Welcome to the K.R. Williamson PhotoBlog | Great photos and the stories behind them | All things photo | My opinions on the photographic world | Leica, Canon, and Sony experiences and thoughts
Hamilton Wenham State Champions - A special story
This playoff season was really something here on the North Shore. We had two teams that went undefeated and captured the State Title in the process. I followed both of them most of the way and was there when they won the whole thing. I was most interested in Hamilton Wenham since it had an interesting dynamic and it had never happened before in the schools history.
Back in 1990 I had photographed the Salem High team go all the way to the Sate semi-final before losing to Duxbury and eventual college Div.1 and NBA player Bill Curley. That team was special! Coach Jack O'Brien had done a marvelous job of pulling that team together and had instilled in them a winning attitude. Duxbury and Curley (35 pts) were just to much to handle. One of the players on that team was Zach Zegarowski. At the time he was 15 and a sophomore but a very good player. His twin sons now 15 play for Hamilton Wenham. They are projected to be Div. 1 college players. I talked with Zach about his whole experience after so many years had passed losing to Duxbury. He said he thinks about it almost every day. He also talks with coach O'Brien four to five times a week about his sons development on and off the court. You see - coach O'Brien is more of a life coach and is a big part of Zach's life. So as Zach and I talked about things before the big game he causally mentioned that Coach is coming to see the game. I looked around the arena and there O'Brien was up in the stands black wavy hair watching the goings on before the game.
So you see I had a special reason for covering this team. Not only had four of the seniors been playing together since they were very young but the Zegarowski twins were another very special story to me. I had photographed their father in the same situation 25 years ago. Zach's comment to me was that he, his wife Mandy, daughter Maizee, and son Michael (now an NBA player) were not able to get it done (state championship) so it was up to the twins now to make the dream come true. Indeed a very special game for the Zegarowski family. So when they won it all going undefeated it was a dream come true for everyone. Here are some of the photos I made that day at WPI in Worcester.
The Hamilton Wenham student population rushes the floor after the game.
Nolan Wilson and Max Zegarowski celebrate with the trophy.
Nikos Lara and his teammates celebrate
Nikos and friends celebrate with the trophy
Senior Jimmy Campbell gives coach Doug Hoak a tearful hug after the victory.
The team celebrates with the tournament ball and state trophy
Nolan Wilson and a fan celebrate with their fans.
Mandy and Zach Zegarowski celebrate with son Marcus after the game. The excitement was contagious and I was so happy to be a part of it.
Zach gives his son Max a big hug after the victory as Jimmy Campbell and Marcus celebrate.
Marcus gives the state championship trophy a kiss.
Marcus listens as legendary coach Jack O'Brien talks about errors made during the game and how to avoid them in the future.
High School basketball tournament time with the Canon 7D Mk2
Sorry for the long delay in posting it's been a tough month photo wise. It's been all about work and no personal work. So I thought I would write up about my experiences with the Canon 7D MK2.
I guess I was expecting to much out of the AF system on this camera. I have been using the old 7D for quite some time and was moderately happy with the AF performance. Sometimes it was unbelievable and other times it was dismal. So when the new model came out I waited a bit and got a good deal on it (thanks John). I immediately did some research on how to set up the AF settings and ran across an article by Peter Read Miller a well known sports photographer. He ran through the settings he has done on his 1D X. Since the AF systems are basically identical I have set up the 7D Mk2 the same. So far the results have been mixed. I love the 10 frames a sec. as I get a lot of choices but in the end I'm not getting a good ratio of in to out frames. I still blame myself for some of the errors like not holding down the AF button hard enough or at all. I'm still getting used to it. Basketball is really difficult as it is with so many people running around in the frame it's hard for the camera to lock on. But it has missed some really easy ones like a single player driving to the basket with no one around. I have been able to get some good frames and I post them here as a combination of images from the past couple of weeks. We still have more to come this week as two of our teams have been undefeated throughout the season. I did do an experiment with my older Canon 100 f2 (I love this lens) on my 5D Mk3 and the results were much better. I used this lens back in the day with my EOS 1 system and loved it for basketball. All of these images were made at ISO 6400 or 3200 1/800s @ 2.8. After a little practice with the 70-200 L the camera and I should get along better. I have some nice images so I thought I would share some of them with you.
phone selfiesMasconomet students celebrate senior night for the girls basketball team with headshots on sticks of the senior players while they take a selfie of themselves during Masco's 62-34 win Friday night Feb. 13, over the Hamilton Wenham Generals.
