The Death of my Old Faithful Camera

 

I started to get these every once

in a while...see below...

so I knew it's time was 

coming to 

an end.

The Oak Tree was the last shot ever for my Old Olympus. I have no idea how many shots or 'clicks' were on it. 
Apparently there is something called a Shutter Count. Being a mirrorless camera, the count may last longer? The mirror doesn't have to flip up and down each time you use it.

Truthfully, I just read about that on some site regarding shutter life expectancy. 

The camera was having issues for quite a long time. However, being raised by a mom who believed that you had to get the 'goody' out of anything ever owned, I kept using it. It only worked in Program Mode or in Manual Mode for the past two years. 
That was fine. I don't think all the 'modes' are really necessary any way. Program Mode allows the camera to act a bit like Auto and pick a general setting that should work for the scene. Manual allows so much more control.

Anyway, I digress. 

Since I got the Old Oly, I have almost used it daily. I took it with me all of the time. It bashed around in my backpack. I'd purchased a nice sling pack for it which had a zipper failure so when I slung the pack over my shoulder the camera tumbled out. That was after I'd owned it for only two months. 

After two more zipper failures, I tossed the sling pack and opted for modifying a regular backpack for carrying the camera. 

Even the Little Soldiers couldn't fix it. The pronounced it a goner.

Of course the electronics just shut down. The cost of repair would be nearly two to three hundred dollars. 

I think I will wait to send in the camera I will replace it with, ---- my other older Olympus until after the election. I think the post office will be overwhelmed for a bit right now handling ballots.

I leave you with a couple of my recent favorites from this camera just before it gave up the ghost.

There is not a lot of opportunities for Infrared during the winter. However I think black and white IR light would still be stunning in a black and white type of landscape.

So why is it that I am having such a hard time parting with my old camera?

Color my world.

Oh not the song!

I recieved my 550nm filter on Monday and have trying it out in all sorts of lighting circumstances with the full spectrum conversion on my Olympus camera.

Infrared Photography let's me explore a different light spectrum than what the human eye can see.
Our eyes see green from the reflection of light. All of our colors are seen that way.
Okay, that is not a scientific explanation, but it is the best I can do in layman's terms.

Different spectrums allow the camera to see light reflected differently. The above shots appeal to the kid in me who still believes that a person should be able to color their art in any way they want to.
How fun is it that the leaves and grass turn out red?

Another question.
How will these look in the fall? As the chlorophyll is no longer produced in the trees, the absorption/refection of light will change too.

We see leaves as green because of the absorption by chlorophyll of the red and blue light wavelengths.

Okay. Enough of that.
If you want to read more about Infrared Light and Photography here is the Link:
Introduction to Infrared Photography.

All I know, is that I am having a blast.

Here is a shot with a 665nm filter.

665nm Filter unedited version

The light was poor and I took my white balance off from the dirt at my feet. A storm was coming in quickly so I had to work fast. I call this tree my Lolipop tree...well for obvious reasons. I thought it would be interesting to take the same shot with different filters.
Same shot now edited with what is called a Channel Swap of Red and Blue:

Last night I pulled out my Hoya R72 filter and put it on a different lens. White balance changed according to the grass at my feet.

I did a quick channel swap with this filter and got the shot above. I was really excited as to how the sky appeared behind the tree. To my normal eye it was blue but the clouds were not distinct like they are in IR.

I could have probably pulled some more yellow into the foliage of the trees, but I really like the way it turned out.

Then another shot with the 720nm filter on the Canon ELPH pocket camera that was converted. Same tree, morning light and fog.

The shot above is still one of my all time favorites. So otherworldly and dream like.

The twisted tree, yesterday with the Hoya R72. Again, the pale blue just appeals to me.

Then a few more experiments in the 550nm filter from my hike in the woods with Charlie and Sven. I found that in shady areas the shots would work for black and white conversion, but not very well for wild colors.

I did however have some luck with the elements, of sky, leaves, water, and grass.

For me, the wild colors are exciting and fun.

Oh I still do regular photography. I still love it.
But I have so much fun exploring the non visible spectrum.

This morning in fact I found out that little tiny Charlie could follow me on my bike.
I have to wait for him, but he sure was up for the pre dawn bike ride this morning! 
So many smells!

And for the parting shots.

