Okay, it's been a while.....

Don't know why I don't blog like I used to.  I guess Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have filled those sharing tasks more efficiently.  But, I have still been out there capturing images.  Been busy lately with learning how to develop my own color film at home.  Simple process really and actually quicker than developing black and white film.  Don't think I'm going to do it all the time but it was one of those things on the list of things to do for a long time and I can finally scratch that off the list.

This weekend was without a doubt the peak of fall in Tuscarawas County.  Started Saturday and finished Sunday with the camera in my hand.  Not a bad way to bookend a weekend.

A great combo: Canon EOS R and RF 35!

I haven't blogged in a while and I figured this was one worthy of a post.

Last week we took a nice vacation.  Normally when I go on vacation, pack EVERYTHING photographic.  Camera, all the lenses, film camera w/film, extra batteries, extra SD cards, etc, etc.  That usually is about 35-40 lbs of gear with the bag alone.  This year, I decided to much smaller:

• Canon EOS R 
• Canon RF35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM
• Canon RF50mm F1.8 STM
• Canon RF85mm F2 Macro IS STM

That was it!  No film cameras, no zoom lenses, just a more "bare bones" approach that would fit in my small shoulder bag I got off of Amazon a few years back along with an insert that fit it perfectly.  My thought was just to go slim and I'm glad I did.

I found after a few days that I was using the 35mm lens and not the others.  The Canon EOS R is a 30MP camera that hit the market several years ago and was one of the first Canon mirrorless cameras.  I jumped on the mirrorless bandwagon, (even though I bought a 5D Mark IV the previous year), and I haven't looked back!

What I found this week as I really deep dived into shooting with it is that the lens and camera combo are fantastic!  The sharpness and detail I got from my images I feel rivals anything I've ever captured with the 5D and my Tamaron and Sigma lenses.

The 35mm lens is a macro lens as well and you can get REALLY close to your subjects while being able to maintain a wide angle of view which gives you a lot of room to play with depth of field.  To often in the past, I've forced myself to use either my 24-70 or 70-200 because I didn't want to miss a shot.  But this time, I stopped worrying and stuck with primes.  

In my experience, the STM line of glass didn't really hold up as well as the L series of glass that Canon has produced with regards to sharpness and clarity.  But with this recent generation of lenses, that really seems to have changed.  I LOVE my EOS R.  Sure, it's a 5 year old camera and doesn't have all the fancy bells and whistles that the newer line of Canon R bodies that are on the market, but I am content with this camera.  I don't shoot a lot of video so I know there's missing features that video creators look for, but if you're looking for a step into the mirrorless world, I highly recommend this camera.  Sure, I want an R5, but will probably settle for an R6 Mark II or the R8 which has most all the same "guts" of the R6mII, but for around $1000 less!

For now, I'll keep shooting with this combo because after having a week to intentionally slow down and enjoy the process and not worry about missing things, I think I found something great that I've been missing out for a long time.  I think next on my list will be a day with the RF50!

Here's some of what I captured from the Cleveland Museum of Art and The Age of Steam Roundhouse.  Enjoy!

It's been a minute(s) since I last posted.....

 What's up good people?

You know, having a blog is only good if you use it.  I know it's been a while since I've posted any content on here and I figured now is a good time to share.  I'm always sharing something on my Facebook page and keep this around to be my sounding board but don't utilize it enough.

These last two and a half years have been rough.  Started off with the pandemic, then the distancing.  Then lots of changes in our personal lives and household.  Then the continued concern of the pandemic on top of political and social unrest.  Then more struggles for a lot of people in our lives.  Then more changes.  Then a period of quiet taken up by playing with 3D printers.  Now, once things seem to be getting back into a groove, my wife and I both get hit with the bug.  Yup.  After 2 1/2 years we finally got it.  Variants will do that.  )I started this blog entry while I was sick and saw the tab was still one of the hundreds opened in Chrome so I figured I should finish it off.) 

But through all of this, I've tried to stay active with my photography.  It's been tough at times due to some physical limitations, but I keep trying.  And I keep shooting.  I've shot more film this year and actually expanded my film camera family by two "new" cameras.  In late December I traded in some other equipment and put that towards purchasing a Fuji GW690iii, the "Texas Leica".  A larger film camera that produce 6x9 cm negatives, which are pretty large compared to a 35mm film frame.

