Friday, February 27, 2015

Canon EF 11-24mm f/4L Initial Impressions and Photos

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go out and do my first shoot with the new 11-24mm ultra wide beast. I must say I had a very happy evening and overall very impressed with this lens. Sharing some of my initial impressions and photos. This is not an objective review or a test; just some of my personal thoughts from the experience. Also note I've just had one outing with this lens and that too I shot almost exclusively at 11mm since it was so much fun; there is a lot to be tried and tested still. I'm not an expert; just enjoying photography as a hobby.

Photos here (shot with Canon EOS 5D Mark III):


·        It is sharp alright. Beautiful center sharpness and even the corners look very impressive at least to me. No need to worry here.

ISO: 100 Focal Length: 11mm Aperture: f/9 Exposure Time: 13s (13/1) 

·        Amazing range, there is nothing like it in the ultra-wide zoom world. 11mm is freaking awesome. If you do a lot of interior architecture stuff you will love it.

·        Lots of vignetting at f4, but easily corrected in post though (I used Lightroom 5). Subsides around f9. Not noticeable at f11

·        Flares! The bulbous front element could be a flare magnet and no surprises really. How would you even try to minimize it?

ISO: 100  Focal Length: 11mm Aperture:f/7.1 Exposure Time: 5s (5/1)

·        Perspective Distortions. Yes it’s a rectilinear but keep it perfectly level with the horizon. Move it around just the very slightest and the image can change dramatically. Shoot people if you want to get giggles.


ISO: 100 Focal Length: 11mm Aperture: f/8 Exposure Time: 8s (8/1)

·        Autofocus. Haven’t tried it enough to say anything and I have a feeling that I don’t care. I personally expect this lens to be set on a tripod, in manual focus 90% of the time.

·        Weight. Not an issue for me. I guess it depends on what you are used to shooting with. The 70-200 f2.8L II is by far my most favorite walk about lens so yes it feels close to the same heft. Again I expect this this lens to be on a tripod 90% percent of the time.

·        No f2.8? What would you even want to shoot with an ultra-wide lens at f2.8? Night sky maybe? What else..

ISO 1600 Focal Length 11mm Aperture f/7.1 Exposure Time 0.005s (1/200)

·        Got to be careful with that front element. This is the first lens I’m shooting without any sort of UV filter attached and yes I have shattered a couple of them in the past. The 5D3 with this lens feels good in my hand and I did not feel particularly worried on my first walkabout but it sure will be a heart break if anything touches that beautiful glass.

·        Build quality. Stellar.

ISO 100  Focal Length 12mm Aperture f/16 Exposure Time 10s (10/1)

·        Sprawling landscapes at 11mm? Things become tiny and appear to be much farther away than they really are. I can certainly envision specific use cases where it could really shine and plan to try that these out on an upcoming trip. I must say just the thought of pairing this with the 5DS R and cropping out a large panorama from a single frame has me really excited. Off late I have been doing a lot of stitched panoramas, this lens provides a much simpler approach to the problem.

·        11-24mm f4L + 24-70 f2.8L II + 70-200mm f2.8L II. You get the picture. Throw in medium format level resolution in the mix and wow that is something I am now really looking forward to seeing for myself.

ISO 100  Focal Length 11mm Aperture f/20 Exposure Time 30s (30/1)

·        So the question I have right now is; what’s the point of retaining the 17-40mm and 24mm TSE? The 17-40 takes filters, specifically the big stopper. That to me is enough reason to still keep it. LEE is going to come out with a filter adapter, but it possibly cannot work with the big stopper?? The 24mm TSE seems more suspect right now, love doing stitched panoramas with it and off course it has tilt/shift. The 11-24mm easily does away with the need for stitching multiple 24mm shots and it’s so wide and sharp that you can possibly get away with perspective correction in post at the cost of some lost image size. I’m sure there are similar questions about other lenses with overlapping focal lengths. 

Saturday, February 14, 2015

2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade

2/14/2015 - Pictures can be deceiving. Looking at the warm and happy smiles of the people of the Mardi Gras Grand parade one might never sense the mind numbing cold these people are enduring. Awesome people, truly awesome!!

