Tag Archives: four

Quick Report on Canon EOS 5D Mark II Battery Performance

July 11, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

After four days photographing – in sometimes stunning conditions – in the Tuolumne Meadows area of Yosemite, it seems odd to make my first post about a technical issue. But, here I go.

People wonder about the LP-E6 battery performance of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera. While I haven’t conducted and “scientific” tests of battery performance, what I have observed thus far is quite encouraging. Over the past three and a half days or so I made 533 exposures plus a few more that I deleted in the camera. I do a fair amount of “chimping” and I used the live view feature just a bit. After all of that the battery life indicator still showed two our of four bars.

All in all, I think this seems like great battery life. Many 5D II shooters will find that one battery is sufficient, and very few should need more than one spare. (I currently have one spare. Because of some unusual use patterns – including backcountry pack trips of one to two weeks duration – I’m considering one more spare.)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Commentary, Publications

Article Offers Four Basic Tips for Photographing Wildlife

April 29, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Joe Decker offers a short list of tips for photographing wildlife, “Four Tips for Better Wildlife Photography,” at the Digital Photography School web site. I’m sometimes skeptical about short “4 tips” type articles, but each of Decker’s suggestions offers good advice that will be useful to folks trying to get better at this genre.

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Milkmaids Plants, Redwood Forest

March 28, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Blooming milkmaids (Dentaria cardimine californica) plants on the forest floor beneath the redwoods at Muir Woods National Monument, California.

Another bunch of milkmaid flowers along a hillside trail at Muir Woods National Monument. These flowers were growing in small grotto-like hollow in the hillside, and the plants in the background are the ubiquitous redwood sorrel (or Oregon oxalis) which look just like clover plants.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: Dentaria cardimine californica, milkmaids, flowers, plants, blossoms, blooms, bud, plant, foliage, leaf, fern, petal, four, stem, forest, grove, redwood, muir woods, national, monument, park, golden gate, national, recreation, area, marin county, spring, travel, scenic, nature, stock, california, usa, sorrel, oregon, oxalis

Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature

Milkmaids Flowers, Redwood Forest

March 27, 2009 G Dan Mitchell Leave a comment

Flowers of the milkmaid plant bloom on the forest floor beneath the redwoods, Muir Woods National Monument, California.

In a very dark section of the trail above the creek bottom at Muir Woods I found many, many flowers last weekend, including quite a few milkmaid flowers. These are a bit tricky to photograph – especially when a breeze is blowing! As the flowers wave in the moving air, in very dark conditions on the forest floor it is hard to avoid blowing out the brightest part of the flowers.