12 May 2022 18:40:01 GMT

It was a great morning for photos at the Detroit Zoo with temperatures around 80 degrees. I added 25 photos to the gallery which includes shots from last August. You can view that gallery here.

All are with the 5Ds R and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. Here some samples.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Cranbrook Gardens

(David Truland) — Wed, 11 May 2022 19:23:25 GMT

I visited Cranbrook Gardens in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan last August and shot with a 35mm f/2 lens. Today, knowing that not many flowers would be blooming, I used my 85mm f/1.4 lens for a different perspective. I also got to the Japanese Garden portion of the site which I did not visit last time.

A blog post from last August can be read here. The gallery containing all of the uploaded images from both visits can be seen at https://trulandphotography.com/cranbrook. Here are some photos from today.

Greenfield Village

(David Truland) — Tue, 10 May 2022 11:33:20 GMT

Greenfield Village is an 80 acre living history museum with six historic districts. Part of the Henry Ford Museum, It is located in Dearborn Michigan.

I carried the 6D Mark II with 28mm lens. there is a 35 image gallery located at https://trulandphotography.com/greenfield. Here are some samples.

Presque Isle State Park

(David Truland) — Mon, 09 May 2022 11:28:57 GMT

Presque Isle State Park is a day use park on a 3,200 acre sandy peninsula on Lake Erie. The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources describes it as Pennsylvania's only "seashore" on the park's page. https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/PresqueIsleStatePark/Pages/default.aspx

Even an hour and a half driving around the park presents a lot of opportunities. Here are some examples, all with the 5Ds R and four different lenses. The location and gear used are identified when you pause the cursor over the photo.

The Erie gallery now contains 105 photos from August 2021 and this past weekend. You can view the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/eriepa.

Perry MonumentEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm MarshEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm Lake HousesEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm North Pier LightEOS 5Ds R, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 70mm Presque Isle LighthouseEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 20mm Presque Isle LighthouseEOS 5Ds R, EF 8-15mm f/4L USM Fisheye at 15mm Beach #8EOS 5Ds R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 200mm Beach #8EOS 5Ds R, EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM at 120mm

Erie, Pennsylvania Waterfront

(David Truland) — Sun, 08 May 2022 12:26:08 GMT

It's been sunny and cloudless for an overnight stop on Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pennsylvania. First are some shots from yesterday with the 6D Mark II and 28mm lens including the US Brig Niagara, a replica of a ship built in Erie to fight the British in the War of 1812.

US Brig NiagaraEOS 6D Mark II, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM. Erie WaterfrontEOS 6D Mark II, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM. Centennial TowerEOS 6D Mark II, EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM. The following shots are from this morning with the 5Ds R and 16-35mm lens.

Centennial TowerEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 33mm. Centennial Tower and SculptureEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 19mm. Centennial TowerEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 26mm. Centennial TowerEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm. Sheraton Hotel and Conference CenterEOS 5Ds R, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm.

Wilkinson Trail East, Saratoga Battlefield

(David Truland) — Sun, 01 May 2022 19:25:43 GMT

Yesterday I walked the western portion of the Wilkinson Trail at Saratoga National Historical Park. Today, I walked the eastern portion of that trail and then the Simon Fraser burial site trail.

I carried both bodies with the 16-35mm f/4L lens (again) and the 85mm f/1.4L lens. Here are some photos from the Wilkinson Trail which goes through both fields and woods.

Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM The Fraser burial site trail heads down a steep "road" from stop #10 on the tour road to the old Champlain Canal and then along the canal and back up to the Great Redoubt. The site of the Taylor House, where British Gen. Simon Fraser died, and the British hospital site are both along this trail at the bottom of the hill. Here are some of those photos.

Canon EOS 5Ds R, EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Old Champlain Canal and Hudson RiverCanon EOS 5Ds R, EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm Canon EOS 5Ds, EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM at 16mm

I added 37 photos to the SNHP gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp.

Wilkinson Trail West, Saratoga Battlefield

(David Truland) — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 19:04:34 GMT

Instead of driving the tour road, I decided to walk the Wilkinson Trail at Saratoga National Historical Park this morning. The complete trail is 4.2 miles long but I opted for the shorter, 2 mile version, utilizing the Liaison Trail shortcut. As I had already climbed up Stark's Knob in Schulyerville... discretion and all that.

Here is the view from the top of Stark's Knob, looking North East.

I carried only the 16-35mm lens at the park this morning. I could have carried a second body and the 70-300mm lens but didn't really want the extra five pounds. The Saratoga NHP gallery now contains 228 photos.

Saratoga Spa State Park

(David Truland) — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 20:06:04 GMT

I made a brief trip, late morning, to Saratoga Spa State Park since I was in the area on other errands. The new 85mm f/1.4L IS lens having arrived last weekend, I've been doing some reorganizing and configuring for how that lens will fit in the mix with my other lenses.

I've become a bit tired of the monopod and wanted to see how hand holding the 50MP bodies worked out on a short walk. I foresee using the 85mm lens on one body, in place of the 70-300mm zoom lens, and either the 16-35mm or 24-70mm lens on the other body for sessions like this.

Here are some samples from today, with the focal length indicated in the photo caption which appears by placing the cursor over the photo.

85mm

35mm 16mm 85mm 16mm 85mm 16mm 85mm

Champlain Canalway Trail in the Afternoon

(David Truland) — Fri, 22 Apr 2022 20:38:56 GMT

I don't think I've walked the Champlain Canalway Trail in Halfmoon later in the day than mid morning. The lighting conditions are certainly different than in the early morning.

As I continue to process single files rather than HDR composites of five different exposures, I'm going back to using a polarizer filter when conditions warrant, as they did today. These are all with the 5Ds R and 24-70mm f/4 lens with the polarizer.

This early in the growing season, the inside of old lock 7 is actually accessible.

Ogunquit, Maine, Day Three

(David Truland) — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 12:59:27 GMT

The weather has been all over the place this weekend. About the only thing we didn't get was the snow and sleet that was forecast as a possibility yesterday afternoon.

There were some isolated showers which the first two photos illustrate.

The next two photos are from Mt. Agamenticus and the moonrise with the Beachmere Inn flagpole.

And from this morning, a sunrise from the Marginal Way and a lobster boat exiting Perkins Cove.

Ogunquit, Maine, Day Two

(David Truland) — Sun, 17 Apr 2022 12:33:33 GMT

The weather has been all over the place the past two days. But, except for a period of rain yesterday afternoon and evening it hasn't interfered with photography.

Here are images from the past 24 hours including the second less than exciting sunrise in a row.

Ogunquit, Maine, Day One

(David Truland) — Sat, 16 Apr 2022 11:39:11 GMT

Here are some images from yesterday afternoon, evening and this morning's sunrise. There was very little color this morning and the telephoto zoom lens was necessary to make the shots interesting.

The moon will be rising later tonight and tomorrow night and I plan on being more serious with moon shots, clouds willing. The vertical moonrise over the marginal way was hand held with my 35mm f/2 lens at 1/3 second.

The photos from the weekend will be at https://trulandphotography.com/maine2022.

April Showers Bring High Water

(David Truland) — Fri, 08 Apr 2022 21:38:47 GMT

The rivers were running high today after heavy rain overnight. Early forecasts were for river levels about a foot above flood stage this afternoon. The Waterford Visitor Center has a webcam and I could tell by late morning that the levels had already reached that point. Forecasts now are for levels about two feet above flood stage.

Here are some photos from Waterford Harbor and Peebles Island showing the high water around 3:00 PM.

Saratoga Battlefield Tour Road Opens

(David Truland) — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 17:48:25 GMT

The tour road at Saratoga National Historical Park opened for vehicles this morning and I was one of the first to take advantage. In addition, the visitor center and gift shop is open for the first time in a couple of years due to COVID and then remodeling. I did spend some money.

The sun was a little high, with some haze, for good photos but I added 16 images to the park gallery. Here are some samples.

Fire Tower Trail, Grafton Lakes

(David Truland) — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 18:08:30 GMT

It's been below freeing for several days so I figured it would be a good morning to hike around Grafton Lakes State Park with no chance of muddy roads or trails. I decided on the Water Tower trail, a new trail to me, the length of which is about 3.5 miles from the parking lot at the east end of Long Pond to the tower and back.

The trail was, indeed, frozen solid but, at 8AM, the temperature was 20 degrees with the wind chill in the single digits. It was cold to start but, as the sun rose, it didn't feel too bad.

I carried the EOS 5Ds R with the 16-35mm lens mounted to the camera and the fisheye zoom in a shoulder bag. The first six of these shots are with the 16-35mm lens and the last two are with the fisheye zoom at 14mm.

I added 25 images to the Grafton Lakes gallery, including some circular fisheye shots. https://trulandphotography.com/grafton

Fisheye Lens at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Tue, 22 Mar 2022 17:05:08 GMT

I walked around Oakwood this morning with the fisheye zoom lens while the sun was still fairly low. One issue using the fisheye lens when the sun is out is keeping your shadow out of the frame, which is actually impossible with the sun at your back. Another issue is keeping the bright sun out of the frame.

With both of these issues, trees are your friend. You can hide your shadow in the shadow of a tree and you can hide the sun behind a tree.

Here are some samples from this morning. I had more circular images that were good but were ruined by a bit of my shadow along the edge.

Spring Water Over Cohoes Falls

(David Truland) — Mon, 21 Mar 2022 19:31:28 GMT

I made a quick stop at Cohoes Falls late this morning while the sun was out and the water was high.

The best, closest viewing location doesn't open until May so the alternate spot on School Street is the secondary vantage point. In the Goggle Earth screen capture, the former is Falls View Park and the latter is Overlook Park.

Screenshot A telephoto lens is needed from Overlook Park since it's farther away and there is a fence and brush that isn't desirable in photos. I used the EOS 5Ds body with the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens.

Here are four samples from this morning:

A New, Old Lens - Again

(David Truland) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 17:35:49 GMT

I have a bad habit of selling gear only to later buy the same item again. Sometimes more than once.

Most recently, I traded my Tamron 45mm and 85mm prime lenses for a used Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM lens. I plan to use this lens with the 6D Mark II for more casual uses when I don't want the bulk and weight of the landscape gear. [UPDATE 3/29//22] I have added an EF 24mm f/2.8 IS UM lens to this smaller kit for more flexibility.]

I walked around Oakwood Cemetery today with this setup. If you walk around the perimeter of the cemetery you can get a nice three mile walk with about 265 feet of elevation gain.

Here is an outline of the route followed by some single file images with the 35mm lens.

Screenshot

The Frost Before the Thaw

(David Truland) — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 20:01:29 GMT

It was a nice sunny day today with temperatures around freezing after a very cold night. I took a nice long hike around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve while everything remains nice and frozen. There is high water covering many of the trails but it's frozen solid so you can still walk on them.

With a forecast of above freezing temperatures and rain for the weekend, reaching into the 60's on Sunday, those trails won't stay walkable for long. Here are some shots with the fisheye zoom.

Fisheye Lens at Saratoga Spa State Park

(David Truland) — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 21:06:35 GMT

Temperatures were Spring like today but there was still ice and snow on the ground at Saratoga Spa State Park. I used only the 8-15mm fisheye lens as I want to get used to its idiosyncrasies as quickly as possible. I'm also sure that it will see use the first time I'm at one of my usual locations after having acquired the lens.

