The Galactic Core above Brasstown Bald

The Galactic Core above Brasstown Bald.

 

I know that title comes as a shock and surprise to some who thought they were the galactic core, but it is the part of the Milky Way we observe that appears the brightest and widest. I know someone is thinking ALL of the night sky is the Milky Way, but for the purposes of this image, this is what is referred to as the galactic core as I photographed it over the top of Brasstown Bald Monday night. Man, that was a lot to say without saying anything. Tonight and the next 2 nights are perfect for making that hike up to the top with diminishing moonlight, and the Comet increasing the height of its position on the horizon. It would be fine to go up early, pack some water, a light jacket, and some patience, then get ready. For the Milky Way I recommend the widest lens you have, and for the comet I would recommend something that covers from 100-200mm to get some foreground in the image, a long lens if you want to just get the comet. You need a tripod as well, and I better go ahead and mention, you need a camera body as well. Take an extra battery, nothing is worse than having to make the 1.2 mile round trip hike to get a new battery from the car.

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M 1:1 lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure, f2.8, ISO 3200, shutter speed of 25 seconds, Sirui AM 284 US tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, f-stop Guru UL 25L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #tamron24, #sirui, #siruiusa, #acratech, #scenicgeorgia, #BearWoodsPhotography

59 Down

59 down.

 

I’ve completed my 59th lap around the Sun and looking forward to starting number 60. I have a lot planned to do during the 60th lap, probably more than any lap prior. Thank you for the well wishes and I hope that I can personally thank each of you. I have had a pretty great start to the day so far, who wouldn’t love to walk out and see this beautiful scene waiting for them? When we had Bear Woods certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary 2 years ago we should have known it was also our sanctuary. This won’t be a long post as I plan to sit out on the porch and watch and listen to the sounds of nature.

 

I do ask one thing though, please keep my friend and teaching partner Cecil Holmes and his family in your thoughts and prayers as his Son, Keegan, was admitted to the hospital last yesterday afternoon battling a massive infection of some sort. I know it wasn’t what he or anyone would have wanted for Christmas. Thank you in advance.

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD mirrorless lens on a Sony a7iii, Manual Exposure mode, f5.6, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1/5th of a second, Sirui SR 3204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #The3Chairs, #BearWoodsPhotography

A Waterfall kind of day

A waterfall kind of day.

 

I looked out the window this morning and saw clouds and heard a slight rain, or drizzle. My first thoughts were, time to find a nearby waterfall. I have one in mind and hope to visit it later this morning before the big rains come in this evening. I haven’t been to this one before, but if I can’t get to it, I will visit a nearby waterfall that I have been to before. I hope to do a video while I am there on either my filters or composition…or maybe both! I have to stack some firewood in preparation for the cold weather coming in behind this storm and then off to the river.

 

Tamron 24mm Di III OSD mirrorless lens on a Sony a7iii, Manual Exposure mode, f4, ISO 400, shutter speed of 1/160th of a second, handheld, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #BearWoodsPhotography

Winding Down

Winding down.

 

This has been an extremely busy year to say the least. I don’t schedule much in the month of December because I look at it as a time to wind down and hopefully recharge a little. Next year is going to be even busier than this year, and I hopefully will have some announcements on my schedule coming up soon. It is nice and chilly up here in Bear Woods. When we have the wood stove going it makes it really nice to sit and just relax. I use this time to go through images I might have missed, and to clean and prep gear for next year. Just a great way to usher out the past and welcome in the new.

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens for Sony FE on a Sony a7iii, Manual Exposure mode, f4, ISO 100, shutter speed of 1/10th of a second, handheld utilizing the in camera body stabilization, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #BearWoods, #BearWoodsPhotography, #The3Chairs

Take a peek at the sharpness!

Take a peek at the sharpness!

 

Below is a link to the “Unboxing” video and in the description area of the video is a link to view hi resolution images that were shot with the new Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens for Sony Full Frame mirrorless cameras. The images I have posted thus far have had only some minor post processing done, exposure and white balance only. If you are looking for something that should be under your Christmas tree, you may want to take a look at this lens if you are a Sony shooter! I am still so impressed with the lens being able to do 1:2 Macro at a minimum focusing distance of just 4.7 inches!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swFjVgyj4nI

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 lens for mirrorless on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 50, shutter speed of 2 seconds, H & Y Filters 5 stop dark CPL, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #HY_Filters, #SiruiUSA, #Shimoda, #Acratech, #BearWoodsPhotography

The Upper Tallulah River with the Tamron 24mm

The Upper Tallulah River with the Tamron 24mm.

