First Light on Zion Canyon

My first photograph from the Digital Summit has been released. It was from a very special morning along the switch-back road toward Zion tunnel. I hope you like the image and look for many more images and announcements coming soon with some surprises!

First Light on Zion Canyon

San Juan River book published

The San Juan River Book is now available for purchase. For more information and a preview, please click on the box below.

Spirit of the ...

A Fine Art Photogr...

By Jeff Ball

Book Preview

November Print of the Month: Zabriskie Point (color)

The geologic classroom of Death Valley provides incredible landscape photography opportunities. Zabriskie Point is one of the highlights of the area and this is my color representation of the view looking west from the overlook area prior to sunset. I hope you enjoy the print.

Zabriskie Point Print

Return from Digital Summit

I have just returned from the 2007 Digital Fine Art Summit. It was a fantastic event with guest instructor Charles Cramer joining Alain Briot and Uwe Steinmueller. I learned a great deal at this conference and have improved my photography and printing as a result. I am very excited about the work coming from Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Staircase. Please stay tuned for images as they become available on the website. I feel that another learning plateau has been achieved and look forward to future learning in the art of photographic printing.

Comet 17P/Holmes visible to the naked eye

In the past week, a relatively obscure comet has undergone a tremendous outburst which is visible from backyards and streets to the naked eye. The comet is 17P/Homes and is currrently in the constellation Perseus. You can simply search for information on the comet through your favorite search engine, but I wanted to encourage you to go outside tonight and treat yourself to a spectacular comet view with the unaided eye or even better with your binoculars. I am currrently imaging the comet and will post images in the next few days. Enjoy the specatcular view and stay in touch.

Please check out this website for more information on the comet.
Spaceweather.com

New High Resolution program

I am watching with interest a new development in achieving higher resolution images with today's DSLRs. The process involves maxizing image resolution by combining several images and performing super resolution algorithms. The program is PhotoAcute and is fairly new. Ewe Steinmueller is performing real-world testing on the application and has posted a diary at the link below. I hope to evaluate the process in the near future.

PhotoAcute Super Resolution review by Ewe Steinmueller

Hilton Head Surf

On our family vacation to Hilton Head this summer I engaged in a study of morning light. Each morning I would arrive at the beach well before sunrise and simply photograph and study the light of the morning. Each morning was very unique with some mornings presenting harsh direct light and other morning like this one where the light was a gentle mix of pastels and was very soft. I hope you enjoy the new image and that it conveys to you a wonderful Atlantic Ocean sunrise morning.

Hilton Head Surf

New Film from Kodak!

I really can't believe I have the opportunity to even post an announcement about "new film." I received my email newsletter from John Sexton today. Mr. Sexton is a wonderful photographer with a legacy of studying with Ansel Adams. In Mr. Sexton's newsletter, he presents the Kodak announcement of the the T-Max 400 BW film. He also references some data from Kodak that some 75% of 9000 professional photographers plan on continuing to use film. The survey quotes some of the photographers as to why they will continue to use film. It is a very interesting read and demonstrates that we are still in a very energetic and diverse art form where the tools one may choose are wide and varied.

Kodak New T-Max 400 film

Survey of 9000 Professional Photographers

New Podcast by Alain Briot

A wonderful new Podcast by Alain Briot is now available. Alain discusses many pertinent issues for the photographic artist, or any artist actually. Alain discusses understanding your audience as an artist, what it means to be a "professional artist," how to discuss your artwork with others, and other issues. Highly recommended for any artist:

Alain Briot Podcast

The second generation of Fiber Gloss Papers

Digital fine art photography is as much about papers as it is about inkjet printing technology. We are currently in our second round of new fiber gloss paper introduction by several manufacturers including a new entry from Harman. Ewe Steinmueller and Michael Reichmann have new articles where they share with us their impressions of these new papers. I am awaiting arrival of the Harman Fiber Gloss paper for testing and will report on the paper in the next few weeks.