Purchase from Midwest Photo in Columbus.

I love the images that this camera can produce.  With the larger negative size you are able to capture much more detail in the images which translates nicely when printing.  You don't see a lot or any grain.

So in keeping with my desire to capture images with film, there was one more camera on my list of ones I wanted for my collection.  That camera is the Mamiya C330.  

This camera shoots 6x6 cm negative in the square format.  This is the type of camera that you flip the top of it up and look down through it.  I already have one of those types that I use often, my Yashica Mat 124G, but the one thing that camera has problems with it doing up close photography.  The Mamiya excels at that.  I'm still putting that camera through its paces but I am liking what I am seeing.

So while I continue my advancing my digital photography endeavours, I will continue to happily keep shooting film as well.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  No matter how hard you try, you cannot make an image shot on digital and get the look and feel like you can shooting film.  Film has a depth and soul to it.  

And another thing I keep meaning to work on his my YouTube channel.  I've done a few videos on it and likely as the weather starts turning colder in the next couple of months I will try to produce more content on there.

So for now, I think we're pretty well caught up.  Keep an eye on my Facebook page for the most up to date things I'm doing.

Let's see, where were we......?

I know.  It's been a while since I've sat down and really banged out a blog post on here.  I can see from my traffic monitoring that people are still visiting this page, so I figured I should do an update! (But to stay up to date, please follow me on Facebook!)

It's been an interesting 20 months now, hasn't it?  This pandemic rages forward and while at the beginning of summer there was a glimmer of hope, that was quickly dashed away and we're heading down another dark path.  

I'm over it.

But through it all, I've tried to keep busy with my work.  The demands of the day job and knee surgery in the spring had taken a bit of wind out of my sails this year but I am trying to press forward.  Back in the spring while I was out on leave, I created a collection of images created during the shutdown.  At that time I thought there was going to be a light at the end of the tunnel so I was starting to feel a bit more creative. 

And then shortly after that and I was back on my feet, I was approached about doing a special shoot for the local economic development group.  In New Philadelphia they are in the process of tearing down the old Howden Buffalo plant that had stood there for years.  They wanted someone to come in and capture the structures in it's last days.  It was an amazing shoot that took most of a Saturday to do it justice.  I created a site for those images (click here) and also a short video

Aside from those two things, it's been pretty standard with my work.  I keep trying to do more film photography, sometimes picking that over digital, but still enjoy both.  

So, that really catches you up on the hijinks and shenanigans with me and my photography.  

Please keep checking back here.  I'll try and blog more, but keep watching my Facebook for the most up to date stuffs.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Been quiet around here lately.....

 Okay.  I admit it.  I'm a bad blogger.

I started Tuscpics.com several years ago to highlight my work and post/share updates on things I was doing.  I also had a very active blog I kept for the "day job" too.  But with both cases social media took over and the days of the blog seemed to fade away.  But, I still see people are coming to the blog and checking it out, so I figured I would provide an update.

2020.....what a year.

I don't want to make light of it because so many people have been struggling with either themselves or a loved one fighting the pandemic or have lost someone to it or are dealing with all of the stressors surrounding this past year.  Since everything began in March I've taken the stance that I am going to do everything possible to avoid it and follow all the best practices laid out by medical experts.  But in doing so, I had to dial back the photography business.  I hadn't taken any appointments for shoots this year nor have I actively gone after them.  With the pandemic I found it's really difficult to be creative.   Photography has and will continue to be my own personal therapy on many levels, but getting out and not getting around people at times is difficult.  But I did keep creating.

I've continued forward shooting with film.  Also got some new glass for my digital camera.  So having the right equipment to do what I want with it has been a blessing.  But, not being able to share it at art shows or other events has hit the bottom line.  Fortunately, I have a full-time "day job" that provides for me to take care of my family so I am fortunate there.  So, if you are stopping by here to see what's going on, THANK YOU!  I appreciate you looking me up.  I'll try to pay more attention to this site moving forward but I invite you to stop by my Facebook page Andy Donaldson Photography.  There you will always find the latest work and things I'm up to.

I hope you have a fantastic and safe rest of 2020.  Here's to 2021.  We still have a long road ahead, but let's all do what we can to get us there safely.

For now, here's some work I created over the past year.  Enjoy!