 

This is another image from my trip to test and shoot the new Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens. Below is the link to the “Unboxing” video I did about the lens. One question I have been asked is “how is the lens barrel distortion”? In the scenes I photographed distortion wasn’t going to be an issue, so I did a few test here in the house and found there is some with interiors and straight lines, but all of this is easily corrected or reduced in camera using the “Auto” selection in the “Lens Compensation” tab of the menu. This works on the JPEG image, for the RAW file, you can use the Sony Image Data Converter if Lightroom or Photoshop doesn’t correct it with the Lens Profile selected. With all mirrorless cameras comes an added amount of Lens Barrel distortion apparently, or so I am finding through research, it isn’t just this lens or any one lens. If you notice in most all mirrorless cameras there is a menu feature to correct this, some consumer level cameras just do it anyway. I like to quote a friend of mine, Ken Hubbard, who states “There is no perfect lens” and then goes on to tell you that is why there are Lens Profiles in the software we use. All lenses need some correction, this one is no different and will be a great addition to anyone’s bag looking for a super sharp wide angle prime lens.

 

The link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swFjVgyj4nI

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens for Sony mirrorless on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 50, shutter speed of 1.6 seconds, H&Y Filters 5 stop dark CPL, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #hy_filters, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaExplore, #BearWoodsPhotography

Wow! This lens is sharp!

Wow! This lens is sharp!

 

I was able to take the new Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens for mirrorless Sony up to the Upper Tallulah River yesterday afternoon and I have come to the distinct conclusion this lens is super sharp! The details in the images were so sharp and the contrast was spectacular. It was very bright so I used a Circular Polarizer with a 5 stop Neutral Density filter built in from H & Y filters to get a nice slow shutter speed. A quick recap, compact 2.5″, light 7 ounces, weather sealed, 67mm thread size, native Sony mount (no adapters needed), what more could you want?!

 

Here is a link to the “Unboxing” video and a link is in the description to view some hi res images: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swFjVgyj4nI

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD lens for mirrorless on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f16, ISO 50, shutter speed of 8 seconds, H & Y 5 stop dark CPL, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, Shimoda Explore 40L backpack, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #ShimodaExplore, #HYFilters, #BearWoodsPhotography

Nature’s Palette

Nature’s Palette.

 

I looked out the back door and saw a tinge of color coming to life over “The 3 Chairs” and put the camera on the tripod and just waited for the sky to be painted. I had just bird the bird feeders back out and I know the birds were trying to figure out why I was just standing there instead of filling up on some seeds and dried mealworms. It was my time to appreciate what they see every day. A perfect crisp and beautiful fall morning. You can see I have extended my raised gardens by another 2×4 on the right side of the frame. Our backyard isn’t just beautiful it is functional to us as we grow a lot of vegetables each year. Our little slice of Heaven up here in Bear Woods.

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD mirrorless lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f8, ISO 50, shutter speed of .8 seconds, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorles, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #BearWoodsPhotography, #The3Chairs

Tamron’s 24mm amazing close focus capabilities!

Tamron’s 24mm amazing close focus capabilities.

One of the big benefits of the new series of Tamron lenses for the Sony full frame is its ability to focus very close, 4.7 inches to be exact. I know a lot of people, myself included, that like to do a close up of a flower and show it in the surrounding environment. Well this is your lens! I do a lot of my lens testing in my yard so I feel comfortable when I get into a great scene, I will know and feel confident with the gear, so I went out this morning to do some images of the leaves that have fallen beside the driveway. In this image I am about 8 inches away from the leaf that is sharpest, and when I say sharp, I mean super sharp. I have the tripod at ground level and tilted at about 45 degrees so even at f11 the depth of field isn’t going to be great, but definitely enough to show the surroundings. I will release a video in the next few days with the unboxing and showing how doing macro work takes on a fairly new realm.

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD mirrorless lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f11, ISO 50, shutter speed of 2 seconds, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImageMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #BearWoodsPhotography

Another composition with the new Tamron 24mm for Sony

Another composition with the new Tamron 24mm for Sony.

 

This was another composition I did with the new Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 mirrorless lens for Sony. I like doing the horizontal composition from straight on while the vertical is a little more pleasing from the right side in my opinion. I left out a critical piece of information in my previous post. This lens is only….$349! 7 ounces, minimum focusing distance of 4.7 inches, weather proof and only $349! I can’t wait to go shoot it a bunch more.

 

Tamron 24mm f2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 mirrorless lens on a Sony a7Riii, Manual Exposure mode, f4, ISO 50, shutter speed of 10 seconds, H & Y magnetic filter system with ND32 dark Circular Polarizer, Sirui W2204 tripod, Acratech GXP ballhead, processed in Lightroom Classic CC. #WithMyTamron, #Tamron, #TamronUSA, #TamronLensesUSA, #TamronImgeMaster, #Tamron24mirrorless, #HYFilters, #SiruiUSA, #Acratech, #BearWoodsPhotography