All posts by G Dan Mitchell

G Dan Mitchell, photographer and visual opportunist focusing on the Pacific coast, the Sierra Nevada, redwood forests, California oak/grasslands, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography and more. Posting daily photographs since 2005, along with articles, reviews, news, and ideas.
Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Dense Stand of Bare Aspens

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Dense Stand of Bare Aspens
Dense Stand of Bare Aspens

Dense Stand of Bare Aspens. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 10, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A dense stand of nearly bare aspen trees, eastern Sierra Nevada

Those who photograph the eastern Sierra fall aspen color over a period years begin to recognize certain patterns which, in retrospect, are probably somewhat obvious. The color transition begins very close to the same time each year, near the end of September, though there are variations that are probably caused by annual differences in the climate. The first trees to change are found at higher elevations, and sometimes a few transitional leaves can be spotted even in mid-September. Once the change begins it works its way down in elevation, with the peak color occurring between the first week of October and perhaps through the third week in a typical year. If you look for color early, you start high. If you visit later, you look low.

This year the color change seemed to begin a bit early, probably due to a sequence of two drought years in the Sierra. By the time we arrived in the mountains in the second week of the month, most of the high elevation trees had completely lost their leaves, the mid-level color was at its peak, and the low elevation trees were more colorful than in a typical year. Even though we knew that the higher trees were mostly spent, we did head high up into some canyons to see the bare aspen trunks. In a few spots, such as this narrow stand of trees that grows in a valley along a creek, there were still a few golden leaves among the otherwise bare trunks.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Shoreline, Morning

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Shoreline, Morning
Shoreline, Morning

Shoreline, Morning. Kings Canyon National Park, California. September 14, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The shoreline of an unnamed sub-alpine lake in the Kings Canyon National Park High Sierra.

I made this photograph along the shoreline of one of the many small lakes lying within a very short walk from our back-country campsite high in the eastern Sierra near the crest in Kings Canyon National Park. On this morning I headed up canyon with vague ideas about looking for back-light, a favorite condition/subject of mine in the Sierra. I first wandered up one side of the canyon and after finishing my slow amble at a main lake I reversed my track and headed back down the other side of the narrow valley, passing this small lake.

At just about this time the sun cleared the higher ridge to our east and its morning light arrived at the shoreline. The back-light creates a fringe of light in the outer needles of the trees and it illuminates the willows and other smaller plants that were beginning to take on autumn colors. Here the clear water near the edge of the lake was very shallow, and the patterns of the submerged shoreline rocks continues the rocky character of the shoreline. In typical high Sierra fashion, there is rock everywhere, with much of the vegetation working hard to find sustenance in rocky soil between the granite outcroppings and slabs.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Sierra Nevada

Aspens and Autumn Snow

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Aspens and Autumn Snow
Aspens and Autumn Snow

Aspens and Autumn Snow. Eastern Sierra Nevada, California. October 13, 2013. © Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A large grove of golden autumn aspen trees ascends the slopes above Conway Summit toward Sierra Nevada peaks blanketed with early fall snow

On the final day of our September trip to photograph eastern Sierra fall color, we made a very long and round-about loop that finally brought us to Lee Vining for a late breakfast. The day had begun with snow flurries in the Mammoth Lakes area, then cleared as we drove a good distance to the east into high desert basin and range country and then north toward Mono Lake. Shortly after passing along the south side of Mono Lake we headed west toward highway 395, with the Sierra crest of the eastern boundary of Yosemite National Park rising front of us, enveloped in snow showers. We stopped to photograph a bit and then headed on to Lee Vining for a late breakfast.

By midday the weather was clearly in transition, with clouds and showers lingering along the crest, but clear skies (with a few clouds) to the east. After climbing to Conway Summit we found the area in this weather boundary zone, with broken sunlight and shadows moving across the lower slopes with their colorful aspens, while snow showers were still falling higher up in the peaks of the Sierra crest. This photograph looks more or less in the direction of the sun, and the strong backlit emphasizes the brilliant colors of the aspens.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | 500px.com | LinkedIn | Email

Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Equipment

Fujifilm X-E2 Announced

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Recently Fujifilm announced an updated version of the X-E1, the X-E2, with availability scheduled for sometime in the second half of November 2013. I have not had a chance to use the new body as of this writing, but here is some information about the new x-E2, along with some thoughts about it relative to the prior X-E1.

