These are the images from the 2011-2012 John Heinz, Allied Rehabilitation Calander.which we produce each year to benefit the pediatric rehabilitation programs at both campuses.

This is the third year  for this publication, for which I am honored to supply the photographs. I thought it might  be interesting to offer more information on the images that were ultimately chosen for this year’s calendar as well as the equipment used to acquire them. I hope it adds to the enjoyment for those who of you who have one  hanging on your wall. If not, you can purchase one here.

Cover: White Horse at Hillside

Panasonic Lumix G1, Lumix 14-45 f3.5

It’s no coincidence that our cover images have tended to be
shot at this unique location.

 The Lands at Hillside is a regional treasure, a non-for-profit organization whose mission is to preserve one of the most beautiful and historic farm properties in
Northeastern Pennsylvania: the historic Conyngham farm on Hillside road in Dallas Pennsylvania. The farm as currently run promotes sustainable agricultural practices, with grass-fed cows producing milk free of supplemental hormones. This milk can be purchased, along with many other natural food and craft items, at a retail outlet on the premises.

The farm also serves an educational site, where children and adults can be introduced to the dairy industry and milk production, as well as environmental issues. It is my honor to serve on the Board of Directors of this fine institution.

The image itself was captured in mid-February of 2010. I
recall hoping to photograph the animal out in the field, against a snowy
backdrop. However, a charming if frustrating characteristic of the species is
curiosity. Once a horse senses your presence, they invariably have to
investigate, a behavior that has spoiled many potential pastoral landscape
photos over the years. I do think however, that in this case,  the image captures nicely,
this element of his personality.

January: Winter Scene, Bear Creek Lake

Nikon D2x, Nikkor 17-35 f2.8

Bear Creek Village is a wonderful and historic summer resort community built around an impoundment at the confluence of several streams at the base of the Pocono Plateau.
The village and its surroundings are very picturesque and I often find
myself shooting there when conditions are right.

This image was captured in January of 2008 after a six-inch
snowfall freshened the appearance of the existing snowpack in our region.

The D2x combined with the excellent  Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 lens, allows
impressive depth of field and detail to be revealed.

February: Hemlock Temple

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85 f3.5

When most people think of Rickett’s Glen State Park, they  tend to think of
the Falls Trail, and the multiple beautiful waterfalls along the way. There is
however another area in the park that I love to visit. On the south side of route 118, beyond Adams Falls, is an area known as the Hemlock Temple, an example of a
true old growth stand of White pines and Hemlock.

Though not quite as impressive as “Forest Cathedral” at Cooks Forest State Park in western Pennsylvania, it is beautiful nonetheless, with huge conifers, some of which were adolescents when Columbus reached our shores.

On that day last February, I was snow shoeing among those
stately giants. The snowpack was deep and the trail unpacked, as it is not well
visited in the winter. It was a bit of a struggle to explore.

I remember shooting this image the lens stabilized on the
crook of two crossed ski poles to dampen the effects of a bounding heartbeat.
It seemed to have worked.

March: Barn at Herrick’s Corners

Fujifilm S3Pro, Tokina ATX 28-80 f2.8

March in our part of the Northeastern
US is for me one of the most challenging photographic months.

Winter is fading leaving behind a landscape scarred by
snowplows and cinders. Nothing much will bloom until April. Opportunities for
shooting landscapes are slim.

March can also be a snowy month.  Now I like snow, but by St Patrick’s Day,
most people want it to just go away. Those people probably include those of you who buy this calendar. So I usually try to find snowless images.

Given the lack of action in the natural world, I find myself
shooting a lot of images with barns and buildings in early spring.

This particular image was shot near the Elk Mountain
ski resort in Late March of 2006.

I like the collection of cars and farm equipment in the
field which I suspect remains there to this very day.

You can tell it’s late in the month by the slight red blush of the maple trees in the background as their buds swell in preparation for the warmer times coming.

April: Stone Wall, Lackawanna State Park

Nikon D2x, Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5

By April, particularly late April, things are starting to
happen. Buds are opening, trees and flowers blooming.  In late April of 2008, I visited Lackawanna State Park. This is a nice “day use”
park with a number of nice visuals. I was particularly taken by the intricate network of
stone walls that exist throughout the park.