Michael Reichmann article and initial review of Epson Ehibition Fiber Paper

Ewe Steinmueller article

Zion Canyon Photograph Released

I am excited to release "Zion Canyon" for the October Print of the Month. My family visited Zion in 2004 and only recently have I been able to complete this image according to my original visualization. Technically, it is a stitch of 3 vertical frames blended with PS3s photomerge function. The location is along the Emerald Pools trail and represented a special day of hiking for our entire family. I hope you enjoy the print and if you have any questions, please drop me an email.

Zion Canyon Print of the Month

Film vs. DSLR by Jerry Lodriguss

Mr. Lodriguss has written a very nice article that totally captures my giddiness with DSLR astrophotography. The article captures what I have been informally observing over the past 6 months as I experiment with DSLR astrophotography. I encourage you to check out the article, especially if you have any history of film astrophotography and are considering DSLRs for astrophotography.

Film vs. DSLR by Jerry Lodriguss

Thomas M. Back: 1957-2007

It is with a heavy heart that I post the passing of one of our great innovators in amateur astronomy, Mr. Thomas M. Back. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Back at the Black Forest Star Party a few years ago and had a very memorable and pleasant conversation with him about optics and astrophotography. At that time, he was just starting to produce his own refractor telescopes. He was very kind and gracious in our brief time together. His passion for quality optics and observing were contagious. My prayers go out to his family for healing at this time of sorrow. Mr. Back's contributions to amateur astronomy and optics will last for generations.

An interview with Mr. Back can be found at Cloudy Nights website

Globular Filament 7

We have had some wonderful weather over the past two weeks. I spent 2.5 nights at Rob Adkins' place taking some astrophotos. Here is the first composition from the weekend. Exposure information and notes are on the webpage. This is a composition I have wanted to try for quite some time. I hope you enjoy the image.

Globular Filament 7

Loxahatchee River Print of the Month

Hello,
I hope this message finds you all well. In February, I visited south Florida with my mother and sister. My professional purpose to the trip was to visit the Ansel Adams exhibit near Jupiter, to visit the Clyde Butcher gallery, and to photograph the locations that Mr. Butcher has introduced to me over the years. One of those locations is the Loxahatchee River near Jupiter. It is a narrow body of water with alligators lurking along the banks keeping a watchful eye on paddlers as they navigate the tight twists and turns around Cypress and other trees just beneath the water line. My favorite composition from this visit involved the Canon 24mm tilt/shift lens. The tilt/shift permitted me to raise the field of view above the water line without tipping the camera up toward the sky which then introduces a severe angle of the trees. By using the upward shift of the lens I was able to keep the trees perpendicular in the image. The image also took advantage of modern RAW conversion in Adobe Lightroom where the huge dynamic range was compressed into a presentable format for both the web and on fine art paper. I hope you enjoy the image and get to visit this lovely area.

Loxahatchee River Print of the Month for September

HDR presentation on GoogleTech

Ewe Steinmueller has another presentation at GoogleTech where he discusses the latest in acquiring and processing images utilizing High Dynamic Range. I find the technique quite compelling and will be experimenting more vigorously with the technique in the coming months.

Ewe Steinmueller HDR presentation at GoogleTech

On-line publication for astrophotographers

My friend, Warren Keller, put me onto a very nice on-line publication for astrophotographers. The publication is "Astrophoto Insight" and the current issue is available for free download. The publication is bi-monthly and contains a wealth of practical information for the practicing astrophotographer. I highly recommend the resource to all.

Astrophoto Insight

Rho Ophiuchus in color

After much debating and many iterations, I believe I have finalized a color presentation of the Rho Ophiuchus and Antares Nebulae. The area has proven to be quite difficult for me to understand and to translate in digital form. I think I am like others and want the Milky Way to be presented with a fairly even sky background. Many years ago while imaging with medium format film I made the declaration that "the Milky Way sky is not black." Well, I was violating my own conclusions by trying to force a neutral black background on this area of sky. The area is quite dusty and has many gradations of color and light across the field. So, after many hours of digital work I think I finally have a presentation that is both artistically pleasing and relatively accurate in its depiction of the beautiful area. I hope you enjoy the image.

Rho Ophiuchus and Antares Nebulae

IC1396 from Almost Heaven Star Party

This object eluded me in the film days, but it just jumps out with the DSLR and a fast lens. The night was lovely for this capture and I hope you enjoy the image. IC1396 is an emission nebula in the constellation Cepheus.