IR 850nm. Used for stark black and white photography.

I took these on Monday night as the storm blew in.

Last word.
Many of my shots this week didn't turn out. I was simply experimenting with angles.
Can I shoot towards the sun? Not well.
Can I shoot at 90 degrees? Not so bad.
Shady? Good for black and white contrast.
Water reflections? Neat, but not always.
Overcast? Less color.
White Balance? Adjust often and know which color to balance off from. 665nm, 550nm balance off from grey, but you can use concrete or sometimes in my case..light colored dirt.
The higher ones? White Balance off from foliage.

What will happen in the winter? Ahhh, at least there are pine trees for the green!

I like Infared !

I only use a Hoya IR72 filter with my Olympus OMD EM 5 mirrorless camera. I got this camera back in 2015 just when the new version came out and the old version was being discontinued.
Why?
Well, the cost savings is great while buying a used or a new one that is being discontinued.

I went mirrorless because the camera is supposed to be more compact and lightweight. And, it was. It is my go to camera on very long hikes. I've beat the crap out of it and it still functions.

Is it the hands down best camera out there?
Nope.
However I bought in a bundle and saved quite a bit of money. My Nikon D5200 is an excellent camera. But it is heavier and it is quite picky about moist humid days or extremely cold days. The Oly is supposed to be weather resistant.

A big plus is that it does read infrared light too. The Nikon doesn't, however the IR filter will work with the Nikon. It just acts like a very dark red ND filter.

That said here is what I shot yesterday. It was bright and sunny, the lighting was all wrong for regular color, so I switched over to IR.

The Meadow in color:

The Meadow in IR:

The greens turn white, the shadows and cool areas are dark!
The trails faintly show up in the grass.
The leaves are slightly blurry as the length of exposure was about 2 seconds and the wind was blowing.

Next time I will try a fast ISO to see if I can get a clearer shot. True IR will look different. But don't want to convert a camera just for that.

Another shot across the ridge:

And then in IR:

However, the colors are beginning to change rapidly and now I am thinking about doing a drive around and trying to find neat spots to pull over and take photos.

Tonight we are supposed to have frost. It is right about the normal time for frost. But it makes me sad as the fall colors rush by so quickly and suddenly we are in the icky brown time before the snow falls.

Here are a  couple of more IR shotsthat I took then I will be done with displaying my IR shots for now.

I have to contact the VA Tech Help to set up a laptop for a telehealth appointment with speech/memory therapy for hubby.

Have a good Friday. I have some doodling painting to do on my landing. It is coming out pretty neat.

Paradise.... Springs and other thoughts about photography.

At the end of our K-town visit, Morris and I stopped at Paradise Springs for a short walk.
The sun was out and it was still early morning.
It was a Monday and not a soul was around. I let Morris off the leash and we explored the old dam and the spring house.

Here is part of the old dam.

I don't know enough history about this place but I know that I will stop here on my next trip across the state. It is in a round about way...sort of on my way.

It wasn't just the neat little places where one could photograph moving water, but the stone structure was fascinating and quite beautiful.

The inside of the spring house had a wide shallow pool in it. I loved the reflections from outside of the building to inside the building.

 Looking down into the shallow pool I realized I could see the building walls above me along with trees and the leaves under the water below.

 The field stone of the building added a nice texture too.

Here is a link with photos to Paradise Springs. WI DNR Paradise Springs.

Mr. Morris and I explored and were able to take our time setting up photos as we had the place to ourselves.
However, while we were taking a break enjoying the pond view we did see one person walk quickly up the trail and take a snapshot with their cell phone.
I waved, she waved, and then she quickly turned and left.

My weekend trip was incredible. I visited quite a few parks along the shores of Lake Michigan. I seem drawn to water quite a bit.

I also am learning some other things regarding photography. I am discovering that I enjoy having a photo that tells a story more often than just a beautiful photo.

I keep wondering where I will go with this 'hobby'.
I was sure I would hate Still Life, but love it. I am learning about off camera flashes when I knew I would never use a flash..ever!
I am getting a keen interest in portraits. Oh and I knew I would never ever in a million years want to photograph humans!

The nice thing about this hobby is that it can keep growing.