I created a gallery for images from Saratoga Spa State Park which you can visit at https://trulandphotography.com/sssp. Here are some of the images from today.

8-15mm Fisheye Lens

(David Truland) — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 21:57:32 GMT

I picked up a used Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L USM Fisheye lens and had my first chance to try it out this afternoon. I made a quick trip to two locations, Oakwood Cemetery and Waterford. On a full frame camera, the lens gives you a 180 degree diagonal fisheye image at 14mm and a nearly 180 degree diagonal field of view at 15mm. At 8mm, the lens gives you a 180 degree circular fisheye image.

First, are two images from Oakwood Cemetery at 8mm and 15mm from the same shooting location.

Here are two circular fisheye images from Peebles Island and Waterford Harbor followed by the same Waterford Harbor scene at 15mm and 14mm.

Winter Scenes from Schuylerville

(David Truland) — Sun, 13 Feb 2022 17:11:30 GMT

Schuyler House, in Schuylerville, New York, is a part of Saratoga National Historical Park. The current structure was built in November, 1777, immediately after the retreating British forces burned the then country home of General Philip Schuyler. The surrender of the British army took place not very far from this spot.

I continue to mostly use the EOS 5Ds R body and EF 24-70mm f/4L lens with a monopod. I'm also still processing single files. Here are some images of Schuyler House. You can read more about the site at https://www.nps.gov/sara/planyourvisit/schuyler-house.htm.

The house borders on Fish Creek, which was a dividing line between British and American forces prior to the surrender. Across Route 32 from the house there is a view of the creek showing an old wooden water pipe, still in use, bringing water from the dammed creek down to a hydroelectric plant.

Oakwood Cemetery in Winter

(David Truland) — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:16:51 GMT

I made a quick trip to Oakwood Cemetery this afternoon with my now usual single camera setup. As I have been, I use the monopod and, although I bracket three files, plus and minus one EV, I am not using HDR processing and choose the most appropriate file for normal RAW processing with Canon's DPP software.

Here are some of the results from today. The gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood now contains 858 images going back almost two years.

Saratoga Spa State Park in Winter

(David Truland) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:56:42 GMT

I've been wanting to get up to Saratoga Spa State Park in below freezing weather and today is supposed to be the last sunny day for a while.

I created a gallery for images from the park at https://trulandphotography.com/sssp. Here are some shots of Geyser Brook with the Canon 5Ds R and EF 24-70mm lens.

Canal Locks in Winter

(David Truland) — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 20:16:31 GMT

One of my favorite winter subjects is the Waterford Flight of Locks portion of the drained New York State Canal System. These images today are from lock E6 which is at the top of the flight at the level of the Mohawk River.

These are single file images [no bracketing for HDR processing] made with the 5Ds R and EF 24-70mm zoom lens with a polarizer filter. The last two show the focal length extremes of the lens looking East toward lock E5.

More Adjusting to the New Bodies

(David Truland) — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 20:38:29 GMT

Since the last blog entry I broke up the big heavy backpack into several smaller packages. A small shoulder bag now has all my filters and OP/TECH harnesses and straps. A larger shoulder bag has the 6D Mark II body and the two Tamron prime lenses. All flash accessories are in a this small shoulder bag.

A new backpack, a Think Tank Streetwalker V2.0, holds the 5Ds, 5Ds R and my three Canon L zoom lenses. Here is that bag.

I walked around a bit of Peebles Island wearing my new traction spikes over my trainers. Peebles Island trails are treacherous in winter. I carried the 5Ds R and 24-70mm lens with the monopod.

Here are some of the results, again single files without HDR processing.

Frozen Water, Frozen Fingers

(David Truland) — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 21:21:18 GMT

I'm gradually getting the new gear all set up the way I want it. I now have everything I'll be using in my bigger backpack, a Think Tank Airport Commuter which has had the backpack straps cut off. The bag contains the three bodies and five lenses I'll be using going forward. Here is how they're laid out.

Because the 50MP bodies really need to be supported rather than handheld, I'll be using the tripod mount on the 70-300mm lens and an L bracket on the body which I'll be using with the 16-35mm or 24-70mm lenses. This will facilitate a vertical orientation on the monopod or tripod.

The lower resolution 6D Mark II will be used with the Tamron 45mm lens when I'm not being serious about landscapes and the Tamron 85mm lens will probably see use with both kinds of bodies.

Temperatures this morning were in the low single digits and it was windy. I froze my fingers in the few minutes I was out of the car at Cohoes Falls. I used the 5Ds body and 70-300mm lens attached to a monopod. These are single file images with processing from RAW in Canon DPP software.

To show the resolving power of the 50MP bodies, this image is a cropped in portion of the closest in photo of the falls.

First Day of 2022

(David Truland) — Sat, 08 Jan 2022 22:15:11 GMT

Today was my first time out shooting in 2022. The start to the year was delayed a bit by a breakthrough case of COVID-19, presumably Omicron. Omicron, apparently, doesn't care much if you're vaccinated and boosted. The good news is, if you're vaccinated and boosted, it's unlikely to cause serious illness.

In my case it was a four day long bad cold.

Since my last post on Christmas, I picked up a used Canon 5Ds body to go with the 5Ds R body I bought earlier in December. I'm selling one of my 6D Mark II bodies but will keep the other one.

The 5Ds/R bodies are a different thing from other cameras I've owned. They seem way more likely to produce chromatic aberrations than other bodies with the same lenses. Particularly when I process bracketed files in HDR software. Canon's software corrects nicely for the CA when processing single files.

Today, after being unhappy with the HDR processed results, I went back and processed single files. In some ways it's an improvement, in other ways it's not as good. But, the files are crisper and the color fringing eliminated.

So, for the next while, I will shoot single exposures and process them as best I can. It will be a learning process all over again. Here are some images from this afternoon at the Neilson Farm at Saratoga National Historical Park. I used the 5Ds and EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens.

2022 Wall Calendar

(David Truland) — Sat, 25 Dec 2021 14:06:51 GMT

Here is a slideshow of the images from my 2022 Wall Calendar.

And you can access a PDF file of location and shooting details here.

More Testing With the 5Ds R

(David Truland) — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 22:06:35 GMT

I was out for short sessions with the new camera yesterday and today. The weather has been great with sun and temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s.

Yesterday, I walked along the Champlain Canalway Trail with the EF 70-300mm lens and used the monopod for steadying. Here are some cattails, single file images rather than HDR composites from bracketing.

Today, I visited a different section of the Canalway Trail and Saratoga National Historical Park. The tour road is closed for the winter, which seems a bit unnecessary given the weather. The Neilson Farm, however, is only a short walk from a parking area not on the tour road.

I forgot my tripod and monopod today so I limited myself to the 16-35mm lens. Two facets of the 5Ds R make my usual method, hand held bracketing, problematic. The 50.6 megapixel resolution means either shutter speeds need to be higher or the camera needs to be mounted on something, even with image stabilized lenses. The 5Ds R also only shoots at 5 frames per second so shooting 5 bracketed frames takes at least a full second.

I suspect I will end up processing more single files and may also bracket 3 frames at plus and minus 1 1/2 EV rather than 5 frames at plus and minus 1 EV. It will take some experimenting. But there is no denying the value of the high resolution of the 5Ds R.

Waterford Christmas Lights

(David Truland) — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 01:38:07 GMT

After waiting around most of the day for my refurbished EOS 5Ds R to arrive from Canon USA, I managed to shoot a bit with that camera and the EF 16-35mm f/4L lens. The 5Ds R is a 50.6MP full frame body which was introduced in 2015. It remains Canon's highest megapixel camera body and is still available new at select retailers. It had an initial price of $3,899 and now sells for $1,499 new and $1,199 refurbished.

I did not use great technique with these photos, all handheld with shutter speeds ranging from 1/2 to 1/10 second. They are also single file images, not HDR composites. A better plan would have been to use a tripod and bracket for HDR processing.

Testing New Portrait Length Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 05 Dec 2021 21:26:46 GMT

I Missed Some Good Snow

(David Truland) — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 18:13:12 GMT

I was thinking that a forecast of light snow for the Southern Adirondacks yesterday might result in some decent photo opportunities this morning. Well, it did snow but the ground was never covered and nothing stuck to the trees.

Back close to home, however, only a dozen miles to the east, there was a surprise near double digit snowfall with totally covered trees. Today would have been a good day to visit Grafton Lakes State Park.

This morning was windy and around 20 degrees as I drove down to the Northampton Beach Campground. I did get some decent images but they're not all that dissimilar to what I've been getting there all Fall.

Another annoyance was that after processing 22 images from 5 bracketed files, a process which takes several hours, I realized I saved them at half size so I have to do them all over again. Here are some of the half size photos which are still larger than they display on the blog but aren't sufficient for prints.

Winter is Coming

(David Truland) — Sat, 20 Nov 2021 19:32:51 GMT

With overnight temperatures in the mid 20's I knew the trails at Grafton Lakes State Park would not be muddy. A bonus was yesterday's light coating of snow pellets, also known as Graupel.

I added 35 images to my Grafton gallery which can be accessed from the featured galleries on the main page or from the collections page. Here are some samples from this morning.

Waterford Trail Reopens

(David Truland) — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 18:26:12 GMT

A stretch of the Champlain Canalway Trail from Broad Street in Waterford north for about a mile has been closed for quite some time now for improvements and maintenance. The work was described as "resurfacing (stone dust and asphalt), trail widening, clearing & tree removal, drainage improvements and new wooden fencing."

The most notable changes are a few newly paved sections and the new wooden fence. I'm not a fan of the fence.

I walked up the section this morning with my 24-70mm lens and ended up with 13 images to add to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oldchamp. Here are some samples.

It's the Brown Time of Year

(David Truland) — Sun, 14 Nov 2021 19:24:39 GMT

Although there are some other colors which still feature these days, brown is the most prevalent. I walked around Oakwood Cemetery this morning as the clouds were filling in. I could have used a half hour more sun bit it wasn't to be.

The gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood now contains 831 images. Here are some I added today.

November at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve

(David Truland) — Mon, 08 Nov 2021 19:03:44 GMT

It's going to be a great week for visiting my usual locations with sunny days and high temperatures around 60 degrees. Today I visited Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve.

I haven't been there since June. I stopped at the preserve in October but it was closed to the public for the week long duck hunting season. It wasn't a long visit and I only added 11 photos to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/vfnp.

I'll try to find a morning soon where the ground will be frozen so I can walk around the otherwise muddy trails through the woods. Here are some samples.

Saratoga NHP - Day 3

(David Truland) — Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:00:21 GMT

I decided to head up along the Hudson River again this morning but was early for the battlefield opening so visited the Schuylerville park sites before going back down to the battlefield. I bypassed the usual car tour spots and spent some times on trails, off the road.

The trail I decided on is also used by horses and it was really muddy in spots. I need to get some waterproof boots If I want to traverse these trails in the Spring.

Here are two images of the monument, two from Victory Woods, one from the surrender site and a few from the battlefield trails.

The gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp now contains 142 photos.

Saratoga Battlefield - Day 2

(David Truland) — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 23:26:51 GMT

It's only been three days since my initial trip to Saratoga National Historical Park. But, the weather was totally different so I decided to make another trip while the weather is decent and some color remains in the trees.

There was some nice sun and clouds, and a rain squall with high winds. Luckily I was able to shelter on the porch of the Neilson farmhouse during the rain and wind.