I was drawn to this scene in particular by the sunbeam that
broke through a gap in the hemlocks to illuminate the spot.  I left the subtle sun flare in the image for the final version (it’s 2/3 of the way to the right, on the very bottom of the photo).  I think it adds context to the image.

May: Spring Blooms in Butler Township

Panasonic Lumix GH1, Lumix 14-45 f3.5

This spring seemed to take a long time to be fully realized.
April was wet and cold seemingly suppressing the “leaf out” until much later
than usual. In early May, we finally had a period of warm clear weather and the
foliage erupted with what seemed to be pent-up energy.

This image was shot near my office in Drums, after work was concluded for the day. The blooms to me seemed to be bursting out like fireworks, and I remember feeling grateful for the warm sun on my face, and for the thought that spring had finally, really arrived. It was featured in this article on the site.

June: Early Summer Corn, Hamlin

Fujifilm S5 Pro, Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5

I found this scene in late June 2008, returning from Goose
Pond Boy Scout camp, having just dropped off my son for a week with his troop.

I remember driving past, and observing the farmer, cultivating his hilly fields. By the
time I stopped and set up he was driving downhill, which didn’t seem as
aesthetic. I waited until he turned around, and proceeded uphill again, before
tripping the shutter.

By the way, note once again, the use of the Nikkor 16-85mm
f3.5 on another Nikon mount DX sensored camera. This is a versatile, high
quality lens with image stabilization and crisp optics. It is a light,
relatively inexpensive lens that I find really useful. If you’re a Nikon DX
shooter, add it to your kit. You won’t regret it.

July: Kayaks on the Susquehanna

Olympus E 510, Zuiko 14-42mm f3.5

Some days and events remind me that life is wonderful.

In this case, it was a July Saturday in 2007 when my son Gus and I attended the annual river trip sponsored by the North Branch Land Trust. It was a wonderful event. We entered the river near Wysox, and “put out” at Laceyville. It was a great day. It is easy to forget what a wonderful resource is  the Northern Susquehanna.

During the 4 hour river trip, we saw Bald Eagles, Blue Heron
rookeries and scenery gorgeous at a level that we don’t often connect with our
region.

I met a large number of friendly people.

I took this image at the lunch break when everyone “put in” on
the river bank. I was struck by the beautiful background and the brightly
colored kayaks in the foreground. The use of a circular polarizer on the lens really enhances the colors of the boats, the foliage, and the sky.

August: Monarch and Goldenrod.

Nikon D700, Nikkor 85mm f1.8

This was the scene on the Farmstead Trail at Nescopeck State Park which is essentially in my neighborhood.

It was a sunny late August day, and I decided to play around
photographically by limiting myself to the D 700 with a single prime lens. In
this case, I chose the Nikkor 85mm f1.8. I knew that the lens’ sharpness, and its ability to produce a shallow depth of field, would be major optical features to utilize.

I was walking in the middle of a field of goldenrod when I
spotted the Monarch wafting from cluster to cluster of the bright yellow
blooms.

To shoot this butterfly, I had to stalk him a bit, as he didn’t
seem to want to cooperate. Finally he landed near enough to me that I was able to frame
this image.

It was ultimately featured in an article on this blog called
“Eighty five millimeters”, which discussed shooting with a single focal length lens.

September: Black Eyed Susans at Hillside

Panasonic GH1, Lumix 20mm f1.7

Once again The Lands at Hillside are the subject of
an image, in this case, take at the rear entrance to “The Cottage” a gorgeous
late 19^th century summer “cottage” on the property that is
undergoing restoration.

The home has three stories, beautiful common rooms, multiple
guest rooms, original servants quarters, and a newly installed commercial
kitchen. It is truly spectacular facility, and is fast becoming a popular choice for weddings and other gatherings .

The small sensored GH1 normally isn’t the best choice for
shallow depth of field, but the Lumix 20mm lens I think pulls it off nicely
here.

October: Falls at Nay Aug Park

Nikon D700, Tokina 28-85mm f2.8

Nay Aug Park holds a lot of memories for me. Located on the eastern edge of Scranton
it has nice mix of facilities, including a pool complex, pavilions, and picnic areas.

There is also a trail that leads from the park down into a
gorge through which flows the aptly
named Roaring Brook. There is large waterfall with a deep splash basin
where generations of Scrantonians gathered their nerve to dive from the rocky
platforms above.

