January 25, 2019 – 7:00 AM field trip to Merrit Island National
This year the number of Glossy Ibis in the reserve is exceptional. I have never seen so many flocks of 20 Ibis or more.
On the other hand, the Roseate Spoonbills are not as abundant as in past years.
Despite windy conditions, I wanted to test the Hi-Res Mode of the Lumix G9 in a lighting situation where there would be a minimum shadow definition. I found this location and vantage point and returned at near high noon. The clouds were interesting but as they were not interfering with the light falling on this monolith, I set up and captured this image.
The original RAW file before any crop was 10368 px by 7776 px and approx 138 MB. One for one pixel (native resolution) at 260 DPI this image will print 40 inches wide. The image was processed in Capture One and I cropped down from the top for a better composition. The reduced resolution is a 1400px by 922px file.
No sharpening or lens correction has been applied, nor has any chromatic correction been done.
To determine the detail and quality of the image I have done an extreme crop as shown in the image below.
I took the GH5S with the Leica 8-18mm lens to the PSA Conference in the hope I would get to use it and capture some night skies. It was mainly a bust most evenings except last night when the skies were clear. The park is crowded with tourists even at night – and of course 30 – 40 at a time they climb out of busses and vans with bright flashlights – not a care that someone is trying to photograph the stars.
I was so happy to get a few shots that I really like. The milky way is not ideal for this time of year but good enough to test the performance of the GH5S. In my opinion, it gets 5 Stars.
Panasonic Lumix GH5S with the Leica 8-18. Exposure triad: F/2.8, 20 sec at ISO 1600.
Panasonic Lumix GH5S with the Leica 8-18. Exposure triad: F/2.8, 25 sec at ISO 1600.
Fog X FLO at Arnold Arboretum. Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 12-60mm lens. Exposure triad: f/5, 5 image bracket HDR, ISO 250.
This was photographed at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale sections of Boston. It was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and is the second largest “link” in the Emerald Necklace. This was another test of the Lumix G9 and Leica 12-60 lens combination’s weather resistance. Both camera and lens were soaked as a result of the spray from the high pressure water misters but performed flawlessly.
This art exhibition runs through the end of October and is worth visiting.
Fog X FLO at Fens. Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Leica 12-60mm lens. Exposure triad: f/5.6, 1/200 sec., ISO 100
This image was captured midday on Sept 3, 2018, when the temperature was 95 degrees. This location is Back Bay Fens in Boston.
“Emerald Necklace Conservancy presents the first citywide exhibition of Fujiko Nakaya’s “climate-responsive” fog art, sited in dialogue with the landmarked landscapes designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (FLO).” This exhibition is to mark the 20th anniversary of the Conservancy.
This is a crop from the image below. I wanted to see how well the Leica 50-200 mm performed when used with 2X tele-extender. The image was shot at ISO 16000 and as you can see the noise performance is great. The cropped image has a small amount of Lightroom noise reduction applied. Though the flash did fire the distance to the bird was beyond the flash units reach.
Lumix G9, Leica 50-200mm, 2X Tele-extender and Lumix DMW-FL360L. flash. Exposure triad: f/8, 1/2000 sec at ISO 16000
St. Sulpice Street after a downpour – Old Montreal. Panasonic Lumix GH5s combined with the Leica 8-18mm lens. Exposure triad f/8, 1.6 sec at ISO 160.
Not only is the Lumix GH5s a great low light camera, it has excellent dynamic range. I should have used its native ISO of 400 instead of 160 to get an even better range.
Yellow Orchid- Panasonic Lumix G9 with the Lumix 30mm macro lens. Exposure triad: f/8, 1/6 sec, ISO 200.
One of the greatest features of the Panasonic Lumix DC-G9 is “bracketing”. Yes, like most cameras the G9 can bracket exposure. However, the G9 can bracket aperture, white balance and focus. While in camera focus stacking is possible using the “Post Focus” function, the individual images are JPEG as is the final stacked image. For RAW images and high-resolution stacks, it is best to use focus bracketing. With focus bracketing, you set the stepping distance and the number of images that need to be captured. You can also set the sequencing for how the images are captured, similar to exposure bracketing – 0/-/+ or 0/+. I prefer the second as I always start my stack from the front of the subject and work the focus away from the camera.
Hosta – Panasonic Lumix G9 with the 12-60 mm Leica lens. Exposure triad: f/10, 1/125 sec., ISO 100.
While the intent is to create a book, using sepia or color is still a big debate. Here is an image that adds to the dilema.
Once done, I am hoping to get these image printed as a coffee-table book. Here is another image (right side page) that I completed last evening.
Calla Lily. Panasonic Lumix G9, Leica 12-60mm lens at 60mm. Exposure triad: f/11, 1/125sec ISO 100
DP review
