Dan, picture of your diffuser rig?
Dan, picture of your diffuser rig?
If you see me with a wrench, call 911
Sure. The diffuser is small and light. It cost about $8. The diffuser simply slides on over the lens, and elastic around the opening for the lens holds it in place.
I was using a smallish flash, the Canon 430 EX. Seemed better to use manual rather than ETTL setting for the flash. Most shots were about 1/4 power.
I was using the R5, so there was IBIS. The lens was the EF 100 mm f/2.8 macro without IS.
Diffuser in use by dfwatsoneuro, on Flickr
Diffuser in case by dfwatsoneuro, on Flickr
Catching up here after a rather long hiatus. Great pics, Brant! Where in Italy were you? I had a conference in Pisa some years back, and we (family) are headed there at the start of summer, several days in Venice, a week in Taormina on Sicily that will include my older daughter and I doing some scuba diving, then several days in Rome before flying home.Originally Posted by Kayaker72
Thanks John. Sounds like a great trip that you have lined up. Venice is great. I would try to pay attention to the cruise ships. I was there in late June once (weekend before a work trip) and 3 cruise ships were in port. It got very busy. I actually headed over to another island in the lagoon, Murano, which was much less crowded and still a great place to visit. Doge's Palace was impressive, but lines were as well. First thing in the morning, no line. So, if you can get going early, it is likely worth it. Taormina? I hadn't heard of that one, but pictures online look great. And Mt. Etna in the background. Would be very lucky if it erupts a bit (not too much) while you are there.
Italy was a good trip. We knew we wanted to try Tuscany as that was 2-3 hrs from where the conference would be and, hey...Tuscany. Not knowing much, we actually picked where we'd go by looking at a few wines we liked, which included a Nobile di Montepulciano. A quick internet search and we were based out of Montepulciano in SE Tuscany, almost to Umbria. We visited a number of the fortified hilltop villages like Pienza, Sienna, Montalcino. All beautiful, good food, and distinctive. An area I would definitely recommend.
Sounds like you had a great trip! We're planning to spend some time on Murano when we're in Venice. There are timed 'skip-the-line' entry tickets for Doge's Palace, that seems the way to go. We will be going up near the top of Mt. Etna one evening (there are sunset tours available, where it's easier to see the volcanic activity). We have a close friend who grew up in Sicily just south of Messina, about an hour north of Taormina, so we were able to get some good recommendations for there. I'm looking forward to trying some underwater photography, including fluorescence imaging during a planned night dive.
Those sound like some epic plans. Beautiful area. Enjoy!
More me playing with shutter speed trying to make the water seem like brush strokes.
Horseshoe Falls/Niagara Falls/Canadian side
537A7056 by kayaker72, on Flickr
537A7045-2 by kayaker72, on Flickr
Thanks for viewing....Brant
I am back from my annual summer pilgrimage to Idaho. Did an easy camping trip with my sisters to Heyburn State Park. These are from a sunset hike at the park.
537A8407 by kayaker72, on Flickr
537A8443-Pano by kayaker72, on Flickr
537A8449-NR by kayaker72, on Flickr
Thanks for viewing...Brant
The Italy trip was great, though it was quite warm while we were there, especially in Rome. Brant, it turns out cruise ships are now banned from entering the Venice Lagoon, so if you go back the huge influx of those passengers won't be an issue. There were still plenty of people everywhere we went, but with the timed tickets we really never stood in a line, even entering the Vatican Museums was immediate.
Here are some images from the trip...
"San Giorgio" – View of the Venetian lagoon from the bell tower on San Giorgio Maggiore island
EOS R8, RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM @ 105mm, 1/400 s, f/8, ISO 100
"Etna Smoke" – Southeast Crater on Mt. Etna, seen from the Etna Observatory at 2800 m; this one was taken from the same location (but the opposite direction) as the shot of Salina posted in the Image of the Month thread.
EOS R8, RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM @ 100mm, 1/125 s, f/5.6, ISO 800
"Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi" – Fountain of the Four Winds in Piazza Navona, Rome
EOS R8, TS-E 17mm f/4L, 13 s, f/8, ISO 100
"Campo de' Fiori Flavors" – Examples of the ample delicacies at the Campo de' Fiori market in Rome
EOS R8, RF 28mm f/2.8 STM, 1/320 s, f/3.5, ISO 100
"Vatican Museum Corridor" – The Vatican houses an amazing collection of art, and almost every surface including the floors and ceilings is decorated.
EOS R8, RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM, 1/80 s, f/7.1, ISO 1250
"St. Peter's Dome" – Crepuscular rays shining through the Dome of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican
EOS R8, RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM @ 14mm, 1/60 s, f/5.6, ISO 2000
The only problem other than being tired and overheated from walking 6-9 miles a day was that when we went from Venice to Sicily the airline left one piece of luggage at the short connection in Rome, which we knew immediately because I had AirTags in all the bags. In that suitcase were the warmer clothes my wife and I had packed for going to the top of Mt. Enta (the kids had theirs) and my scuba diving gear. Long story short, it would have been delivered to us but not until three days later (after both the Etna trip and our planned diving). The number for the courier service that the airline gave me was a dead line. Thanks to the AirTag, I was able to get an address where the bag was located, and Google Maps' street view showed me the front of the pack-and-ship service with a phone number on the storefront, so I was able to call them and we drove over to collect the bag sooner. Moral of the story, when you travel put a tracker in your luggage!
Thanks for looking!
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