When we were students at the University of Scranton,
my wife and I often walked there in the evenings after class.

This image was captured from a tripod on observation
platform overlooking the falls in October of 2011. Note the lack of reds in the fall foliage,
the probable result of a fungus that particularly affected the maples, causing
their normally crimson leaves to “brown out”. It is said to be the result of the very wet summer and fall we have experienced this year. You can see the vertical version of this image in the article at the link.

November: Train Station at Hunlock’s Creek

Panasonic Lumix GH1, Lumix 45-200mm f4.0

November, like March can be tough for photographers. In most
cases, around these parts, the foliage is gone and the scenery bland, if not
dreary. One needs to find either foliage that changes later in the season, or
a locale where the season is delayed. In this case I chose the latter tactic.

Last November, I took a drive along the Susquehanna River
south to Berwick, thinking that the since the river flows at the lowest
altitude in the region, I might have some luck with late fall color.

Driving down route 11 I have often noticed what I understand
to be an old abandoned train station.  I pulled over and set up a tripod. I liked this angle in particular, emphasizing the buildings unusual “pagoda” architecture, and the clearly late fall look of the sycamores and maples. I used a telephoto focal length so that the trees
behind the building would be moved closer to the foreground.

December: Christmas Farm

Nikon D700, Tokina 28-80mm f2.8

Although most of these images are shot in the course of day–to-day shooting, there are definitely times when I set out to capture an image depicting a particular month or season, for use in this publication, . December, for instance is definitely a time when I  often shoot specifically for the calendar. I was thus pleased back in December of 2009 to come upon this scene, which to me evokes a sort of Norman Rockwell feel.

Now, photographing  people’s properties is legal from a public road.
I am very careful not to trespass. If I have no permission from the owner,
I try to shoot scenes that only involve what a passerby might see driving
past.

Sometimes, people are suspicious when they see me with a
camera pointed at their home. It can be easier sometimes to avoid conflict and move on.

If the scene is really compelling, I will stop and explain. That usually works.

On this occasion I encountered this scene at 4:30pm in early
December 2009. There wasn’t much light so I set up a tripod, which takes a
little time. As I worked, a car pulled in to the driveway driven by the property owner. I introduced myself, and explained the calendar, it charitable purpose, and that his home might someday be featured. He was very friendly, and seemed excited at the prospect.

I hope he likes the image as much as we did.

January 2013: Engine at Gracedale

Fujifilm E900

This image was taken at the Gracedale railroad yard, located  along route 437 in Mountaintop,. It was taken late in the afternoon, and late in January of  2007. I recall that it was quite cold and that snow was just beginning to fall. I drive past this scene every day, but at that moment I was struck by the contrast  between the bright green and yellow of the engine, and the dull greys and browns of the background.

The camera is an interesting little point and shoot, manufactured by Fujifilm.It was my “glove box camera”for many years. It produces great images and shoots in RAW, a rare feature for a compact camera in those days.

I have always like Fuji imagers. They have been known in the photographic community over the years for a flattering color profile, and high-resolution relative to the actual number of pixels on the chip. I have always felt that film manufacturers  have a natural advantage for certain aspects of  digital imaging, particularly in chip design (Kodak has produced nice imagers also). About three years ago, they stopped producing serious photo tools, filling their line with mediocre consumer cameras.

Now, Fuji is producing some wonderful cameras again. I have my eyes on several of  their new offerings.

Back Cover: October day at Lake Scranton

Nikon D7000, Nikkor 16-85mm f3.5

I have wonderful memories of Lake Scranton.
It’s another place where I courted my wife in college. I remember long walks
around the lake in the spring and fall.

I hadn’t been there in many years until I visited in October
of this year, camera in hand.

Things have changed a bit. I remember walking a gravel foot
path. Now there is a paved road around much of the lake. The scenery is lovely;  a jog around the lake remains a wonderful way to spend an hour or so exercising in the outdoors, minutes from the city.

I walked around a portion of the lake wanting an image
depicting the usual activities that occur there. We thought that this image makes
sense as a rear cover, given the vantage point from which it was shot.

Well, thanks for visiting. Feel free to explore the rest of the site. We love to get feedback.

