Photograph of the Day- Warm Branches

Photograph of the Day- Warm Branches

Shot with Tamron 28-300mm Di VC PZD Lens for Canon EOS EF and EF-S mount. https://amzn.to/2tHcjGE

 

Photography Thought of the Day

Before I put together a composition, I'm looking or something that is interesting, or, I'm looking for beautiful light. It's important to let your instincts do all of that work for you naturally. Our senses are our best ally for making good photographs, if we let them be. Don't doubt them. If you see something that moves you, make a good photograph of it. Sort out the why's later.

Stay focused.

-Carl Garrard

Photography Fundamentals on a Budget - Canon EOS 40D

Photography Fundamentals on a Budget- Canon EOS 40D
February 2019, Carl Garrard

Well, this isn't my first run with the Canon EOS 40D. I've owned it in the past. For whatever reason that I'm unable to recall, I ended up selling it and buying the EOS 50D. Since then, working with my 50D has always left me with mixed emotions. On one hand, it was utter crap trying to do any shadow lifting in my post processing attempts. This is because of the horrible tick-tack-toe cross pattern banding issues- literally, it's the worst camera for banding I've ever owned or tested. On the other hand, properly exposed images were just fine. But because I love its handling and rugged comfortable nature so much, I learned to live with it's shortcomings and worked around them by concentrating on making perfect exposures that don't require any post processing exposure changes. Recently, If you have been reading the blog, I've been on a personal mission to find highly capable but affordable cameras for budding photographers wanting to get back to the basics and fundamentals of photography. The side benefit of this article may quite possibly bear out a replacement for my EOS 50D in the process. Let's find out just how good the EOS 40D is by today's standards, and whether or not I'd make this camera a recommendation to you.

Get A Grip- Canon's 50D

Get A Grip- Canon's 50D
February 2019, Carl Garrard

The very first metric I use to determine whether or not I'll like camera or not, is how it feels in the hand. Every single camera but one in my "Magnificent Seven" article feels wonderful in my hands. Although the Canon 50D didn't make my top seven, it undoubtedly holds the title for best grip of any DSLR I've ever held. Although my 6D feels great, and so do many of my other DSLR's, none have nailed the perfect feel of the 50D. In my 50D review I mentioned just how much I like it's grip, but words just cannot do justice to the perfect ergonomic shape or feel it has in hand. It's a grip so reassuring, I'd voluntarily hang from it with one hand over the Grand Canyon  if my life depended on it.  

Pentax K10D- Revisiting Simpler and Practical Photography

Pentax K10D- Revisiting Simpler and Practical Photography
February 2019, Carl Garrard

For fans of the K10D like myself, the appeal behind the Pentax K10D is undoubtedly it's simplicity compared to most modern DSLR and mirrorless camera features. Worth noting is it's complete lack of video or live view, sensitivity is limited to just 100-1600 ISO, and with just 10.2 megapixels of detail from a CCD sensor, its anything short of being on some photographer's dinosaur list. It's a pity that manufacturers these days don't even use CCD sensors anymore (at least that I'm aware of), because CCD sensors make excellent color and more. Some of my favorite cameras I've used have a CCD sensor, which in my opinion, produce absolutely gorgeous tonality and subtle image character that seems, um, less plasticy or "digitized" than most CMOS sensors.
Link: Pentax K10D on Amazon