A short ferry ride across the Sunda Strait between Javan and Sumatra. On the way to shoot. Not sure they should have let me sit in the captain's chair...
Greggf wrote:
Gary...killer grab!
Derek...I'm liking the rendering of the g28...especially in your hands.
Helena...couldn't agree more about 50's! And looking forward to more of your upcoming Loxia snaps!
Jack...welcome back! Awesome portraits!
Luvwine....totally awesome grabs of Yosemite! Any snow at all? We're heading there next week.
Everyone else...great grabs!
Gregg
A7rll and Summicron M 50 v4
The brand new Tesla X in person. First one I've seen....really cool car, with "auto-drive"
Thanks for the kind words Greg! There is only a small amount of snow around at this point as it has gotten to 60 degrees during the day and 50's other days. It has been totally clear. The upside has made for more snow melt and thus the waterfalls are more impressive than they usually are this time of year as I understand it given 125% of normal precipitation this year and high temps melting the snow. This also has helped horsetail as there are fewer clouds and thus only two days have been a bust for me with three good days and one so so one since I got here. The downside is that without clouds and snow, there are a lot of boring shots to make aside from the waterfalls. Here is a pic that shows the snow levels yesterday:
I love your Tesla images but personally, I don't like the color of the car. On the last image, I noticed too much "orange peel" on the paint job for my taste. I don't know about the paint job they put on that car. Of course, it doesn't have to do with the images you posted but merely an observation on the car itself.
Gary Clennan wrote:
Joshua - wow! Loving this series from you...
Much obliged, Gary!
Ronny Olsson wrote:
Awesome shot Joshua !
Very nice portrait Jack !
HelenaN wrote:
Thanks for your input! Yes, I'm beginning to realize that one needs more than one 50mm. Four is over-the-top though, so the C/Y 50/1.7 has to go. Need to think some more about the Rokkor and Nokton.
oh man, i won't say how many ~50s i have...
i don't think there are many 50s with the gentle rendering of the cv that can shoot straight into the sun as well, which you seem to do relatively frequently, so that would be tough to replace. if you are looking for a lighter option than the rokkor 58/1.2 though, the rokkor MC PF 55/1.7 offers 95% of the magic 5% of the price and similar size/weight to the c/y 50/1.7. it actually has considerably better wide open bokeh than the 58/1.2 and a very similar overall draw and build. the weaknesses compared to the 58/1.2 are a bit lower large aperture sharpness (particularly towards the edges), hexagons instead of octagons, and of course being a stop slower.
I have to say that you do have a good eye for beauty. And I was referring to the first image specifically.
AGeoJO wrote:
The mask carnival in Venice is not always about the mysteriousness of folks of unknown age - some young or younger folks do not mind revealing their face, at least partly . it is all about fun of wearing costumes and being photographed, feeling like celebrities.
The woman in dark outfit wears special contact lenses to get that kind of look of her eyes. BTW, that image was captured using my favorite lens for that event, the FE 35mm f/1.4 at wide open. The last image was also captured at wide open using Batis 85mm.
Samuli Vahonen wrote:
Finally but I think you have a typo; you must mean forty, not four...
Samuli
Oops, yes of course that's what I meant.
sebboh wrote:
oh man, i won't say how many ~50s i have...
i don't think there are many 50s with the gentle rendering of the cv that can shoot straight into the sun as well, which you seem to do relatively frequently, so that would be tough to replace. if you are looking for a lighter option than the rokkor 58/1.2 though, the rokkor MC PF 55/1.7 offers 95% of the magic 5% of the price and similar size/weight to the c/y 50/1.7. it actually has considerably better wide open bokeh than the 58/1.2 and a very similar overall draw and build. the weaknesses compared to the 58/1.2 are a bit lower large aperture sharpness (particularly towards the edges), hexagons instead of octagons, and of course being a stop slower....Show more →
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Oh no, not another 50mm to consider.
For now I'll keep both the Rokkor 58 and CV 50 and see how that goes. I had hoped to give the Loxia a real try, but it has snowed all day. I'm eager to test its behavior when shooting against the sun, but it looks like it'll be the same weather tomorrow.
Since this is a picture thread, here are some shots from 2015. The third shows a very local snowfall and the setting sun is shining on the cloud which is why it's so yellow. All are from C/Y 28/2.8, which I haven't used in a while since I'm currently in a 50mm phase but I still like it.