IC1396 webpage

Northern Cygnus Test Image

I continue to experiment with the modified Canon 350D. This test is with the old Lumicon Hydrogen Alpha photographic filter from the TechPan days of film. I wanted to see if I could image from my backyard with this filter and come up with anything useful. Conditions were horrible on this night with temps in the 70's, humidity in the 90's, and a waxing moon. I am happy with the results and will continue my testing. The ideal scenario is for a much more narrow band hydrogen alpha filter, but at this time none are available for inside the camera body of the Canon.

Northern Cygnus Test Image

AHSP presentation now available for download

I have now posted my presentation on DSLR Cameras and Lenses for Astrophotography for download in PDF format. You may access the slide presentation at the link below.

"DSLR Camera and Lenses for Astrophotography"

Veil Nebula Wide Field with Canon 350D

I have posted a wide field image of the Veil Nebula complex taken from the beautifully dark skies of Spruce Knob on August 12. For the composition I used the Canon 350D and the 135mmf2L lens. I hope you enjoy the image and the accompanying notes.

Veil Nebula Wide Field webpage

Canon announces next Pro and Prosumer cameras

Canon has officially announced their next camera offering to the Professional as well as the pro/amateur photographer. The 1DsMarkIII will offer a 21 mp chip in addition to 14 bit capture. The 40D will offer a 10.1 mp chip and 14 bit capture. Many features from the 400XTi are also found on these cameras in addition to a myriad of other new features including live preview. For more details on each please see the respective Canon links below.

Canon 1DsMarkIII

Canon 40D

Looking for an Astrophotography DSLR camera?

Alan Dyer has posted a nice review of 3 DLSR cameras and how they compare in astronomical imaging. If you are looking for a DSLR camera and hope to do some astrophotography, I encourage you to read Mr. Dyer's review as it may prove to be helpful in making your decision.

Cameras in Head to Head Showdown
by Alan Dyer

Luminous Landscape Print Tutorial

If you are seeking out resources that will improve your photography and particularly your digital printing...stop right now and purchase the Luminous Landscape Tutorial "From Camera to Print." The tutorial is available via download and contains over 6 hours of instruction on how to optimize a photograph for fine art printing. The tutorial features accomplished landscape photographer Michael Reichmann who is joined by digital photo guru Jeff Schewe. It is the best $35 value available in photography today. Highly recommended!

From Camera to Print Tutorial on Luminous Landscape

San Juan Published in Lenswork Extended

I am very honored to share with you that the San Juan Portfolio has been published in the Lenswork Extended DVD. Lenswork is my source for artistic benchmarking. I am quite surprised that my first submission was accepted and published. The DVD is a supplement to the award winning print version of Lenswork. I consider both to be "must have" resources for any photographer. You may find out more at the link below.

Lenswork Extended DVD

San Juan Portfolio

DOP interview with Charles Cramer

Another insightful interview with one of today's photography masters has been published on Digital Outback Photo. The interview is with noted landscape photographer and instructor Charles Cramer. Mr. Cramer will be the guest instructor at the upcoming Fine Art Summit in November which I will be attending. I invite you to listen to the interview for some wonderful background and insight into the photography of Mr. Cramer.

Webpage with interview link

Charles Cramer's gallery

Rho Ophiuchus and Antares Nebulae Complex

Well, I finally finished my first DSLR astrophotograph and my first astrophoto in nearly 4 years. It was a very steep learning curve, but I came close to my original visualization. I have more information at the astrophotograph webpage below. I hope you enjoy the image and I look forward to more compositions this summer.

Rho Ophiuchus with Canon 350D and 135mm f2L lens

PhotoTech EDU at Google

I stumbled across a collection of presentation videos archived at Google Videos that discuss various aspects of photography in detail. The topics vary widely and even include some astrophotography presentations. There is a ton of material here and I have only begun to review it. The material is very detailed and at times overly technical, but hey it is Google. One interesting tidbit I found was a discussion at the end of Ben Lutch's Astrophotography presentation where Google is mapping the entire heavens with images from anyone willing to contribute their astronomical photos to the project. Depending on your interests, there is a wealth of information on this site. I encourage you to check out the topics and see what catches your eye. Here is a link to the search results for "phototech EDU" at Google.