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 7D Mk2 w/Canon 70-200 2.8 L
Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 100 f2
Canon 5D Mk3 w/Canon 100 f2
Interesting take on falling snow with the Leica M9
Well things have been a little lean photographically here. If I start posting more from images from work then it might be more active. But after all the snow blowing and shoveling I'm pretty exhausted. Yesterday we had some nice pretty snow falling as I left work. Large flakes falling and it was really kind of cool looking. I had the M9 with the 35 Cron on board and decided I needed to make something! So as I drove home I started thinking about shooting at really slow shutter speeds and what the images would look like. So I made a shot as I was driving home at 1/6 of a sec.
Then when I got home my outside light did some interesting things with the large flakes falling.
snow slow shutterThe large snow flakes shot with a slow shutter speed made an interesting image.
East Coast Blizzard - Some photos
Yesterday and today have been on the rough side because of the NorEasta or NorBeasta' as some are calling it. I snow blowed the driveway twice and was able to get out and shoot some photos during and after the event which gave me a chance to use an old piece of gear that I really love. That being my Canon 1D Mk2 which really is a tank but is invincible. I used both my 16-35 and my 70-200 on it and it worked awesome! Here are some of the photos made with that camera and the Canon 5D mk3.
This shot was made with the Canon 5D mk3 and the 70-200 I love the way the snow looks backlit.
This store on Main St. in Rockport had an eight foot drift in front of it at 12 noon Tuesday I wonder if it ended up being as tall as the building.
This guy was trying to dig out his front steps on Bearskin Neck in Rockport Tuesday. Then he had to do it again this morning.
This shot was made this morning with the Canon 1D MK2 and the Canon 16-35 I love it!
Shooting hockey with the Canon 5D Mk3
One of my assignments earlier this week was to shoot a girls hockey game at a local college rink. I had not been back to this place for many years and things had changed for the better. The entrance had changed and the lighting was much better than I remember. Now, keep in mind that the last time I was in this place was maybe 15 years ago and I was shooting color film pushed. I was a regular at this place in the 80's and 90's and was there probably three times a week. I would normally shoot Tri-X pushed to 1600 and later color Fuji 800 pushed to 1600. We did shoot TMax 3200 from time to time but the grain was pretty bad. The exposure was 1/500s @ 2.8. This day was different. I was in for a pleasant surprise. The rink was bright! I decided to use my Canon 5D Mk3 for sports and was wondering what it would be like for hockey. This camera is not really known for being a sports camera. So I put the Canon 70-200 f2.8L ll on the camera and figured my exposure in manual mode at 1/1000s @ f4 at ISO 3200. The results are really pretty good. I was surprised at the auto focus. It was not as good as I thought it would be but then again I was shooting through the glass which was amazingly clear. So the auto focus was only really working well where I expected it to. At obtuse angles to the glass it had some issues. Overall I was pretty happy with the results. The camera only shoots at 5 frames a second (only) that's what my film camera did so I should not be upset. Well my 7D does 7 frames a second. Here are some of the images from the game.
For action coming right at you the camera performed flawlessly. The glass was clear and I have a whole series of images that are sharp of this action.
Shooting girls hockey is a little different than shooting the boys or men. The game is slower (getting faster every year) and there is not as much action. The best place to stand to shoot through the glass is in the corner where you can get one team coming at you and a clear shot of the goal. Action with the girls happens around the net and along the boards a lot so you have to be ready for this.
Here the camera was focused on the player in the middle so the goalie is a little out of focus. If the focus had hit the goalie instead it may have been enough to include the player in the middle. With the 7D the smaller sensor may have been enough to make the goalie sharper. The amazing thing to me is that with the 5D mk3 the results were pretty darn good. The 7D would have had a little more noise at 3200 but it would still be negligible. The other issue with the 7D is the crop factor may have given me to much reach. Usually I shoot from the stands for playoff games and the 7D is way better for that.
Sony - Is the Super Mirrorless Camera Next?
I made this photo of my used Nex-7 last year in January I think? The camera and hoopla about Sony's cameras taking just about any lens with an adapter was starting to die down a bit. The original A7 and A7r created quite a buzz because of this feature. I started shooting with three very old Leica lenses and was amazed at what I got. This past year (2014) Sony went on a real tear introducing some incredible A7 series cameras that continue to switch Nikon and Canon people over to their system. The only drawback has been the lenses, but now with three formidable zooms they are taking the professional market by storm. I myself have considered switching from my Canon system to a Sony A7 Mkll and a Sony A7s. But I can't shoot sports with Sony A7 cameras and lenses they are to slow focusing,so there's the rub.