JaKo wrote:
^^^ Keep the Nokton 50, Helena. It's not that flat. You can get decent pop from it
Yes I agree that it has a nice look for closer subjects, such as yours above. I think its rendering is OK for landscapes too, but the lower micro contrast and more subdued colors can cause landscape photos to look a bit dull on overcast days compared to the Zeiss. Also, I hate to admit it, but I got influenced by the posts and PMs from people preferring my C/Y landscapes, so I wanted to try the Loxia and see if it can work as a middle ground between the C/Y and CV.
AGeoJO wrote:
The mask carnival in Venice is not always about the mysteriousness of folks of unknown age wearing masks - some young or younger folks do not mind revealing their face, at least partly . it is all about fun of wearing costumes and being photographed, feeling like celebrities.
The woman in dark outfit wears special contact lenses to get that kind of look of her eyes. BTW, that image was captured using my favorite lens for that event, the FE 35mm f/1.4 at wide open. The last image was also captured at wide open using Batis 85mm.
These are beautiful, and I especially love the last one. So do these women just wait around for photographers to do shoots with them, or do you need to contact them ahead of time to get these kinds of sessions?
I've been trying out the FE 70-200mm f/4 for review, and it seems to be pretty nice. Quite sharp, handles well, a bit shorter than my EF 70-200 with the Metabones attached. I had heard that it wasn't that sharp at 200mm and f/4, but either there's some serious sample variation, or we have very different definitions of 'sharp.'
100% crop @ 200mm, f/4:
It snowed today, though nothing was sticking. Made for some nice atmosphere, though. The color shot is from yesterday.
bobbytan wrote:
I have to say that you do have a good eye for beauty. And I was referring to the first image specifically.
Thanks, Bobby!
Jman13 wrote:
These are beautiful, and I especially love the last one. So do these women just wait around for photographers to do shoots with them, or do you need to contact them ahead of time to get these kinds of sessions?
Thank you, Jordan. These images were captured during the carnival days in Venice. A lot of folks from all over the world flock to Venice. Although mostly from within Europe but they are a few masks coming from the US and Canada. They wear masks to hide their identity and make it more mysterious. They put on elaborate costumes to round up the total package down to their shoes, paraphernalia, like stock, book, flute or what not. It is a tradition that went back to a few hundred years ago. And nowadays, yes, they would like to be photographed in exchange for images. You send them by email or post them on Facebook, for example. I know some masks on a personal basis since it was my forth time shooting this event. I set up some private sessions with a few them. With Sophie, for example, we went on a gondola ride for the session.
But otherwise you just go to San Marco square and there are tons of people wearing masks that willingly or are happy to pose for you. During the peak hours I would say there are around 100 masks or so. No need to make any prior arrangement for that. The better masks always attract more photographers. It is not uncommon to see 10 or so photographers in front of a mask, jostling for position. You just take your pictures to your heart's content. At the end of the shoot you ask for a card from them. They have their pictures on the card in the same costume so you can recognize them and their contact information.
I know the girl on the last shot. She came to greet and she hugged me. I asked her to move to a different location than she was before and so, I could take pictures of her a little better. The other photographers that crowded around her yielded to me. They thought I was some kind big kahuna photographer.... So, I could direct her and got the best position to shoot from. I included the columns and arches in the background in the composition. The camera was about a foot or so away from the floor on that shot. So, kind of looking up, if you will.
apparently there are some folks out there with questionable 70-200G f4 copies. I was blessed with an exceptional one just like you. Sharp wide open across the board and a gem for fast focusing as well. Love that sucker for sure. I was one that apparently discovered with that lens, which I shared with Sony's tech department, that when you are achieving a shutter speed due to good light, 1000th sec or better, it is advisable to shut OFF the Steadyshot or just switch off the OS on the lens OFF as it tends to work against it at times. The consistency of superbly sharp images above 1000th sec without OS on is like 100%. If you don't believe me try it. I tested it so much it was crazy and this is what I discovered. The Sony tech department was a bit surprised, but got back to me saying they also confirmed this to be true. They expect a firmware update on the lens at some point as well as the A7RII, that will eliminate the error message stating the lens isn't supported at times when in fact it IS (just ignore the message as they said). The lens, when you get a good one, is flat out superb.
Sootyvrs...really nice!
So I took the Loxia out a couple nights ago, and ended up shooting the same thing I shot with the Cron the night before. The 2nd and 3rd shot are the Loxia and Cron using the same shot. There's a small difference from where I shot both...The exposures we're exactly the same, as was the PP(copied from the Cron and pasted), even though they were a day apart. Very similar rendering...tell me what you think!
Gregg
. it is all about fun of wearing costumes and being photographed, feeling like celebrities. 
. So, I could direct her and got the best position to shoot from. I included the columns and arches in the background in the composition. The camera was about a foot or so away from the floor on that shot. So, kind of looking up, if you will.
