The Creative's Corner

In my last post I told you that I purchased the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC USD (I paid $1,299) and 70-200mm f2.8 Di VC USD (I paid $1,499)  lenses. I was all excited until I tested them. I shot a test pattern with the camera on a tripod, firing it with a wired remote and the Vibration Compensation turned off.

The 24-70mm was pretty sharp at 24mm and 70mm at various f stops. The 70-200mm had soft focus at 70mm and 200mm from f 2.8 through f 8. This didn’t bothered me as zoom lenses are often a little soft at their maximum or minimum focal length.

The real problem is that both lenses would randomly take a photograph that was WAY out of focus. By that I mean instead of looking like this

it looked like this.

This happened on both lenses about 10% of the time. And my camera won’t take pictures that are out of focus, so the lens wasn’t communicating properly with the camera.

I don’t want to spend the time or effort to check the focus for every photograph I take, and it’s really hard to tell an elk or condor to get back into position for a second shot.

If this had happened with only one lens, I would guess it was a bad lens, but both lenses? And I have found reviews of these same lenses where this problem was mentioned.

I’m returning the lenses and I’ll have to pony up the money for Canon lenses.

I wanted to pass this along to you if you’re thinking of buying Tamron lenses.

Before you buy any lens, check out several review sites. I’ve found http://www.the-digital-picture.com/ to be very useful.

Have Fun,
Jeff

My new lenses finally arrived. I was looking at the Canon L lenses, but they were just too expensive. I feel that Canon is pricing itself out of the market. I went with Tamron lenses (24-70mm and 70-200mm f2.8 Di VC USD), and saved about $1,200. But they still cost a lot, and my piggy bank is crying like a baby.

When I first started in professional photography some 30 years ago, you could buy two professional Nikon camera bodies, two Nikkor zoom lenses, two motor drives (they were sold separately), a tripod, filters and all the other accessories for under $2,000. And the camera bodies would last at least 20 years.

Today, the same thing would cost about $20,000 and the camera bodies only last 3-5 years. And you still need to buy a computer and a few thousand dollars’ worth of software. Photography has become a rich man’s career. A photographer just starting out could easily take 2-3 years to pay off their equipment.

But I digress, here are my new toys.

Have Fun,
Jeff

I’m not crazy about Adobe moving all their software to The Cloud, but I’m sure it’s the wave of the future. Here’s a good FAQ about Adobe’s Cloud http://adobe.ly/15rvzIg It did answer some of my concerns.

Have Fun,
Jeff

I just added a new Fine Art photograph to my Changing Colors page http://www.jeffcolburn.com/gallery/changing-colors. It shows an Oak leaf in Williams, Arizona. This leaf was high up in a tree, and shot at 1/400 of a second at f 6.3. I used my 55mm-250mm lens at 250mm. This photograph is also available as a greeting card at http://www.jeffcolburn.com/cards.html.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Good news, my greeting cards are now available for purchase. I’m offering 24 cards, 4 sets of 6 cards each, that you can choose from. Head on over and have a look http://www.JeffColburn.com/cards.html

Have Fun,
Jeff

I’m almost done with my latest project, greeting cards with my photographs on them. I will have four sets: Leaves changing color, the Grand Canyon, Sedona and Miscellaneous photographs from around Arizona. The cards will come in sets of 6, and include envelopes and free shipping. I’ll let you know when they are ready for viewing.

Have Fun,
Jeff

I just put up the computer wallpaper for April. It’s Sunset Crater Volcano, which last erupted about 900 years ago. In the background you can see a bridge, which is part of the trail you can take through the area. A few minutes drive away is also a trail through a lava flow. It’s an amazing area to visit. Head on over and get your copy at http://www.jeffcolburn.com/wallpaper.html

Have Fun,
Jeff

Earlier this month we went to the Arizona Renaissance Festival, as we do every year. And yes, we do go in costume. While there we came across a new belly dancing troupe, The Vodca Family. They put on a great show with belly dance and music. If they come to your area catch their show. You won’t be disappointed.

Here are a few photographs of their show.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Hi Everyone,

Shutterbug Magazine has a contest coming up where they want photographs with shallow depth of field. I thought it would be fun to enter, so I started going through my files. I had a nice selection of plant photographs showing shallow depth of field, but then I thought, “Hey, lots of photographers will be sending in prints of plants. Why not be unique?”

So I went back to my files and came up with two not so typical photographs.

The first photograph is a closeup of a belly dancer’s belt. Unfortunately, the belly dancer was somewhere else, but the belt was hanging on the wall of a dress shop at the Arizona Renaissance Festival. I loved the colors and various textures. I shot it with my 18-55mm lens at 55mm, and exposed for 1/80 of a second at f 5.6

The second photograph I’m going to enter, also taken at the Arizona Renaissance Festival, shows some of the bells from a carillon. This carillon is owned and played by Frank Della Penna of Cast in Bronze. The carillon is a medieval instrument where the bells are rung using a keyboard, something like a piano, which you play with your hands and feet. They were usually in bell towers in churches, so most people have never seen one.

I shot this with my 18-55mm lens at 55mm. The exposure was 1/80 of a second at f 5.6.

We’ll see if my rather unique photographs are selected in a couple of months.

What unique shallow depth of field photographs do you have? Put a link to them in a comment.

Have Fun,
Jeff

The March wallpaper is ready for you to download. It’s a very old car wheel, and rotted tire, from the Gold King Mine and Ghost Town in Jerome, Arizona. Head on over and get your copy at http://www.jeffcolburn.com/wallpaper.html

Have Fun,
Jeff