Which brings me to my point. Is Sony on the verge of blowing up the professional camera market with a Super Mirrorless Full Frame camera? I am only speculating here but the facts bear some of this out.
The specs as I see it would be this.
49 megapixels
High ISO capability similar to the A7s or slightly less so
5 Axis image stabilization like the A7 Mkll
Very advanced autofocus similar to the A6000
And the street price would be somewhere in the vicinity of $3000.
Think about it, by bringing all of these incredible advancements into one pro body would be killer. For me I could do everything I want, photojournalism, sports, landscapes - wow! All that and better than Canon and Nikon at a similar or less than, price point. So let the speculation begin. Canon is on the verge of announcing a mirrorless system as well. The camera wars are really heating up and getting very interesting.
The Metabones adapter seen above was unacceptable to me as it was very tight in use so I have now changed to a Novoflex which is typical of German engineering fits and works perfectly.
Yay - It's Finally Sea Smoke Weather, -2 degrees F
Well my fingers are frozen and most of the rest of me. The difference is that I made sea smoke photos today in Marblehead instead of Rockport. I got up very early to drive to Marblehead to photograph some folks known as the "kranks" cranking up the clock in the tower of Abbott Hall. It was a fun cold assignment but it did provide an interesting view of the harbor with the sea smoke rolling around. I made a couple of shots out the window and then as I was leaving Marblehead I went over by the Barnacle Restaurant to make a sea level photo. Since they were not taken early enough in the day there was very little color so I converted them to B&W. I don't have Silver Efex Pro here at the office so the conversions don't really look they way I want them to. I will work on them again at home to see if I can get the desired effect. I have just added two images that have been worked on in Lightroom and Silver Efex pro I like them a lot better they are cropped a little looser.
This one below was processed in Silver Efex Pro.
seasmoke-2Marblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park surrounded by sea smoke.
This one below was processed in Silver Efex Pro.
seasmoke-1Marblehead Light at Chandler Hovey Park surrounded by sea smoke.
Moving water and ice with the Sony Nex-7 and Leica Glass
I have always maintained that moving on a photographic idea instead of sitting around and thinking about it is good for the soul. Last night I was thinking about using the Leica 21mm Super Elmar on my Nex-7. It's a great little lens on the M9 but I have not really used it on the Nex-7. The reason for this is that on the APS-C camera it becomes a 30.5mm lens which I find odd. I already have a Sony 20mm which makes it a 30mm and usually I use that instead of hauling out the Leica 21. This morning I wanted to shoot ice since it's been cold lately and I knew of a place in Rockport where water would be running by and collecting on things. So I headed over to Meadowbrook without a tripod. Oh crap no tripod! Moving water and no tripod don't mix real well. I decided that I would try it out and see what I got. After surveying the scene it was obvious that I would have to get down low to make a shot the included some nice ice formations with moving water. My tripod would not have gone down that low anyway so using the Live View screen I balanced the camera off my knee and held my breath. Many shots later (I was checking the screen after each one for sharpness) I finally had one I thought would make it. I have added a couple more images to this post that I processed in Silver Efex Pro underneath the images that were converted in Photoshop. Let me know what you think. Click on the photos to see larger versions!
Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 21mm Super ElmarThis image is handheld at 1/10s at f16.
Straight Photoshop conversion
Converted in Silver Efex Pro
So with that done I decided to head home but as I was looking over the bridge down onto the stream another shot presented itself. It just so happened that I had the Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit in my pocket (love these small lenses) and made the change to shoot over the bridge for the next shot. This was a bit easier as I was able to brace the camera on one of the large granite piers holding the bridge up. I only needed three shots to get a sharp one. This time the exposure was 1/13s at f16 instead of 1/10s.
Rushing water and iceSony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele-Elmarit
I made this shot braced against some granite for the slow shutter speed.
Converted in Photoshop
Converted in Silver Efex Pro
So you see if you act on ideas instead of sitting on them you just might get something interesting. I envisioned both of these in B&W as I would do with any subject like this.