There is a perception that some camera manufacturers are slow to incorporate new technologies into their cameras or to make updates to improve the functionality of existing models. Fujifilm, on the other hand, seems to take a very different approach. They have frequently improved and updated the earlier X-series bodies by way of firmware updates that have offered significant improvements and added new features. This seems to carry over into the introduction of new models as well, and the X-E2 appears to incorporate a number of useful and important updates. Much of what follows is, as alluded to above, based on specification sheets and other writing about the camera since I have not used it as of this date.

  • The camera’s physical design appears to be very similar to that of the X-E1 – a casual observer might not notice the differences. A few control buttons have been moved, and there are now separate AF and AE buttons. The display is a bit wider.
  • The camera continues to use a 16MP 1.5x cropped format X-trans sensor, which I find to be a fine performer – the marketing material now refers to the “16.3MP APS-C X-Trans CMOS II sensor,” but time will tell whether the fundamental image quality is significantly different. Fujifilm says that image processing has been improved to include a Lens Modulation Optimizer function that compensates for image issues such as diffraction blur at smaller apertures along with other sorts of image aberrations. It will be interesting to see how the diffraction blur reduction software performs, as this becomes more of an issue with cameras with small sensors.
  • An improved (e.g. faster) “EXR Processor II” is said to improve camera performance in many ways – quicker startup, shorter shutter lag, burst mode shooting, and more.
  • The video performance has been improved. Video was not a strong point of the X-E1, but the X-E2 supports higher frame rates and more formats including 1080p video.
  • Fujifilm reports that the AF system has been significantly updated. It is said to use both contrast-detection and phase-detection systems (each of which has advantages in various situations) to improve AF performance  – this is said to help with both low light  conditions and moving subjects. This is an important area since mirrorless camera AF systems generally do not perform as well with moving subjects.
  • The camera incorporates a “digital split image” system for manual focus, which seems to recall the old split-image systems of film cameras, along with a focus peaking – both of which can assist with accurate manual focus.
  • The camera has built-in wifi connectivity. Fujifilm says this will allow connectivity to “Android or iOS mobile device[s]” to browse images remotely and to transfer images. It is unclear whether this works with other devices such as laptops.
  • The X-E2 uses the same battery as the X-E1, which might be an important issue for anyone considering an upgrade or using the X-E2 along with other X-series cameras.

What does this all mean? Should you sell your X-E1 and get an X-E2? Should you pre-order an X-E2 or wait and see? What else might Fujifilm have up their collective sleeves? The answers are not all clear, but some initial conclusions might be drawn.

  • The X-E2 appears to be a solid update to the X-E1, addressing a list of specific areas for improvement identified by users of the X-E1: improvements to both automatic and manual focusing, updating the video performance, upgrading the processor, tweaking the physical interface.
  • For many users, the introduction of the X-E2 provides an excellent window of opportunity to save money on the X-E1. Currently the X-E1 body is available for $799 (the X-E2 is $200 more and not available yet) and the X-E1/18-55mm lens bundle is only $999 ($400 less than the same bundle with the X-E2). This pricing may not be available for long.
  • If you are considering your first camera of this type and cost isn’t a constraint, the X-E2 seems well worth it. If you want to make sure you get one soon, I recommend pre-ordering now, since the initial deliveries are likely to sell quickly.
  • If you already have a X-E1, the answer to the question of whether you should update to the X-E1 is probably, “It depends.” If video  is important to you or if you need improved focus performance performance, upgrading from the X-E1 to the X-E2 may be worthwhile. On the other hand, if you mostly do still photography and you are happy with the X-E1, it probably makes sense to continue to use it for now.

What am I going to do? My situation is perhaps unique. I’m quite happy with the X-E1, which I use in conjunction with a Canon DSLR system. Given the way I use it, I would probably not update for the improvements in still-photogaphy. However… I am also working on a project right now that involves video, and it may end up making more sense for me to move to a X-E2 as a way to get better video performance with the Fujifilm lenses that I already own.

(This text has been adapted from an update to my article on the X-E1, “Taking Stock of the Fujifilm X-E1 Mirrorless Camera” – visit that article for a review of the X-E1 that is still very relevant to the new X-E2.)

Fujifilm mirrorless gear at B&H:

Cameras/bundles

Accessories

Lenses

© Copyright 2013 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.