I have a new blog

I've started a separate blog for my photography. Go check it, yo.

Thinking ahead

I've been thinking lately about upgrading my camera. I have a Canon Rebel XT, which I quite like, but I've started to come up against some of its limitations. This is actually a good thing: it's an entry-level camera, and I've outgrown it. I do some macro photography (which means basically big pictures of little things -- with my 8MP camera, a bug about an inch long would fill an 8"x10" print), which has some unique technical challenges. The area that's in focus is literally paper thin, for example, and you need a lot of light for a proper exposure. More advanced cameras have features that will help mitigate some of these challenges.

Brainstorming, here are some things I'd like in my next camera: Live preview and histogram. Tethering. Sensor cleaning. Better high ISO performance. Ideally around $600 tops. I'm thinking of the Canon 40D, the 50D, or the XSI.

The 40D and 50D have the advantage mechanically -- some weathersealing, a better chassis, and better ergonomics. My top choice, the 40D, is around $900 right now, but I'm hoping the price drops low enough for me to afford. At ~$1100 the 50D is about twice my budget, barring winning the lottery (unlikely, since I don't play the lottery). It has a few minor improvements over the 40D that I probably wouldn't miss. The XSI is around $600ish, but it's still in Canon's entry level line -- it has the features I'm looking for, and apparently its image quality even tops the 40D in some subtle ways, but honestly I'd prefer to spend more for a camera that's more physically reliable.

This is not a decision I'll be making any time soon, of course. I'm not even sure I'll be able to upgrade this year. It might make more sense to keep using the Rebel XT until it goes, and spend a smaller amount of money on another lens -- I've got a 50mm and 100mm macro, but no good walkaround options for wideangle or longer telephoto. Oh well. Still fun to obsess over.

Some more photos

Some more recent work. I've definitely improved as a photographer in the past year or so. Part of it has been relearning exposure, and really learning lighting techniques for the first time, and part of it has been dropping the cold hard cash on the equipment that lets me do that. But I'm pretty happy with the results I'm getting lately, especially the macros.

The Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM macro lens is incredible, by the way. I can see the difference in image quality over, say, the 50mm f/1.8 II even through the viewfinder. Highly recommended.

The Far Side Reenactment Group

There is a Flickr group devoted to recreating Far Side cartoons. How excellent.

Renovations

I've cleaned up the blog a bit. Gone are the RSS feeds and links, added is a new Followers widget so you can everybody know what good taste you have in blogs. Perhaps more changes will come.

Okay fine, I'll write

Jessica just wrote some very nice things about me on her blog. You should read her blog too, and her husband Ron's, because they are both fantastic people with fantastic things to say. And then you should be jealous that I get to know such great people.

Okay, so it's been... three months since I posted anything. Yikes.

Some recent pics

Open Water

I just watched the movie Open Water, about two divers who are accidentally abandoned in the middle of the ocean. I liked that all the animals, including sharks, that they used were real, but one scene was unintentionally hilarious because of it. The two are drifting along and suddenly are stung by jellyfish. 'Ow' they say. 'That really hurts', etc. to indicate severe pain. Quick cut to the jellyfish... ominous music playing... cut to an even more dramatic angle of the jelly... now it's a swarm of them, oh no.

Unfortunately the jellyfish in question was a moon jelly, which is completely harmless. They capture their prey with sticky slime, and it's pretty remarkable if their tentacles are even an inch long. Moon jellies are about as intimidating as a rabbit and are honestly not nearly as dangerous. I've reached my entire arm in tanks holding 500-1000 of them and never felt anything but slimy. This afternoon, I grabbed two large ones out of the harbor, chopped them up, and fed them to some Chrysaoras (a kind that would definitely warrant the reaction seen in the film).

So basically, what I'm saying is it jarred me out of the movie a bit.