Since the fog was lifting from Ponca State Park on that cool spring morning, dew was everywhere. It covered the grass, the trees, and even this fairly large and detailed spider web.
Technical Details:
Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/4, 1/640 sec.
Ponca State Park, Nebraska
As demonstrated earlier this week, the Canon 135 f/2l proves it is fabulous for portraits, but as I mentioned, I wanted to see in what other capacities this lens might be useful, especially in nature photography.
Wildlife
Since the 135 f/2l is super sharp and fast, shooting wildlife might be a good use for this lens. As I wanted to try this, I went out to a local wildlife conservatory and shoot some critters. Here are some samples, all shots were with a Canon 5d (Original Flavor), the 135 f/2l and a Canon 1.4x Extender II and all shots were captured at f/2.8.
As is evident, the lens with the teleconverter was great at capturing these wolves clearly and easily. The focus was achieved quite effectively allowing me to get some action shots. Because of the wide aperture of this lens, I was also able to open up wide to blur out the fence between the wolves and me, rendering it invisible in almost every shot. In the wild, I certainly would not want to be as close to these guys as I was here. Overall, the lens worked well for this purpose, but I doubt I would want the short distance I had here when capturing shots of wildilfe (I was about 12 feet away). Besides encroaching on their personal space, they would either run away or see me as a threat! I think I’ll stick to my 300 and 1.4tc for most shots of wildlife.
Macro
While researching this lens, I read several posts of individuals utilizing it as a macro lens. Since I dabble in the macro quite often I was very interested in seeing what I could do. Spring in Nebraska brings some wildflowers, but most tend to be small, delicate, and can be difficult to capture. While hiking through Platte River State Park, I came across some examples of a white fawn lily.
Shot at f/6.3
Using the lens by itself, the flower was too far to focus on. In order to get a closer shot, I placed a 1.4x teleconverter and a 25mm extension tube on the 135 and even then, I wasn’t as close as I would have liked. This example shot is about a 65% crop of the image that was captured. Even so, the flower is sharp (as expected) and the bokeh is very nice. Not horrible for macro, but I would say if macro’s your thing to get a dedicated macro lens, otherwise, be sure to have a few extension tubes and a teleconverter handy. A crop camera would be beneficial here as well.
So, the end result is that the camera is adequate for other work, but would not be the ideal lens for wildlife and macro shooting. Still I always like pushing my lens into other areas than what is considered the “norm”, partially because I like to see what I can do, and partially because when one spends that much on something it’s nice to be able to use it in diverse ways.
Taken at twilight from the tower at Platte River State Park in Nebraska after a fresh snow.
Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 70-200 f/4l @ 200mm, f/8, 1/60 sec.
Platte River State Park, Nebraska
#5 But honey, I need to be able to photograph our vacation!
#4 But honey, I need to take better photographs of the children!
#3 If I could just get a little wider/longer I would have been able to get that shot!
#2 This will make my photographs better than Adams/Rowell/etc.!
#1 I’ll finally be able to sell my photographs!
Technical Details:
Canon G10
Platte River State Park, Nebraska
Cold weather photography brings purifying white snow, ice kissing the grasses and trees, and of course the crisp, cool (or cold!) air. Additionally, it usually drives away the crowds and makes for some great one on one time with nature. Of course, in order to enjoy this there are a few items to keep in mind to keep you comfortable and safe! I’ve placed the items of personal safety above the photography items. Remember, if you’re not safe then it’s not a good idea to be out shooting!
1. Wear clothing that wicks away or repels moisture. Leave those blue jeans and cotton socks at home! Nothing is more miserable than trudging through snow and having it melt into cold water as soon as it warms up. Additionally, wearing shirts that absorb sweat only cause your temperature to drop, which could be dangerous. Ideal fabrics would be wool, Under Armour, fleece, and Gore-Tex. When I’m out in the frigid weather, I pull on an Under Armour top and pants, fleece pants, wool socks, and then some Gore-Tex pants on top of that.
2. Wear appropriate shoe wear. Get some waterproof, breathable snow boots. Cold, wet feet make for a shivering time, and could increase your chance of getting frostbite. Is getting the shot worth losing your toes?
3. Wear a hat. Seems basic enough, most of the heat of our bodies escapes through our heads so use your head!
4. Wear gloves. In some conditions frostbite can set it very quickly. Without fingers capturing photographs can be difficult! One of the basic problems of photography is that gloves make it hard to change the controls on your camera. This is something that plagued me for years. I used to wear thin gloves that would allow better finger mobility, but this caused them to get cold too soon and once your hands get cold, its difficult to rewarm them in thin gloves. I then got a another pair of gloves to put over those gloves so I could take off the top pair only when needed. While this worked ok, I really found that finding gloves that grip well were my best bet. I got a pair of Thinsulate gloves with some nice grip that allows me to work every aspect of my camera without removal, of course this took some trial and error. If you must have the thin gloves to have better control, get the two pair of gloves as I have mentioned, but use a hand warmer between the two layers.
5. A good time for any occasion, bring a complete extra pair of clothes in your vehicle. You never know what may happen that may force you to change your wear. There have been times I couldn’t tell the end of a stream or shore under the snow and happened to step through the ice and drench my feet. The extra pair of boots and socks came in handy!
6. Another good anytime tip, prepare your equipment prior to exiting your vehicle. Minimize the snow and moisture that gets into your bag by knowing where to quickly reach what lenses, filters, etc. you need.
7. Have a travel umbrella. Good for rain or snow, this keeps droplets off your lens. If those stray flakes and drops hit, keep a cloth lens cleaner handy.
8. Bring Ziploc bags. Besides being able to be used to protect your gear in the cold when conditions arise, if you exit and enter your vehicle often, condensation on your equipment can occur. By placing your camera in a bag prior to entering your car, you can keep that condensation off your lens and prevent fogging.
9. Cover the legs of your metal tripod with insulation. This prevents loss of heat from your hands when you are carrying or otherwise moving your tripod.
10. Buy a spare battery and keep it in a pocket close your body. Cold weather drains a battery about 2-3 times faster than mild temperatures. Most good winter coats have pockets on the inside which work fabulously for this purpose. Additionally, keep a spare memory card in those pockets.
11. If metering evaluative, expose 1.5-2 stops above the recorded scene to properly capture snow.
12. Drink something warm before enjoying the cold weather!
Technical Details:
Canon 5d Mark II, 50 CM, f/11, 1/80 sec.
Platte River State Park, Nebraska
Today’s image is one that I shot last August and have processed a few different times. Previously, I really didn’t feel like the image evoked anything in me and so I left it in the archive. After I went back to it and processed it again, I felt like the image was closer to what I experienced that morning when I climbed the Platte River State Park tower and captured the rising sun hitting the fog across the Platte. It was a quiet, chilly morning with some birds chirping. It was a very calm way to start the day.
Technical Details:
Canon 5d, 70-200 f/4l @ 140mm, f/16, 1.3 sec.
Platte River State Park, Nebraska