Week 29 - 2016 in Photographs

Day 197

The new camera arrived. At some point I should put it down so I can get the house cleaned up. I am so in love with this camera. Yes, I know, I am one of those who says that photography is about so much more than just a camera. And that is especially true in this day of digital darkrooms. But even with the best software it can take a lot of time to turn a passable image into a keeper. Yes, a great camera will not make you a great photographer, but good chef's need sharp knives and I just got mine. And so I have been chopping up everything in sight. 

Day 198

 I believe in testing the limits of my new tools. Ever since I got my first SLR camera I have devoted a week solid to every new lens. With a new camera I wanted to try it out on every subject I had been having problems with on my other camera. The one I should have never bought. Only the first and last photo in this blog were taken with other than my new camera. They are also the only two I used post processing tricks on.

Day 199

I had almost entirely stopped doing any macro photography. I was sure I was beyond holding the camera steady enough. I have friends who shifted to a point and shoot digital when they encountered that issue. I switched to a heavier camera and found it easier to hold steady. And since it focuses faster, shoots multiple images faster, and adjusts to dim light situations I am back to doing up close and personal shots.

Day 200

 Found I did not need the rapid fire shooting option; taking five photos quickly to get one in focus. The Nikon D7100 gave me the image I wanted with just one photograph. And a lot less time post processing.

Day 201

Days 200, 201, and 202 were shot within the same ten minute time frame. And standing at the same spot on the Cimarron River waiting for the butterflies to settle on the flowers. It was using my favorite long lens, the 55-300, which I mostly kept on the Nikon D90 because it gave me better pictures than the D3200.

Day 202

Day 203 was with the D3200 as I tried on the various lenses in my collection to see which had come with that camera kit and had the drive motor in the lens. I regained a couple lenses with the switch back to a camera with the focus drive motor in the camera. Some time had to be spent reintroducing those to my camera case. On the first day out with the new camera the trusty Nikon D90 came with us. Never get too far from home with just one camera. It is why I have two camera bags. One carries the lenses, filters, and two cameras. The day tripper carries one camera and my favorite lenses.

I am rehoming the D3200 to someone not as serious about photography as I am. The D90 will stay at home more often. And I will get faster at changing lenses again.

Day 203

Week 28 - 2016 in Photgraphs

Day 196

 I was debating the new camera this week. And finally ordered it. So taking photos from this week inspired less than usual. But there were subjects I needed to capture so I used the equipment at hand to take them. Mostly the Nikon D90, which while only 12 mp, is the workhorse of my stable.

Day 193

But I still tried the Nikon D3200 from time to time. In part to prove I really needed a new and reliable camera with more pixels. The turkey feather above was taken with that camera. It is the one of a series of five I took of this subject. But clearly the camera was having focus issues. I, however, like this one. The first Americans see the turkey feathers as spiritual tools or symbols and the out of focus quality of this photograph imparts that.

Day 190

The rest of these are with the D90 and my long lens. And with the plumeria blossoms a certain athletic ability to perch on things to focus in the 10 foot high blooms.

Day 191

Day 192

Day 194

The salmon colored poppies just required being able to stoop down and get back up while still holding on to the camera. When people ask me what I do to stay in shape I say I take my camera for a walk. Just received my new Nikon D7100 so more of those walks in my future.

Day 195

Week 31 - 2015 in Photographs

Day 211
Vietnam Memorial in Angel Fire, New Mexico

I begun this week with a black and white. But the what follows is definitely colorful. Just when I thought poppy season was over one more bloomed. And did it rather well too.

Day 212
Last Poppy in Black Lake

Flowers have their seasons and that is especially true of wild flowers. With our abundant rains this year all the wild flowers have gotten to shine. After I took the one below of a great Mullen stalk just beginning to bloom all the rest followed suit. I have pictures not yet published of fields of this plant the native populations used for respiratory problems. They made a tea of its leaves. And also added it to tobacco to avoid lung problems when smoking it. Too bad our first settlers didn't pay more attention.

Day 213
Great Mullen begins to bloom

The monsoonal rain storms also make for some great dawns with the light off the lingering clouds.

