A pile of bikes had been left out in front, and the colors just popped out at you in the rich morning light. I decided it was worth a picture.

Sort of a real life still life, if that makes sense.

It was the day after Christmas, 7:24 a.m. on January 26, 2010, along Kamehameha Highway in Kaaawa.

Everything seemed to go right. The sun expectedly blazing from behind a heavy layer of clouds. Sunlight caught in the wave just reaching shore. Foam from the last wave stark white against the dark rocks, as well as breaking waves out farther in the ocean. The road glistening from a recent rain. All combined into something special.

Info: Canon G10, ISO 200. 1/160 second at f/4.0. Focal length equivalent to 28mm, Canon Raw format. Processed lightly in Lightroom 3.

At first, I thought I would like the B&W version the best. But a few tweaks to the color version and my resolve wavered.

Any thoughts from readers would be appreciated.

[Photo info--6:31 a.m., near corner of Kamehameha Highway and Puakenikeni Road, Canon S90 camera, 1/400 second, f/4.0, ISO 100.]

This beauty lives down next to the Kaaawa fire station. She is friendly and totally unafraid of the two large and sometimes boisterous dogs she lives with. She’s one of only a handful of cats that greet us fairly regularly on our morning walk.

It was quite dark when this photo was taken, about 12-15 minutes before sunrise. I wasn’t sure a photo would be possible, but the 5D came through.

I like the contrast of cat against dark pavement and the contrasting textures of the pavement and her fur.

Photo info: Canon 5D Mark II, ISO 1250, Canon 28mm f/2.8 lens, 1/80 sec. at f/2.8.

As we reached Swanzy Beach Park on our early morning walk, the sun had just come up, and the coconut trees in the middle of the park stood out against the large dark clouds and curtain of rain in the background.

Although this patch of rain passed us by, another hit as we reached the far end of the beach. It did get a little wet.

I couldn’t keep any detail in the bright spot in the sky around the sun and still have any shadow detail in the foreground. I suppose more post-processing work could have resulted in additional range, but this was relatively quick and dirty.

I’ve come to like the G10, although I’m curious about the newly announced G11.

Canon PowerShot G10
1/40 sec at f/3.5
ISO 80
Focal length 13.761 mm
Lens 6.1-30.5 mm

6:17 a.m.
August 22, 2009

Luckily, I already had a selection of less expensive Canon lenses, mostly primes, and was looking forward to using them on a full-frame digital camera. But how would they perform? Would I be happy with the results? I was worried by all the forum discussions saying that the 5D demands only the best glass.

But I’m not a professional, although I’ve been an amateur photographer for decades, well back into the film era. That was really the reason I wanted to go full frame–I remember quite well how these lenses render a scene in 35mm, and I was tired of having to account for the digital conversion factor of smaller sensor DSLRs when trying to “see” ahead to how the camera/lens combo and the resulting photograph will interpret a scene.

My lineup of lenses:

Canon 24mm f/2.8

Canon 28mm f/2.8

Canon 50mm f/1.4

Canon 85mm f/1.8

Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS

Nothing fancy here.
I’ll cut to the chase. I’ve been very pleased by how well these lenses work with my 5D. They all have performed quite well.

Over the next week, I’ll collect a few representative images from each lens, just to give some flavor of what I’ve found.

I’m beginning here with the only zoom in the bag, the Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS. This is half the price of the L-grade 70-200 IS, and I’m happy with its results.

I recently took it to a birthday party for a neighbor’s daughter and got a number of good shots which made the parents very happy. The long reach of this lens allowed me to get up close without being totally intrusive. I’m sure the L version would make me even happier, but without side-by-side comparisons, I’m a happy camper.

Click on the photo for a few more samples of the 70-300 IS at work with the 5D. The black & whites were converted using Lightroom 2.2.

-Ian Lind, Kaaawa, Hawaii

http://www.ilind.net

ian(at)ilind.net

Canon 5D Mark II.
Canon 50mm f/1.4 lens at f/3.5.
1/80 second. ISO 800.

This telephone pole reminded me that generations of handbills and flyers connected with readers right here.

And what remains is a lot more artistic than a pile of crumpled newsprint.

Canon G10 • 1/80th sec at f/4.0 • ISO 80

Nicole, daughter of a good friend who died last month, photographed at a celebration of her father’s life. For a moment, with that deep expression, I had the feeling that she understood some of what was going on around her.

Canon Digital Rebel XTi, 1/15th sec at f/2.8, Canon 28mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 800.

Canon G10