Again, I only used the 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens although I had everything with me in the Outback. One of my upgrade plans is to add the EF 24-105mm f/4L IS II lens to my kit. Image quality is a bit better and when I'm only carrying one camera and lens the extra length will be useful. I will keep the shorter zoom for it's smaller size and macro capabilities.

The gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp now has 99 images. Here are some samples from this morning.

Saratoga National Historical Park

(David Truland) — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 21:00:40 GMT

I've been thinking of a new shooting location that's close enough for regular visits that I can document over the course of the next year. I decided on Saratoga National Historical Park, also known as the Saratoga Battlefield. I'm familiar with the park but haven't visited in many years. It's 15 miles from home and a nice drive along the Hudson River.

In addition to the 10 mile tour road, which has ten points of interest, there are trails which lead to some more isolated historical points. You can learn more about the park at https://www.nps.gov/sara/index.htm.

Today I stayed on the road and stopped at all of the 10 points. It was foggy right up until I left at around 11:30AM.

I created a gallery for this project at https://trulandphotography.com/snhp. The gallery starts with 34 photos from this morning. Here are some examples, all made with the 24-70mm f/4L lens.

High Water in the Mohawk River

(David Truland) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 18:58:13 GMT

While there was widespread heavy rains the past couple of days, The Catskill Mountains, in particular, saw rain in excess of three inches. A lot of this water finds its way to the Mohawk River west of the Capital District and then runs down to the Hudson River.

But first, it all has to go over Cohoes Falls. Here are some shots from the falls followed by some shots of Peebles Island and Waterford Harbor with water levels just about at flood stage.

Some Late Color at Great Sacandaga Lake

(David Truland) — Sun, 24 Oct 2021 20:14:15 GMT

It was below freezing this morning just before sunrise and I decided to drive, rather than walk, the 1 1/2 miles down to the marina and campground at Northampton. The sunrise was less than inspiring with no clouds but considerable fog.

I shot the sunrise with the 70-300mm lens then used the 24-70mm lens for a walk around the day use area of Northampton Beach Campground. Here a couple of the sunrise followed by a bunch from post sunrise.

Beecher Creek, Edingurgh, NY

(David Truland) — Fri, 22 Oct 2021 19:41:44 GMT

It's Fall in the Adirondacks and there are still nice colors in the southern region. I made another stop at the Copeland Covered Bridge at Beecher Creek Falls in Edinburgh this morning. Conditions were good and I got some decent Fall themed images for the Adirondack Scenics gallery.

This might be a good location in Winter depending on if there's enough water. Since it's right off a road, it's worth keeping an eye on. The parking area will probably be inaccessible once the plow piles block parking opportunities. Ideally, there will be some cold weather to create some ice before there's a lot of snow.

Here are some of today's images.

Fall Along the Champlain Canalway Trail In Halfmoon

(David Truland) — Tue, 12 Oct 2021 20:00:11 GMT

I hadn't been up to the Champlain Canalway Trail in Halfmoon since late July. I wanted to get there before the color is gone so I headed up this morning after the fog burned off. Fog can be good but this was thick, up off the ground and just made it dark.

I carried both bodies with the 24-70mm and 70-300mm lenses. The first five are with the 24-70mm lens and the final three are with the 70-300mm lens.

I added 22 images to the Champlain Canalway gallery which you can access from the collections tab or the featured galleries on the main page.

Better Foliage at Grafton Lakes State Park

(David Truland) — Fri, 08 Oct 2021 21:13:40 GMT

I did manage to get back to Grafton Lakes State Park before the best foliage was a thing of the past. I added 46 images to the Grafton gallery.

I carried both the 16-35mm and 70-300mm lenses and managed to visit all four ponds. It was completely overcast when I left the house but it was forecast to clear over the course of the morning and I wanted to be there when it did.

Early Fall Foliage

(David Truland) — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 17:04:28 GMT

The trees have barely started to turn at Grafton Lakes State Park. I will try to get back there in the next couple of weeks to hopefully catch some more dramatic colors.

All of these shots were made with the 70-300mm lens. The first three images are of Long Pond and the final four images are along the shore of Second Pond.

Back to Great Sacandaga Lake

(David Truland) — Sat, 18 Sep 2021 18:52:59 GMT

The last time I was up to the Northville area the rivers were at springtime levels and the water level of Great Sacandaga Lake was way above where it usually is in August. There was no visible sunrise this morning to I postponed my walk down the the Northampton Beach State Park until skies cleared somewhat.

Late morning lighting is not ideal but clouds and HDR processing helped make some interesting images. Here are some samples. I added 18 images to the Adirondacks Scenics gallery.

A Wet Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Mon, 13 Sep 2021 18:56:03 GMT

I decided to walk around Oakwood Cemetery this morning with the 24-70mm lens. Thunderstorms came through the area this morning around 4:00 AM and I figured there might be some standing water I could use for reflections. There were some puddles but nothing that stands out.

The Oakwood Cemetery gallery now contains 804 images including 16 I added today. Here are some samples.

Paddle the Flight 2021

(David Truland) — Sun, 12 Sep 2021 15:47:07 GMT

This year's Paddle the Flight event was organized as part of the Tugboat Roundup calendar. The boats, which consisted of kayaks, canoes a paddle board and a dragon boat traversed the Waterford Flight of Locks from the Mohawk River down to the Hudson River.

A 44 image gallery can be viewed at https://trulandphotography.com/ptf2021. Here are some samples.

Tugboat Roundup 2021

(David Truland) — Sat, 11 Sep 2021 12:55:26 GMT

It's been three years since I've been able to photograph the boats arriving at Waterford Harbor for the Tugboat Roundup. This year the weather was great although the number and variety of boats was disappointing. I suspect 9/11 remembrances in New York City kept some downstate boats from making the trip up the Hudson River.

I used only the 70-300mm lens and it worked out well. High water kept me from my usual shooting location on the "beach" at Peebles Island but the bridge over the Mohawk River is an equally good vantage point. Here are some samples. The gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/tugboatroundup2021.

Late Summer at Grafton Lakes SP

(David Truland) — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 22:13:51 GMT

I walked around Long Pond at Grafton Lakes State Park this morning. It took me two and a half hours. I carried both 6D Mark II bodies with the 16-35mm and 70-300mm lenses.

I added 33 images to the Grafton gallery. Here are some samples.

Cranbrook Gardens

(David Truland) — Mon, 30 Aug 2021 10:30:56 GMT

Yesterday, I was at Cranbook Gardens in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan with the EF 35mm f/2 IS lens I rented from Lensrentals for the trip. It was another hot, muggy day but, like the Detroit Zoo, there was shade to be found. There is a 30 image gallery from the gardens at https://trulandphotography.com/cranbrook.

Detroit Zoo

(David Truland) — Sat, 28 Aug 2021 21:22:51 GMT

These images from the Detroit Zoo were all made with the 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens. I have a 41 image gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/detroitzoo.

Erie, Pennyslvania

(David Truland) — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 22:28:20 GMT

A quick overnight stop in Erie, Pennsylvania resulted in some decent scenics from Presque Isle Bay and Presque Island State Park.

Southern Adirondacks Rain

(David Truland) — Sat, 21 Aug 2021 11:39:00 GMT

It's been a very wet Summer in the Northeast in general and in the Southern Adirondacks in particular with the rivers and streams that fill the Great Sacandaga Lake running at almost Spring levels in August. A quick trip to that area yesterday resulted in some images of the situation.

The first three images are of Beecher Creek in Edinburgh and the final four are of the Sacandaga River north of the lake. Following the images is a fifty second video of Beecher Creek.

Some Slight Kit Adjustments

(David Truland) — Thu, 12 Aug 2021 15:32:33 GMT

I decided not to keep the 85mm f/1.8 lens I bought at Best Buy in July. My deadline for returning the lens was August 16th, so with time left, I brought it back to the store and picked up the much cheaper, smaller and lighter 50mm f/1.8 STM lens.

In addition, I'm back to using the OP/TECH strap system rather than the Blackrapid and switched to an older Lowepro Compact AW [that's the name not a description. It's actually large] shoulder bag for storage and transport purposes. This morning I walked over to Waterford with the 50mm lens.

We're in the middle of a heat wave with daytime highs in the mid 90s so activity is best before the sun gets too high. Here are some samples.

Late Developing Sunrise

(David Truland) — Thu, 05 Aug 2021 18:33:34 GMT

My bad luck with sunrises at lock 5 continued this morning. The ones I like best are where the sky is full of pink clouds about 20 minutes before sunrise. I have yet to see one of those this summer.

The problem again today was heavy clouds to the northeast which blocked the sun until it was above the horizon. I stayed past sunrise despite the lack of color and did have some nice clouds. Here is a chronological series from 5:10AM to 6:27AM. Sunrise was at 5:48AM. The first shot showing the sun was at 6:08AM.

More Grafton Lakes State Park

(David Truland) — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 20:24:29 GMT

I took another walk around Shaver Pond this morning with the 24-70mm f/4L lens. I've had very mixed results bracketing files for HDR processing with a polarizer filter.

Today was mixed. Lessening reflections on the water was nice but it does things to the sky I don't like. I think it might have something to do with the way the filter affects the way the camera meters and determines white balance with severe over and under exposures.

The last time I used a polarizer filter, at this same location, I liked the results but that was with the mirrorless camera which meters in a totally different way and a different lens with a different sized filter. So, it could just be the 77mm diameter filter I use on the EF L lenses. Or not.

Here are some samples. I uploaded 26 images to the Grafton gallery which you can access from the main page or from the collections tab.

West Coast Wildfire Haze

(David Truland) — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 17:51:28 GMT

I wanted to take advantage of haze from the West Coast wildfires this morning. It was a nice, diffused warm color light before the sun rose too high. I was up at Oakwood Cemetery not long after the gates opened at 8:00 AM. I was only there for about an hour and by noontime, the haze had lowered to ground level, visibility was bad and it smelled like smoke.

I waked around with both camera bodies and the 16-35mm and 70-300mm lenses. I expect this will be my most used pairing, reserving the 24-70mm lens for when I'm only using one camera body or when I expect to want its .7X closeup feature.

The first three images are with the 16-35mm lens and the other four are with the telephoto zoom. A reminder that all my shots from Oakwood Cemetery are in the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood.

A Wet Peebles Island

(David Truland) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 16:30:40 GMT

Since my last blog post eleven days ago, I've completed my migration back to DSLRs and EF lenses. A second 6D Mark II body, an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L lens and an EF 85mm f/1.8 lens filled up the bag nicely and I've sold all the R series bodies and RF lenses I had. It wasn't an even swap money wise, but not that far off, and the lenses I have now are higher quality than before.

I walked around Peebles Island this morning with the 70-300mm lens. The vernal pools are filled up with rain water and there are mushrooms all over the place.

Testing the EF 24-70mm f/4L Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 19:43:31 GMT

I took the 6D Mark II and EF 24-70mm f/4L lens up to the Champlain Canalway Trail this morning, parking at the Brookwood Rd. parking lot, which is also close to Lighthouse Park along the Hudson River.

I have previously owned one of these lenses so it was more a matter of testing the functions of the lens rather than characteristics of the lens. This lens is a refurbished lens purchased directly from Canon USA. Interestingly, the date code indicates it was manufactured in July, 2019, exactly the same month as my EF 16-35mm f/4L lens which I purchased new from Best Buy in September, 2020.