In the works, Still life/Night Life

This is where I work. I decided to try a pretty cool thing that comes with the Olympus OMD E M5 camera. Live Time.  So I used a little tripod and pushed the button and...watched the photo appear on the screen.
Way cool.
I added some star specks and the little moon. Original is below.

This is a dam on the Mississippi River taken from a wayside.

Meanwhile I thought I needed a do over of some rose petals and rings. That didn't turn out so well so I went to plan B.

I did another ring instead and it looks like I'll have to redo this one also.

I blew the whites but I'm getting closer to what I want. I'll have to get another batch of flowers with roses in them. But, not until after Valentine's Day. They will be too expensive right now.

Well I decided to move on and try some other things.

Here I am doing the thinking pose while I toss around some ideas in my head.

I grab some items together. A vintage ruler, an old pitcher that I picked up from a flea market, a white rug, a ruler with advertising on it from the 1930's, and some flowers that were past their due date.

Fred would be very happy I think. Fred Flatow that is. I think that was his calling card in the 30's. On the flip side is a handy little ruler. Pretty neat right?

Finally I get something I am happy with. For fun I tossed the Lego Man into the coffee in the cup, along with a flower.
And I liked it better than any other shot I'd taken today.

And thus was born the Lego Man in the coffee.

I finished off the photo 'shoot' with two last items.

I wanted to go out and shoot the cropland and the icy sculptures in the moon light but alas.
The clouds have moved in.

Tomorrow is another day and hopefully I get out to do some more night photography soon.

Photos developed in ON1RAW2017.

New Year's Day Hike and ON1RAW2017

New Year's morning came in just like any other winter day. Except we hadn't gone out the night before. We aren't the party type any more.

The sun broke out as we finished up the morning chores. Note to self and husband. The new/used skid steer did not impress me. Since hubby can't put the ice picks on both sides of the steel tracks, it doesn't have the traction it should. It made putting out large bales and fodder to the cattle very complicated.

I think New Holland designed their newer skid steers for comfort more than practical use. Well, at least for our place. Going up a steep icy hill with a huge bale is an issue. The old skid steer had no problems with it. I am not impressed.

With all the watering done, I made venison backstrap, eggs, and toast for an early brunch. Then I gathered my super light tripod and Olympus OMD E M5 camera and headed out with the intention of walking to the east end of the valley.

Intentions are sometimes a bit confusing. I got to the creek and changed my mind. I walked west and discovered some beautiful ice formations glistening in the sunlight.
Morris was not with me so I didn't have to keep an eye on him.

This is where Ariel had built a snow fort for Doe, Deer, and Fawn. I moved on and turned back towards the east with every intention of getting to the end of the valley.
However.

I stopped and spent quite a bit of time exploring the frost on the leaves and grasses in the creek bottom. Up on the ridge it was quite warm. In the creek it was much colder.

I then got sidetracked by the sandstone wall. The ice formations were growing.

I used a timed exposure so the snow and ice above the water would reflect... hopefully on the water.
It worked!

Then I thought, how could I take a photo of me doing some things I liked? The Oly had a remote but it has to be plugged into the camera. So I focused on the wall where I thought it would work and set the timer for 12 seconds.
After a few shots, I got what I wanted.

That worked out so well that I thought I'd set up another photo. This time an action shot.
I focused on a spot where I thought my boot would land and then set up the timer again for 12 seconds. I got it in 2 shots.

I edited all of the hike photos in ON1RAW2017. I have ON1 10.5 which is a dynamite program. The newer RAW program is still a bit 'buggy' but I really like it.
My 'concept' here was to look as if I were leaping from one 'world' into another. My thought is this. Go out to nature and leave the boring world of electronics behind and you will see the wonder of the natural world.

Well there you go. A fun concept even more fun trying to create it.


ON1 10.5 is the preferred method also of doing some heavy editing. Which I did in this self portrait from a few weeks ago.

The woods are in me...

Of course I got side tracked in exploring the frost and the creek in just a small area. I had to get back home as the sun was beginning to fade out of the deep valley.

It would soon be chore time again and time to make supper.

However, I managed to take a photo of Pete, the run away Morris Toy for the story I am working on. I managed to take a shot of Fawn for those kids who love to follow The Doe Story and headed back towards home. My fingers and toes were frozen.

So I leave you with a few shots I got on my New Year's Day hike.

Enjoy

Happy New Year.