(Canon 5D Mark II, 24-70mm f.2.8L lens w/ Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter, tripod; 2.0 sec @ f/22, ISO 50, 0 EV)

(Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens w/ Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter, tripod; 2.0 sec @ f/22, ISO 50, 0 EV; FL 140mm)

This was [...]]]>

“Pilings” – Belmar Fishing Club Pier, Belmar, NJ

(Canon 5D Mark II, 24-70mm f.2.8L lens w/ Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter, tripod; 2.0 sec @ f/22, ISO 50, 0 EV)

“Roiled Surf” – Sea Girt, NJ

(Canon 5D Mark II, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens w/ Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter, tripod; 2.0 sec @ f/22, ISO 50, 0 EV; FL 140mm)

This was a very busy weekend. Yesterday (Saturday) I was up at 0400 and out of the house before 0500 on my way to Baltimore, MD for the Brenda Tharp seminar presented by the Baltimore Camera Club which was fabulous. The seminar ran from 0800 to 1700 and I got back home around 2000. This morning we were up at 0500 and off for the North Shore of New Jersey. You remember two weeks ago when we went to Longwood Gardens and it was Kid’s Day? Well today we drove into the jaws of what is billed as the largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade along the Jersey shore in Belmar. Arrgh!! The festivities didn’t interfere with shooting, it just made getting around the North Shore in general and Belmar in particular a real pain in the backside.

And it didn’t help that the wintering ducks seemed to have checked out. So no cute duckies to photograph. Well that was okay because I really wanted to shoot with the new camera (5DMk2) and my birding set-up remains the 50D (because of the 1.6x crop factor) and the 300mm f/2.8L IS lens w/ 2x teleconverter. Put it all together and it gives me 960mm of effective reach, great for birds. But like I said, there were no birds to photograph.

So I turned to landscapes and seascapes shot with the new camera and my 24-70 and 70-200 lenses. I really enjoy long water exposures since it generally turns the water so silky and that is what I wanted to do here. But even at f/22 and dropping the ISO all the way down to 50, I couldn’t slow the shutter speed enough so I turned to my Vari-ND filter. It is without question a very expensive filter (between $400 and $500) but golly it works great. Put it on and you can adjust the ND anywhere from 2 to 8 stops. If you want to slow shutter speeds way down, you could wait until dark or slap one of these babies on. It will stop a runaway locomotive!

Anyway, here are just two of the seascape images from this morning. Hope you enjoy them!

(1/40 sec @ f/7.1; ISO 800; +2/3 EV; AWB; FL 66mm)

… my new Canon 5D Mark II and me.

The new camera arrived yesterday (purchased from Adorama – see affiliate ad on left).

I won’t bore you with the details but it was a long and winding road that brought me to this point. But as they [...]]]>

(1/40 sec @ f/7.1; ISO 800; +2/3 EV; AWB; FL 66mm)

… my new Canon 5D Mark II and me.

The new camera arrived yesterday (purchased from Adorama – see affiliate ad on left).

I won’t bore you with the details but it was a long and winding road that brought me to this point. But as they say, all’s well that end’s well and I am very happy with how this has ended.

As we are all wont to do, I wanted to check the new camera out. So I pulled down a flower and started to snap away just to check that everything works as it should.

I made this image under bare bones conditions using the new Canon 5D Mark II; 24-70mm f/2.8L w/ 500D close-up lens; handheld. Lighting was just overhead indoor lights.

Image was processed with Nik filters.