Here are some of my favorites people pics from the parade, a few more can be seen in the photo gallery here.


2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade Photos
2015 St. Louis Mardi Gras Grand Parade

Monday, May 26, 2014

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

5/25/2014 - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery located just of the banks of the Mississippi river in St. Louis is one of the National Cemetery Administrations oldest interment sites, the first burial occurring in 1827. It started as military post in 1826 and formally established as a national cemetery in 1866.

On Memorial Day weekend an American flag waves at each of the 190,000 graves. A team of 4,000 Boy Scouts were responsible for completing this service, the 65th year of this tradition.


Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery


Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery

Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
Memorial Day - Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery







Saturday, May 24, 2014

Camelopardalid Meteor Shower - A Damp Squib?

The lack of any news this morning seems to echo my thoughts that last nights Camelopardalid Meteor Shower wasn't as great of an astronomical event as many were hoping for. What do you think?

Between 12:30 am CDT and 3 am CDT I probably saw 4 or 5 noticeably bright meteors with my naked eyes, I must admit thought that my interest was aberrant at times.

Between the constant cloud clover and lens fogging up due to the high humidity, hopes for just capturing  some star trails also fizzed away.

Did capture one interesting fireball and what looks like a smoke cloud. Never seen or captured something like this before.  I'm no astronomy buff to be certain but googling around it's does look like a "smoke trail" / "persistent train". Can anyone with expertise confirm this? These are 20 second exposures and I see the faintest hint in up to the 14th frame which means it lasted for an amazing 4 minutes.


Camelopardalid Meteor Shower
Fireball - Frame 1 - Camelopardalid Meteor Shower

Camelopardalid Meteor Shower
Fireball - Frame 2 - Camelopardalid Meteor Shower

Camelopardalid Meteor Shower
Fireball - Frame 3 - Camelopardalid Meteor Shower

Camelopardalid Meteor Shower
Fireball - Frame 4 - Camelopardalid Meteor Shower







Friday, May 23, 2014

Across the Dock - Creve Coeur

5/23/2014 - 4:30 am the forecast says overcast; should I, should I not?? 5:11 am peek out of blinds, holly.. couple of minutes and I'm out. Imaging if I could move this fast all the time. 5:25 am at the lake, see a couple of runners so I'm not the only breaking the park hours rules, good. I'm running too. Setup, do a couple of test shots. 5:32 am the spectacle is on. Zoom in, zoom out, pan for a panorama, throw on the big stopper, couple of glass swaps 5:38 it's over. Nothing like learning from experience and doing better than last time. 6:00 am card is downloaded and another cup of tea. 7:45 am what a start to the holiday.



Creve Coeur 52314 Normal
Creve Coeur 52314 Normal

Creve Coeur 52314 Wide
Creve Coeur 52314 Wide

Creve Coeur 52314 Panorama
Creve Coeur 52314 Panorama

Thursday, May 22, 2014

At The Dock - Creve Coeur

5/22/2014 - Sunset at the dock - Creve Coeur Lake

Creve Coeur Dock
Creve Coeur Dock

Creve Coeur 52214 - BW
Creve Coeur - BW

Creve Coeur Dock Panorama

Monday, May 19, 2014

2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens - Photo Report

5/17/2014 -  Chinese Culture Days in Missouri Botanical Gardens is an annual two day festival celebrating the art, dance, music, food and history of China. In 1979 St. Louis created a sister city connection with city of Nanjing; becoming the first US city to have a sister city in the People's Republic of China. The festival has been celebrated for the past 20 years and organized by volunteers from the local Chinese community, an estimated 600 volunteers supported this years festival.

Sharing some photos form the day 1 of the festival, more can be seen in gallery here. The day started off with a parade followed by dragon dance, an acrobatics shows, traditional dance performances, and more.


2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens


2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens

2014 Chinese Culture Days Missouri Botanical Garden St. Louis Photos
2014 Chinese Culture Days celebrations at Missouri Botanical Gardens