Garden Therapy

The Old and The New: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day and Camera Update

I think that I finally have a solution to my camera needs.  Last year (well, really only a few months ago) I wrote about my quest for a new camera and over the holidays I found the solution: a basic point a shoot for my purse and a new macro lens for my DSLR.  So far I’m happy with this solution.  The point and shoot is just a little Canon Powershot SD1200IS that I chose after trying a few different basic slim cameras.  I liked this one best because it’s small, it’s fast, and it takes good pictures.  The photo of the VanDusen Festival of Lights was taken with this camera with no tripod – not bad! 

The much more exciting addition to the camera family is the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro Lens I got for Christmas.  While I really didn’t want to have to switch lenses for different shots, the quality I get with this macro is just so much better for close up shots of the garden.  I used it for today’s Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day shots after our rainstorms cleared and the sun popped out for a brief visit this afternoon. 

The theme for this month’s photos is “The Old and The New”.  I’ve used my old Digital Rebel with my new macro lens to take photos of the evergreens, overwintering veggies, and spent foliage that keep my winter garden interesting as well as the mighty new growth that is already pushing the leaf mulch aside.  Spring may not be here yet, but it already feels like the dark of winter is behind us.  The new growth is emerging from the soil and it can also be felt in the air.  That combined with the building excitement for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is making these short days full of promise.  So without further ado, here is “The Old and The New”.

January 15 2010 | Flowers and Gardening and Photography | 8 Comments »

Reifel Bird Sanctuary With Point & Shoot

Last week I picked up a lightweight point and shoot with good zoom and macro capabilities to use as my everyday camera.  The DSLR that I have been using has a superb Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens but its quality glass is incredibly heavy and therefore it’s difficult for me to carry for even a short length of time. After some research I settled on the Canon Powershot SX10IS.  The initial tests at the dog park and in the house were disappointing but I was gifted one beautiful sunny day so I took it out to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, BC to see the migratory snow geese and the winter ducks.

The test went just as I expected: the 20x zoom function and video capabilities were fun to use, but the picture quality was grainy and inconsistent.  The digital viewfinder was slow and shaky, making it difficult to compose the shots and the focus speed was so slow that I missed much of what I was hoping to take.  The macro setting was successful in bright light but required you to position the camera mere centimeters from of the subject for a decent shot.  Here is a selection of the photos I took, mostly in zoom mode which was very handy to have at a bird sanctuary.

I thought it would be nice to have a lighter weight everyday use camera but I miss the speed, flexibility and by far the quality of the DSLR I’ve been using.  The solution could be to buy a lighter multipurpose lens for travel and everyday yet I also really liked the Ultra Zoom function and the digital video.  It’s back to the drawing board I guess.

November 30 2009 | Photography and Vancouver | 3 Comments »

Testing Out a New Camera at the Park…

Late Afternoon at Trout Lake in Vancouver

I’d love to get any recommendations on what cameras people are using out there for all the amazing shots of gardens and food I see you taking.  If you shoot with something you like I’d be overjoyed if you’d leave me a comment and let me know.

November 26 2009 | Photography and Vancouver | 4 Comments »