If you bought one of our calendars, thanks for helping the children.

Every year in the Northeastern U.S.,we are lectured by meteorologist types about the linkage between the climate, and the quality of the fall foliage.

Now, it seems to me that most fall seasons are reported to be
drier than normal. This tends to result, we are told, in attenuation of the
colors of autumn leaves, and thus a dull 3^rd season.

Now it seems that whatever happens, the fall colors suffer.

This year, the spring summer and early fall were much wetter
than normal. Seasonal totals are significantly higher at this point in the year that an
entire years precipitation from as far back as 1951. It has rained a lot in the last 6 months.

And interestingly,  the foliage has suffered. Issues became apparent in mid
September when Maples, and some Oaks, did not assume their usual autumnal display
of reds and crimsons, but turned brown, and shriveled on the tree. Apparently
the wet conditions caused a normally inconsequential fungus to become a
problem, injuring several tree species, and causing their leaves to bypass the
fall colors we look forward to.

This affected mainly the reds of the season. The birches,
beeches, and some maples still turned yellow or gold. The deep crimson of many oak species less affected by the fungus, were also dulled looking, definitely more brown than red.

Many leaves just fell. By mid-October which is usually “peak
leaves” in these parts of Pennsylvania, the canopy was almost completely open, its leaves brown, and trampled underfoot.

As a landscape photographer, you do what you can to find beauty,
when nature conspires against you.. You look for isolated scenes with good
color. You include geologic or man-made artifacts into images. Or, you look for
patterns and texture.  Black and White can work when the foliage is dull. You try to make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

Finally, on the 28^th of October, nature lobbed a softball to those of us that shoot outdoors. The Pennsylvania Mountains received nearly a foot of snow, while there was still some color on the trees. The snow created a new canvas
on which to depict the fading autumnal display, and grab a few more images
before things fade  to the dull façade of November. The white stuff lasted several days before succumbing to the late October sun.

Now, I look out my window to view a scene cloaked in the
browns and grays of the early winter. It’s early in the morning as I write this;
a heavy frost clings to the fallen leaves and grass.

There are still things to photograph in a Northeastern
Pennsylvania November. I’ve written about it here and here.

But for me, this weekend, I will put away the camera gear
and break out the leaf blowers and rakes to deal with the remains of last year’s
fall scenery,  a good bit of which now covers my lawn.

Soon, the snow will fall, and hopefully stay.

Last spring, as sometimes happens; I developed an” itch” to
buy some new photo gear.

Now logically I really didn’t need anything new. I
actually could stand to sell something as I have several DSLRs I no longer
really use, and should probably place on EBay (anyone want a lightly used
D2x?). I have most of the lenses I want, and need, and the few I lust for seem
awfully expensive too me in these times of a weak dollar. I looked around the
web scouting for a decently priced used or refurbished D3x, but unfortunately
for me, they seem to be holding their value quite nicely.

So I waited. Because I felt as though that nothing I wanted
that I justify on price.

That’s when my lovely wife Cathy saved the day. She came to
me one evening and mentioned that our 16-year old son, Gus was showing an
interest in video and still photography and wanted to know what camera we might buy him.

Aha, I thought, the answer to my dilemma! I quickly and
generously offered to give Gus my Lumix LX3, which I explained to my wife, is a wonderful camera for a budding photographer/videographer

In truth, I had been eying up the new Olympus ZX1. I have
had a variety of Olympus cameras over the
years, and have had very positive experiences. I went on the B+H site and
ordered one with an extra battery. It was delivered in the usual B+H fashion,
the next day. I was particularly excited about the “Zuiko” branded lens, the
first on any of their compact cameras.

I kept it for two days. Now as readers know I shoot a
variety of equipment and am pretty adaptable, but compared to the  LX3, the controls of the ZX1 were poorly worked out, and much more “menu driven”. Maybe I never understood the camera, but things like changing the ISO, or bringing up the histogram on the display, seemed infinitely harder on the Olympus.

I packed the camera back up, and obtained a return authorization from B+H, at the same time ordering the upgrade to the LX3 the Panasonic Lumix LX5.

Compared to shooting the Olympus,
working with the LX5 is like falling off a log.

