Calm Photos

I haven’t had a major photo gear boo-boo since that time I cracked two Canon L lenses and a 1V camera body on the cement floor of the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, way back in 2002. This past Sunday morning I pushed my luck and almost had an equipment tragedy that would have easily given the P-cola incident a run for its money.

Driving down rt. 725, east of Centerville toward Wilmington Pike, I noticed the big outline of a very large owl sitting right alongside the road. At first I thought it was one of those fake owls that people place in their yards to scare away troublesome critters. But then it moved and I knew right away what it was. A Barred Owl. She (had to be because it was considerably large than the last Barred Owl I saw in the wild) was hunting on the roadside, perched on one of the guardrail posts.

Always prepared, I had my camera gear in the back of my Honda Pilot. I pulled onto a driveway, parked and ran to get my Canon 1D Mark III with a Canon 300mm f4 L lens. Got back in, pulled out on the road and headed back, knowing that she would be situated on the left side of the road, perfect from the driver’s side vantage point.

I slowed down to where the Barred Owl was still perched, got one shot off and then from the other direction came a UPS truck. When the vehicle passed between us, she took flight, back to the safety of the woods.

“Well, at least I got one shot anyway,” I thought to myself. I put my foot on the accelerator and went forward to look for another turnaround spot so that I could resume my drive to Sugarcreek MetroPark.

And that’s when it occurred to me. The one thing that I forgot to do during all of my excitement, while scrambling to get my camera and the right lens. A sliding sound in the back and then a “BANG.” Yup, I left the back tailgate door open. Out flew my Canon 500mm lens. My big monster that I purchased used about four years ago. This is one of those lenses that you see on the sidelines of pro football games. Even used, the lens was not cheap.

I stopped the car in a fit of embarrassed anger. How could have done something so stupid ?

The lens was in a Canon Lens Trunk - kind of a mini-hardcase for big glass. Inside there’s plastic cradle lined with felt. When I opened the case I thought for sure I would see broken glass. To my pleasant surprise there wasn’t so much a scratch or crack. The only damage from the brief flight and hard fall out the back of my Pilot were some little chunks of asphalt ingrained on the outside corners of the lens case.

Takes a licking and keeps on clicking.

That’s the difference between consumer brand and pro shooter gear.

I was warned several years ago by a visitor to a garage sale I was having before my move to South Carolina. She was looking at a marble statue I had of an owl. “You know that owls are bad luck. You shouldn’t have these in your house.”

Below is an iPhone shot of the heroic lens trunk, and the one shot that it was nearly sacrificed for.

imaginginfo.com - Article - Sneak Peek: Canon Rebel XS

One of the most common questions I’m asked by friends and entry-level photo enthusiasts is “I want to buy a better camera - which one should I get ?”

Instead of trying to name a particular model and make right off the top of my head, I usually answer them with several questions of my own, including what type of photography do you enjoy doing, are you going to want to add lenses down the road and perhaps most important of all, what is your budget.

There is also the problem with the fact that I am limited in knowledge when it comes to camera manufacturers other than the one that I’ve been using for the last 30+ years, in my case that being Canon.

I love it when people rattle off Nikon model #’s and expect me to know exactly every feature for each one. And when I admit I don’t know much about the Nikon line, it’s even more fun when I get the typical I’m-a-techno-geek-nerd-with-no-life response of “I know more than you do, I know more than you do !”

Really. Too bad all the knowledge doesn’t translate into one ounce of artistic talent.

This happens more than I’d like to admit. Interactions such as this remind of going into an aquarium/tropical fish store, not knowing much about fish, and then having the I’m-a-tropical-fish-geek-nerd-with-no-life assistant store manager have his brief brush with fame when he impresses upon you with his vast wealth of tropical fish knowledge while failing miserably at understanding and serving the customer. Happens a lot. I don’t know if this is a Dayton or an Ohio thing, or what.

But I digress.

I am familiar with Canon quality when it comes to digital imaging, and it looks to me that Canon has another consumer-market winner with the soon-to-be release of the Canon Rebel XS. Here Canon has taken many of the top-end features of the 1D EOS line and incorporated them into the much-less expensive and consumer-designed Rebel, most notably of all, the self-cleaning image sensor (my absolute favorite feature on my 1D Mark III), the 2.5″ LCD screen with live view (my second favorite feature which is a great back saver when shooting in low, tight positions) and the Digic III processor.

Yes, it’s over 10 Megapixels, but one thing I like to emphasize in my workshops and lessons is that it is not the number of Megapixels but rather the quality of the sensor that truly makes the difference, with the Digic III Canon ranks right up there as one of the best.