Archive for April, 2009

Shooting Pictures from the Air

Monday, April 20th, 2009


Miami From Above – Residential Islands and Miami Beach

Originally uploaded by dgmiami

First and foremost, a very big thank you goes out to my buddy Ross at www.floridaphoto.com for a great flight on a perfect afternoon yesterday. Can’t wait to do it again!

Last time I went flying with Ross I had a Sony DSC-H1. The pics came out ok, but back then I was a pure point-and-shoot kinda guy. No manual settings, everything was set to automatic. The pictures came out fine, but nothing like the ones from yesterday using manual settings on my 450D!

I started out trying to shoot at ISO 100, then 200, only to find out that my shutter speed was way too slow for what I wanted to capture. Based upon his suggestions, I made some adjustments and all I can say is THANKS – it definitely made a difference in the sharpness of the pics.

Another thing I learned is that next time, I won’t be attempting to use my circular polarizer AND I will wear a dark color shirt to minimize the reflections from the inside of of the window on my side. Of course, one of those nifty holes in the window on the other side will help as well Ross – LOL.

If you are looking for aerial photography around South Florida – take a look at Ross’ site mentioned at the opening of this entry. If he doesn’t already have what you want, you won’t be disappointed with his work!

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Perfect Timing!

Friday, April 17th, 2009


Merlin Falcon in the Florida Everglades

Originally uploaded by dgmiami

Talk about timing!

I was recently out with a friend of mine and his wife taking Loop Road out by the Miami-Dade / Collier County line… It was a 25 mile or so drive through the Everglades off of Tamiami Trail which proved to give me one of the best shots yet.

But, I must say, that all of this was absolute perfect timing! I was using the standard 18-55mm lens on my XSi, while my buddy was using his new 200mm lens on his camera. After standing out there for a few minutes, I asked if I could borrow it for a couple of shots and that’s when the magic happened!

The apparently young falcon was simply sitting there enjoying the sunlight when it decided to spread its wings and turn around for us! It was stunning to say the least! Needless to say, I am now in the market for the Tamron 18-270mm lens with the Canon mount for my XSi. With a couple of back-to-back trips coming up in May, I can tell you that I will absolutely have this lens for that next perfect timing moment!

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