Homeless in Seal Beach: Redux

Except for the "faces" not much changes...

During the holidays...

November 28--Thanksgiving

December 25--Christmas

Another of Reagan’s enduring legacies is the steep increase in the number of homeless people, which by the late 1980s had swollen to 600,000 on any given night – and 1.2 million over the course of a year.

http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/135/reagan.html

"Every state-funded program that supports homeless shelters has been eliminated in California"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/09/californias-homeless-crisis_n_1243223.html

Homeless in Seal Beach (January 2012)

http://dwkee.blogspot.com/2012/01/homeless-in-seal-beach.html

HBAL 2013 Demonstrator Palettes

Huntington Beach Art League members are invited to participate in an identification contest. Arrayed in a random order are the palettes (workspaces) of most of the 2013 HBAL Demonstrators. Email your identifications to Dan (dwkee1@yahoo.com) for a chance to win a 20 by 30 poster of all of the palettes. Write the name of the artist next to the palette's number (#1 to #9). Don't forget to include your own name on the entry. Contest closes on January 10, 2014. One name from those who submit correct answers will be randomly drawn for the prize.  Update: The contest has closed. Demonstrator names now appear under their palettes.

Bernard Fallon

Frank Eber

Gerald Brommer

Regina Hurley

Frank Eber

Ruth Ellen Hoag

Tom Fong

Eilleen McCullough

Gregory Gallardo

Birding: Camera Downsizing

Downsized my camera gear after a 2012 Alaska trip. Carried my Canon 7D DSLR (with EOS f/4.5-5.6L IS 100-400 mm), while my son had the new Olympus EM5 (with Lumix lens). Started this to share my experience with the new micro 4/3s format.  If you're thinking of downsizing to micro 4/3s follow my journey scroll down (backwards in time). American Birding Association Birders' Exchange is a great place to donate your old camera gear.

October 29, 2013

My trusty birding camera has been a Canon 7D with EOS 100 - 400 mm (offering a 35 mm equivalent of 160 - 640 mm). I now have a smaller and lighter birding kit: An Olympus OM-D E-M5 with M.Zuiko 75 - 300 mm lens (offering a 35 mm equivalent of 150 to 600 mm--the E-M5's digital tele-converter provides a zoom range to 1200 mm).


Observations from my first birding trip (the American Birding Association's San Diego Birding Rally) with my E-M5:

(a) Carrying a smaller and lighter camera with binoculars is a neck- and shoulder-saver.
(b) The tele-converter 1200 mm can provide great "snapshots" for identification and/or photos for one's bird list.  
(c) Focus lock can be tricky at 1200 mm. Focusing on a larger adjacent object  and/or manual focus required.
(d) Auto focus tracking is limited; thus, capturing birds in flight was very difficult. 
(e) The 7D with 100 - 400 at 400mm is easier to hold steady compared to the E-M5 with tele-converter at 1200 mm. Using a high frame (burst) rate increased the likelihood of capturing the target in-frame and in-focus.


Examples of photos taken with tele-coverter 1200 mm (left image) juxtaposed with a "close-up" crop (right image).

December 2015--My micro 4/3s Olympus gear is compact, light and versatile—never gets in the way. I’m now shooting with a fast and very sharp M.Zuiko f/2.8 40 to 150mm (80 to 300mm 35mm equivalent) lens. 

Mexican Jay

Silver City NM

Original image 150mm ISO 320 f/2.8 1/1600
35mm equivalent of 300mm

and cropped

This lens has less reach than either my Canon 100 to 400 mm (f/4.5-5.6 160 to 640mm APSC 35mm equivalent) or Olympus M.Zuiko 75 to 300mm (f/4.8-6.7 150 to 600mm 35mm equivalent) zooms. If desired, increased “range” is achieved by using the camera’s digital teleconverter (mentioned earlier) permitting 160 to 600mm range. 

Photos at 150mm (300mm 35mm equivalent):

Snow Geese

Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge NM

Digital teleconverter photos:

Forster's Tern

Seal Beach Pier CA

Original digital teleconverter image 300mm ISO 200 f/2.8 1/3200 35mm equivalent of 600mm

and cropped

A camera software update permitting smaller autofocus targets (standard on the newer OMD EM5 Mk2 and EM1 PRO cameras) has mitigated issues discussed previously.

Auto focus tracking is still limited in my three year Olympus OMD EM5; presumably improved in newer models.

The range of the M.Zuiko f2.8 40-150 zoom can also be extended by using a 1.4x teleconverter, but its pricey. 

Still have the slower 75-300mm lens for special use cases. This lens is very small and easy to pack--performs best with lots of light.

April 2017--New camera (Oympus EM1II), lens (300 mm f/4.0; 600 mm 35 mm equivalent) and 1.4x telecoverter (extending the forenamed lens to 840 mm 35 mm equivalent). The Blue Heron photo taken hand-held with the forenamed camera lens combination--the image stabilization is amazing.

Northern Cardinal far from normal range—maybe an escapee. Backlit hand-held at 840/35 mm equivalent. 

and cropped

Allen's-hand-held at 840/35 mm equivalent

and cropped 

A Cormorant taken with the 1.4 converter mated with the f/2.8 40 to 150 mm offering a 

35 mm equivalent of 112 to 420 mm--this photo was taken at 420 mm.

EM1II with M.Zuiko 300 mm f/4.0 juxtaposed to my Canon 7D 

with EOS 100 - 400 mm f/4.5-5.6.

My "prime kit" carry is a
Peak Design Pouch

Peak Design Backpack
for traveling and their Everyday
Sling for more general use.

July 2017 Camera gear for Barrow and Dutch Harbor Alaska. 

Timbuk2 (20L) waterproof back-pack.

Links to Alaska photos:   Barrow   Dutch Harbor   Dutch Harbor Eagles   

South Florida with High Lonesome Bird Tours in May 2018.   

Avid birders/photographers in our group with "full-frame" equipment. 

My micro 4/3s gear quite diminutive by comparison. 

Photos of some of our target birds below

E-M1 Mark2 M.300mm f4.0+MC-14 (uncropped)

Spot-Breasted Oriole

E-M1 Mark2 M.300mm f4.0+MC-14 (uncropped)

Snail Kite

E-M1 Mark2 M.300mm f4.0+MC-14 (uncropped)

E-M1Mark2 M.300mm f4.0+MC-14 (cropped)

Link to more South Florida photos:  http://dwkee.blogspot.com/2018/05/south-florida-with-high-lonesome-bird.html

Weather in South Florida was quite a contrast from our High Lonesome trip to Barrow last year. 

         

First photo shows my relative location to seal hunters. Second and last taken with
E-M1 M2 with M.300mm f4.0/MC-14: Original size and cropped, respectively. 

Links to Alaska photos:   Barrow   Dutch Harbor   Dutch Harbor Eagles   

 

See my most recent photos here--https://dwkee.blogspot.com/2020/10/birding-snapshots.html