Day 214
Dawn from my studio in Black Lake

In spite of all the flash flood warnings I did get through the Cimarron Canyon to visit the town of Cimarron. It is far more colorful and interesting than the tasteful and boring mountain cabins of Angel Fire, New Mexico. At least for a photographer. Before I became known for my photographs the camera was a tool to record what I wanted to paint. I am still considering doing a street in Cimarron in a painting.

Day 215
Empty building in Cimarron, New Mexico

Love this door. Considering changing out the trim of the Binford-Bell Studio to more resemble this. It is a French door which is painted blue. And the wall is gray. If you are in the neighborhood stop by and give me some suggestions.

Day 216
Door in Cimarron, New Mexico

You should not leave your camera in the hot car. And who would want to. So it is with me when I spot things like these antique bottles in an antique store window. The view was better from the inside out.

Day 217
Bottles in the window of an antique store

The Nikon D3200 is still at the Nikon service facility. At least that is what they say. But I think they have lost it. They photos were all taken with the trusty D90. The D3200 has been in for repairs of the auto focus twice in less than two years so when I go out to take photographs the D90 comes along just in case. I should have bought the Nikon D7100. Saving my pennies. But maybe if Nikon lost the D3200 I can get them to give me the camera I want instead.

Week 8 - 2014 in Images

Spent my week in the studio. The winds outside just didn't cry out for a photography trip. Besides I was busy finishing a painting and photography all my recent pictures to enter four into the New Mexico Women Artists show at the Old Pass Gallery in Raton. The photo below is rather typical of my week.

Day 50
Throwing myself into my work

Week 51 - Bashful Orchid

I have been following this one orchid at a friend's greenhouse. It has had buds for what seems to be months and this week one of the buds began to open. This was also the day I knew my Nikon D3200 was failing. It is just four months old and its failure has been as slow as this bud opening.

Day 52

This Crown of Thorns above is in my studio and always blooming so it was easy to photograph it between shoots on the paintings.

Day 53

Had to go out to the shed to look for a box of the appropriate size to ship the under warranty camera back to Nikon. Wind does not effect cattle panels and wood. I had my camera with me because I was still doing photos with it and recording its failures so I could fill out the return form in detail. This one was in focus. Love the lines.

Day 54

Back to the Nikon D90. It is less pixels but still takes an amazing photo. Nikon D3200 stripped and in box and winging to California. But before I shipped it I took the photo below. Most of it not in focus but it was still a great picture.

Day 55

The photo below was with my Nikon D90 on the same setting and all the dried flower is in focus. I love my Nikon D90. And maybe when it is back from repair I will love my D3200.

Day 56

Week 42 - 365 Day Photography Challenge

Day 288

This week was shot with my new Nikon D3200 24.5 megapixel camera and mostly with the 18 - 55 mm lens it came with. I did a lot of mixing up the subjects as a test drive for the camera and the lens. Both were new to me. The Nikon D3200 is very similar to the Nikon D90 in feel. But the shorter zoom lens which is not wide angle was very new to me. And at first seemed very restricting as I am rather addicted to my 18 - 105 mm wide angle zoom.

Cameras and lenses have favorite subjects. So do photographers. When my friends ask about what camera to buy, when they are finally willing to admit the iPhone has its limits, I always ask what it is they like to shoot. And maybe that is an unfair question because up to then their favorite subject has been what the iPhone does well.

Day 289

And I found that what the camera and lens combo I was shooting with this week does some things really well - like limiting the scope of the picture and getting more detail in the middle and far ground. Result was I spent less time in post processing with cropping and sharpening.

Day 290 - Cracked pot

I also spent less time framing my picture with the camera in the field but more time walking closer to the subject - 50 mm closer. The shot below was a test for a news story I was covering. The opening assembly of participants was to be held at this hotel entry. I had brought both cameras as well as my favorite wide angle lens which works on my new camera. This photo was taken with the new lens on the new camera and proved to me it would be sufficient to handle the task.

I also have a couple favorite post processing screens or filters or techniques I like so I took the test picture and tested my old favorites on it. That also worked and I was very pleased with the detail in the reflections in the doors.