All of the familiar controls are there on the body of the
camera. One thing I really missed one the ZX1 was the switch for the aspect
ratio of the image, which on the Lumix cameras resides on the lens barrel. The
little stubby joystick controller on the LX3 was replaced by a clickable
control wheel on the LX5 making the controls more like the G- series
Panasonics. I do miss the switch on the LX 3 that puts it into picture review
mode; I like this better than the push button on the LX5.

As most of you know, the Leica Summicron–branded lens has
been upgraded in the new camera. It retains the former lens wide end at 24mm
f2.0 but now zooms out to 35 mm equivalent 90mm at f3.3. These are optically
beautiful lenses with out the silly long zoom capabilities that compromise the
optics of other compact cameras.

Some words about accessories. I was hoping that they would
be common for both cameras but to my chagrin found out that battery of the LX5 is new, and that the LX3’s filter adapter doesn’t work on the longer-extending LX5 lens. Oh well.

Then there’s the optional electronic viewfinder. I purchased
one shortly after buying the camera. I initially loved it. To me the LX5s
compatibility with this little gem might justify upgrading to the newer camera

Though not as big and bright as the EVf built in to my GH1, it was
more than adequate and allowed me to shoot with the camera properly braced against my face like one should. It allows you to see all of the camera data,
and particularly for me, the live histogram so useful in small-sensored cameras with limited dynamic range. I loved that it would pivot upwords.

Then one morning, it would no longer focus. I called B+H but
it was beyond their 14 day return period. They suggested I call Panasonic. When
I finally got through to them they were unsure just where I should send the
viewfinder for service. Several hours later they called me and suggested an Elgin, Illinois
repair center. I boxed it up, and sent it off.

Maybe a week later, it arrived back at my door. I unboxed it
and placed on the camera… only to discover that it still wouldn’t focus.

That’s when I found the note in the box stating that the Elgin facility couldn’t help me and that I needed to send
the viewfinder to a facility in Washington State.

Now in the past, I have had pretty good luck with Panasonic service (they fixed pretty quickly, my dysfunctional 45-200mm Lumix lens) but clearly they have a problem here.
Anyway, I’ll send it off again and we’ll see what happens.

On to image quality- In general I do think the LX5 a bit
better than the LX3, particularly at High ISOs. I think it’s even better still,
even in Raw, now that I have downloaded and installed firmware 2.0. Noise and dynamic range are claimed to be improved by Panasonic (maybe the latter because of the former). To me the image quality it’s a modest improvement at best, I
probably wouldn’t upgrade for the imaging improvement alone if I hadn’t given away my LX3.

Oh and by the way, the LX5 has 720p HD video but can now
shoot in the “AVCHD Lite” format as well as Motion Jpg. Firmware 2.0 has brought enhancements to this, particularly in terms of the functionality of the Optical Image Stabilization system with video.

It should be said, that there is no free lunch regarding
small sensors, even if they are as good as the LX5. I just shot a campaign event for a friend using my D700, D7000, and when I tired of carrying around the big stuff, the LX5. I shot raw and for the most part exposed carefully.

Yet on reviewing the images, there is a huge chasm, between the quality of the Nikon
files, and those of the LX5. Viewed at 100% even at ISO 100 there is luminance
noise present. This is typically less visible in prints but still on the
computer the difference is stark.

Nonetheless the Panasonic images will be very useful for my
friend’s campaign website and for modest prints.

I guess I’m just spoiled.

Because of these limitations, the LX5 and its competitors
are not great landscape tools. They are useful for event photography,
particularly if you want to keep a low profile. I will often come to an event with
my LX 5 in one suit coat pocket, and an Olympus FL-36 flash in the other. The
two are completely compatible and allow one to create some very pleasing bounce
flash photography.

Final thoughts: the LX5 is a fine upgrade of the LX 3 and is
a very useful enthusiast’s compact camera. Its image quality is somewhat
limited like all cameras of its type but nonetheless it can create nice images
in settings that other small cameras would flounder. The design and control
features make it a joy to use and quick to learn.

If you task it appropriately, and shoot it well, you will be
very pleased with the results.

It’s been a lean summer photographically. As fall
approaches, my folder of good summer images is painfully thin.

I suspect my lack of production this season has multiple
factors. One would be the professional distractions mentioned in the article
below. Having a lot on one’s mind, with the stress that goes along with it, can
definitely dampen the creative drive.

