Author: Gage Caudell

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Sony NEX-7 & Zeiss 24mm f1.8 shots

I posted my first picture using my new Sony NEX-7 on Saturday.  I used my Leica 50mm summilux (80mm equivalent) lens and I had a few people inquire about pictures with the Zeiss 24mm f1.8 lens (38mm equivalent).  Today’s post includes pictures using the 24mm lens.

So far I’m extremely impressed with the quality of the camera and lens.  My previous camera experience includes “point and shoot”, Canon dSLR’s (including the 5D Mark II), and my Leica M9-P.  I’ve grown accustomed to shooting with manual focus and forgot how nice it is sometimes to just let the camera do it.  Most of the reviews out there will tell you the Sony NEX-7 autofocus is slower than other cameras in its class but acceptable.  I don’t have any other experience shooting with other micro 4/3 cameras but so far I have absolutely no complaints about the speed.  I think the speed is 100% acceptable and most would not be disappointed.

I use Apple’s Aperture for my camera raw processing and library and currently they don’t support the NEX-7 raw files.  I’m trialling Phase One’s Capture One software since it does support it (I actually like the software but unsure if I want to use it in my workflow).

The pictures today are jpegs converted from raw files in Capture One.  Little, to no editing was performed.

ISO 100 1/250 f/1.8 Zeiss 24mm

ISO 100 1/320 f1.4 Zeiss 24mm

ISO 1600 1/50 f/1.8 Zeiss 24mm

 

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Sony NEX-7

August I pre-ordered the much anticipated Sony NEX-7.  I’ve been wanting a good back-up camera for my Leica M9 and thought this would be the camera to have.  Wednesday, I got my wish.  B&H Photo surprised me (I didn’t get the typical shipping notice in my email) with my NEX-7.  I’ve been shooting with it constantly the past few days and so far I’m amazed how “light” and “snappy” it is.

This is my first shot posted using the NEX-7.  I have the Sony 24mm Zeiss lens but I also have the Novoflex M-mount to Sony E-mount adapter.  This was taken with my Leica 50mm summilux.

ISO1000 1/60 f/1.4 50mm summilx (80mm equivalent)

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the fallen

Most of the time when I post pictures they are not pre-planned.  I sit and go through the thousands of pictures I’v taken and I try to find something that is interesting, tells a story, or has some sentimental value.  Often times it’s hard to find the “one” picture I want to post.

The picture I’m posting today, was taken last fall at Arlington National Cemetery.  It was a beautiful late fall afternoon and a friend and I came across this large tree with many fallen yellow leaves.  The contrast between the green grass, yellow leaves, and headstones was remarkable.  It’s hard to call a cemetery beautiful, especially one like our National Cemetery but I’m sure most would agree that it is a great place to pay respect to our fallen.

ISO 160 1/360 f/2.0 28mm summicron

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Carrying the little one!

I’m sure some get tired of seeing me post pics of my baby girl all the time.  First, she’s very photogenic and second, she consumes almost 100% of my time right now outside of work.  Last, it’s my blog therefore I guess I can post whatever I want. LOL.

My family has been in Louisville for the past few days and while my wife works, my baby girl and I  have been walking the streets.  I should say, I’ve been walking the streets with her attached to my waist.

This second picture was taken at Maker’s Mark.  It’s a local restaurant that makes its on Bourbon.  I’m not a whiskey drinker but their food was fantastic (it’s seasoned with bourbon).

ISO 1000 1/45 f1.4 50mm summilux

ISO 320 1/30 f.14 50mm summilux

 

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How long will it stand?

Recently, I was taking pictures of an old school building near my home town.  It was in the middle of the day therefore the shadows were to harsh for landscape shots.  Fortunately, I have neutral density filters that allow me to shoot during this time of day and allow for proper exposure of the sky.

This picture was taken of the schools chimney.  It appeared ready to come falling down.  Anyway, I liked the shadow of the tree on the brick.

ISO 160 1/90 f/4 90mm macro-elmar

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Standing

Our baby girl is not only crawling now but standing.  In our family room we have large windows and we often times catch her climbing up to look outside.  These pics were taken after our last snow fall.  I think she was really interested in all the white stuff on the ground and window.

ISO 160 1/125 f1.4 50mm summilux

 

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Abandoned Outhouse

My brother-in-law and I drove around yesterday looking for abandoned structures to take pictures of.  We came across this old church that was built in 1898.  It’s still in use but does not having running water and still had outhouses.

The sun was beginning to go down and I was trying to capture it in the picture.  This can be a challenge because it will often causes everything in the foreground to be extremely dark.  I decreased the shutter to 1/750 of a second, hoping to increase the detail in my foreground but also catch a glare from the sun.  This doesn’t always look good but I think it worked well in this picture.

ISO 160 f1.4 1/750 50mm

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Barn Door

The past few weeks I’ve been busy updating my logs so that I can take my boards this year.  The next step will be gathering all the chart notes, x-rays, etc…  It will be a lot of work but will be well worth it when I’m done.

I’ve posted a picture of this barn before but not from this angle.  I really like the texture in the wood.

Here is the link to the previous picture.  Also, the previous pictures, “Rustic Barn” was recently posted on Photopeka.

ISO 400 f16 HDR

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Our Future @ 8 months

For the past 2.5 weeks I’ve been without my camera.  I had to have my M9-P repaired because the shutter release kept sticking.  Fortunately, it was fixed and delivered to me last week, just in time to get our baby girls 8 month picture.  It’s definitely becoming more difficult to get her to sit still.

Here is a link to last months picture.

ISO 400 1/60 f/4 28mm elmarit

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Washington Monument

It can be a challenge trying to capture shots that are different than others, especially when shooting in popular tourist attractions.  Every time I travel to places like Washington D.C. I take the traditional tourist shots but also try to capture a different perspective.

A friend and I were at the Lincoln Memorial taking pictures and I noticed this couple looking onward towards the Washington Memorial and I snuck up behind them and capture this shot.  I was shooting without a tripod in darkness and was only able to capture this because I was using my 50mm summilux (shot at f/1.4).

ISO 1600 1/12 f/1.4 50mm summilux

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