My Photography in 2023

Before I start to write about my photography in 2023, I think it would be good for me to talk more broadly about my photographic journey.

My interest in photography started in 1974 when my wife bought me my first serious camera: a Minolta Hi-Matic 7sII film camera, which I used extensively in the 1980s and 90s, along with a Canon AE-1, which I acquired several years later. At some point in the early-mid 2000s I switched to digital photograph, but somehow my interest in photography had waned. I didn’t feel like going out to take pictures and only took pictures of family vacations, family events etc.

Things changed in 2010. I had lost my primary digital camera. I later found it again but by that time I had purchased another one: A Panasonic Lumix LX-3. I loved this camera (still do). Somehow it reignited my love of photography, which was just as well because retirement was looming in 2012, and I needed to find something to do with myself.

After that I split my time between photography and doing things (plays, shows, meals out, travel etc.) with my wife. It was a good time.

This went on until late 2020 when my wife of 43 years unexpectedly passed away after a thankfully very brief illness (not COVID). This was a very tough time for me and I had to find something to keep me occupied, or I would have gone mad. Of course, that thing was photography and between late 2020 and late 2021 I was constantly out taking pictures.

Late in 2022 I volunteered to work for our local Historical Society. This was something I had been meaning to do for some time, but never gotten around to. Since then, I’ve been there virtually every workday from 9:00am-4:00pm. This doesn’t mean that I have given up photography. Far from it. I still take photographs, make photobooks and the occasional prints; collect old cameras and photobooks etc., just at a slightly diminished pace than before.

So photographically speaking this is what I’ve been doing during 2023.

PHOTOGRAPHS

Despite my commitments to the Historical Society, I’ve managed to get out on quite a few photowalks:

In addition to the above I walk a lot around the area where I live and take many pictures. All told I kept about 1,500 photographs in 2023. I took a lot more.

As in previous years I’ve created two year-end posts featuring my favorite photographs, one on favorite black and whites; and the other on favorite color photographs.

BLOG

I maintain and will continue to maintain this blog, which I started in 2012. In 2023 I made 366 Blog Posts. The total number of posts since I started the blog is 4,359.

WEB SITE

However, I have also become a little tired of the blog format. I will keep the blog as a kind of illustrated diary of what I’m up to, but in 2023 I created a more traditional website for myself. You can find it at hgdphotography.org.

NEW DIRECTIONS

In previous years I’ve tried some more experimental (for me) approaches e.g. Macro Photography, Street Photography etc. In 2023 I tried my hand at infrared photography. I enjoyed it and will probably do more. I also want to learn more about video. I have cameras that can shoot video, but I didn’t have software to edit the results. I’ve now acquired some. I haven’t done much with it in 2023 but anticipate doing more in 2024.

I like to see my photographs in print but have little wall space to display them. So instead, I’ve focused on creating photobooks (more precisely ‘Zines’) of my work. In 2023 I created (or substantially modified an earlier version of) the following:

  • Opus 40. A remarkable large environmental sculpture in Saugerties, New York,
  • Golden Anniversary. Documenting my friends Marc and Rozanne Prisaments’ 50th Wedding Anniversary.
  • >A Tree:(revised): Around the Neighborhood No. 1. A series of photographs taken at the same time of single nearby tree.
  • A Pond: Around the Neighborhood No. 2. A series of Photographs taken around a nearby pond, which was once the outdoor pool of a famous resort hotel now gone.
  • Infrared. My attempts at infrared photography.
  • Quinceañera (revised). Documenting a friend’s granddaughter’s celebration.
  • Rivertowns No. 1: Along Albany Post Road, Tarrytown (revised). Part of an ongoing series of photographs of towns along the Hudson River.
  • Rivertowns No. 2: Dobbs Ferry. Part of an ongoing series of photographs of towns along the Hudson River.

PHOTOBOOKS

In 2023 I continued to add to my collection of Photobooks by and about renowned photographers with the following:

