Monday, August 29, 2011

240.365 Storm Clouds.

240.365 Storm Clouds. Explored!

The craziest storm crossed the far side of the lake. In the setting sun the slowly spinning lead edge took on an surreal glow as the storm passed by.

Chris.

239.365 Family Portrait 2011.

239.365 Family Portrait 2011.

Saturday August 27 2011.

Every year for the last 7 years we have done a family portrait on this rock that I dug out from the bottom of the lake about 6 feet under water. The kids have really grown over the years. I remember when they could not touch the ground below the rock!

Here is this years family portrait. I'm quite happy with how this one turned out. It's going to look good on the wall.

Chris.

Friday, August 26, 2011

238.365 At The Eye Doctor.

238.365 At The Eye Doctor.Friday August 26 2011.

The boy and I waiting for the eye doctor to call us in. Good thing we came early!!

Chris.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

237.365 Perfect Vantage Point

237.365 Perfect Vantage Point

Thursday August 25 2011.

Up there 20 feet about the ground would be the perfect vantage point for a huge group shot. Now, if I could just locate a huge group.

Chris.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

236.365 Watching Me Watching Him.

236.365 Watching Me Watchin Him.

Wednesday August 24 2011.

This Hawk and I were having a staring contest. He won. I gave up and went back to work.

Chris.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

235.365 Another Monster On The House.

235.365 Another Monster On The House.

 

Tuesday August 23 2011.

It really seems that we get more of these monsters right around this time of year. I guess they survived the summer and the birds to grow into these huge monsters. They sure like to pose.

Chris.

Canon 24-105mm f/4 - My Thoughts.

I rented the Canon 24-105mm this past weekend for 3 days. I was wanting to compare it with my Tamron 18-270mm on my 50D. I took about 1000 photos with it and gave it a good run under many different shooting conditions. I was mostly interested in the sharpness of the lens. But I checked other aspects of it as well.

The first thing I noticed is the build quality. This is a nice solid lens. It just feels good in your hands. When I put it on the camera I could feel the weather seal at the base of the lens seal the gap tight. That's a plus. Once I started shooting with it I was very impressed at the speed of the focusing. Really quick. The colors are more saturated as well which is probably a result of superior lens coatings. The sharpness was great too. Everything that I wanted in focus was nicely in focus and sharp. The constant f/4 throughout the zoom range was nice to have as well.

But, how does it compare to my Tamron 18-270 that is half the price? Keep in mind here I was looking for a significant difference in the overall sharpness of the two lenses. I could find no significant difference. Especially with the extra $800.00 it would cost me for the 24-105mm and I would be loosing 165mm of zoom!

Here are the test shots I took. The Canon 24-105 on the left and the Tamron 18-270 on the right.

Canon 24-105 vs Tamron 18-270

Both shots are with the exact same settings and using my tripod. All I did was change the lens. Sure, there are a few differences. Mostly color temperature and saturation but nothing that I cannot fix in post if I have to. I'll keep my Tamron until such time that I get that 5D.

Here are some of my favorites using the lens.

234.365 On The Train.

Red Tailed Hawk

The Boy.

After Dinner Drink.

I do really like that lens though and it will make my decision much easier when it comes to a new camera and lenses.

Chris.

234.365 On The Train.

234.365 On The Train.

 

Monday August 22 2011.

I took this on the train ride during our recent outing to Fort Edmonton. This is in my opinion the best photo I took with the rental Canon 24-105mm lens I had on rent over the weekend. Her eyes just popped off the screen when I first opened the image up.

Chris.

233.365 Jurassic Forest.

233.365 Jurassic Forest.

 

Sunday August 21 2011.

We went back for another of what I'm sure will be a yearly visit to Jurassic Forest today. The kids have such a great time looking at the anamatronic dinosaurs and then playing in the park afterwards. I think we will come here until the kids decide they no longer want to. Then we will leave them at home an go ourselves. :)

Chris.

232.365 First Pony Ride

232.365 First Pony Ride

Saturday August 20 2011.

Someone had her first pony ride when we were at Fort Edmonton Park. She was in her glory. Smiled the whole time.

Chris.

 

Friday, August 19, 2011

231.365 Canon 24-105mm f/4

231.365 Canon 24-105mm f/4

 

Friday August 19 2011.

Before you get too excited, No, I did not buy this lens. I rented it for a few days. I wanted to try it out and compare it to my Tamron 18-270mm. Last year I tested the 24-70mm f/2.8 and was not overly impressed with it.

So far after taking about 20 or so shots with this sweet lens, I am very impressed. It's fast focusing and quiet. It's sharp as well. I will be taking a ton of photos with it this weekend so expect to see lots.

Chris.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

230.365 Fan Guards.

230.365 Fan Guards.

 

Thursday August 18 2011.

I haven't been very regular with my photo a day project this summer. Actually not very regular with any photography at all. It's been a stressful summer overall and my passion has suffered. Today I decided we just can't have that happen so I'm starting anew in hopes to keep with it for the rest of the year. I just can't give up the photo a day after 2 1/2 years.

These are Fan Guards off our air exchangers on the roof of our office tower. Why they are not on the fans I'm not sure but it worked out for me didn't it. LOL.

Chris.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

221.365 Grasshopper.

221.365 Grasshopper.

 

Tuesday August 9 2011.

I'm not sure what this grasshopper thinks he is going to eat sitting on this steel. I guess he was just posing for me.

Chris.