After seven days' sequester in the increasingly small quarters of my condo, laid low by lumbar afflictions, I finally managed an excursion outdoors. The destination of choice was easily arrived at: the nearby Edith Morley Park, beloved (by me at least) due it its relatively unpopulated, clean and simply yet lusciously landscaped grounds. A primary meditation spot of mine, and seasonal aerodrome for several annual squadrons of geese.
This day's visit featured three personal goals: to test my back's healing progress via brief strolls hither and yon (more the former than latter), a thirty-minute meditation sitting, and (most anticipated of all) my first semi-genuine outing with my new Canon 7D body.
I was armed with three lenses: the Tokina 11-16mm, Canon 100mm Macro and the Canon 70-300mm L. It was far too breezy for any hope of easy Macro work, and I was not in a mood of envisioning wide-angled perspectives (a possibly ironic consequence of my health incarceration) . . . so it was up to the long telephoto to carry enlightenment to the new body.
This was very much a maiden voyage of the 7D; from the first shot taken last week it has been clear to me that this device is a quantum leap in quality and sophistication over my 20D workhorse of the last seven years. It is equally obvious to me that in some crucial ways it's going to require some time to understand and then master the vastly enhanced capabilities; think "making the leap from a go-cart to a Lamborghini". Well, perhaps not that great of a jump, but the comparison has some seed of accuracy.
Consequently, of the 95 images I took, maybe 5 - 7 are worthy of eventual processing and publishing. Two things are already apparent: I need to better understand the quite advanced focusing system, and the layout of the body's controls which are just different enough . . .
In any event, all things are as they are supposed to be: being acutely mindful of my back's still iffy status I forced myself to stroll especially slowly and deliberately while peering for some new photographic material yet to be mined after my many frequent explorations of the park. The unexpected benefit of my snail's pace wanderings was that I was able to make an unusually close approach to a large gaggle of geese without unduly disturbing them.
Thus geese was the main course on the photographic menu. This turned out to be an excellent development, since a primary focus for my outing was to try some experiments with the 7D's performance in the rarified end of the ISO exposure range: 1000 and above. The delicacy and complexity of my fowls' feathers were perfect subjects — much would be revealed in results of comparing shots of ISO 250 vs. 100 and 1250.
Only preliminary results are in, but the future looks very fine indeed. Perhaps this is the message my day's favorite subject envisions as well.
Seeking Swan, #0293
© 2011 James W. Murray, all rights reserved.
(click image for larger version)
Details: July 14, 2011; Canon 7D; f/6.4 @ 1/664 sec; —1/3 EV; ISO 250; Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM @ 300mm
________
________
No comments:
Post a Comment