Here are some photos from the canal, the short walk down to the river and the kayak launch at Lighthouse Park. The first two show the extremes of the zoom range from the same spot. I like how the reflections on the railroad crossing sign in the barn shot make it look like the sign is translucent.

Late Start to July

(David Truland) — Thu, 08 Jul 2021 18:54:30 GMT

I haven't yet done a blog entry for July. I haven't been shooting much as I try to sell some of my Canon R gear and fill back in with Canon EF lenses.

The good news is that a refurbished Canon EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens was delivered today. I'll get out with it soon.

Back on July 1st, I did go to Grafton Lakes State Park and the Grafton Peace Pagoda but it was overcast and the photos are not great. But, since it is July 8th with nothing else to post, here they are.

Sunrise at Lock E5

(David Truland) — Tue, 29 Jun 2021 13:10:50 GMT

While I wait to sell my second EOS RP body and a couple of lenses, I have only the EF 16-35mm f/4L lens to pair with my 6D Mark II body. I have a road map for refilling my bag which includes, initially, two lenses and a second 6D Mark II body.

The two lenses are the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM and the EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM. Both are excellent quality, weather sealed lenses and both, being older lenses, have lens profiles in the HDR software I use. Added to the lens I already have, this will be an excellent landscape kit.

Yesterday, I went over to the locks just around sunrise, missing the earlier color, but getting some nice early morning shots. This morning, I was over at the locks well before sunrise and used a tripod for the slower shutter speeds in the pre-dawn light.

The first four shots are from this morning, the second four from yesterday.

Early Morning Walk

(David Truland) — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 12:56:59 GMT

This morning's walk started early so I could be back home to watch Stage 2 of the Tour de France on Peacock. It wasn't hard to choose what to carry but the 6D Mark II and EF 16-35mm f/4L lens would be the logical choice in any case.

The first image here was made at around 5:30 AM and the last image at around 6:30 AM as I headed back across the Hudson River.

Note the Great Blue Heron tracks on the shore of Peebles Island.

Wrapping Up the Maine Weekend

(David Truland) — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 20:37:34 GMT

I neglected to do a blog entry yesterday so this one will wrap up the Maine weekend. There are shots from yesterday's sunrise, some from throughout the day and this morning's sunrise. I shot almost exclusively with the 6D Mark II only using RP bodies when I wanted the 600mm looking down at the beach and this morning when I had one with the 85mm lens for some sunrise images.

Maine Coast with the 6D Mark II

(David Truland) — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 17:31:33 GMT

As I mentioned last time, I rented a 6D Mark II body to pair with my EF 16-35mm f/4L IS lens for this weekend's trip to the coast of Maine. The camera is working out well although after using only mirrorless cameras for over a year now, I occasionally expect it not to act like a DSLR.

Here some shots from yesterday and this morning with this combination. The gallery from this trip will be located at https://trulandphotography.com/maine2021.

Renting Some Gear for Maine

(David Truland) — Thu, 17 Jun 2021 12:21:49 GMT

I've been thinking about renting something for this weekend's trip to the coast of Maine but haven't been able to decide on anything. It would have to be enough different from lenses I have to make it worthwhile and yet I didn't want to go over $100 for the week long rental period.

My decision came to me last weekend as I was, again, trying a work around for the fact that my Canon software is not running on my MacBook's newest software so lens corrections don't get applied to RAW files. The decision was not to rent a lens but a camera body. Canon's 6D Mark II has the same sensor as my RP bodies but creates the older .CR2 RAW files rather than the newer .CR3 files. My HDR software can not read lens information from the .CR3 files in order to apply its own lens corrections. This is not a problem with the .CR2 files so the software recognizes the lens and applies the corrections.

I only have one lens left which will work with DSLRs but it happens to be my best landscape lens and my only weather sealed L lens, the 16-35mm f/4L IS USM. I was out with the combination this morning testing it out and here are some results.

Adirondack Sunrise

(David Truland) — Sat, 05 Jun 2021 16:01:34 GMT

I got up at 4:00 AM this morning to walk 1 1/2 miles down to where there are good vantage points for sunrises over Great Sacandaga Lake. My first shot was made at 4:51 AM with sunrise occurring at 5:17 AM.

I carried only one body with the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS lens. Handheld bracketed sequences had shutter speeds as low as 1/5 second which is about the limit, especially when bracketing 5 files. Interestingly, only a few of the 31 images I uploaded to the website were wider than 24mm. I've been considering replacing my 24-240mm lens (which is not good at it's widest end) with the RF 24-105mm f.4L. That lens probably would have been perfect this morning.

Here are some samples:

Meteorological Summer Begins

(David Truland) — Tue, 01 Jun 2021 17:52:51 GMT

Today begins the season of Meteorological Summer. After a cold and wet holiday weekend it was nice to get out in some warmer, drier weather.

There was still a chance of rain this morning so I only carried one camera and the 600mm lens in a holster bag. I added 16 images to the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve gallery. Here are some samples.

World Turtle Day

(David Truland) — Sun, 23 May 2021 17:47:15 GMT

It's World Turtle Day so I thought I'd head up to the Champlain Canalway Trail in Halfmoon where there are tons of turtles. I parked at Schoolhouse Lane and walked the two or so miles up to the waste weir and back.

It was overcast when I headed north so no turtles were sunning themselves. I did see some turtles on the way back south and one hanging out on the trail but nothing photogenic.

Instead, it was birds and a beaver that provided subjects. I carried the 85mm and 600mm lenses.

I added 17 images to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oldchamp. Here are six samples.

Long Pond Trail

(David Truland) — Tue, 18 May 2021 21:19:58 GMT

After reading an article in a 2020 magazine about how one photographer made his HDR images, I decided to do a test outing. The photographer said that he only bracketed three files, plus and minus two or three EVs.

My practice is to bracket five files with +/- one EV. I did a test with some of my files from last weekend only processing the three files with normal and plus and minus two EVs and it seemed to work fine. An advantage of the fewer files is that it takes less time to capture the files with less subject movement. My camera bodies capture at five frames per second.

Long story short, it didn't work out in practice. The lack of the intermediately exposed files seems to be a bit much for the HDR software I use. I think that my tests from last weekend's files involved scenes with far less exposure variations in the scene.

Only about half of what I shot ended up useable and some of that far less than ideal. The location was the Long Pond trail at Grafton Lakes State Park. While the state's trail map says the trail is 2.5 miles, my phone navigation app tells me I walked 3.5 miles from my car and back to my car.

Here are a bunch of not great images from the experiment. Next time I visit the park I'll try a different trail and go back to five file bracketing.

Sacandaga Region Scenes

(David Truland) — Sun, 16 May 2021 20:51:37 GMT

I spent another weekend visiting old and new locations in the Sacandaga region. Locations were the Sacandaga River at the state boat launch, Beecher Creek Falls and the Copeland Covered Bridge, the Conklingville Dam and the Northampton Beach State Campground.

I added 81 images to my Adirondack Scenics gallery.

Blue and Green Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Wed, 12 May 2021 11:13:21 GMT

I went up to Oakwood Cemetery yesterday morning intending to carry my 35mm and 85mm lenses on the two EOS RP bodies. When I arrived, however, I realized that I had left the bag I had moved lens hoods to behind. Not wanting to walk around with unprotected front lens elements, I carried the only two lenses left in the bag with hoods due to the fact that those hoods don't add much to the size of the lens, the 50mm and 600mm lenses.

These images are all made with the 50mm lens. I added 58 images from both lenses to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood.

Scenes from the Morning Walk

(David Truland) — Sun, 09 May 2021 15:57:15 GMT

This morning I walked the five mile route over through Cohoes to the canal trail at the Mohawk River and back through Waterford. I decided to carry the RF 50mm f/1.8 lens, my lightest and cheapest option. This lens doesn't have image stabilization so I have to be more careful about both shutter speed and being steady for the five file bracketing.

Here are some samples.

Vischer Ferry Before the Mosquitoes

(David Truland) — Fri, 07 May 2021 20:39:16 GMT

It won't be long now before photographing in some parts of Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve won't be feasible due to swarms of mosquitoes. The trails along the old canal aren't too bad, it's when you get back toward the Mohawk River in the woods that they're horrible.

But, until then, the preserve is insect free and, after recent rain, there's more water which makes it better for photographing both birds and scenery.

More Halfmoon Canalway Trail

(David Truland) — Thu, 06 May 2021 18:46:27 GMT

The last time, I carried my 16-35mm and 24-240mm lenses with my two EOS RP bodies. Today, I carried my 85mm and 600mm lenses.

Wildlife I saw this morning consisted of deer, beaver, geese, red tailed hawk and painted and snapping turtles in addition to the usual song birds.

Here are some samples and a reminder that all my images from the Champlain Canalway Trail, from the Mohawk River to where the trail moves to Route 4 in Halfmoon can be seen at https://trulandphotography.com/oldchamp. I added 30 images from this morning's session.

Filling In the Champlain Canalway Trail

(David Truland) — Sat, 01 May 2021 22:13:14 GMT

I have now walked all of the Champlain Canalway Trail between the Mohawk River and Upper Newtown Road in Halfmoon. I'm guessing this portion of the trail is about eight miles. At some point this summer I'll walk it in one direction and get a definitive distance.

Today's portion started at Brookwood Road where there's a nice parking area right next to the trail. The parking area is also a short walk down to the river to Lighthouse Park. Heading north, the trail transitions at Upper Newtown Road to Route 4, along the road.

Here are some shots along the trail today, with a couple images from Lighthouse Park.

The "All in One" Zoom at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 19:49:44 GMT

I continue to evaluate my RF 24-240mm zoom lens as I consider replacing it with the RF 70-200mm L series lens. I still can't run Canon's software on my MacBook Air after Apple's latest software update. This means none of the lens corrections for the super zoom are available unless I want to use JPG files for HDR processing, which is not ideal.

Today, I restricted the lens to 35mm to about 190mm where the lens performs best. While chromatic aberration is not corrected for, and is visible on occasion here, the results aren't that bad. And, I have the original RAW files to process with Canon software once it starts working again - this has happened before.

If I do sell this lens for the 70-200mm I'll be losing focal length but gaining build, image quality and weather sealing. I'd just have to always also carry the 16-35mm lens.

Here are some shots from today. There are now 702 images in the gallery located at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood.

Spring in the Adirondacks

(David Truland) — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 21:01:29 GMT

I've spent the past three days in the Adirondacks, again, without internet except data on my phone. My current plan with Verizon Wireless does not allow me to tether to my computer for internet so uploading full size photos has to wait until I'm back home.

Here are some samples from the weekend starting with a very windy Caroga Lake on Friday. The rest of the images are from a Saturday trip up Route 30 with stops at the DEC Sacandaga Campground, where the west and main branches of the Sacandaga River meet, and a DEC trail above Auger Falls along the main branch of the Sacandaga.

Everything seemed really dry and I'm pretty sure river levels should be higher this time of year.

I added two dozen images to the Adirondack Scenics gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/adirondacks

Starting to Get Green

(David Truland) — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 18:28:45 GMT

I walked around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve this morning before the clouds filled in. Trees and water foliage are starting to get green and lily pads can be seen reaching the surface.

I enjoy Vischer Ferry this time of year because, on some trails, once the mosquitos come out you almost can't shoot photos because you're swarmed the minute you stop walking. And it stays that way right through September.