I also think that I’ve developed a bit of photographic
fatigue. Though I have traveled a bit this summer, for the most part I  have work, and thus have to and stay close to home, driving though the same places I have been through before.

Often, I will see an interesting scene and then realized that I already have an image of it in my archives somewhere.

Sometimes it is worthwhile reshooting the scene if light is
better, or to acquire it with a higher quality imager, but that can seem tedious
relative to finding a novel subject for capture.

As I get older, I have become more discriminating. For
better or for worse, I am more selective on when I trip the shutter. I think I
have a better sense of “what works” in terms of good landscapes. I pass on
scenes I might have shot in the past.

Another issue is the loss of scenery caused by development.
On of my favorite local areas to shoot is the Butler Township-Conygyham Valley region of Pennsylvania, outside of city of Hazleton. I have a branch
office in the area; on a Monday afternoon after office hours, I like to drive
around, looking for scenic spots.

Problem is, that over the past 10 years, so many if the farms have succumbed to development, that the former scenic vistas are now cluttered with new houses. I have many images that would be nice to reshoot, but it is now impossible because the “view shed” has been corrupted.

Finally I think that believe that a portion of my decreased output
can be blamed on White Nose Disease.

Yes – I’m talking about the fungal infection responsible for
a huge decline in the Northeastern U.S. bat population.

At Nescopeck State Park, for instance where I often
hike, there is a large “bat house” erected in the park above an informational
display about the little winged creatures. In summers past, standing
underneath, one could hear the scratching and the cries of parent bats and
their pups, and note the telltale splashes of guano on the ground below. Not now, as the house is silent, the grass, unstained.

Now, I do a lot of shooting while hiking. The loss of the bats, combined with a wet spring and summer means that the flying insect population has seriously increased. I rarely had a problem with Mosquitoes before. Now when I stop walking to photograph something, I am swarmed upon by hundred of the pesky critters.

Forget carrying a tripod, you’d be bled dry before you could set it up. The best I could manage during this season have been a few “grab shots” before being assaulted and forced to start moving again.

I miss bats. I rarely see one anymore. Interestingly we had
one in the house several weeks ago which we gently caught and released into the night. Hopefully he or she is resistant to the fungus, hungry… and prolific.

Hopefully the onset of autumn will rekindle my enthusiasm a
bit.

Maybe I need to challenge myself, for instance limiting my
photography perhaps to a single focal length, subject, or theme.

Or, I need to buy some better insect repellent.

I’ve been distracted this summer, and this blog has
suffered.

My professional situation is evolving, happily for the
better, but I have been somewhat distracted by the negotiations required to
relocate my office, and establish new affiliations with not just one, but two
health care organizations.

All of this will lead to  new office space at John Heinz Institute of
Rehabilitation Medicine in Wilkes Barre and my involvement with sleep labs in our local Veteran’s Hospital, and one run by the Hazleton Health Alliance, in that city to our south.

I still have to physically move the office and still have a
lot of work going forward but I should be able to be more attentive to this
little project of mine.

I hope you’ll make it a point to check in from time to
time.

Last Sunday, I found myself on a drive in the farmland between White Haven, and the town of Weatherly, near my home in Pennsylvania. This is a rural area, and I was hoping to find scenes featuring the rapidly melting snow, hopefully contrasting with subtle signs of spring.

Once I reached Weatherly, I drove to the area near Black creek, where there exists an old railroad yard with a roundhouse and foundry, used to build and repair steam locomotives.

From signs on the site,  could see that there was an effort underway to restore and preserve these venerable structures. From what I could see of the buildings current condition, this would be a formidable undertaking to say the least.

The largest building was open, so I thought I’d explore. I grabbed my D 7000, mounted the only “fast” lens I had with me (a 35mm f 2.0 Nikkor) and my  monopod, and entered the structure.

The building was huge, largely empty, but still there were artifacts of the past scattered about. A huge press, undoubtedly too big to move, sat near one of the huge doors.

The cantilevered roof had collapsed in the center and water from melting snow cascaded over the huge support beams and showered the center of the interior. I began to shoot, mildly concerned about the potential for falling debris.

I realized that this would be a good opportunity to test the dynamic range of the D-7000.