Phototech EDU at Google

Like falling off a bike

Great news! I finished painting the house. So with that project out of the way I can now spend some time at the processing computer. That is exactly what I did today. It was a very frustrating first few hours. I can't believe how difficult it was for me to get back into the swing of enhancing astrophotographs, but it was like I had never worked on them before. I was constantly "falling off of the bike" and I nearly gave up entirely. At one point I thought I simply did not have enough data for the image to work the way I visualized. And then, it hit me, and I regained momentum and have successfully gone through one iteration of image enhancement on the Rho Ophiuchus image. I have plenty of data to work with and I am pretty confident I can get the image to what my initial visualization was for this composition. It takes a great deal of time and many iterations for enhancements to come to completion. I also like to step away from the image and let things "stew" a bit as I contemplate the direction the image is taking. So, I am working very hard on new stuff, it is just taking some time to get through the process and get things posted. Thanks for your interest in Jeff Ball Photography and there is much more to come.

P.S. I also spent several hours today preparing for my upcoming presentation at the Almost Heaven Star Party. I hope you can make the event and I hope to post my presentation on the website after the event in August.

A winner of a night

Another night under the stars and this time the transparency cooperated. Last Friday night I visited the wonderfully dark skies of my friend Rob Adkins home in Wayne County. We had a wonderful night of photographing and viewing. The dark lanes of the Milky Way were easily visible from Sagittarius to Scorpius, even with bright Jupiter in the middle of them. We viewed numerous deep sky objects with and without the OIII filter. The views were just stunning on this night and compared favorably to any I have had anywhere over the years. We viewed Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, and Mars-all in one night. The seeing really steadied nicely for some wonderful early morning views of Jupiter.

Upon first review, it looks like I have at least 2 hours of very good data to work with on Rho Ophiuchus. Astrophotography images come slowly as preparation, imaging, and processing are extremely involved. I hope to have the image up soon. I am about 50% finished with painting the house. Once that project is completed, I can get back into updating images and the website.

Astrophotography night out

Last night was my first opportunity to re-visit the night sky with astrophotography. The night was a complete success technically-meaning that all gear worked as planned and image acquisition was dead-on. The only issue was that the Clear Sky Clock (astronomer's main source for weather conditions) missed a small system of high cirrus clouds coming in from Ohio and it really reduced contrast in the southern Milky Way area. The imaging system is a modified Canon 350D and 135mm f2 L lens. The target last night was the Rho Ophiuchus area. The camera gear is riding on top of my friend Dave Tolley's G11 mount with a TV101 scope used for final polar alignment. It was a great night of practice for me since it has been nearly 4 years since I last imaged. I am very enthusiastic about the compositions to come from this setup and I am hoping for clear skies in the near future to work on these new astronomical images. Take care and stay tuned for more.

Sweetwater Strand

My first photograph from the Florida trip in February is now on the homepage. Look for more information on this print as well as more photographs from Florida.

May Print of the Month-Sweetwater Strand

New Podcast: Ansel Exhibit Impressions

A new podcast of my first impressions from seeing Ansel Adams prints in person for the first time.

Roman Loranc Interview by DOP

Uwe Steinmueller has posted a nice interview with Roman Loranc, a BW photographer from Poland. Another master photographer extolling the benefits of simplifying one's approach to photography. Roman uses one paper, one film, one camera, and one lens (210mm) for 70% of his work. I think it is a valuable lesson that many masters can teach us to simplify our approach and focus on the artistic qualities rather than the gear and technology. Roman Loranc interview link.

Speaking at Almost Heaven Star Party

I have been invited and accepted an opportunity to speak at the Almost Heaven Star Party on Spruce Knob in WV in August. The dates are 9-12 and the location is excellent for dark skies. I will be sharing some of my new thoughts and approaches to astrophotography with a DSLR. I hope you can join us for the event and I look forward to meeting you. More information at www.ahsp.org .