Like last time I was there I carried the 16-35mm and 600mm lenses.

Continuing with the 2 Lens, 2 Body Setup

(David Truland) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 17:22:25 GMT

I've been continuing to use the setup I described in the last blog entry, two EOS RP bodies, one with a 35mm lens and one with the new 85mm lens. I'be been back to Oakwood Cemetery and up the Champlain Canalway Trail since the other day.

First, here is what the setup looks like:

And here are some shots from the cemetery followed by today's images from the canal trail.

Daffodils and a New Lens

(David Truland) — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 21:21:04 GMT

Finally getting the latest stimulus money allowed me to pick up a lens I've been wanting for a while. The RF 85mm f/2 IS Macro STM is not an expensive lens by Canon RF standards. It's also only a half macro lens. And f/2 is not the kind of fast that makes people go "wow". But, after one outing with it, I'm impressed and very glad that I spent almost half the stimulus money to obtain it.

I already have the 35mm equivalent and I can have each of them on one of my EOS RP bodies. I used that setup at Oakwood Cemetery this morning and ended up getting more than 50 images added to the Oakwood gallery.

First, are shots from each lens showing the two focal lengths. The next four images are with the 35mm lens followed by four with the 85mm lens.

Getting Settled With Gear and Software

(David Truland) — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 18:57:13 GMT

So, not being able to use Canon's software on my MacBook Air following the most recent MacOS update caused me to investigate both an alternate workflow and getting rid of the one lens that seemed useless without Canon's software. That lens is the RF 24-240mm lens who's image circle doesn't even actually cover the sensor at 24mm. I had the lens up on Craigslist for a week or so, with a response only from one person who wanted it for an insulting amount.

As I've been looking at the RF 70-200mm f/4L lens, I thought that I'd eventually move to that lens. But, that lens would be mainly for landscapes and costs $1,600. Yesterday, I took the 24-240mm lens out, intentionally restricting use to the 40-200mm range. In fact, it performed fine without software corrections in that range. So, I'll not be selling it.

Here are some images from the last couple of days with the EF 16-35mm f/4L, RF 24-240mm and RF 600mm f/11 lenses. The waterfowl are a pair of American Black Ducks at Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve.

Easter Morning From Peebles Island

(David Truland) — Sun, 04 Apr 2021 13:34:30 GMT

For the second Easter in a row, I walked over to Peebles Island to shoot the sunrise over Bald Mountain and the Hudson River. Like yesterday, I used the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM lens.

These, and a few more, have been added to the Peebles Island gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/peeblesisland.

Van Schaick Island, Cohoes, NY

(David Truland) — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 18:23:58 GMT

It was a nice sunny morning for a walk, if a bit chilly at 26 degrees. I carried an EOS RP body with the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM lens.

It was my frequent 3 mile, 3 county walk. Here are some images I made of Van Schaick Island which is in the City of Cohoes, the Albany County portion of the walk. The island separates the Mohawk and Hudson rivers and does not lie in either one of them.

The old buildings are part of Matton Shipyard, now part of Peebles Island State Park, even though it's actually on Van Schaick Island. You can read more about the shipyard and plans for future use of the property at https://eriecanalway.org/get-involved/matton.

Wrapping up March

(David Truland) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 11:41:04 GMT

This post is just a collection of images made since the last blog post on March 21. I've been experimenting with different processing methods since the latest MacOS update rendered my Canon software inoperable. That software is necessary to process files from the 24-240mm lens so that lens is sitting on the shelf.

These are with the 16-35mm, 35mm and 600mm lenses, all of which don't require the Canon software although they would benefit from it.

Old Champlain Canal and Toxic Cleanup

(David Truland) — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 16:54:59 GMT

I finally worked up to my 5 mile walk from home through Cohoes over to Route 32 and back up the Champlain Canalway Trail through Waterford. The portion along the old canal will be interrupted for the next seven months by the cleanup of a toxic waste site adjacent to the canal.

The former Friedrichsohn Cooperage site has been fenced off for years and soil sampling was conducted years ago. The cleanup project is just now getting underway and will last until late October. The portion of the canal from the Mohawk River to the current canal will remain drained while the work is conducted.

Information and documents about the cleanup can be found here.

Here are some shots of the drained canal followed by some shots of the cleanup area and the structures to keep water out of the area once the current canal is flooded.

Champlain Canalway Trail

(David Truland) — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 09:45:00 GMT

I walked up the Champlain Canalway Trail north from Waterford twice this week. Yesterday, I drove over to the Waterford Post Office rather than walk from home so that I could get further up the trail before heading back. Even without the walk from home, it was a 4.25 mile round trip up to Schoolhouse Lane and back. I think I'll do this more often and as my walks get longer I can get to the section above Schoolhouse Lane which is more isolated and actually adjacent to canal remnants.

First, without leaves on the trees you can get a good view of the landslide which happened in May 2020. Here is a post from the time on CNN.com. https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/04/us/new-york-waterford-landslide-trnd/index.html

You can see in this image from today that there was some additional sliding after the article.

I was hundreds of yards away but the 600mm lens I was carrying has quite the reach. Following are some shots from my two trips, some with a 35mm lens and some with the 600mm lens. It will be easy to tell which is which.

Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 11:49:50 GMT

i enjoyed a two and a half mile walk around Oakwood Cemetery yesterday with the RF 24-240mm lens. It was about this time last year that I started visiting the cemetery more frequently as a photography location.

With the 38 files I uploaded yesterday, the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood now contains 531 images. Here are some samples from yesterday.

Adirondacks in March

(David Truland) — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 11:24:05 GMT

I spent the past weekend in the Adirondacks with a day of overcast and flurries and a day of total sunshine. Both days with high temperatures in the 20s.

Here are a couple of images from the cloudy day at Riparius and the Hudson River.

These are some shots of Great Sacandaga Lake from Sacandaga Park with Northville in the background.

Here are a couple of images of Lake Algonquin in Wells.

And finally, some shots from the Route 8 bridge over the Sacandaga River above Wells.

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve

(David Truland) — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 19:39:39 GMT

I took a walk around Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve in Clifton Park this morning. On this date last year, there were only a few spots still frozen over.

It's been cold lately and this year there's almost no open water. Hopefully it'll warm up soon.

You can see a blog entry from last year at https://trulandphoto.blogspot.com/2020/03/vischer-ferry-nature-preserve-scenics.html.

Here are some samples from this morning.

Frozen Falls, Drained Canal

(David Truland) — Sat, 20 Feb 2021 16:11:17 GMT

We're now two thirds of the way through winter. Daylight Savings Time returns in three weeks. To me, it seems like it's been a long winter already.

It hasn't been super snowy or super cold it's just been consistently cold with moderate snowfalls a couple of times a week. I'm ready for a good thaw.

But until then there's snowy scenes to photograph. This morning I visited Cohoes Falls and the Waterford Flight of Locks, both of which have dedicated galleries here.

I used the RF 24-240mm lens which has good image quality from 35mm to 200mm with the extremes of the zoom range being a bit on the soft side. The widest and longest focal lengths of these photos are 50mm and 173mm.

Early Morning Freezing Rain

(David Truland) — Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:52:19 GMT

Some freezing rain overnight and early this morning left exposed branches ice covered. Luckily, not to the extent of causing issues. It's now above freezing.

These are all made with the RF 600mm f/11 IS STM lens.

Adirondack Scenes

(David Truland) — Fri, 12 Feb 2021 12:25:22 GMT

I recently spent a few days in the southern Adirondacks, albeit without internet access other than my phone. So images had to wait to be uploaded. Here are some samples.

Schodack Island State Park

(David Truland) — Thu, 04 Feb 2021 19:32:17 GMT

I decided to make the half hour drive down to Schodack Island State Park this morning to see what the Hudson River looked like. Where I live, there is no tide and the river is frozen over with a snow covering.

Below the federal dam about a mile south of me there is a tide which breaks up the ice. Also, there is no navigation above the dam this time of year and ship traffic to and from the Port of Albany keeps the river from freezing solidly over farther south.

Here are some scenes from the boat launch area of the park together with a couple of shots of the Albany skyline from the east side of the river in Rensselaer.

Snowy Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 12:06:05 GMT

Yesterday saw some clearing with temperatures only moderately below freezing. Today sees the beginning of a stretch where temperatures dip down to near zero at night and rise only to the low teens during the day with wind chills in the minus teens.

So, yesterday I wanted to capture some snow covered scenes without freezing my fingers or my gear. I used my 24-240mm zoom lens. I wanted to be able to mostly stay in the roadways at Oakwood Cemetery while framing scenes as I wanted.

Frigid Blue Skies

(David Truland) — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 13:01:47 GMT

Yesterday was one of those January days that we've not seem many of this year. Sunny skies but with temperatures not approaching the above freezing mark. It was also windy which meant bracketing for HDR processing would be better with distant subjects that move, like tree branches and flags. I used the 16-35mm lens. So, of course, there was a nice Red-tailed Hawk sitting in the wind on top of a monument that I could walk up close to. But without a longer lens handy...

Here are some of the results. The large monument is to John E. Wool (1784-1869) who served as an officer in the US Army for both the War of 1812 and the Civil War. You can read about him at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._Wool.

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Frosty Fog on Peebles Island

(David Truland) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 16:35:22 GMT

I walked around Peebles Island with the 600mm f/11 lens this morning. There was a frosty fog which diffused the sunlight and made any shots made toward the sun more than a bit hazy.

First, I want to show what I think is the best vantage point for the new eagle nest. The old nest was in a perfect location for morning sun, no obstructions and the view from the cliffs was somewhat close to the elevation of the nest. This new nest, while actually on the island and closer to vantage points, is in the middle of a wooded area with lots of branches in the way and is at much higher elevation than the vantage points.

Unfortunately, this shooting location will be crowded once activity at the nest settles in. My EOS RP body has a 26MP full frame sensor. It also has a 1.6x crop mode which results in 10MP images with an effective focal length of 960mm with the 600mm lens. In this case, instead of using the crop mode, I simply cropped the full image to 3888x3592 pixels, the crop mode dimensions. An advantage of using the crop mode instead of cropping later is the electronic viewfinder shows the cropped in scene.

Here are the rest of the photos from this morning's walk. Only the Red-tailed Hawk is cropped. Due to the frozen fog I was able to shoot directly into the sun.

New Year's Day at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Fri, 01 Jan 2021 22:39:43 GMT

The day started out clear and crisp and I thought I'd get a chance at some long distance landscapes of the Albany skyline from the cemetery but there was way too much haze in the frosty air. So, I just walked around with the 24-240mm lens looking for some different scenes for the Oakwood gallery.

The ponds are mostly frozen but there's no snow and some green still exists in the grass and moss. I added 31 images to the gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood. Here are some samples.

Peebles Island With the RF 600mm f/11 IS STM Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 27 Dec 2020 19:10:50 GMT

Here are some images from this morning's walk around Peebles Island with a Canon EOS RP and the RF 600mm f/11 IS STM lens. I'm satisfied with the image quality of this bargain lens compared to some other options I've had for that kind of focal length. And the fact that it's relatively small and light doesn't hurt.

The higher ISO quality of full frame sensors, the ability of the mirrorless cameras to focus well with darker lenses and a very effective five stop image stabilization is what makes this lens feasible. These and a few more from today can be seen at https://trulandphotography.com/peeblesisland.