  • Dream Street. W. Eugene Smith’s Pittsburgh Project by Sam Stephenson.
  • Looking at Images. A deeper look at selected photographs by Brooks Jensen.
  • Dido Moriyama by Bruna Dantas Lobato.
  • The Americans by Robert Frank.
  • Infrared Photography: Digital Techniques for Brilliant Images by Laurie Clein et al.
  • The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben.
  • Richard Misrach on Landscape and Meaning.
  • Mary Ellen Mark on the Portrait and the Moment.
  • Graciela Iturbide on Dreams, Symbols, and Imagination.
  • Peter Lindbergh on Fashion Photography.
  • Then: Photographs 1925-1995. By Alexander Liberman.
  • Larry Fink on Composition and Improvisation.
  • Todd Hido on Landscapes, Interiors and the Nude.
  • Time in New England by Paul Strand.
  • Examples: The Making of 40 Photographs by Ansel Adams.
  • The Portfolios of Ansel Adams. By Ansel Adams.
  • 1975 Masters of Contemporary Photography: Duane Michals. The Photographic Illusion: Using the Mind’s Eye to Created Photos for Collectors and Clients.
  • 1975 Masters of Contemporary Photography: Art Kane. The Persuasive Image: How a Portraitist and Storyteller Illuminates our Changing Culture.
  • 1975 Masters of Contemporary Photography: Elliott Erwitt. The Private Experience: Personal Insights of a Professional Photographer.
  • Let us Now Praise Famous Men by James Agee and Walker Evans.
  • Eudora Welty. Photographs by Eudora Welty and Reynolds Price.
  • Josef Koudelka: The Making of Exiles by Josef Koudelka.
  • Ansel Adams. An Autobiography. By Ansel Adams.
  • Atget. By John Szarkowski.
  • The Living Sea. By Hussain Aga Khan.

CAMERAS

I’ve added a few new (to me) cameras to my collection of old/inexpensive cameras. My current focus is on medium format and older digital cameras:
Of late I’ve focused on medium format, and older digital cameras and added a few new cameras to my collection of old/inexpensive cameras:

  • Canon PowerShot Pro 1.
  • Sony Cybershot DSC-R1.
  • Sony Cybershot DSC-F828
  • Pentax K10D
  • Yashica Mat-124G
  • Petri RF
  • Kodak Art Deco Six-20
  • That’s about it other than for me to with anyone reading this a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

    Another new/old camera: The Canon Powershot Pro 1

    I first came across this camera on a YouTube video entitled: What makes this 8mp CCD camera so special? on YouTube Channel called Snappiness (which I can heartily recommend to anyone who’s interested in older digital cameras).

    There’s a good review at Canon PowerShot Pro1 Review.

    I was intrigued enough that I decided to get one for myself. Why? Well, I must admit that the major reason was that red ring on the lens. If you’ve watched the video above, or read the review, or are just into Canon cameras, you’ll know that the ring indicates ‘L’ series glass: the best that you can get for Canon cameras. I wouldn’t normally want to spend the money that Canon ‘L’ series glass commands. I was sure that this was a marketing gimmick. How could you possibly get this type of lens on an admittedly very old (2004 vintage) sub $100 camera.

    When it eventually came, I went to our local park to try it out. You can see the results below.









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    The review above concludes:

    The PowerShot Pro1 is a camera designed to be familiar to current Canon owners, easy enough to use for first time buyers and yet still provide a semiprofessional feel and feature set. Canon has borrowed from its professional lens line to put an L quality label on the lens system to indicate that this is a new lens and it has been designed to fulfill the high-resolution requirements of an eight-megapixel CCD. In use the Canon felt slightly slower than I was expecting, certainly not much faster than the G5 and I didn’t see any marked improvement in speed overall from that camera.

    Overall image quality was good, that L lens proving it can deliver the resolution and that Canon’s reliable DiGiC image processor can turn out a quality image with good tonal and color balance and no noticeable artifacts. We had two areas of disappointment from an image quality stance, firstly the lens exhibited noticeable lens shading especially at wide angle and/or maximum aperture, secondly noise levels were high enough to be seen at ISO 100 and progressively worse at higher sensitivities. This is clearly a trait of the eight megapixel sensor and while we commend Canon for taking a ‘purist’ approach to image processing these levels of noise really should have been tamed with an (optional?) noise reduction feature.

    The Pro1 left me feeling neither hot nor cold, the camera delivered as much resolution as we had expected with on the whole good image quality but didn’t really perform as we would hope ‘across the board’. I didn’t see any major improvements in performance and ‘usage feel’ and was left slightly disappointed by noise levels at higher sensitivities and the potential lens shading. That said there’s little doubt that the Pro1 can deliver great images when used carefully and should certainly be in the top three on your shopping list if you’re considering an eight-megapixel prosumer digital camera.

    The review mentions the following ‘Pros’ (remember these were pros in 2004. Most of them wouldn’t be very special nowadays):

    • Very good resolution, joint best of group
    • Wide angle seven times zoom lens, fast at wide
    • Selectable color space (sRGB / Adobe RGB)
    • Good shot to shot times
    • Good flash performance
    • Time-lapse feature
    • Relatively compact and lightweight
    • Good ergonomics, decent hand grip, zoom ring
    • Wide range of accessories available
    • Some unique features (ND filter etc.)
    • Clean image, quality image processing thanks to DiGiC
    • Large 2.0″ Tilt & Twist LCD monitor, 235,000 pixels
    • High resolution electronic viewfinder
    • Supplied IR remote control

    I’d agree.

