gerov wrote:
Hi Douglas. You're making me realize how long it's been since I've been there before Christmas. I had knee surgery late 2024 and didn't make it, so it would have been at least two years ago. Time really flies when you're not having fun
With the dual setups, I'm wondering if they decide that for certain action, like eagles battling it out across the river, that they'll just shoot slow motion video, and if it's a single eagle coming down to the water for a snatch, they shoot images, and hope that there is enough action to get a little bit of both on each camera....Show more →
Good questions, Gero. I know the guys with dual setup shoot video in one camera and still photo in another. Wheather they shoot video only or photo only depending on the circumstances, or shoot both simultaneously all the time, I have no idea. Will talk to them next time when I go.
I just learned today that some of the Sony cameras (including the ones I have) can shoot video and still simultaneously in the same camera, but the resolution for video is < 4K, I believe. I think if I want to shoot 4K 120 and still photo simultaneously, I still need two cameras.
I went to the dam yesterday, very few actions in the morning, saw some activities in the afternoon, most were on the far side of the river, I had to crop away 80% of the frame for some of the images.
In the last two images, the eagle flew in front of the part of the dam in shade, the auto ISO blew the eagle's white feather even with exposure compensation at -1, because the rest of the frame was so dark. One of the best features of the Sony cameras, for me, is how easy it is to access the exposure compensation dial. Unfortunately for me yesterday, I put the dial in locked position and didn't have time to unlock it and change the EC to -2 to preserve the highlight.
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/2500s640 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/2500s640 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/2500s320 ISO-1.3 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/2500s400 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens483mmf/7.11/2500s320 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/2500s400 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/3200s4000 ISO-1.0 EV
ILCE-1M2FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS lens800mmf/8.01/3200s5000 ISO-1.0 EV
gerov wrote:
Dan, I think that shot is from 2006 or 2007. Lou was a great guy and a real resource on the N&W forum. If that shot in Douglas's post is from the last two weeks, I think it should be a little saner now as the busload of Japanese photographers is usually gone by Thanksgiving - unless they are now booking multiple option weeks. While it can be a great opportunity to meet new people and friends, it's a bit overwhelming and may be why the birds don't land in the trees along the fence any more.
Douglas, like Jim, I'm curious as to how you will manage the focus tracking if you can only have your eye to one camera, unless you use the rear screen and tap on the eagle on both screens and then use your magic shutter fingers. Are you able to pull full resolution still images from the videos captured on the Sony cameras?...Show more →
I put the Hasselblad to work yesterday on a great assignment. The project was just a few details shy of being ready to shoot so I convinced everyone that we needed to wait until later next week to actually do the assignment. Yesterday's scouting gave me the ability to do some color tests and get comfortable with the perspectives. The 35-100E will work well for some of the angles, but I immediately saw the need for the new 20-35E, which was on my radar anyway so....................
The subject is a new home for a client's automotive collection, or a least part of it. Next week all the lighting will be programmable and each bay will have a neon sign with the car's logo on the wall. One side is very rare copies of Ford Mustang's, the other will be Corvettes, a Ford GT40 and some other automotive jewels.
A perfect assignment to christen the X2DII on, when I pulled it out and began shooting I heard the familiar........"That's a Hasselblad......." murmurs, always a nice sign, and an appropriate tool for a $20M automotive collection assignment.
You have a very niche set of clients Jim who seem to be treating you very well. Nothing but admiration from me for what you have been able to achieve with your photographic journey.
First, thank you for your kind thoughts, they mean a great deal. When I was with Caterpillar I always tried to structure my sales territory so that I had some big clients, more medium sized clients, and a healthy number of small clients. A client list like that doesn't put you in a position where any one or two clients can replace marketing and communication managers overnight and ruin your day in the process. Sure, the goal is not to lose any clients, I really hate it when it happens, but the old adage about having all your eggs in one basket is very true. Over the past four decades I have had clients come and go, and some have even come back. Sometimes it is as simple as people changing jobs or retiring, sometimes they jut move on and you never hear a word from them again, those bother me the worst, because you always wonder if there was something more that you could have done and you will never know.
I am Blessed with some great clients, and I stand on my head to build those relationships and keep them. There are better photographers than me out there, but there aren't a whole lot that will work as hard as I do on my client's behalf. I've turned a lot of sow's ears into silk purses in my career, just by putting my head down and sticking with it, that ethic has served me well.
Along this journey I have been allowed into some pretty rare circles, I value those confidences and never take them for granted, nor am I deluded about whether I "belong" in those circles outside of the talent and service that I bring to them. I have some pretty incredible friends in high places but in the end, I am a vendor, a respected one, but it's important to resist the temptation to think that you have arrived and become the people that you serve, nothing will get you a dose of reality quicker than that attitude. Yes, I get to breathe some rare air along the way, and those references help build more solid business connections, but in the end, I have much more in common with the folks who work for my big clients than I do the actual moguls.
Jim, while you describe yourself as a vendor, what I have observed over the 21+ years I have been an FM member is that quality speaks for itself, and the attention to detail you have shown in your aviation and real estate shooting has been nothing short of exceptional. While clients may go, I've always had a smile on my face when you've posted about one of your shoots having drawn in a whole new set of clients. This, to me, epitomizes what being exceptional is all about. I hope we will see a slew of Wilson generations follow in your footsteps here. Nothing but respect for what you have and continue to accomplish.
I'm at HQ working on some images today and waiting for an L39 client to come in. They are dismantling a perfectly good Falcon that got caught in a hangar here when the foam fire suppression system accidentally went off.............. Wondering whether the kids would like it in our back yard......boy would that set the HOA into a tiz!
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