Rainy day flowers

On a rainy day, with a camera to test with an unusual lens combination, there's no better subject as flowers. The cloudy day makes the hues more intense and the lower light allows for wider apertures with the concomitant result os blurry backgrounds that create separation from the foreground. These photos were taken in my garden with the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 with a Nikkor24 mm 1:2.8. All manual but the results are fabulous. The 24mm becomes a 48mm in the Micro Four Thirds sensor so that in effect it becomes a regular focal length lens.

Selinunte / Fuji S2-Pro

These photos date from the summer of 2003; a very hot August day, to be exact. These ruins are of what remains of this once flourishing  Greek-Sicilian city that was destroyed in the middle of the fifth century BC by Carthage. We arrived on what was perhaps the hottest day of 2003 and were looking mainly for refreshments  and a good restaurants. Well we eventually ate at a fabulous place in near by Mazara. I wasn't about to wait for the dramatic late afternoon light as the level on discomfort was very high and our stomachs were in rebellion. So I captured the typically intense summer Sicilian light. Bright and very specular but still very colorful. I have reached the point in my photography in which food comes before the shot. I have just taken too many photos but have not yet ate all the best foods. These are my new priorities. One should never take oneself  too seriously; after all they are only  pictures.

Two of my early digital shots / Fuji S-1 Pro

I have repeated many times how much I loved the S-1 Pro. It got great image quality out of a 3.4 mega pixel sensor that today would not even be considered of any real value. But numbers are deceiving as it's the actual size of the pixel that is perhaps the most important spec on a camera. Needless to say the photos speak for themselves although they really do not talk but you get the picture. I better stop while I'm ahead with the silly puns. And if I do make occasional idiomatic mistakes please bare in mind that English id not my primary language. I do my best.

Procession / Olympus E-10

These shots of the procession of the Feast of August 21st in Castellammare show that this by now ancient digicam was quite capable of satisfying shots. Such shots are not easy for a sensor that has only 4 mega pixels.
 

One beautiful child

This gorgeous child, Daisy, is the granddaughter of one of wife's oldest friends that I photographed with the Panasonic LX-7  with just  natural light coming from a window. These imaged that I had actually forgotten in the SD card are only re sized. They are actually out of camera JPEGS. Amazing. Naturally if you have a lovely subject, the rest is easy. I'm glad I found them.
The LX-7 is another of my cameras that sort of bit the dust as i loaned to my oldest son Joseph while i gad his Canon G-11 repaired. This is turning out to be

a rather permanent loan as he loves the camera's HD video capabilities. What can I do.

New from Canon

A very innovative design with built in multiplier.

The Canon  new EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Lens with built in 1.4x Extender is here.

Canon had shown this new lens earlier this year, and has finally announced the availability of the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM lens with a built in 1.4x Extender.
I just love the white  lens barrels; it may be one of the  irrational reasons why Canon has had so much success lately.

This lens has a very unique design, as you can increase the effective focal length so that it becomes a 280mm to 560mm lens with a flick of a switch that enables built in optics that act as a 1.4x Teleconverter. When using on a camera with an APS-C size sensor versus a 35mm size sensor, the effective focal length will become even longer (equivalent to a 320-640mm lens without the extender turned on, or equivalent to a 448-896mm lens with the extender enabled). That's a serious focal range for a zoom lens with its light gathering ability.

This is a premium quality lens including the latest optical advances like use of both Fluorite and Ultra-Low Dispersion lens elements to reduce Chromatic Aberrations, with the latest Lens coatings to help minimize any flare and ghosting in harsher lighting.
As for the price, no announcement yet but it will be high.

They are now in season

Canon G-9

Scopello

Famous for its sea boulders or faraglioni that rival those of Capri, Scopello also has it's own small hamlet that is, alas, awash with tourists. This has created the need to provide hotel accommodations of very poor architectural merit. Unusual for a country famous for it's architectural savvy. The problem here is the need to build fast and cheap. Needless to say, many such structures are eye sores. Nevertheless, the small hamlet still has it's charms.

Venezia, mercato della pesca / Olympus E PL-2

Shopping for the best quality food is the necessary condition to fulfill Italians' sufficient condition to a happy life, that is eating well. This fish market in Venice is just such a place where people get very serious about their food purchased. I like the lighting in these photos. They are from April of 2011. It has been this long since we have been away. Next spring we shall return. Cannot stay away from this totally unique and enchanting place. Did I mention how great the restaurants are?