    As for the ‘Cons’:

    • Vignetting / lens shading at maximum aperture
    • Visible noise from ISO 100 upwards
    • Slower than expected startup time
    • Limited latitude of image parameter adjustment
    • No AF assist lamp
    • No live view histogram
    • Lower than advertised continuous shooting speed
    • Long CF write times for Super-Fine images (4.8 sec)
    • Disappointing battery life – camera bug?
    • Poor automatic white balance in artificial light
    • No WB fine tuning

    None of these bother me too much. Once upon a time the “Visible noise from ISO 100 upwards” might have bothered me. But with the kind of noise reduction available nowadays it’s not really much of a problem.

    I rather liked it. It’s small, light, has a decent zoom range (28 – 200 mm equiv). I liked the ergonomics. It’s fits into my current passion for collecting older digital camera. And it really is very sharp for a camera that cost next to nothing.

    Another newly acquired old camera: Sony F828

    I continue to collect older digital cameras. While reading about another new acquisition (See: Another recently acquired old camera: Sony R1) I came across information on its predecessor the Sony Cybershot F828. It looked interesting and was inexpensive so I decided to get one.

    In its January 2004 Review (yes the camera is almost 20 years old) DP Review wrote the following:

    The Cybershot DSC-F828 was announced on 15th August, this new camera is very obviously a development of the DSC-F717 design. Just under a year since the F717 and Sony’s flagship prosumer digital camera has certainly undergone a large number of changes, not least of which is the switch from the electronically zoomed five times lens of the F707/F717 to an all new mechanical zoom seven times lens with Carl Zeiss T* coating and a wide angle 28 mm equiv. capability. Sony has also chosen to go with their latest sensor, the all new eight megapixel four-color (RGBE) 2/3″ type (8.8 x 6.6 mm) CCD. Ignoring all other changes this makes a formidable combination, a high quality mechanically linked zoom lens combined with the resolution of an eight megapixel CCD. This camera is arguably the most important prosumer digital camera this year.

    And concluded

    There’s no doubt that physically the DSC-F828 is one of the most unusual and arguably best designed prosumer digital cameras. It took the successful design of the F717 to the next level with a mechanically linked zoom lens, full black metal body, new control layout and improved EVF among others.

    Sony has clearly concentrated on giving digital camera owners the full SLR experience without the need to carry multiple lenses. Performance was on the whole very good, with fast startup times, short shutter release lag and better than average focusing speed. From a feature set point of view the F828 is strong although still not up with the likes of Minolta’s excellent DiMAGE A1 nor the Nikon Coolpix 5700.

    It’s a shame that Sony couldn’t directly document that the ‘Real color’ mode of the camera is actually mapped to a known color space (sYCC) and perhaps even have provided the color profile for this color space so that owners could make proper use of it.

    Where the F828 starts to disappoint is image quality, many observers had concerns about the very small pixel pitch of the camera’s eight million pixel sensor knowing that it would most likely lead to noisier images but what we weren’t prepared for were chromatic aberrations. This came as a surprise especially considering the F828’s lens carries not only the Carl Zeiss name but also the ‘T*’ notation indicating the use of special lens coatings. So in reality the F828’s biggest issue becomes chromatic aberrations, with noise a second place.

    Throughout the latter part of writing this review I had an ‘Above Average’ rating fixed in my mind, higher than average noise at ISO 100, the green hue shift issue and the chromatic aberrations problem dominating the final conclusion.

    However after going back through the advantages the camera offers, the extra resolution, the ability to produce very good images with a little experience, the flexibility of the lens (wide angle, reach, fast maximum aperture, mechanical zoom), the improved build quality and feature set the DSC-F828 just scraped through to a Recommended rating. (That said I am still on the edge of an ‘Above Average’ rating).

    So about what you would expect for a 20 year camera. But there’s something very special, even unique about this camera. But that’s a topic for a future post.

    Taken with a Sony A7IV and Sony FE 24mm f2.8 G.

    Confused by Sony cameras. This will help.

    I have a number of Sony cameras, both full frame and APS-C, but I’ll be the first to admit that Sony offers so many options: full frame vs APS-C; low cost vs expensive; still vs video; hybrid; optimized for video; optimized for stills; optimized for fast action etc. that it can be difficult to choose.

    I find this video from Tony and Chelsea to be incredibly useful in sorting out all of the options.

    Another recently acquired old camera: Sony R1

    It’s a Sony R1, a bridge digital camera announced by Sony in 2005. It features a 10.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor, a size typically then used in DSLRs and rarely used in bridge cameras, which at that time typically used much smaller sensors This was the first time such a large sensor was incorporated into a bridge camera. Besides the APS-C sensor, the DSC-R1 also featured a 35-120mm equivalent Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens, which was reputed to be very good. At the camera’s launch one reviewer said the lens alone was worth the asking price.

