Flight From Callahan County

I have been an Olympus/OM System micro four thirds user for many years. I love the format, cameras and lenses for many reasons, including the small size, light weight and quick automatic focus. But I also enjoy photographing some subjects with third-party, manual-focus primes on my Olympus E-M5 and E-M1, taking me back to the days of shooting film with less-sophisticated cameras. But the manual-focus primes are best for portraits and still-life shots, not for anything involving action. My first venture into the manual-focus lens world was an adapted used and cheap lens from an old Olympus film camera. Not satisfied with the speed, I stepped up to a new and expensive Voigtlander Nokton f0.95 17.5mm lens.  The robust lens produced images with a unique character, which I loved. The well-built he lens was big and heavy, which I did not like. It was like a having military tank mounted on the front of the camera.  Here's a shot from the lens, stylized to give it a black and white fi...

I love using modern software to stylize digital images, and you don't have to travel to Switzerland to get interesting nature photos for that work. Here are some of my latests shot with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 iii and the M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8 prime lens. A view of a pocket park in a Round Rock, Texas neighborhood. 200 iso f9 1/400 sec, ON1 Photo RAW 2025 MAX Here is a Rock Rose, cropped for close-up. 200 ISO f3.5 1/250 sec, ON1 Photo RAW 2025 MAX: Color Film - CF10 Fujifilm Velvia 50 Sometimes adding a texture gets a distinctive look. Cropped for close-up. 200 ISO f1.8 1/4000 sec, ON1 Photo RAW 2025 MAX: Inked texture In the park I spotted what's left of a personal-size flag tangled in the limbs of a dead shrub. Cropped for close-up. ISO 200 f1.8 1/250 sec, ON1 Photo RAW 2025 MAX: masked, filter - High Key B&W Warm. Adjacent to our building are several crape myrtle shrubs in bloom. Here's a close-up with faux-film stylization of one of my favorite black and white fil...

 A few months ago I did a bit of camera and lens trading/buying to return to the basics of the micro four thirds format: smaller is better. I acquired a very good, used Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III camera and an excellent-condition Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8 lens. E-M5 iii with M.Zuiko Digital 17mm f1.8 and Olympus LH-48B lens hood. The used lens, introduced in December 2012, actually came with an Olympus-branded lens hood. Now that I am a "senior" -- old -- and use a cane for walking, I need to have my camera attached to a neck strap, often shooting with one hand. This combination is perfect for that. The 17mm is now my "normal" lens. Cropped image shot with the M.Zuiko 17mm f1.8 on E-M5 iii. I sold my Panasonic Lumix DG Summilux 12mm f1.4, which I acquired soon after it was released in 2016. It is one of the best prime lenses in the MFT lineup, but it was just too bulky and heavy for an old man to deal with. Replacing it was the M.Zuiko Digital 12mm f2.0. Bot...

 Just figure me as an oddball. I don't subscribe to the Olympus micro four thirds trinity of prime lenses: 17mm f1.2 PRO, 25mm f1.2 PRO and 45mm f1.2 PRO, even though I desire the beautiful depth of field achieved with primes. These fast, weather-sealed, expensive lenses produce images with feathery bokeh and cover the slightly-wide, normal and portrait ranges. But the high prices and angles of view are not quite right for my needs. Plus packing all three of these glass-heavy lenses is less than ideal for traveling. Despite the steep price, I purchased the Olympus M.Zuiko 25mm f/1.2 PRO -- the normal view -- soon after it was released, replacing my slower M.Zuiko 25mm f1.8.  The f1.2 PRO works well on my Olympus E-M1 III camera and my Olympus PEN-F if a third-party grip is attached for better balance. The field of view of the Oly 25mm Pro is 47-degrees, arguably close to that of a human eye. By the time of this purchase, I had established the f-stop of 1.4 as the fastest neede...

The Olympus (now OM Digital Solutions) announcement last year of its new M.Zuiko 100-400mm f/5.0-6.3 IS lens immediately grabbed my attention.  As an enthusiast micro four thirds amateur, I have a variety of prime and zoom lenses but none to cover the longest telephone range.  My lens lineup includes an Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75-300mm F4.8-6.7 II, but I have found it just a bit short on some occasions. In additional to the 400mm reach of the new lens, it can focus very close throughout its zoom range, making it valuable for shooting macro/closeup images of flowers and insects at a distance. Another benefit is compatibility with the standard Olympus MFT teleconverters, the 1.4x MC-14 and the 2x MC-20. However, the large size and its hefty price tag of $1,500 USD have made me rethink the the value this lens would be for me. I used to do a lot of photography on mountain hikes but never pursued birds or wildlife. But as I have gotten older my hikes have become less strenuous w...

I buy lens caps by the two- or three-pack because I lose so many. They fall off the lens while stored in the camera bag. They fall off while stored on the shelf. They fall off – and then down through the drain grate – while walking down the street. They fall off – and then roll into a bottomless canyon – while hiking through the mountains. They fall off – and then into the ocean – while on a whale-watching tour. Lens caps should be sold by the bag like cookies. Not only do I lose lens caps, I break them. If a lens cap falls onto rock, concrete or asphalt, the plastic shatters or cracks. If the plastic survives the plummet, the locking mechanism is damaged. Part of my problem may be related to my choice of camera system. I switched to Olympus micro four thirds cameras soon after they were introduced by Olympus and Panasonic in 2008 because of the smaller size and weight. The kit-lens zooms and the early primes came with clip-on lens caps. When I attached thir...