One of my goals for my recent camera upgrade was to jump from a ‘crop-sensor camera’ (like the Nikon D500) to a ‘full-frame camera’ (like the Canon R5). I had long avoided the full-frame cameras like the Nikon D800 and D850 because they (and their lenses) were so much larger, heavier, and costlier… but I favor smaller and lighter equipment because I like to be able to hike with them.
The switch from DLSR to mirrorless, however, enabled me to get a full-frame camera body (Canon R5) that was actually lighter (738g) than the crop-sensor camera body (Nikon D500) that I had been using (860g). To be fair, though, the R5 with its 24-105mm kit lens was heavier (1438g) than the D500 with its 16-80mm kit lens (1340g). But, I rationalized, it’s full frame! better quality, right?
But what else was I gaining… or losing? People often say that crop-sensor cameras have better ‘reach’ – because their effective focal length is a multiple of the lens focal length, making subjects appear ‘closer’. The truth is much more complicated. Read on.
I’ve been a Nikon photographer for nearly forty years – first with an SLR and then a DSLR – but decided to upgrade to mirrorless and settled on a Canon EOS R5 after extensive research. Here’s why.
Thus concludes four lovely days in Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine. In my recent posts I have shared stories and photos from my hikes and other activities. But not everything fit, so let me share a final photo gallery – distinct from photos in the other galleries, it is a mixed bag of scenery, activity, and food :-). I especially like the video of Boulder Beach where, if you listen carefully, you can hear the boulders rolling in the surf as it recedes.
Acadia is well-known for sunrise and sunset views. Indeed, many people vie for reservations to drive up Cadillac Mountain for sunrise, purportedly one of the earliest sunrise views in the U.S. because of its elevation and far-eastern position in the timezone. But for the same reason, sunrise here is remarkably early: every day this week it has been between 4:50am and 4:57am, and that is later than it was on the summer solstice a few weeks ago. I am not interested in sunrise from the peak – indeed, I find it far more interesting to photograph scenery illuminated by the golden rays of the sun than to photograph the sun itself. After some reading, I learned that Boulder Beach, on the eastern shore, is a great location. It’s also only 10 minutes drive from my hotel in Bar Harbor.
I’m an early riser. Still, when the alarm went off at 4:00am this morning, it was tough to drag myself out of bed and prepare for the day. Out in the parking lot I fired up my JetBoil camp stove to boil water for tea – no place is open this early! – and headed south in the growing twilight toward Otter Cliffs. I parked at a nearby picnic area and walked over to the beach, with 15 minutes to spare before sunrise, only to find three other tripod-rigged photographers already on scene. It was none other than John Putnam, of JK Photography, whom I’d met a couple of days ago in his gallery over in Southwest Harbor. He was out here with two clients, sharing his wisdom and tips for sunrise photography. I’d seen his photograph of sunrise at this spot, back in the gallery, and it is awe-inspiring.
I explored a few different shot locations and exposures. The sun rose through some clouds, so the cliffs illuminated a bit late, and the clouds behind them never quite lit up. But it was a fine morning and I’m pleased with the result. Wish I could try again and again. See the photo gallery for more.
Otter Cliffs from Boulder Beach at sunrise; Acadia National Park.
After the sunrise had faded, I walked closer to the cliffs to find a seal swimming toward me, curious; it bobbed for a moment, then dove away to find its breakfast.
Ok, now it’s 6:00am. It’s starting to rain. What else will the day bring?
I chose to spend the week of July 4th in Acadia National Park in part because I thought it would be fun to be in Bar Harbor for Independence Day. Indeed, they hosted a fantastic fireworks display, down at the harbor. The weather was absolutely perfect – clear skies, light breeze, warm temps.
