The Traveling Widower

Tag: photography

Top level category for photography related posts

  • I Need More Toys

    This post is about photography technology and my latest obsession with acquiring new toys for my hobby. So, you can ignore this if you want. Just a heads up.

    The last time I bored my faithful viewers with a post about photo equipment, I may have said that I was through making major purchases after buying the Sony 7 IV. Well, it turns out I was just kidding.

    I had figured that I would be relying on the new Sony A7 IV as my primary camera, and I could bring the older A7R II along if I wanted to have a backup on longer trips. That worked fine for singular focused (more unintentional puns) trips, like whale watching or hummingbirds, where all I needed was the new long lens. The Alaska trip was more of a problem. Most days there was a mix of wildlife and landscape photo ops, so I had to either change lenses on the fly, or rely on my phone for the landscape shots. Zodiac photography made things worse – trying to change lenses in a crowded, small, wet boat introduced a high risk factor of dropping the camera either in the wet boat bottom, or worse, the very wet ocean. In Antarctica, it will be a lot of fun trying to change lenses in the cold weather either in the boats or on the shore…standing on ice and snow. With penguins pecking at my boots.  And if you own a mirrorless digital camera, you have probably already experienced the joy of trying to clean a dirty sensor. 

    For all of my upcoming trips I will have that same mix of landscape/close-up vs. longer distance wildlife photography, and was considering using my very old Sony 7R II for landscape (shorter lens), and the new A7 IV with the long telephoto for wildlife. That would work of course, but now I’d have to lug two different sets of batteries and chargers along. Plus, and now for the real reason, this gave me the opportunity to trade in the old camera (10 years) for a new one. Camera shopping!!!! Off to Mike’s Camera!

    Actually, I did a lot of research first. If I was going to make a major investment in another camera body, I wanted to make sure it was the right one. I had been considering a different line of cameras which use a different, smaller sensor technology than the A7 line, the APS-C  versus full-frame. The Sony cameras are a bit smaller, lighter and a bit less expensive than the full-frame line like the A7 IV. They also have a completely different set of lenses that are designed for the smaller sensor, although the full-frame lenses can be used as well. The problem, for me at least, with the APS-C cameras is the cropping factor – the smaller sensor limits the scope/breath of the image, so you are effectively increasing the length of the lens by 1.5X. That’s great if you want more of a telephoto effect, which is not what I’m looking for with landscape photography. So for example, a 24-70mm lens loses the wide angle, since the crop factor makes this a 36-95mm lens. 

    When I got to Mike’s, I was able to try this out with a few of the smaller sensor cameras. I liked the smaller body size, but the cropping did not work for me. What I really wanted was the top-end full-frame camera, the A7R V. And as it turns out, Sony was having an incredible sale on this camera. And with the trade-in for my old camera, it was less than the APS-C bodies I was looking at. And I would not need to buy new lenses either.  Simple decision – convincing myself took about 5 seconds. Now all I have to do is figure out how to use it before I leave for Antarctica. Plenty of time for that – I’m sure I can fit that into my incredibly busy schedule of doing nothing. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk myself into spending some time playing with the new camera.

    Speaking of lenses, now that I have a long telephoto (500mm), I would really like to get to a point where I only need to carry two lenses – the big zoom for wildlife, and an all-purpose zoom for everything else, something like a 20-150mm. This would give me coverage for just about every situation, with just the two camera bodies. Currently, I have a 24-105mm, and a 17-24mm wide angle. I do not really shoot too much at the lower wide angle range, so if I had a 24-200mm for example, I’d just have to lug two lenses along on trips. Well, Mike’s Camera is having a sale in November, with that exact lens. So I may not be done with my toy obsession just yet.

    Two last comments on photo equipment (if you are still awake reading this…zzzzzz). First – I did mention the use of my phone for landscape photography. The new Pixel 10 has an excellent camera, and I’m finding that in some cases, I’d rather just use the phone instead of the heavy digital camera. Cave tours are a good example – it’s difficult enough just winding your way through tight and/or low passages. It is hard maintaining your balance and keep the camera from banging against rocks at the same time. The same goes for kayaking – I have a waterproof case for the phone (and the GoPro too), so I do not have to worry about trying to keep the expensive Sony out of the water. And then there are crazy hikes like the Manitou Incline. The phone was all I could handle. I did not see anyone with anything other than phones or GoPro’s on that little adventure.

    The second and thankfully last point, is why am I taking photo’s with the big, hi-tech cameras at all. I’m finding of late, that rather than using the blog to describe the images I’m creating with the high-end camera’s, the images are secondary to writing the stories of my travels. I’m using more of the jpeg images from my phone than the higher quality raw photos I take with the digital cameras. But I still want to continue submitting photos to contests, and go on tours focused on wildlife photography, like the Kodiak bear trip or an African safari. If I ever get to the point where all I’m doing are cruises, I may have to rethink my priorities when it comes to photography. Hopefully it will be a long time until I have to make that decision. Besides, the phone technology will probably make full frame digital cameras obsolete by then. 

