Wanting to try out my new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lens on my new Sony a7R V camera, I went to the Bosque at sunset time to see what kind of shots I could create with a long lens, albeit it one with a large aperture capable of very shallow DoF. By the time I got there the light was indeed fading fast. I chose to focus on foreground objects and leave the sunset itself out of focus. This results in a kind of melting effect to how the sunset looks. I actually liked shooting at f/1.4 at 85mm and getting most of what was in the photo out of focus. This is most easily seen in the above photo of the very fine grass sticking out toward the sunset. This grass was so hard to see even with the a7R V’s AI based autofocus, I had to manually focus the lens!
Speech all about water and drought by U.S. Congresswoman Stansbury
I had the opportunity to photograph a speech and press conference by U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury right on the Bosque itself in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Drought has been a big topic for many parts of the country, and it is certainly an issue in New Mexico as well. Water was the topic of the morning by all those that spoke. I definitely think about every drop of water I use in my daily life here in New Mexico.
Professional Commercial Portraits along the Rio Grande in Corrales
I was already back on location doing more commercial portrait photography for awesome new client Precision Surveys, Inc, (see first shoot), this time in the Bosque area of Corrales, New Mexico right on the banks of the Rio Grande River. I had never been to this area of the Bosque before, and have since already been back for a personal day out enjoying this rather different stretch with more trees, higher view points, and more areas to access the river itself. Precision Surveys needed just one location for this shoot, so after a bit of trekking with the photo gear and the survey gear, we found this spot that had a view of the river and the Sandia Mountains in the background. Thank you once again to the crew who were great in front of the camera and to Larry for choosing me again as his company’s photographer.
I have been flying my DJI Mavic Prodrone all over New Mexico making dozens of 4K videos. But what to do about places the drone cannot fly? Or if I wanted to actually record the sound of the place I am recording video of? The iPhone 8 records good 4K video, but if you just handhold it the video is all choppy. In my search for a smooth solution, I discovered the DJI Osmo Mobile 2 smart phone gimbal. However, it was sold out everywhere. Finally it was back in stock and mine arrived just last week!