Christmas Thaw High Water

(David Truland) — Sat, 26 Dec 2020 20:38:31 GMT

After two feet of snow, temperatures in the 60s and rain predictably led to high water on the rivers. Both the Hudson and Mohawk rivers were a bit above flood stage today as a result. Here are some photos from Waterford, Peebles Island and Cohoes Falls.

Since the Last Post

(David Truland) — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 19:42:32 GMT

Here is a collection of images I've made since my last blog post on December 6th.

Canalhenge

(David Truland) — Sun, 06 Dec 2020 19:32:28 GMT

With below freezing temperatures overnight, the bottom of the drained basin between locks E4 and E5 was walkable without sinking into the mud - except in a few spots. I used the RF 35mm f/1.8 STM lens along with the new RF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens which arrived yesterday.

Of the following shots, only the first was made with the 50mm lens as once I got down into the basin I needed the width of the other lens.

A Warm Start to December

(David Truland) — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 18:22:29 GMT

Temperatures were in the high 50s this morning before a front came through that brought some hail, wind, rain and a rainbow. I walked down to the river and over to Waterford before the weather came but the walk back was wet.

Here are some shots with the EF 26-35mm f/4L lens.

Waterford Fight of Locks Sans Water

(David Truland) — Fri, 27 Nov 2020 19:01:26 GMT

Well, it's that time of year. The canal is drained so there goes my good sunrise reflections.

It's always interesting to see the canal structures without water. There's a lot more to them than it appears.

These are all made between locks E4 and E6 with a Canon EOS RP and RF 35mm f/1.8 IS USM lens. I've organized my photos of Waterford Harbor and the flight of locks in a gallery located at https://trulandphotography.com/waterfordcanal.

Late Fall at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Fri, 20 Nov 2020 13:12:15 GMT

I made a midday trip yesterday to Oakwood Cemetery as I continue to document the seasons at the location. All these were made with the RF 24-240mm lens.

Sunrise(ish), Sunset(ish)

(David Truland) — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 22:46:26 GMT

It's been cold lately. In the 20's this morning for the sunrise and around 30 for today's sunset. And windy.

And, the results really weren't worth the exposure to the elements.

November Sunrise at Lock E5

(David Truland) — Sat, 07 Nov 2020 18:14:25 GMT

The sun now comes up right over Bald Mountain as viewed from lock E5 on the Waterford Flight of Locks. As usual, on days with nice conditions, I used both EOS RP bodies with the 16-35mm and 24-240mm lenses.

Finances permitting, I'd like to get one of the just announced RF 70-200mm f/4L lenses to use in place of the super zoom for critical purposes. That lens will have better image quality. I'd still plan on keeping the super zoom for when I only want to use one body and may need both wide and telephoto focal lengths.

Here are some samples from this morning.

November Scenes At Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Thu, 05 Nov 2020 22:01:25 GMT

I'm enjoying the start of a week long stretch of warm and sunny weather. I hope to put it to good use.

Today, I headed up to Oakwood Cemetery. Since March, I've been documenting scenes at the cemetery as the seasons change. Winter should be interesting.

Here are some from today.

An Icy, Foggy Halloween Morning

(David Truland) — Sat, 31 Oct 2020 18:18:54 GMT

We had about an inch of snow yesterday morning and temperatures overnight were in the lower 20s. The combination saw lots of the remaining foliage falling from the trees. With the relatively warm river waters, some dense fog formed which, of course was frozen.

All these shots were made at Waterford Harbor and Peebles Island with the 16-35mm f/4L lens.

Maine 2020 - Day 3

(David Truland) — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 21:32:24 GMT

I'll finish up the Maine trip, as far as the blog goes, with some images from this morning at the beach. It was not a dynamic sunrise due to clouds but there is always something to capture. My mistake this morning was forgetting that I had taken off the quick release plate from one of my cameras so I couldn't attach the camera with the longer lens to the monopod without a lot of messing around. I was able to just kind of sit the body on top of the monopod and it was better than nothing.

Here are some samples.

Maine 2020 - Day 2

(David Truland) — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 01:00:53 GMT

Today saw a great sunrise with both EOS RP bodies available with memory cards. I spent almost all day processing the sunrise images then took a walk around and filled in with some shots of local color. Here is a bunch of samples.

Maine 2020 - Day 1

(David Truland) — Sun, 18 Oct 2020 16:45:03 GMT

The three day trip to Maine got underway Saturday afternoon with a great drive through Vermont and New Hampshire. The fall colors were amazing pretty much the whole way. Here are some shots from Hogback Mountain in Vermont.

This morning saw a decent sunrise but I was hampered a bit by forgetting to put the memory card back into the RP body that had the 24-240mm lens attached. I could have switched lenses or the remaining SD card back and forth between bodies but I decided I didn't want to risk dropping and ruining wither a lens or a card in the dark on the beach.

Here are some sunrise and post sunrise shots with the EF 16-35mm f/4L lens.

Storm Damage, Foliage and Clouds

(David Truland) — Thu, 15 Oct 2020 18:50:00 GMT

Since my last blog post I've mostly been using the ultra wide lens, first at Oakwood Cemetery for some shots of damage from the Derecho line of storms that came through and knocked my power out for 26 hours, and then at lock E5 as I spied some mice clouds.

Canon did a horrible thing recently with big price drops on their EOS 5DS camera bodies. While these are older designs, they have 50 megapixel full frame sensors and would be delightful for landscapes paired with my EF 16-35mm lens. But I am resisting.

Here are some shots as I described, all with the EOS RP and EF 16-35mm lens.

Settling In With the Two Lenses

(David Truland) — Sat, 10 Oct 2020 13:42:51 GMT

Now that I have the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens, I can plan on only using the RF 24-240mm lens from 50mm and longer. This avoids the extreme wide end of the lens which is not nearly as sharp as one would prefer.

Since the last blog post I've been out and about on three occasions (with a 26 hour power outage included), Prospect Mountain in Lake George, Cohoes Falls and this morning's sunrise over the canal. I'll post some images from each outing, all with the 24-240mm lens and all at focal lengths greater than 50mm.

Canon will soon be announcing an RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens which I will take a close look at.

Grafton Lakes State Park

(David Truland) — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 21:11:37 GMT

I haven't been to this location in more than a few years but it's fall and it's one of the better local foliage locations. I'm just going to load up lots of photos. I used both RP bodies, one with the EF 16-35mm f/4L and one with the RF 24-240mm lens.

The Top of the Waterford Flight of Locks

(David Truland) — Sat, 03 Oct 2020 20:26:57 GMT

There were some dynamic skies around noon today and was out and looking for a location that might include some fall color with a relatively unobstructed view of the sky. My first stop at Cohoes Falls didn't look promising and I didn't even get out of the car.

I had already planned my next stop which was the boat launch and park at the end of Flight Lock Road, where the canal enters the Mohawk River - if you're heading west. These photos are all with the new EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM lens, which I am very happy with. In fact, I'm noticing issues on the edges with the RF 24-240mm lens. So, an upgrade to that lens might be in the works in coming months.

Finishing Up September at Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 23:00:00 GMT

After rain and clouds this morning, some clearing allowed a mid afternoon session at Oakwood Cemetery to allow further evaluation of the 35-16mm lens. Here are some of the results. A reminder that all of the Oakwood Cemetery photos are contained in a gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood.

New Lens: EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM

(David Truland) — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 19:05:41 GMT

The stars were apparently aligned yesterday as, for once, a lens migration worked out as i was envisioning. I had been looking at lenses to rent for an upcoming long weekend on the coast of Maine and, as usual, I have in the back of my mind that I would consider purchasing the rental lens. One of the weak points of my current lens inventory is the ultra wide category. My 17-40mm lens is an older design with some shortcomings and lacks image stabilization.

I have tried to sell this lens on a couple of occasions over the past couple of years without any success. A $200 Canon instant rebate for this lens expired on Sunday and so, as of yesterday, it cost $200 more to buy new. I decided to put up a new Craigslist ad and within a few hours had someone interested. So, with the proceeds of that sale I headed down to Best Buy who had a single copy of the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS lens in stock, with a $100 instant rebate still in effect. The lens is back ordered on Canon's own US online store.

The only nagging situation is that this lens is an EF lens and needs the EF to RF converter to work with my EOS RP bodies. But, the equivalent RF lens, the 15-35mm f/2.8L IS lens costs $2,300. That's not going to happen.

I luckily had a window of clouds and sun rather than complete overcast to test out the lens and headed over to lock E5 in the late morning. Luckily, there was a pleasure craft locking through the Waterford Flight of Locks up to the Mohawk River to provide some added interest.

Here are some samples, all five file HDR composites.

Foggy River Scenes

(David Truland) — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 18:15:59 GMT

The smoke from the west coast wildfires cleared out but is supposedly returning in the next couple of days. It's been very cold at night which has resulted in some nice fog rising over the warmer water of the rivers.

I walked over to Waterford this morning with the 24-240mm lens and got some decent scenics as well as some bird photos. The shots of the bald eagle parents and this year's juvenile are heavily cropped.

Wildfire Smoke Sun Scenes

(David Truland) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 20:23:53 GMT

The greater Northeast has been affected by the smoke from the wildfires occurring in California, Oregon and Washington. The smoke reportedly is staying in the upper levels of the atmosphere but it certainly filters sunlight and gives the sky a golden tint.

Lots of people have been out taking photos of the sun and I thought I'd document how the smoke affects my usual sunset and sunrise locations. It has been clear except for the smoke so the scenes are a little boring from a cloud standpoint.

Here are some examples from last evening's sunset and this morning's sunrise.

Paradox Lake Sunrise

(David Truland) — Tue, 08 Sep 2020 21:00:11 GMT

I was up in the Adirondacks for a quick overnight and got lucky with the one sunrise I was able to shoot. The west end of Paradox Lake is a private beach association of which my parents, who have a camp in the area, are members. So when I'm up that way, and the weather cooperates, I try for some sunrise shots as the sun comes up over the length of the lake's western bay.

I was up for a couple of mornings last September and those images, together with 23 from this morning are in the Adirondack Scenics gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/adirondacks.Here 8 of those images from this morning.

Peebles Island with the RF 24-240mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 05 Sep 2020 14:07:47 GMT

The one usual location at which I hadn't tried out the RF 24-240mm lens was Peebles Island State Park in Waterford. So I ignored this morning's sunrise and headed over to the island around 7:30 AM. Late enough for the sun to be lighting things up and hopefully early enough to avoid crowds.

There were already a handful of cars in the parking lot and when I left around 8:50 AM the lot was half full. I eschewed bracketing today and all of these images are single exposure, adjusted RAW files, some cropped for composition. I remain very happy with the lens.

Delaware River Scenics

(David Truland) — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 10:50:00 GMT

I had a chance, during a less than 24 hour trip, to visit the shore of the Delaware River in Riverton, New Jersey this past Sunday. I used the RF 24-240mm lens and these are all five file HDR composites.

Unfortunately, I had changed the unit of aperture adjustments from 1/2 to 1/3 and, as usual, moved the control wheel two clicks to set up the bracketing sequence. Accordingly, I ended up with 2/3 and 1 1/3 over and under exposed files rather than my usual 1 and 2 stop brackets. Because I know I won't adjust to that change any time soon, I went back to 1/2 stop units of aperture adjustment.

Continuing to Test the 24-240mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sun, 23 Aug 2020 18:33:50 GMT

I've been out several times a day since I got the RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens on Friday. I'm just going to post a couple of what I feel are the best shots from each outing that hopefully show some of the lens' capabilities.

