Thursday, March 14, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 73

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (March 13, 2024) - With all the recent rainfall, I’m guessing the Wetlands will be in full bloom within a couple weeks. There are already areas that are showing signs of the Spring bloom. Hopefully the beautiful skies will also hang around until then.



Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 72

 One of the things that I read a lot about with the Hasselblad X2D is the Hasselblad Natural Color Solution (HNCS). This color management system is independently developed by Hasselblad. It empowers Hasselblad cameras to render genuine, true-to-life colors with smooth, detailed transitions to restore the world of colors as perceived by the human eye.

So, I kind of wrote this off to marketing jargon. One of the situations where most cameras fail to render color is ambient indoor situations. I had just gotten home from work and Wes hopped up on the bed and looked right into the lens. The following photos are pretty much out of the camera, with the exception of some cropping. But the colors are out of camera. All I can say is that I am now a believer in HNCS.




Medium Format - 2024 - Day 71

 CARSON, Calif. (March 11, 2024) - Arrived to this scene at 05:30 in the morning and captured it with the Hasselblad X2D. It was obviously dark, but the lights created a wider range of light. For this reason, I actually shot this 1/3 of a stop under to preserve the highlights. This was captured handheld at 1/4 sec, at ISO 6400. Again, this medium format 100 MP sensor is amazing.





Gone Fishing - 2024 - Day 69

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (March 9, 2024) - Just after sunrise, I noticed an Osprey on the hunt for breakfast. He had circled around for a while, and then took off toward Seapoint. I had not noticed his return, but heard the near by splash when he hit the water. I immediately swung over as he rose out of the water. A near by Gull was chasing him and actually force him to fly right by me. A pretty good morning at the Wetlands.








Saturday, March 9, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 69

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (March 9, 2024) - Got out this morning for the sunrise. Shot handheld with the Hasselblad X2D at ISO 64 as the sun was rising over the mountains. This 100MP sensor continues to amaze me…



Friday, March 8, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 66

 CARSON, Calif. (March 6, 2024) - For over a year now, I’ve been following the progress and update of Hasselblad’s flagship camera. Recently, through firmware updates, the camera has finally become functional for my use case. That coupled with a good online find, I am now a proud owner of a Hasselblad X2D 100C. Because I have not owned an X Series Hasselblad, I needed to get a lens. Well, that is easier said than done as the X Series lenses are pretty hard to come by. The one that was available is the XCD 45mm f/4 P and I believe this is the least expensive offering in the lineup. It’s well built, but a bit noisy when focusing. Anyway, I’m just glad that I was able to get it.

So my first outing with it was on a work day. I got out of the office at around 06:30 and photographed a building on campus (nothing exciting). The following image was captured handheld at 1/80th, f/4 at ISO 64. Keep in mind that the f/4 aperture is “wide open” for this lens. After loading it on my iPad, I was floored by the resolution of this 100mp sensor. I couldn’t imagine something being that much better than the Hasselblad 50C digital back that I use with the 500 C/M, but wow! I couldn’t post the full res file online, so I took some crops. Note the legibility of the signage, especially at the edge of the frame. The sharpness and clarity speaks to the 7 stops of IBIS (In-Body Image Stabilization). The camera is absolutely amazing. I own many cameras, but this one is quickly becoming one of my favorites.






Medium Format - 2024 - Day 63

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (March 3, 2024) - Woke up to some early morning rain, but by 08:00 it had cleared and the sun was out. I love scenes where the sun is hitting your subject with storm clouds in the background. So I grabbed the Hasselblad 500 C/M and headed down to the marina. Here are a few images from the morning.







Monday, February 26, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 56

 SAN PEDRO, Calif. (February 25, 2024) - It’s mating season for the Peregrine Falcons, so I made a trip to the San Pedro cliffs. Unfortunately, it was a cold, windy and cloudy morning, but the view is always magnificent. Shot with the Hasselblad 500 C/M with the Zeiss Distagon 50mm f/4 FLE at 1/250, f/5.6 at ISO 100. Also, grabbed a couple shots from the grounds of the Korean Friendship Bell.





Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Raptors in the Wild

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (February 18, 2024) - Found myself down by the marina late on an Sunday afternoon. As I approached the final turn, the Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk below was sitting on a pole by the roadside. I actually stopped in the road to grab this shot of him.


As I continued to the main marina, I could see the young Osprey below had just caught a good size fish. As I approached him, he gave me this look like, “that’s far enough”. I adhered to his non-verbal request and captured the image below.



Medium Format - 2024 - Day 49

 February 18, 2024 - Captured this image in the park behind Deanna and John’s house in Huntington Beach. This was the morning before a storm, so the clouds were beautiful. Shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Distagon CFi 50mm f/4 FLE, at 1/250, f/5.6 at ISO 100.


Saturday, February 17, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 47

February 16, 2024 - This image is part of my 2024 Medium Format project. Shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Distagon CFi 50mm f/4 FLE, at 1/250, f/8 at ISO 100. An image of a sculpture in the Sculpture Garden. Note the small bird in the upper left corner of the left side sculpture.



Thursday, February 15, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 46

 February 15, 2024 - This image is part of my 2024 Medium Format project. Shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Distagon CFi 50mm f/4 FLE, at 1/250, f/8 at ISO 100. I’ve included the full image of the bridge and a crop of the legs. Love the reflections. 




Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 44

February 13, 2024 - These images are part of my 2024 Medium Format project. Shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar CFi 120mm f/4, at 1/60, f/5.6 at ISO 100. These were test shots using a 32mm extension tube. These images were shot from about 8 inches away. Love the compression you get with the extension tube.





Bald Eagle - 2024 - Day 42

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (February 11, 2024) - For the first time in about a year, I was able to catch up with the Bald Eagle that has been frequenting areas of Huntington Beach. I missed him on Thanksgiving day last year and then one more time in late December. He showed up on Sunday at the Bolsa Chica Wetlands. There actually weren’t too many people there because Sundays are generally slower. In addition, it was Super Bowl Sunday! Here are a few images from the encounter.







Monday, February 12, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 41

  HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (February 10, 2024) - This image is part of my 2024 Medium Format project. Shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Makro-Planar CFi 120mm f/4 at 1/250, f/11 at ISO 100. A view of Bolsa Chica State Beach from the Bolsa Chica Wetlands.



Sunday, February 11, 2024

Medium Format - 2024 - Day 33

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (February 2, 2024) - These images are part of my 2024 Medium Format project. They were shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Distagon CFi 50mm FLE at 1/250, f/11 at ISO 100. These were captured around the Huntington Beach area on a beautiful chilly morning.







Medium Format - 2024 - Day 32

 HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (February 1, 2024) - These images are part of my 2024 Medium Format project. They were shot with the Hasselblad 500/CM, Carl Zeiss Distagon CFi 50mm f/4 FLE at 1/250, f/8 at ISO 100. It was a beautiful day following a storm and the cloud formations were magnificent. 



 





Tuesday, January 30, 2024

January, 2024 Happenings

 January, 2024 - Hope everyone had a nice and safe New Year. As a New Year’s resolution, I plan to shoot more with my Hasselblad. Mostly working in black and white int he 6x6 format. Initially, I want to shoot some street photography and landscapes. Stay tuned… Here are some images from the month.







Saturday, December 30, 2023

December, 2023 Wildlife

 December, 2023 - Approaching the end of the year was very quiet from a wildlife standpoint. It wasn’t until late November when activity picked up. I love this time of year, because even on days when it appears slow, something always catches your eye. Here are some images from the month. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a safe Happy New Year.


Reddish Egret

Red-Breasted Merganser (Female)


Cooper’s Hawk


Northern Shoveler

Northern Shoveler couple

Surf Scoter






Red-Tailed Hawks


Red-Breasted Merganser (Male)