Day 291

I am also not fond of flash so another test had to be available light. So I used my mess on my computer desk. Only light is the desk light.

Day 292

The 18 - 55 mm is not really a macro but it does get close up and personal and on the right setting blurs the background nicely. I probably took 20 exposures of this subject mostly playing around with settings to get the right effect. The spray of orchids had to be the only thing in sharp focus. I had some concerns that more pixels would mean more needless detail and that is not necessarily so. Note on the iPhone you do not get these options.

Day 293

But when you want detail like in this aspen picture the pixels are quite nice. I have developed a fondness to shooting toward the sun peaking through trees and how the lens handles flares and over exposures, if you will, is also important to me. And reflections. The next picture on today's review of the week was not one of the "days" because I was so happy with it upon upload to the computer that I immediately posted it.

Mind you that after a week with the 18 - 55 mm lens I was dying to go back to my wide angle. But a test run is a sacred in my photographic experience. I am not sure what teacher I got this from. And maybe it is just my interpretation of something less specific said or read but know your equipment and its limitations is important. Ergo people that shoot a lot of iPhone pictures can and do get good results.

First snow by J. Binford-Bell

This picture proved to me that my short lens and the new camera mainly had limits in my mind. But when I set out on an all day photographic adventure with a friend this week I took both cameras and all lenses and extra scan disks. And I am so thrilled I did. Two hours into the shoot the new disk on the new camera dumped 80 photos and would not reformat.

For a really panicky few moments I thought it might be the camera or the camera/lens combo because I had put my favorite wide angle on the new D3200. I took out the disk and put it into my D90 and discovered the same error messages so I felt relatively better. And the D90 also could not bring up the missing 80 shots. I had been chimping randomly all morning because I was trying different filters on the 18-55mm lens. I knew the camera had taken the pictures.

Next step was to put a backup scan disk into the new camera and take pictures. It worked. Yes, it is under warranty but who wants the hassle of sending it back. The rest of the day with the new camera went without a hitch regardless of which lens, but I can recall some of the pictures that got away in infinite detail.

Day 294 - new beginnings

So as the week ends I am out of test mode officially but I definitely need a back up battery and a new extra scan disk card or two. And the Nikon D90 is staying in the camera bag with my long zoom which will not work on my new camera. Next week will be more of the pictures I did not lose on the bad disk.

Once upon a walk

Thoreau said, "Many men fish all their lives without realizing it is not fish they are after." The same thing can be said for photography, mushrooming, painting, etc. I picked up my camera bag this morning and called the dogs and headed out to capture the perfect picture or find the perfect mushroom, or get an idea for a great painting. And what I actually achieved was a state of Zen even if it did not match Magique's.

I so envy that look of pure spiritual transformation she gets when only on of four paws is on the ground. But I was rather happy with my Nikon D90 on the sport setting. I may still get blurred wings on hummingbirds but no more blurred dogs!

I think she spies some movement in the grass but it is almost as if she admires the view every bit as much as I do. I got pictures of this panorama without her in the foreground but she lends a scale and perspective missing without her there. Which reminds me that some of the things I crop out of a picture should stay because of composition. In the first picture I cropped out the blurred overhead branches only to go back to the uncropped version.

I have another picture of this same sun drenched glen without the pine and stump on the right. But it is that tree that sets off the aspens in the distance.

Another use for the sports icon on my digital camera is ripples on water. But I missed the muskrat that caused the ripples.

I am also using that sports icon for flowers. I tried it on a windy day to avoid blur and was thrilled that while it blurred the background it had greater depth of field where the flowers were concerned meaning I had a better chance of all petals or multiple flowers being in focus.

Don't you love the petal of the upper left flower draped over its neighbor? One of the things about looking through a camera or just taking a walk with a camera is that you become aware of details you would otherwise miss.

Details like the shadows of the hollyhocks on the wall. Or the intricate fold and subtle colors at the heart of a flower.

In the movie about Van Meer - Girl with a Pearl Earring, there is a scene where he asks his maid what color the clouds are and she first answers white. So what color is a white hollyhock? Or a black dog with the sun behind her?