"Another Spring Gone"

I've stepped up from the Pentax K10D (10 megapixels) to the Canon 60D (18 megapixels). I went with the Tamron 18-270 mm lens because I didn't think the kit lens would be as good. I have read many good things about the Tamron. The advancement in technology is amazing and alot of things have been introduced over the nearly 4 years that I have bee working with the Pentax and a single short range zoom. I feel adding equipment to solve photographic challenges may work, but it can be a costly strategy. My outfit has served me well over these years and I have discovered ways to work around the challenges. Still, it's time to move forward. One distinct benefit from the newer camera is the write time to the card. The old Pentax needed as much time to write to the card as it did to expose, therefore, a 30 second exposure essentially was a minute total. In essence, I could only take half as many photos and the duration of time allowed some great light to get away. The Canon 60D writes almost instantly, so 30 seconds is truly 30 seconds. Let me tell you, this is really significant for someone who shoots at the edges of the day. In this case, the image is a five frame pano. I made two exposures for each frame so I could later blend them for added dynamic range. The Pentax would have taken twice as long for this process, thus the chance that quality light would fade or clouds may move significantly during the process. No doubt, having almost 80% more resolution is another advantage for someone who enjoys making large prints. Even if I have to interpolate, it will mean much less interpolation and a print that is more like the original image file. All this technical stuff, however, will not make me a better photographer. Perhaps it could give me more confidence!

Thanks Vincenzo! Your point is well received. I knew after the shoot that a drop dead gorgeous sky was somewhat wasted on an uninspiring foreground. That is to say, uninspiring to most. Personally, I am very fond of highly detailed, grassy foregrounds that convey the nature of the foothill slopes of the Southern Sierra. I would have loved to come upon a grouping of rocks, but nothing could be found and the light wasn't going to wait for me. Though I find the grasses interesting, I also totally agree with you. This, for the most part, fails!!

Sad yet true. but the beauty still comes through.  Kudos rek.

  If you look only at the small version, I can agree that there is too much foreground of grass, it made me almost skip this beautiful photograph, but if you look at the bigger version and see the trodden grass that leads the eye further into the picture, the image is very pleasing. I like the overal fine detail.

 Best regards.

Wow! Things dry up fast down there Mark! Still getting green up here. Brilliant sunset light, and lovely composition. I like the highly detailed grasses in the foreground but know all too well that they're not everyone's cup of tea. Excellent work, and congratulations on your new camera! Enjoy it, and I'm sure we will too!

All the best,
Neil

quality photo as usual. stunning light and tones.

Mark,  you have a great eye and much talent processing, no matter which camera you use.  But certainly, sometimes faster is better.  I'm partial to the way Canon's see color.  The sky is beautiful.  But, to me, the dried grass tells a story too.  It's so real I can inhale deeply through my nose and smell it.  Keep it coming!  Aloha.