An Escape To New Mexico | A7rII – XT2 – X100F
Traveling though New Mexico with the Sony A7rII, Fujifilm X-T2 and the X100F. Plus a look at Aurora HDR, my new favorite software.
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Voigtlander 15mm III
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Joshua Tree – Fujifilm XT1
A few weeks ago I found myself in Joshua Tree. I've been there a few times now but this time around things were going to be different. I had some new lenses, new cameras, and a different eye.
The last few years I've been shooting a lot of Landscape and HDR photography and found myself getting stuck with the routine that often comes with those styles. I was just going with the trends and I needed to hit the breaks.
This year I'm trying to shoot everything I can, looking for those incidental stories and moods. It can be challenging to get great shots, but at least this way the results are your own.
Tongva Park – Sony A7r II
I've passed through the Tongva park a few times while on my way to shoot the Santa Monica Pier, but never actually shot here. I would always see these lookout structures and thought they might be cool to shoot through.
So a few nights ago, I finally made an attempt to come here but unfortunately, I couldn't find parking because of some event which caused me to miss the sunset. So it is in Los Angeles. You just have to add on an hour anything you want to do around here.
How To Shoot Better Sun Stars
A relatively new trend has emerged in the online photography communities over the last few years that involves shooting into the sun or other bright light sources so that the bright light creates star points around it. Also known as sunstars.
The Method
I run across a lot of tutorials and tips of people explaining how to do it. Typical they all say about the same thing, shoot high apertures, anywhere from f16 to f22.
While this does usually work, it's not always the best practice. I find that shooting at higher apertures on many of our high megapixel cameras has a massive impact on overall image quality due to diffraction.
So what do we do?
Dockweiler Sunset
Last night's sunset near Dockweiler State Beach here in Los Angeles. We've been having some interesting weather lately which means some nice sunsets. But it can be hit and miss. Sometimes I'll drive out to the beach and the clouds can be too thick and grey everything out.
Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 Heliar III Review & Sample Images
The Voigtlander 15mm F4.5 lens is a Leica lens that's been optimized for mirrorless digital sensors. This lens has an aperture of f4.5 to f22. It's extremely small and light with full manual controls making it an incredibly fun lens to use. Plus it looks amazing.
Downtown Los Angeles with the Fuji X-T1
This is a series of photos shot with the Fuji X-T1 and the Voigtlander 15mm Heliar III lens. They were taken all Downtown Los Angeles near the Walt Disney Concert hall. My favorite place to shoot city architecture.
The Fuji X-T1 + The Voigtlander 15mm III
I recently picked up the Voigtlander 15mm Heliar III to use with my Sony A7r and my Fuji X-T1. I'm not going to go too deep into the ins and outs of this lens, I'll save that for my full review.
But in the meantime here is a quick shot taken with it on the Fuji X-T1. I have to say, I was not expecting this at all. The lens is amazing, especially with the APS-C sensor on the Fuji X-T1. And the best part about it is it also works great on my Sony A7r. With adapters of course.