A New Lens At An Old Location

(David Truland) — Fri, 21 Aug 2020 22:34:41 GMT

When I decided to trade some of my EF lenses for an RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens I really didn't think it would be quite as trying as it has been. Ten days ago I decided to rent the lens from LensRentals and if I liked it I would go ahead with trading in the lenses at Unique Photo for the new lens.

First, FedEx wouldn't let me pick up the lens at a FedEx facility because it was shipped FedEx ground and the facility in Menands isn't associated with them. This is a new thing as I've rented stuff numerous times from LensRentals and had it delivered there for pickup with no problems. So, the lens was sent back and I didn't get to try it out. But I did save $85.

So, I went through with the planned transaction with Unique Photo and everything was great until I opened to box and the lens was lacking both an end cap and a lens cap. Obviously, a new lens in a sealed box this was not. I cleaned the front and rear lens elements and it wasn't looking too bad so I decided to see how the lens performed.

The bottom line is I like the lens and think it's a better tool than the combination of the EF 24-70mm and 70-300mm lenses I traded in, which required adapters to use with my RP bodies. Odds are, if Unique Photo will send me an RF end cap and a 72mm lens cap I'll be happy.

Here are two shots of Cohoes Falls showing the extreme ends of the lens followed by some other shots made at the falls.

24mm24mm 240mm240mm

105mm105mm

24mm24mm 62mm62mm

Deconstructing an HDR Composite

(David Truland) — Mon, 10 Aug 2020 19:32:54 GMT

I haven't been using my only RF mount lens, the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM, a lot lately as I've been wanting something wider for sunrises and sunsets. EF mount lenses, designed for Canon's DSLRs, work fine on R series bodies with the adapter, the only real issue being that the images in the electronic viewfinder jump around a lot when you are using continuous drive.

The continuous drive is five frames per second on the Canon RP bodies and I use it constantly, especially when exposure bracketing files, as the camera shoots the number of bracketed files and then stops. So, you press the shutter button, or remote release, and hold it until the sequence is done.

RF mount lenses have more and better electronic connections with the camera and the viewfinder remains smooth and constant when using continuous drive. I wanted to test this out again today and stopped at Cohoes Falls for some extreme bracketing. And yes, the viewfinder experience is much improved when using RF lenses with R series bodies. I have been holding off buying the RF 24-105mm f/4L lens as I'm content using my EF 24-70mm f/4L lens, but the viewfinder issue makes me think it's time to make the switch. [UPDATE 8/11/2020: Another option is the RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens which currently has a $200 instant rebate from Canon. This is a consumer grade lens and opinions differ. So, I decided to rent one for a week starting this next Monday. Stay tuned.]

I normally bracket five files with a one EV exposure difference between each image. The camera shoots the normally exposed image followed by -2, -1, +1 and +2 EV images. The conditions at Cohoes Falls in late morning were harsh and kind of boring. I decided to bracket by 1 1/2 EV for each file instead of 1 EV. +/-3 EV is about the limit of the EOS RP as it has a top shutter speed of 1/4000th of a second although the camera will automatically reduce the ISO if the settings indicate a faster shutter speed.

Here is the final product, un-cropped, followed by a more pleasing version cropped to 16:9 which is the ratio of wide screen televisions. I couldn't change the framing as I shot because I wasn't using a zoom and there is a chainlink fence with barbed wire about an inch below the bottom of the scene.

And here are the five bracketed images which were used to make the finished image. These are in the order that the camera saves them.

All Monopod, All the Time

(David Truland) — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 19:39:40 GMT

Since I got the P50 monopod mount and quick release plate I ordered on eBay, I've been using the monopod pretty much whenever I'm out shooting. Even with an image stabilized lens. The monopod is fairly sturdy with metal leg clamps and when it's retracted it would make a decent bludgeon.

I even ordered a second mount and plate (they're only $12) so I can have a plate on both camera bodies and I'll have a spare mount.

Here are some shots from the past couple of days. A sunset down at the river right after tropical storm Isiais came through on Tuesday and this morning's sunrise at the canal.

Really Glad I Kept the 17-40mm Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 01 Aug 2020 13:19:18 GMT

After agreeing to sell my EF 17-40mm f/4L lens for $300 to two different people who didn't follow through, I've been using it and I'm glad I still have it. The lens retails new these days for $649 although my refurb copy was bought from Canon on sale for $500.

One of the big advantages of the lens is its resistance to flare when the sun or a bright light is in, or near to, the frame. The big disadvantage is the lack of image stabilization which is almost necessary for hand held exposure bracketing. An alternative lens, which I've rented, is the EF 16-35mm f/4L IS lens but it is very prone to unwanted flaring. Another alternative is the RF mount 15-35mm f/2.8L IS lens but it's $2,200.

I did pick up a monopod mount adapter and plate so that I can use a monopod and easily get the camera on and off. I used the monopod yesterday for a sunrise at the canal and this morning for a walk over to Waterford.

All of these are bracketed sequences using the 17-40mm lens on the monopod except for the kayaker which is a single hand held image.

New Canal Sunrise Gallery

(David Truland) — Mon, 27 Jul 2020 15:06:46 GMT

I've opened a gallery dedicated to sunrise images made at lock E5 of the New York State Canal. The gallery is located at https://trulandphotography.com/canallocksunrises.

Here are some images from lock E5 from sunrises yesterday and today and after the sunrise yesterday. Details are in the photo captions.

July 26, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM at 39mm July 26, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM at 20mm July 26, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 33mm July 26, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 32mm July 27, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 24mm July 27, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L IS USM at 29mm July 27, 2020Canon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L IS USM at 17mm

A Better Canal Sunrise and Some Deer

(David Truland) — Fri, 24 Jul 2020 16:34:51 GMT

It didn't look promising for a good sunrise this morning but it's only a five minute drive so I headed over to Flight Lock Road anyway. Again, I used both 24-70mm and 17-40mm lenses. Lens and focal length are in the photo captions.

Canal SunriseCanon EOS RP, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens at 24mm. Canal SunriseCanon EOS RP, EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 44mm Canal SunriseCanon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM at 17mm Canal SunriseCanon EOS RP, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM at 17mm Following the sunrise I walked around Peebles Island for a bit. There were some really young fawns making a racket I hadn't heard before. After the photos, which are heavily cropped since All I had available was the long end of the 24-70mm lens, you can hear the noise in the video.

Noisy Fawns Noisy FawnsIt's all about the sound.

Another Canal Sunrise

(David Truland) — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 15:03:14 GMT

It was overcast and rainy prior to sunrise today but the hourly forecast was for some clearing after sunrise. So, I headed over to lock E5 ahead of sunrise and waited to see what would happen.

There was a bit of clearing as these photos indicate but by the time I was done, it was completely overcast again. Still, it was a nice, calm dawn and it's always nice to get out under a big sky.

I started out with the 24-70mm image stabilized lens but changed to the 17-40mm non stabilized lens once it became apparent that 24mm wasn't going to be wide enough to capture everything. All of the photos here are with the wider lens.

To keep shutter speeds up enough to hand hold the non stabilized lens for the five bracketed shots I used f/6.7 instead of f/8 and raised the ISO to 800. The slowest speed in this set was about 1/60th of a second.

Another Summer Sunrise

(David Truland) — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 14:17:43 GMT

I caught another decent sunrise this morning over the Hudson River. I used my EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens adapted to one of my EOS RP bodies. All these are five file HDR composites using Photomatix Pro 6. Because Canon's .CR3 RAW file format is kind of new, neither MacOS nor Windows will transfer enough EXIF information from the RAW files to my HDR software to facilitate lens corrections so I have to first convert the RAW files to TIF files in Canon's software. This takes between five and ten minutes for each set of five files.

There is some haze as temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 90's later this afternoon.

The Past Ten Days

(David Truland) — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 16:50:42 GMT

Here are some shots I've made since the last blog entry on July 4th. Details in the photo captions which you see by hovering the cursor over the photo.

Peebles IslandJuly 6, 2020; Canon EOS RP; RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM at f/8 Rachel and ReggieJuly 7, 2020; Canon EOS RP; Lensbaby Trio 28mm f/3.5; Twist effect Oakwood CemeteryJuly 12, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 27mm; f/8 Oakwood CemeteryJuly 12, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 30mm; f/8 Waterford HarborJuly 14, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 37mm; f/5.6 Waterford HarborJuly 14, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 33mm; f/8 Waterford Harbor Visitors CenterJuly 14, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 28mm; f/5.6

Hudson RiverJuly 14, 2020; Canon EOS RP; EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM at 35mm; f/8

A Peaceful, Verdant Summer Morning

(David Truland) — Sat, 04 Jul 2020 15:08:52 GMT

I took a quick trip to lock E5 on the Waterford Flight of Locks this morning before the grocery store opened at 7:00 AM. These images are all made with the EF 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens on one of my EOS RP bodies.

Peebles Island with a Telephoto Zoom

(David Truland) — Tue, 30 Jun 2020 17:35:25 GMT

This morning was alternately overcast and partly sunny and I wasn't out as early as I usually am. So I decided to drive over to Peebles Island and walk around with my 70-300mm lens.

300mm is not even close to long enough for most wildlife purposes with a full frame camera. Canon is set to announce some RF mount telephoto prime lenses next week but they are f/11 lenses. I'm not sure that works in anything but full sunlight. However, they will be 600mm and 800mm and not very expensive.

Of these images, the three fawns and resting buck are cropped. The dandelion is cropped only for composition.

The white balance looks off on the resting buck but the deer is under a tree canopy with overcast skies. There was no way to warm up the foliage without making the deer look orange. Kind of like Trump's face.

Canal Work Boat and a Possessed Camera

(David Truland) — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 17:18:15 GMT

Today is the first official day of operation on the Waterford Flight of Locks but theres almost no traffic yet because Lock E7 is not yet open so all traversing the five lock flight gets you is a stretch of the Mohawk River between Waterford and Niskayuna. I knew there weren't boats sitting in Waterford Harbor waiting for the canal to open at 7:00 AM so I waited and headed farther up the flight of locks a bit later.

A very strange thing happened as I was waiting for a Canal Corporation work boat to be lowered in lock E6 and exit toward lock E5. I took one normal shot with the oldest of my two EOS RP bodies and then the camera settings got all changed somehow. I did nothing to change anything.

It changed from saving RAW files only to RAW plus JPG files. It changed to spot meter rather than evaluative metering. It changed to slow continuous shooting from fast. It changed into 1.6 crop mode. It changed the size of the AF spot and turned flicker correction off. Not all at the same time either as the 1.6 crop mode came after a series of RAW plus JPG captures at full resolution.

I've had this body since November with no problems. I'm hoping this is just a weird anomaly. I did have some useless images due to the problems.

[UPDATE: I figured out what happened when it happened again. Unless the power switch is turned off, the camera can wake up when my body gets near the sensor next to the viewfinder. Then, if the camera bounces against my hip it can enable the quick settings menu and further bumps can change the settings. Lesson? Turn the camera off. I tend to do this anyway as image stabilization is always running with these cameras and I don't want to waste battery.]

Here are some single file results (no exposure bracketing) with two EOS RP bodies, one with an EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens and the other with an EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens.

