Picnic Grove
| 13 imagesA couple of weeks back, I visited my parents up in the Rocky Mountains. They live well back, a short distance from the Indian Peaks range in the Colorado Rockies. I finished off my teen years in that house, over a decade ago now. It’s a beautiful area up there, one which, sadly I did not see much of when I was younger. (I was a die-hard computer geek, and I spent 90% of my life playing around with computers…ah, what I would give to go back to that time and start photography back then!) Living up there for so many years, I never knew about the picnic grove just 15 steps down the road from my parents drive way. I’ve driven past it many hundreds of times over the years, and always assumed the space was an empty lot.
Well, a couple weekends ago, as the light was fading and a storm was racing in, I was looking for things to photograph, and I discovered the grove. I first noticed one of those old tractors…the really old, rusted ones with spoked wheels and interesting machinery and mechanics. The stuff you sometimes see arrayed outside a ranch nestled deep in rural country. The grove was packed with tiny little baby Aspen trees, which gave for an interesting contrast. So I started taking pictures, of the tractors at first, then eventually some of the interesting little bits of scenery strewn about.
The pictures are in full color, however as I was processing, I just sort of ended up with the faint duotone grayscale version. I don’t do black and white very often, however I thought it was a particular compliment for these images. Once all color is gone, you have a lot more freedom to play with contrast, at many levels. The nuances of detail and contrast that can be found in small spaces is nearly endless.
On another note, I should point out that these photos were not taken with my usual cameras. I rented a Sony A7r to give it a test run. A MetaBones adapter was used to allow the use of my Canon EF lenses. These photos were all taken with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 lens. All of these photos benefited from that camera’s superior image quality, pixel count, and sharpness. The soft shadow falloff is a particular trait I really love…smooth and clean.
Nature Photography 
The 6D is a fairly capable camera. It’s actually a bit more capable than the 5D II, but it lacks the nice AF features of the 5D III. That said, I picked up my 5D III off the Canon refurb store for $2600. It’s in perfect shape, and the reason I went with it was I’d asked a couple other photographer friends about the quality of their Canon refurb stuff…apparently gear from there ends up getting more rigorous testing and vetting than most brand spankin new products right off the assembly line, so they tend to be in top-notch shape. With the 5Ds announced, and the 5D IV rumored to be arriving sometime third or fourth quarter, you should be able to find really good deals on a 5D III. For birds, the AF system is really, REALLY nice. It’s probably it’s best feature. The high ISO performance is also very good (although the 6D actually performs even better at high ISO).
The A7r is definitely more of a landscape camera than a bird camera. It is a very, very nice camera for that purpose, and it obviously does very well on most kinds of still photography. When it comes to action, though, I would actually explicitly warn you away from the A7r. To actually get maximum performance out of the A7r’s AF system, you need Sony lenses. To my knowledge, they do not (yet) have anything really well suited for birds or wildlife. I don’t think it would be an ideal camera for you, since birds are one of your things. I would say the 5D III or 6D would be better for you, and wouldn’t require any extra investment in lenses. (Plus, you wouldn’t have to break your loyalties….yet. ;P)
I just think these pictures a terribly fine! I think texture shots look great in black and white or toned treatments. And these are really interesting. You said it was very windy?
Thanks, Judy. 🙂 I want to do some more work like this…haven’t had a chance lately due to work. The day I took these, it was’t really windy, a storm had moved in and it was getting ready to rain. I was hoping to test out the full dynamic range of the A7r compared to my 5D III (the A7r has a lot more, better for high contrast scenes that might need more highlight and shadow recovery)…but the storm dulled everything up and reduced contrast. I had rented the A7r, and did not want it to go to waste…so I went out hunting for a different kind of subject to photograph. That’s when I found Picnic Grove, and all these rusted old tractors and everything. The light was very diffuse because of the clouds, which resulted in all the amazing shading on everything.
I like doing images like this too with black and white or toned treatments but it has been awhile since I have honed in on those subjects. I enjoy certain wood textures which look kind of silvery and sinuous when done in as a black and white. I realize reading of the things you do how limited I have been in experimenting with other cameras than Canon. I knew I’d be wedded when I bought my first L lens, but it is good to test out and enjoy some of the other manufacturers too. It is just so expensive to keep up and I don’t even max out what I have. So you do inspire a desire to work harder at it and more often.
When you mentioned looking for something to shoot I could certainly identify with that impulse. Often I want to just go out and find whatever I come across with no agenda. It is addictive for certain!!