As an owner of a Fuji S-5 I am spoiled.  This camera has an extraordinary ability to record a wide range of brightness in a single shot. The D 7000 however, is supposed to be even better.

To take advantage of this attribute you have to shoot each camera differently.

With the S-5, one exposes to the left; or in other words, one sets the exposure so that the darkest regions are reasonably exposed , but leaves the highlights be just a bit “burned out”. Given the dual-pixel design of the Fuji sensor, you can “pull back the highlights in Photoshop, and still find detail.

With the D 7000 the exposure is set in the time-honored method of exposing to the right, setting the camera so that  the brightest part of the scene is well exposed, but the darkest areas look black.

In Photoshop, one can then use the “brightness” and “fill light” sliders (working as always, in RAW) to bring up the dark portions of the image.

The problem usually is, that when one “pushes” the dark areas, you usually end up with noise, which limits what you can do.

With the D 7000 however, you seem to be able to push hard on the dark areas without creating the luminance and color noise that plagued earlier designs. I’m not sure why the lower-noise Fx Nikons wouldn’t be even better for this, but apparently they’re not (except at higher ISOs).

On the image above, there was some snow at the threshold of the door that I couldn’t help overexposing.

Here’s one more shot, from a different vantage point.

All in all, I am rather impressed with this little DSLR.

Anybody want to buy an S-5? (They still shoot the best wedding Jpgs around.)

As I have written in the past, there is something cruel about early spring in the highlands of Pennsylvania.

 The winter of 2011 will be remembered in these parts, not for the large amount of snow we received (actually only 50 or so inches here where I live) but for the relentless cold that maximized its impact, and kept the ground, sidewalks and at times the roads, covered with the white stuff.

 In the forests, the snow cover was between a foot, or maybe two, for much of the winter. There was no true “January thaw”, like we usually experience.

It was so relentlessly “winter” here, that I decided to forgo my usual March Adirondack trip, and went to Florida instead.

Even there, the season’s grasp had not relinquished. We had cool temperatures during our travels, mainly in the 50s and 60s.  

There had been multiple freezes in January and February, injuring the subtropical vegetation. From Jacksonville to Cape Coral, we encountered cold-injured palms, their fronds brown, and falling to the ground. In the estuaries and tidewater areas, the mangroves were lifeless when we were told that they should have  been lush and green.

Because of this, several scenes I shot seem to work better as monochromes rather than in color.

 

 Back at home, at least for some of us, there was an upside. We had reliable cross-country skiing and snowmobiling from early January until the first week of March.

On the downside, I burned a lot of firewood and of course, heating oil.

Photographically at least , snow and cold are helpful,  shrouding what would be a brown lifeless landscape with season appropriate trappings ,  decorating the farms and forests.

Winter however, was starting finally break. Last Sunday afternoon, I walked a local trail, called “Frog Pond Way” named for the multiple permanent, and “Vernal” ponds, that it encircles.

It was a clear day with the bright spring sun warming to me to a degree beyond what the 50 degree air temperature might suggest.

The cries of a flock of newly arrived robins, the distant call of a pilated woodpecker, and the cooing of mourning doves filled the air.

In every suitable body of water I encountered, a pair of mallards paddled together, occasionally tipping their heads down to the muddy bottoms to search for food. I surprised a pair of cormorants resting at one of the larger ponds.

And at one particular pond I encountered what I consider the truest sentinel of spring. As I approached I could detect the first tentative chirping of wood frogs, beginning to search for females.

I knew that there was some mixed precipitation forecast for the overnight, but not something that should slow spring’s progression. Or so I thought. One Monday morning we awakened to find two inches of snow on the ground. Twenty four hours later, eight more had fallen. We’ve had daytime temperatures in the low thirties since, with lows in the teens.

 I cross-country skied again yesterday, the scenery once again resembling what is seen in late January.

As always, March is full of surprises.

 

 I don’t really write camera equipment reviews.

There are a number of wonderful sites, bookmarked here, and here, who do that extremely well (I’m particularly impressed with Thom Hogan’s fine analysis, particularly  on today’s topic).  That having been said, I have been, for the past several days, shooting with my new Nikon D7000. I am beginning to form some distinct impressions.

First, the camera certainly has very good resolution. In head to head testing against my D2x, I think I can see a bit more detail from the D7000 files, but only a bit. (12 to 16 MPs of resolution is not really a huge jump).