Some Photos and a Short Video

(David Truland) — Tue, 23 Jun 2020 12:36:08 GMT

This morning's walk was my shorter walk up Van Schaick Island across Peebles Island and up to lock E2 park and back through Waterford. I'm mainly doing a blog post today as a test to see how videos embed in a blog post. This is the first time I've tried the video feature of my EOS RP bodies.

Sunrise from the 112th Street Bridge Fourth Branch of the Mohawk River as it empties into Waterford Harbor from the North Bridge to Peebles Island Primary Day at the Waterford Harbor Visitors Center Canal Foam from the overflow coming down the old Champlain Canal bypass. The old Champlain Canal bypass.with current lock E2 in the left background The old Champlain Canal bypass Water from the Old Champlain Canal overflowing into the old Champlain Canal bypass.

The Low Water Continues

(David Truland) — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 17:16:30 GMT

The area continues to miss out on the 20% to 40% predictions of storms occurring during this hot stretch. I walked over to Peebles Island this morning just after sunrise. These photos will be similar to those from June 10th except I was there earlier, so the colors are a bit warmer, and with the continued low water the vegetation on the exposed shorelines has grown in some.

5.4 Mile Walk Through 3 Counties

(David Truland) — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 13:53:11 GMT

Now that the Waterford Flight of Locks is filled I wanted to take my long walk through Cohoes and Waterford along the old Champlain Canal Trail. I took this same walk two weeks ago with a 50mm lens while the canal was still drained. You can see that blog post for comparisons here.

The rivers are still very low and although we have had, and still have, isolated thunderstorms in the forecast, none so far. Today I carried my 24-70mm f/4L lens. Here are some results.

Mohawk River, Cohoes, New York Blossoming Sumac Mohawk River, Cohoes, New York Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, New York Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, New York Fourth Street Bridge over the current canal, Waterford, New York

Cumulus Clouds Over the Rivers

(David Truland) — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 15:50:46 GMT

This morning's outing resulted in some nice photos of cumulus clouds not too long after sunrise. The shots are made from the Waterford Bridge, and at Soldiers and Sailors Park, Battery Park and Waterford Harbor in Waterford.

Here are some examples. Eighteen images in total were added to the Anthropogenic Scenics gallery.

Just Scenics - Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve

(David Truland) — Sat, 13 Jun 2020 15:26:24 GMT

Whipple Bridge - Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve, Clifton Park, New York

Low Water Scenics

(David Truland) — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 15:17:26 GMT

Without much in the way of rain over recent weeks, the Hudson and Mohawk rivers are really low. This low water level allows access to vantage points which would normally be under water along the shores.

This morning I was over on Peebles Island taking advantage of the conditions. As I don't have a dedicated gallery to Peebles Island scenics like these are located in the Anthropogenic Scenics gallery.

Third Branch of the Mohawk River entering the Hudson River at Peebles Island, Waterford, New York

Waterford Harbor, Waterford, New York Peebles Island, Waterford, New York Waterford Harbor and the eastern terminus of the canal system. Peebles Island, Waterford, New York Peebles Island, Waterford, New York Waterford Visitors Center from Peebles Island

50mm f/1.8 STM Lens

(David Truland) — Sat, 06 Jun 2020 14:37:40 GMT

I had $25 in loyalty credits at Unique Photo from when I traded in a bunch of gear for my second EOS RP body and some accessories. Of course, that can't just sit there. I decided to pick up a copy of Canon's cheapest, but far from its worst, lens, the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM.

This is the third copy of this lens I have owned. What happened with the other two is that I was selling a camera body and threw in the lens to make the deal more attractive. At $125 new, you can do that with this lens.

This morning was my first time using the lens. Without image stabilization, hand held bracketing is more of a challenge but the software seems to deal with it nicely. Here are some results.

Cohoes Waterfront, Hudson River

Mohawk River Snapping Turtle Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, NY Old Champlain Canal, Waterford, NY

Warm, Hazy Hudson River Morning

(David Truland) — Thu, 04 Jun 2020 13:38:48 GMT

Here are some photos from this morning's early walk along the Hudson and Mohawk rivers. It's hard to beat the sun as sunrise this morning was at 5:17 AM. I was about about a half hour later.

I've gone back to the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens as my default lens after using the RF 35mm lens exclusively for about ten days. I really got comfortable with that focal length and didn't see the need to prolong the exercise.

Here are some shots from this morning with information in the photo captions which you see by moving the cursor over the photo.

Hudson RiverPeebles Island and mouth of the third branch of the Mohawk River from Lansingburgh - 64mm

Hudson RiverPeebles Island, Waterford mainland and the mouth of the fourth branch of the Mohawk River - 57mm Hudson RiverVan Schaick Island, Peebles Island, Waterford mainland and the mouths of the third and fourth branches of the Mohawk River - 29mm cropped

Hudson RiverPeebles Island, Waterford mainland,, Lock E2 and the mouth of the fourth branch of the Mohawk River - 70mm cropped Hudson RiverVan Schaick Island, Peebles Island and the mouth of the third branch of the Mohawk River - 59mm

Hundreds of Dead Carp

(David Truland) — Wed, 27 May 2020 15:41:37 GMT

I was heading east on one of the trails at Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve in Clifton Park, New York this morning when a smell reminded me of the bait shack for the lobster boats at Perkins Cove in Maine. Except the smell wasn't as pleasant.

After walking another 100 feet or so I could see what was causing the smell. Hundreds of dead and rotting carp carcasses, which you can see in the next two photos. I only had my 35mm lens so, sorry, but no closeups. Close to shore, some of the carp had been chewed to bits but most which were out in the water and mud seemed intact.

What looks like a pond is actually an inlet from the Mohawk River. This west end of the inlet is, unfortunately for the carp, deeper that the portion to the east which leads to the river. Just another 100 feet or so and the inlet looked like this.

So, by the time the carp were sensing that they needed deeper water, there was no way to get there. The level of the Mohawk River varies greatly with rainfall. It has been dry lately with only 1.12 inches of rain during the month of May compared to the average amount at this point in the month of 2.99 inches.

The following photo shows the "mouth" of the inlet with the river in the background.

This final photo looks back at the "mouth" of the inlet. The trail is at least six feet above the current water level and it's not infrequent for the river to wash over the trail into the old Erie Canal which is just the other side of the trail. There are scoured out portions of the trail, as in the photo, where it is low enough for this to occur.

I'm sure this carp catastrophe occurs from time to time depending on the season and the rainfall but it's the first time I've noticed it.

Peebles Island Trails

(David Truland) — Sun, 24 May 2020 14:10:59 GMT

I left the house at 5:30 AM to walk over to Peebles Island before it started to get crowded. It's obvious that the trails are getting a lot more use these days. The trails have widened noticeably and some of the unmarked side trails that started out as deer paths are now worn in and more visible, as are some paths down to the water at the south end of the island.

Here are some shots from the trails and of the island from the Waterford mainland. All with the 35mm lens I've been using lately.

Peebles Island State Park

(David Truland) — Wed, 20 May 2020 14:34:31 GMT

For the next month or so I'm planning on only using the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM macro lens. I have assembled a nice small kit in a ThinkTank Photo Mirrorless Mover 20 shoulder bag. In addition to the EOS RP and lens there's a 270EX II flash, blower, remote release, polarizing filter and batteries.

This morning I carried the bag over to Peebles Island before people were out and around. The early low sun also created some nice lighting. Here are some of the results.

Historic Oakwood Cemetery

(David Truland) — Thu, 14 May 2020 10:33:59 GMT

I had a productive time up at Troy's Oakwood Cemetery yesterday morning. I added 32 images to my gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/oakwood.

Unfortunately, these days I can only process about five final product images per hour. Each set of five bracketed RAW files needs to first be converted to large size TIF files in Canon's software. This process is necessary for lens corrections including peripheral illumination, distortion and chromatic aberrations to be applied. I shouldn't have to do this but Canon's newer .CR3 RAW file format isn't fully read by either Windows or MacOS and the HDR software can not apply its own lens profiles like it could with .CR2 files. It can't tell what lens was used and there's no way for me to add that information manually.

I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm using a 2015 base model MacBook Air. Here are 8 samples from yesterday.

Colorful Morning in Waterford

(David Truland) — Mon, 11 May 2020 16:29:59 GMT

I knew I wanted to get out early today for my exercise walk before normal people started getting out and before it clouded up and began raining. I walked from home over to, and around, Waterford with an EOS RP body and the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM lens.

I'm going to start using this simple combination more often as the lens is really versatile. It's small, light, fast, has 5 stop image stabilization and focuses to half life size. It's also inexpensive.

There are rumors, which I hope are true, that Canon plans on introducing similar RF lenses in 50mm and 85mm focal lengths. I'll be preordering both if they do.

I'm not sure where the boats moored in Waterford Harbor are planning on going. The canal in still drained and the opening is yet to be determined.

0511_01 0511_04 0511_05 0511_06 0511_07 0511_09 0511_10 0511_12

0511_14

0511_15

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve - Again

(David Truland) — Thu, 07 May 2020 16:22:47 GMT

Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve in Clifton Park has become one of my favorite places to exercise, enjoy nature and make some photographs, all while easily maintaining physical distancing due to the large acreage and wide trails. From past experience, however, I do know that once mosquitos become numerous it's not a place you can spend time at without moving quickly.

I carried the same equipment as my April 25th blog post. A difference is I headed in a different direction where I knew there were some Goose nests close to the trail. When I arrived at 6:40AM there were no cars and when I left at 8:30AM there were twelve cars in the parking lot. But I only passed three people with lots of room to physically distance.

Also, today I moved all my photos made at the preserve to a dedicated gallery. They came from natural scenics, anthropogenic scenics, birds & insects and mammals, reptiles & amphibians. You can visit the gallery here.

Hudson River Sunset

(David Truland) — Sat, 02 May 2020 10:03:53 GMT

I can keep an eye on the approaching sunset from my kitchen windows and if it looks promising, I can walk a couple of blocks down to the boat launch and grab some shots. Last evening it was looking kind of marginal but it had been a while so I decided to head down.

I carried the EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM lens on one of my EOS RP bodies. I wished I had also brought down the 17-40mm lens as I could have used a focal length wider than 24mm at times. But, the 17-40mm lens is not stabilized and thus not my first choice for handheld bracketing of five shots per image.

The other pain these days is that my HDR software can not apply lens corrections yet with Canon's new(ish) .CR3 file format so I have to convert the files to .TIFF format first and then process them. This is necessary with wider focal lengths to correct for peripheral shading which the HDR process exaggerates.

It was about two hours after returning back at the house before I was done fully processing eleven finished images. I discarded two and uploaded nine to the dedicated gallery at https://trulandphotography.com/hudsonriversunsets. Here are some of the results.

Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve with two Canon EOS RP

(David Truland) — Sat, 25 Apr 2020 18:27:46 GMT

The weather forecast for today predicted mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 60's. I was planning to walk around Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve and I knew that if I wanted to maintain physical distancing I had to get there early. When I arrived just before 7AM there was a single car in the Whipple bridge parking lot. When I left at 9AM there were 23.

I ended up walking 4.4 miles over that time and carried two EOS RP bodies - one with the 24-70mm lens and the other with a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM lens. While the 70-300mm lens will be a bit more suited for wildlife than the 70-200mm lens I had been carrying, it falls short of the 480mm equivalent if used with a crop sensor DSLR. The cropped shot of the Great Blue Heron is about as good as it will get.