    There’s a excellent review on DP Review. Make sure you read it now!! Amazon, the owners of DP Review, are shutting it down imminently – see here for more information.

    The conclusion of the review reads:

    I’ll start as I shall no doubt finish this little piece of editorial, the lens is worth the price of the DSC-R1 alone. That fact is not to be underestimated, it’s a great lens which provides you with a very useful 24 – 120 mm zoom range (which will be sufficient for the majority of users). Doing the math it’s pretty clear that you have to spend a fairly considerable sum on lenses for a D-SLR to get close to this range and the quality of the DSC-R1’s lens.

    The DSC-R1 has been around for several years, the mythical fixed lens digital camera with a large (APS sized) sensor, but only in the minds of many of us. Thankfully Sony were brave enough to do it, to try something totally new and rekindle interest in the ‘prosumer’ fixed lens market which had pretty much been ignored since sub-$1000 digital SLRs came along. I’m glad to report as a prosumer / fixed lens digital the DSC-R1 is so much better than anything that came before it, it’s really not worth comparing it to cameras like the DSC-F828, there’s only so much you can do with a small sensor.

    So yes, the DSC-R1 provides you with excellent images via a great lens and noise levels at higher sensitivities which would be impossible to achieve with any other fixed lens digital. However, it’s a little tougher these days, digital SLR’s are truly affordable and their performance has come on in leaps and bounds. Sony played the megapixel game (they had to) and fitted the DSC-R1 with a sensor which would ‘out-number’ cameras like the EOS 350D, however the reality is that (a) the step from 8 MP to 10 MP is so slight so as to be hardly noticeable and (b) the Canon has better in-camera image processing.

    So here we come up to the issues. Firstly the DSC-R1’s ISO 800 and 1600 aren’t as good as the Canon (forget ISO 3200). When we first received the R1 we had hoped it would at least be a match but unfortunately it’s not. At ISO 800 images are perfectly usable but you’ll be aware that some detail will be ‘smudged’ by the high ISO NR system. At ISO 1600 you could face some fairly noticeable chroma mottle noise in shadows, something you just won’t get from the Canon.

    The second issue is image processing, take a RAW out of the DSC-R1 and run it through Adobe Camera RAW and you can see just what that lens / sensor combination is capable of, however you really need to be pretty dedicated to shoot RAW all the time, 20 MB per RAW file and around 9 seconds to write; I did note that some of our forums users are converting the Sony RAW files to Adobe DNG to save space. That’s not to say JPEG’s aren’t good, they are very good, but you get a whole new appreciation for just how much crisper images could look converting in ACR.

    About three quarters of my way through this review my mind was set on a ‘Recommended’ rating, and for a long time that’s how it sat. Then I started to put together the price comparison table (page 20) and I soon realized just what you’re getting. At $1000 you simply can’t get close to the coverage and quality of that lens. Add to that the usable high sensitivities, great build quality, a package which is ‘all in one’, resolution just better than an EOS 350D and final results which can be extremely good indeed. Certainly there are a few niggles with the rest of the camera but at the price they can easily be excused. Hence it’s a bit of a split rating, if you’re an absolute perfectionist who doesn’t mind spending more on lenses and shoots a lot at ISO 1600 you may wish to consider something else, for everyone else I have no hesitation in Highly Recommending the DSC-R1.

    Of course I was keen to try it out so I immediately went to some nearby woodland. I can confirm that it works perfectly. Of course its very old technology so I found a few things frustrating: Low noise levels up to ISO 400, usable but NR affected ISO 800, noisy ISO 1600; Odd top mounted LCD location, which some may not like but which I find quite appealing; Both LCD and Electronic Viewfinder far below those of current cameras; Raw files are enormous for a 10 megapixel camera; slow burst rate (which doesn’t bother me); no bracketing (which does); autofocus not up to current standards. I did struggle to find focus a few times, but that’s probably me, not the camera. About what you would expect from an 18 year old camera.

    On the positive side I really enjoyed using it. Its a fun camera that does everything I need in most circumstances. It’s relatively light and comfortable to use. A lot of my photography is intended for use on social media so the 10 megapixel sensor is not much of a hindrance. I don’t usually take pictures of things that move around quickly (e.g. small birds – or any size birds for that matter; car races; athletes etc.) so the older, slower focus is not a problem. And if I really want to take pictures of fast moving objects I have other cameras/lenses for that purpose. The 24-120 zoom range is useful.

    And even from a very cursory use the lens appears to be everything that the reviewers say it is.

    Below a few examples. I’ll probably add some more after I’ve used it more are gotten familiar quirks.






    Picture of the camera taken with a Sony A7IV and Venus Optics Laowa 85mm f5.6. All other picture taken with the Sony R1