What is evident is the cleanness of the files, which are more noise-free, even at ISO 100, than even those of the vaunted D2x which was somewhat famous for its clean low ISO images. The  five years between the two  models is a long time in digital imaging technology.

Once the ISO range starts to increase, the gap from old to the new widens very quickly. I shot nice images in my dim neighborhood pub with the D 7000 and a 50mm f1.8 at ISO 3200. In the past, I would only have attempted this with my much more expensive FX format D 700 (which seems to be still perhaps a stop better than the D7000).

The effective dynamic range seems excellent. There is considerable latitude in highlight recovery, not as much as the Fuji, but to me, far more than the D2x, or the Panasonic G- series cameras I often utilize.

The shadows however, offer another opportunity to find dynamic range, and the D7000 does not disappoint. Features of for instance, dark hemlock or pine boughs that I deliberately under exposed to preserve sky detail, reemerge with mid-tone lightening, full of detail, and without significant noise.

I love the form factor. The D2x, with a tripod shoe in place could be a nuisance to wedge into my “walking” camera bag. The Fuji S-5 was smaller (like a Nikon D200-300), and I loved the files, but sometimes you just need more resolution. The D7000 by comparison slips into the bag with ease ( I can even fit an SB 800 flash alongside it in the main pouch), and shoots images with tons of detail.

Some of my favorite lenses are useful again. I specifically think of the nice Nikkors such as the 16-85mm f3.5-5 VR, the 17-35mm f2.8, the 70-200 f2.8 VR (version I),  as well as the Tamron 17-50mm f2.8, and the Tokina 12-24mm f4. As Thom Hogan has pointed out in his review; with this sensor you need good glass to get maximum benefit.

Color response is typical Nikon: a little cool when converted in Adobe Camera RAW, particularly when using flash. Skin tones are not optimal ( I’m still spoiled by the Fuji S5’s color). I haven’t tried the provided Nikon software to see whether it mitigates this a bit. Maybe JPGs are better (I rarely shoot them).

No one’s commented on the shutter. One of the real tactile sensations one experiences when using a camera body is the visceral, and audible characteristics of the mirror- shutter release.

The D-7000 has a pro level shutter (good for 150k operations per Nikon) but it sounds and feels different than my other F-mount bodies

First, to me it’s notably quieter. Given this and the camera’s small size, it suggests the d7000’s suitability for street shooting, particularly mounted perhaps with one of the fast 35mm primes available. There’s a quiet mode available, but to me it seems redundant.

The shutter release and associated mechanical events actions have a particularly smooth feel through you finger. It’s a small thing, but definitely contributory to the feeling of refinement one senses in its use. Also, for me, 6 frames a second is more than quick enough.

 I do have a few gripes. First, why didn’t Nikon spend a few extra dollars and replace the amateur type mode dial on the top of the camera, with three-button version of the upper level bodies. They already given us the pro-level drive selector below it.  This might have placated some of the camera body snobs who find this model unworthy of their talents.

Also, I guess we had to have a new battery; but now I have added another charger to the army of them sitting on my file cabinet.

So I’ll definitely keep this camera. I need to work on profiling it to improve the color output, otherwise I am very pleased.

 I think you’ll see a lot of images from this Nikon on these pages in the next several years.

I hope that they will be enjoyable.

If they’re not, It won’t be the camera’s fault.

Yesterday, the UPS truck stopped off at my office and dropped off an early Christmas present: the Nikon D 7000 I had ordered from B+H.

It arrived a week earlier than Henry Posner suggested it would.   I do suspect that Henry was conservative with his delivery date estimate, and I’m grateful for the pleasant surprise.

Next task is to do some informal testing of the body to find out:

#1 Is the   D7000 all it’s cracked up to be and a replacement for another camera “in the fleet”

#2 Is my particular sample a good one to keep.

If the answer is “yes” to both, I’ll open the printer and send on the rebate.

So far, some early observations.

The body is very robustly built, far more like a junior version of for instance, my D-700.

Six frames per second is very fast, more than I’ll ever need.

So far the best white balance of any F-mount camera I’ve ever used.

I will, as I always do, shoot and evaluate.

More to come.

Merry Christmas!