GH5 High ISO in a studio setting

This image was captured last weekend at NECCC.  Panasonic Lumix GH5 using the original Lumix Vario 35 - 100 mm f/2.8 lens. at 100 mm.  Exposure triad f/2.8, 1/160 sec, ISO 3200.  The image is straight out of camera with only a minor crop for composition and no retouching.  The RAW to JPG conversion was done using Capture One Pro The camera performs exceptionally well as does the lens.  there is no lack of sharpness, the color rendition is great as is the stabilization.  There is a lot of great video produced using the GH5 but I am so pleased with the performance of this camera for stills. 

No Aurora but the Milky Way

March 28, 2015 - Alaska Geo. Inst. forecasts a Kp index of 5 for the Aurora.  Kp 5 means - if the Aurora occurs you should be able to see it low on the horizon in Massachusetts.  Sounds awesome so we decide against going for the CamNats (Massachusetts Camera Naturalists) and head to Maine.  Acadia is always a great spot so we head to the loop road. WRONG most of the roads are closed.  A nice cop gives us direction on how to get to Sand Beach - so it is about midnight and we find our way to the parking lot.  Poor visibility forces us out of there and heading further towards Otter Cliffs.  The road is closed at the turnoff to Otter Cliff road. We pull over into a small clearing at one of the entrances to a parking lot and wait for the Aurora - nothing.  Well the Milky Way rises over the cliffs so we wait.  3:15 and the Milky Way shows its full arc.  It is cold, the wind does not help. I mounted the Rokinon 14mm on the Sony A7R to get this image.  The foreground trees were light painted during the exposure.Please click on the image for a larger presentation. A subsequent 7 image pano yielded the arc but the 14mm lend distortion is apparent. 

While waiting for the Aurora

Saturday March 16, 2013 - Predictions for a great Aurora Borealis were excellent.  The solar activity promised the Aurora to display all the way South in Massachusetts.  Being a big fans of this phenomenon my wife and I made reservations at  an inn in Caribou, Maine.  7 1/2 hours later we were scouting out for good locations.  The skies were clear as can be and the excitement escalating.  We had dinner and drove out to the planned location.  To cut a long story short, 14 degree temperatures were not going to stop us from photographing the Aurora.  5 hours later it is 3:00 and there is no sign of the event.  We packed up and went back to the hotel.  BIG MISTAKE - 4:30 the lights turned on and by 5:00 AM some of the most spectacular images were being captured but the lucky photographers while we slept soundly.While waiting I decided to take some short time lapses.  Did one with the camera pointed at Polaris. This was a short 20 minute capture resulting in few seconds of video.  The individual images were then stacked to create a star-trail.Here is the video:stars1The stack looks great - the glow in the lower half is light pollution from some homes and towers in the distance.  Click on the image for a larger view. 

Photographing the Aurora Borealis

I have added a new tip on my tips page on "Photographing the Aurora Borealis" Click here for a direct link

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Red Breasted Nuthatch

Canon 7D, 70 - 200 f2.8 ISExposure triad: ISO 3200, F8, 1/640 sec.

Walked out this dull overcast dreary morning on my deck to see this nuthatch.  Liked the pose and the slightly open beak.  This is the first year we are getting the Red Breasted Nuthatch in our back yard.  Having shot this at ISO 3200 I used Nik Define 2.0 to clean up the background.

Noise Reduction - Canon 7D and ISO 3200

Question: "Shiv, do you do much post-processing on images shot at ISO 3200 with your 7D? I have many such photos from our Costa Rica trip and wonder if I can improve some a little by reducing "grain"."Response: When you shoot at ISO 3200 you need to process using Canon's DPP for the initial Noise Reduction before you do any work in Aperture, Lightroom or ACR. Now you can bring the images into Photoshop and use NIK's Define if you have it or use the noise reduction in Adobe Camera Raw for further noise reduction if required - I find Define to be about the best.