  • When To Start Acting Your Age

    Well, I’m back home alone again, talking to myself (very interesting conversations of course), and one of the topics we (me & myself) discussed was whether I need to start “acting my age” in terms of the adventures I’ve been doing this past year. I am heading into my mid-70’s, I have a number of non-life threatening medical conditions and, worst of all, I live by myself. Jan kept me in check, but was always there when I needed someone to drive me home from a remote location after dislocating my ankle on a winter 14’teener climb, or take me to the E/R when I cut my lip off from a bicycle accident (it was sewn back on without shaving my moustache). I worry about what I’ll do now if I get seriously injured or ill. 

    I’ve always pushed my own physical limitations in the outdoors and sports, a major issue since I’m a klutz. Always have been. My mother eventually got used to taking me to the E/R with a broken or bleeding something. I’m sometimes surprised that I’ve survived this long, given that:

    • I was serious rock climber (5.9 lead),  until I wasn’t (hint: gravity always wins in the end).
    • I also took up ice climbing – a really dangerous sport. Lots of really sharp tools, climbing on a brittle surface. Falling can be very painful
    • I climbed a number of peaks in Colorado in the winter. By myself.
    • I frequently went on peak hikes by myself. What could possibly go wrong? 

    As I’ve aged, I have not completely outgrown these self-destructive tendencies. If there is a more difficult way of doing things, I’m all in. Who needs to eat breakfast before going on the 16 mile round trip jaunt up Half-Dome in Yosemite? I have at least managed to stay in shape through the years, and have taken up normal sports and activities – tennis, pickleball, swimming, and light hiking. Up until Jan was diagnosed. 

    During those 11 months of misery for Jan, I was no longer able to  leave her alone after the second month. No more workouts or tennis.  Our eating habits changed, and our collective alcohol consumption increased. By a lot. Add to that the incredible stress I was under, and I was pretty much a physical and mental wreck when she passed, and for many months afterwards.

    To make matters much worse, I ignored issues with my left knee during this time, and paid dearly for that. I have been sidelined from all racket sports for over a year, which eliminated significant sources of social activities. It’s a good thing I like talking to myself. 

    So here I am, aging rapidly, struggling to stay healthy (and sane), and going off on all this strange adventures. Remarkably, I have done well so far when you consider some of the activities associated with these trips. 

    Ocean Kayaking – every NatGeo trip I’ve been on has the opportunity for open water kayaking. Nothing too serious, but I’ve managed to stay dry so far. Can’t wait for Antarctica.

    Snorkeling – two of the trips have had snorkeling, and in most cases, in cold, rough water. With sea lions and penguins. No sharks. 

    Hiking in the SW – most of the hiking on the NatGeo trips has been pretty mild, other than trying to avoid falling on sharp lava rock in the Galápagos Islands. My hiking trip to the Utah parks was much more strenuous, and I was able to keep up with the group, with one hike up and down at about 8K’. 

    Hiking in Colorado – my first trip included moderate hikes in a number of state parks, and I managed to haul myself up one or two trails at 10k’ in Rocky Mountain National Park. On the most recent trip, I managed to get up all the steep stairs and hike a few miles at over 7500’ at the Seven Falls and meandered through a cavern tour, also at high altitude. And then there was my epic hike/climb of the Manitou Incline. I was proud of myself for getting to the top. Maybe that was one of the adventures I should have passed on, but I’m glad I did it. 

    Hiking in California – Mostly going up and down endless stairs during my Cave-A-Week tour of caverns, but also wandering around in some state parks, and the Donner Pass railroad tunnels at 7K elevation. Moro Rock was not exactly a big deal (300’ elevation gain), but I was in much better shape at high altitude, and pretty much scooted right up to the top. For once, I was actually passing groups.

    So I may be old, but I seem to be holding my own on my adventures this past year. Injury free – that’s a good thing. I work out most every day now which helps a lot. And finally, after 73 years, I’ve developed some sense for self-preservation and avoid things that I know I’m not in shape for. Angels Landing in Zion National Park is one of those, and sadly, so is a return climb of Half Dome. I’ve learned how to deal with my balance issues which gets me through moderate hikes – I have been using hiking sticks for years, especially on peak climbs, but now, they are a necessity. I used just one pole on the Incline climb, sort of as a third leg to keep from leaning backwards.

    None of my planned trips the next two years have overly strenuous activities. The National Geographic trips are all reasonable, and they always offer alternative activities each day. Madagascar has a lot of moderate hikes – no mountains, just 4 or 5 miles along forest trails. I think I can handle that. And all I really need to do on the Kodiak Island trip is not be the slowest person in the group.

    I have been careful in selecting future trips – most of the catalogs rate the level of activities they offer which helps a lot. It pains me a bit, but I no longer consider any of the pure hiking trips that Road Scholars offers. My focus is no longer on reaching the end point of a hike, but enjoying (and photographing) what you see along the trail. There was also an outfit that does a luxury climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. Maybe 15 years ago. Not now. Same for a trek in the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp, something I’ve always dreamed of. 

    So I guess I am acting my age. It’s sort of like learning not to run holding sharp objects – I learned the hard way. I’ll just keep modifying my goals and expectations as I age. Fewer sharp objects = fewer trips to the E/R.

    I need to have another talk with myself now about scheduling a few more trips for 2027. Hopefully, we will be in agreement. I hate arguing with myself. I can be such a pain in the ….

     Peace