Governor-Elect Charlie Baker at Home in Swampscott
Before Christmas I had the opportunity to photograph Charlie at home while being interviewed by reporter Will Dowd. I was looking for a shot that would show his personality. This would be difficult shooting with two big cameras which take over the room and the interview with the size and noise they make. The Canon 5D Mk3 is a big camera with the battery grip but fairly quiet in silent mode. The 7D on the other hand is loud. So I opted for two cameras that are known for being quiet, small and unobtrusive, the Leica M9 and the the Sony Nex-7. As it turned out they worked great and my shooting did not interfere with the interview at all. I started out shooting with the 35mm Summicron on the Leica and the 90mm Tele-Elmarit on the Sony which makes it a 135mm. This combo worked really well. The Leica gave me some nice overall images and the Sony w/90 gave me some really tight headshots. All of these images were post processed in Silver Efex Pro2 and gave me exactly what I was looking for. The on-line version of some these images can be found at swampscott.wickedlocal.com .
Sony Nex-7 w/Leica 90mm Tele-ElmaritMassachusetts Governor Charlie Baker talks with the Swampscott Reporter at his home in Swampscott MA in December of 2014.
Leica M9 w/35mm SummicronCharlie Baker relaxes with his dog Lucy at home before Christmas in Dec. 2014.
Next I switched over to shooting with the Leica and the 50mm Summilux f1.4. I started out at f2.8 and then made the rest at wide open to give the images more of a dreamy look in the background. These two were made wide open at 1.4. I really love this lens it gives the images a nice 3d look to them.
This next one was made with the Sony Nex-7 and the 50mm Summilux which with a 1.5 crop gives me a nice portrait lens at 75mm.
The last thing I did was look for something different. I already had plenty of images but I really wanted a shot showing him in a pensive mood. He was tired as heck and it was 8:00 AM. You know he has a lot on his mind trying to figure out how to turn the state around with the new budget. I could have got him to smile but that would have been one of those fudged staged portraits you get when you say - smile! So I just let it take it's natural course. This last shot was made with the Leica 21mm Super Elmar with a pretty hefty crop. It gave me that pensive thinking shot I was looking for.
The Annual End of the Year Message
This year has been a rough one for me. There have been lots of ups and downs with my life and the photo industry. I find myself in the 60th year of my life and have been involved with photography in one form or another since I was in my early teens. The changes that have occurred in the last 14-15 years have been some of the most incredible but yet the most disturbing. Let me explain. Up until the early 90's photography was pretty simple. You bought a rangefinder or SLR and you made photos on film. The cameras had advanced to include auto focus and auto exposure but for the most part the photographer still had to know what was going on. ASA was what let you know how sensitive the film was and the photographer had to know what that meant and what film to use in certain situations. Developing the film was part of the fun. You had no idea what the image was going to look like until you developed the negative and made a print either by yourself or from a lab.
Fast forward to today and it's completely different. One does not need to be knowledgeable about the photographic process at all. The process is all done by a computer embedded in the camera. This is why I have gone back to shooting with my Leica M9 rangefinder because it has slowed the process down and made me think about the image more. I have to think about what aperture and shutter speed I want to shoot at. I also have to focus the camera and figure out my aperture to determine what I want in focus. The new cameras make it so easy to make quality images it's amazing. What really shocks me is the amount of money people spend on pro quality gear not knowing how to use it at all. Back in the old days shooting with a high end Canon or Nikon meant you were a pro or an advanced amateur that was invested in the craft. Nowadays it seems just about anyone can plop down a bunch of cash for pro gear and think they are instantly a professional, I guess that's what the P setting on the dial means. Just the other day I handed the M9 to friend who has purchased some of that pro gear and asked them to see if they could use it. I showed them where the ISO setup was and how to focus and said OK go to it. I got the camera back in about five minutes with the comment "how do you use that piece of crap?" I explained that some of the best professional photographers in the world use it or the newest Leica M because it makes you think. The comment I got back was "I don't need to think my camera does it for me".
There's the rub for me. These new cameras are breeding a world of photographic dummies. These folks now have thousands of images all shot in jpg sitting on memory cards that will never be looked at. If these folks have figured out how to get them off the card then they are on a hard drive someplace never to be seen again. The real pros and advanced amateurs who are invested in their craft are printing their work out for all to see. Which brings me back to the "photographic process", it may have changed but it is still there when considering the end result - a beautiful print to look at and admire.
As a professional I still use the high end Canon pro gear for work. I love auto focus and the ability to use auto ISO. Picking my shutter speed and aperture then letting the camera figure out the ISO is fabulous. The only reason I do this is because the cameras can handle the enormously high ISO's and - I KNOW HOW TO USE IT. Since I know how to frame a good photograph, that's all I have to worry about unless the conditions are really tough. As a photojournalist these advances in camera and computer technology have made my life easier. My wish for the new year is for more people who have purchased the high end equipment is to learn the photographic process and make some prints so all can see. The only way they will get better is for people to see their images.