I started the evening on the rooftop deck of the Bar Harbor Beerworks, which has an extensive collection of local brews along with decent pub-style food. As the evening progressed, they started charging $$extra to remain on deck –presumably because it had a great view of the sky over the harbor, and there is surely some appeal to watching the display from a beer deck. Instead, I checked out and headed down to the waterfront. Although I arrived an hour early, the crowds had already staking out the best spaces on the grassy harborside park. I squeezed into a nice patch of grass between two families and close to the harbor’s edge. Eventually there were many hundreds of happy people here.
I set up my tripod but then realized I’d forgotten the tripod plate — required to attach the camera to the tripod! So I nested the camera in the soft camera bag, pointing roughly in the right direction, and waited.
The fireworks were spectacular, and lasted what seemed like a half hour. Sitting this close, I could feel the concussive boom of each burst.
Fireworks in Bar Harbor (Acadia) on July 4th
I took nearly 300 shots, and whittled them down to five for the gallery. Not too shabby for a first try!
Canon R5, ISO 200, f/10, 2-2.5s exposure. Shutter triggered remotely via Bluetooth from Canon’s iPhone app. Post-processed with Lightroom, mostly Auto settings.
Today is Independence Day, a holiday here in the U.S., and I decided to take the week off to do a little camping, a little hiking, a little travel, and a lot of photography. One of Brenda Petrella’s podcasts from her Outdoor Photography School inspired me to return to Acadia National Park – which I had last visited nearly thirty years ago. So I booked a hotel there in Bar Harbor, Maine, but wanted to break up the drive by camping along the way. Needless to say, finding an available campsite on Sunday of a three-day summer holiday weekend was nigh impossible, at the last minute, but a Google search led me to a few options along the coastal portion of my drive from home to Acadia. I found a spot – and a whole lot more. Read on.
We spent a long weekend at Kiawah, to join some family celebrations in nearby Charleston. I took the opportunity to do some photography, as I often do here, out on the beach and along the winding roads of the island neighborhoods. Indeed, I just switched to a new camera, the Canon R5 – about which I’ll write later – so this was a great chance to learn how to use it.
The full gallery includes a variety of photos, but the highlight was a visit to an osprey nest (the same one we photographed last June). Mama Osprey and two fledglings peered out from the nest, while Papa Osprey watched closely from a nearby tree.
Today is the summer solstice (in the northern hemisphere). More precisely, the solstice occurred at 5:15am here in the Eastern timezone. The summer solstice is the moment at which the sun has ‘traveled’ to its northernmost latitude, in its annual cycle of apparent movement to the north in summer and to the south in winter. (It’s a great day for those of us with solar panels, because it means we’re getting hours of sunlight!) Read on.
I woke suddenly as the cat jumped onto the bed and leapt over my face to get to the other side. He likes that side, as it makes a good vantage point to look out the window and survey his territory. Following his gaze, I noted it was still quite dark – too dark to be yet awake – but with a sky more clear than had been forecast. I rolled over for a better angle and, yes, there she was, the full moon setting into the west. A partial lunar eclipse had begun a couple hours earlier, and I was fortunate to be able to see it still underway. Apparently, this was the longest eclipse of its kind in 580 years.
By the time I fetched my cameras – I was unprepared because the forecast was for clouds and even some snowfall – the moon had settled behind thick clouds. I waited, not too patiently I might add, because the eclipse was rapidly fading behind those clouds. When the moon re-emerged, I snapped a quick photo in which you can barely discern the remaining eclipsed portion at lower right.
At the tail end of a lunar eclipse, the remaining occluded portion of the moon is visible but also occluded by a bit of cloud.
The moon disappeared behind more clouds and the branches of a leafless tree. When it reemerged, and I had relocated outdoors, the beaver moon shone again in its full glory. Exposure was tricky, and I never got it right before the moon set behind its final cloud bedding for the night.
Full moon setting after a lunar eclipse.
I used a Nikon D500 with a Nikon 200-500mm f5.6 lens. For more impressive photos – from better prepared, better located, better skilled photographers, check out this space.com site.
David Kotz 