garden therapy » camera http://gardentherapy.ca Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:32:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 The Old and The New: Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day and Camera Update http://gardentherapy.ca/old-and-new/ http://gardentherapy.ca/old-and-new/#comments Sat, 16 Jan 2010 02:50:36 +0000 Stevie http://gardentherapy.ca/?p=937 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”.

Evergreen foliage of the Euonymus Emerald Gaiety Pine Cones Purple Cauliflower Curly Rush Grass loves damp soil Blueberry branches still looking sharp Rudbeckia Seed Heads with a Rock Rose Winterfurst Cabbage Hellebore Christmas Rose...almost there! Sarcococca Confusa "Sweetbox" Euonymus japonica 'Microphyllus Variegata' Blue Bells Emerging Pieris Buds Starting to Show Here come the Snowdrops Rhododendron buds White Phlox starting to grow Purple Sprouting Broccoli Sedum Autumn Joy New Beginnings Bergenia getting ready to send a flower Hairy New Oriental Poppy Leaves Friendly little Crocuses

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]]> http://gardentherapy.ca/old-and-new/feed/ 8 Reifel Bird Sanctuary With Point & Shoot http://gardentherapy.ca/reifel-bird-sanctuary-with-point-shoot/ http://gardentherapy.ca/reifel-bird-sanctuary-with-point-shoot/#comments Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:34:15 +0000 Stevie http://gardentherapy.ca/?p=715 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.

The Reifel Bird Santuary from up on the blind. The Snow Geese are the white band at land's end. The band of white zoomed in shows a few of the Snow Geese that migrate here from the Arctic for the winter. The Sandhill Cranes landing was taken from the blind at almost full zoom. This photo was taken of Sandhill Crane was wading in the pond from the blind at almost full zoom. A showy male Bufflehead duck that was only 10 feet away in great light, but still the photo is grainy when zoomed in. A V of Snow Geese flying overhead taken at nornal range. This flying Sandhill Crane was taken at normal range. The same photo taken with the DSLR was far superior in sharpness and colour. The Sandhill Cranes are some of the most interesting birds at the island.

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.

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]]> http://gardentherapy.ca/reifel-bird-sanctuary-with-point-shoot/feed/ 3 Testing Out a New Camera at the Park… http://gardentherapy.ca/new-cam/ http://gardentherapy.ca/new-cam/#comments Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:28:08 +0000 Stevie http://gardentherapy.ca/?p=704 I bought a digital point & shoot today and tested it out at the park.  So far I’m not very happy with it.  It feels like I’m handcuffed, wearing a girdle and stuck in traffic: it’s slow and there is too much restriction.  We’ll see how it goes tomorrow as I’m going to take it to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary.  It would be nice to have something a little smaller to carry around.  But who knows, maybe I’m just a DSLR kinda gal. 
Late Afternoon at Trout Lake in Vancouver

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.

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