I really appreciate the helpful information you share with your posts and comment responses and your enthusiasm is contagious.
http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/54752152
I knew that Sony model number sounded familiar. This is a link about a wonderful fine art photographer in my area who at 72 is going digital for the first time with the A7r. If you have not looked at Clyde’s work you will enjoy a treat. It must be great if it was his choice! He still does 5′ by 8′ wet lab prints and they cost a fortune!
His work is a treat! I love his misty aspen photos, wonderful! One of the really nice things about the Sony A7 series of cameras is their compact size. I like my big cameras for birds and wildlife…they are just easier to handle and manage when there is a giant lens hanging off the end of them. But if your out and about, hiking around the mountains or something like that…A Sony A7/A7r/A7s with a pancake lens could fit in your pocket! And they really pack a lot of punch, too. Big huge full frame, lots of pixels, tons and tons of quality. They are certainly different than Canon cameras…very different menu systems, different controls. The bodies feel strange at first, so small (they really don’t fit my hands well). But you could get used to that. For the amount of image quality they pack, it’s probably the best balance of IQ, price, and physical size that you can find these days. Sony has some great Zeiss lenses (they make some of the best in the world) for the A7 series as well, and a lot of them are small enough to fit in a pocket or a waist pack.
If you want something more portable, just when your out and about, hiking, whatever…I think it would be tough to beat the A7r.
Thanks, Judy! I totally agree with you about L lenses…I’m pretty hooked on them as well. Especially the newer ones…they are such high quality, super sharp, fast focus. Hard to use anything else. I also agree with how tough it is to keep up on all the latest technology, especially owning it. Too costly. I’m sticking with my 5D III and existing lenses for now, despite how intrigued I am by the Sony A7r/s and now, even the Samsung NX1. I like Canon, but technologically (at least with their sensors), they are really falling far behind now. Samsung’s NX1 sensor is probably the most advanced sensor the DSLR and Mirrorless market has seen to date, and the camera really seems to rival the great Canon 7D II in terms of features, functionality, build, etc.
I am working on selling my old 7D (was a workhorse, and shows a little wear so I probably won’t get much for it, but I need some money to fund other purchases.) The 7D II is a good camera, but it’s stuck with Canon’s old sensor technology. The Samsung NX1 has become extremely intriguing for me, as it’s mirrorless, and thus can be adapted to work with Canon lenses. Samsung is also working on some of their own high end telephoto lenses, and the NX1 has an amazing frame rate of 15fps (my 5D III has 6fps, the 7D had 8fpa, and the brand new 7D II has 10fps.) As a bird photographer, that frame rate is really appealing. But like you said…so costly, and tough to decide when so many new cameras are always coming out. 😛
Anyway…technology aside, the image quality from the A7r was phenomenal. So rich and clean, yet very realistic in terms of color, tone, and shadow falloff. Now that I’ve used it, all Canon cameras seem to be overly saturated most of the time, and always feel a bit muddied by their additional noise. If you don’t want to lose faith in your Canon cameras…don’t ever rent the A7r (or, for that matter, the D800, D600, D810, D750, etc. :P) The image quality from those cameras at low ISO is just phenomenal…almost enough to make you cry. 😮 The D600 is actually decently priced, but you would have to get Nikon lenses for it, so it wouldn’t be cheap to “jump ship” as they say (or even to “expand” your camera kit to include Nikon equipment.) I guess we will see in a few months here how well the new Canon 5Ds compares…I have hopes for it…but I also have my doubts. Canon seems reluctant to invest any money improving their sensor technology.
My original 5D is quite sick and not worth repairing so I will upgrade my full sensor at some point. Given you already have the Mark III, what are your thoughts on the 6D? It seems from reading that the 6D will produce an equal picture in quality but minus a few features. The only caviat is the issue of flying birds. But I am attracted to the more reasonable cost and the fact it is lighter. I love the look of the full sensor and still feel it richer and smoother than the small sensor. Mine are the old 5D and the 7D. The points you are making on the changing sensor technology has me wondering though…that don’t ever rent the A7r got to me. Its price isn’t that much more than the 6D really. But I am such a loyalist.
Regarding the “silvery and sinuous” forms. I love that, too. I like just going out in the forest, looking for old dried out, naturally polished stumps and the like, and finding ways to photograph them. Wood is so amazing, infinitely complex and variant. I need to get back out there soon, now that the weather is starting to warm again, and try getting some more pictures like this. I love textures and natural forms and all that. I feel these are some of the most artistic photos I’ve ever taken, and would really love to explore it more. I hope you get a chance to explore it more as well…I’d love to see your take on such things.