Canon Lens Manufacturing Video

A link to this series of videos was published on the Astro-Physics Users list. If you enjoy seeing "behind the scenes" video, you will enjoy seeing how Canon makes their lenses from scratch. Highly recommended! Link to video.

Photo Warmups

A new Podcast was posted today. It is a recording from the field while on my Florida photography excursion. The recording is an observation I made on the importance of "photography warmups." You can check out the Podcast on iTunes or at Feedburner.

Updates and miscellaneous

I have just completed a data backup and initial RAW review of the images from Florida taken in February. I am very excited about what is to come, but it will be a while before images are presented. One reason for delays is that we are very busy with my daughter in High School tennis right now. So nearly every evening we are with Jennifer at a match or practicing. It is a joy to watch her play. I hope to update the Podcasts very soon with some audio I recorded on the Florida trip. I am also in final testing for my return to astrophotography. I hope to get out during the new Moon in April for a test run and maybe collect some nice data. So, things are slow as far as new stuff as the tennis season reaches its peak in April. Look for many new things coming after the season. Also, I just registered for my 7th workshop with Alain and Natalie Briot. This workshop is the Digital Fine Art Summit and will have as a special presenter and teacher Charles Cramer. I am very excited about learning from Mr. Cramer, oh, and the location is Zion! The workshop is in November. I have many commentaries on things photographic to come. One is my evolving approach toward photographic education. More and more I am convinced the best way to improve your photography is through one-on-one apprenticeships with a quality instructor. Small workshops are fine as long as there is ample time for the instructor to productively engage each student in individualized instruction. More to come on this as my thoughts become clearer. Have a great day and stay tuned for more in the near future.

Quick observing night and some testing

Couldn't pass up a quick look tonight. The skies started to turn
partly cloudy around 10:30 or so. I really love the 8" Orion XT dob.
Everything just works so simply. I wanted to get first light through
my new 19 Panoptic and it was a joy. I switched all night from the 35
Pan to the 19 and then on Saturn went with the 12mm Radian. About
100x was nice for Saturn tonight as seeing was washy. Viewed M42 and
Running Man, the open cluster in Gemini (I was observing with no aids
and strictly from memory-I am a bit rusty), and the Leo Trio of
galaxies. It is always nice to get a little cold and see crisp views
of stars through the scope. Hoping for clear skies next weekend.

Earlier in the evening I did some testing with the Canon 350D and 135 f2 lens off the tripod. I wanted to get some "dark" condition experience operating the TC80N3 remote and also practice focus techniques. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to practice with your gear and get as familiar with buttons and knobs as you can. In the dark it really pays off when you know how to activate image review and move through images at high magnification as well as adjust ISO setting. So even though I wasn't photographing tonight, it was a good practice run for when things get "real."

San Juan River Newspaper article

On March 2, Dave Lavender of the Herald-Dispatch published his article "Nature's Handiwork" which provided some insight into my San Juan Portfolio Grand Opening that same night. Dave did a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of the portfolio and I now have a digital PDF version of the article for your review. The article may be viewed at this link. I do not have a version with the photographs embedded. The article looked wonderful and I am very thankful to Dave for doing such a nice job. He is a self-proclaimed "river rat" himself, and so he has a very strong passion for the beauty of our rivers. Enjoy the article and have a great day.

Horseshoe Bend 2006 Image and articles

Horseshoe Bend is a fascinating location for creative photography. An early view for those who read my blog is now available of my latest print from Horseshoe Bend. The image is a first in two ways. It is my first near-far composition captured utilizing the tilt/shift lens with panoramic movement. It is also my first experience with the stitching plugin in Photoshop PS3 beta. I am very happy with the new PS3 stitching plugin and I am very excited about future efforts with this lens/software combination. The image has stimulated me to write about two topics related to the image. One article is titled "Two and three-quarter years" and discusses the importance of returning to locations in order to fully explore the creative potential that is there. The other article is titled "What do you do?" This article is an attempt to provide a very brief overview of how I take a RAW image and develop the image into a fully optimized print. Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you enjoy the new material.

Astro-Physics to be featured on "Made in America"

I have had the fortunate pleasure of owning and operating Astro-Physics telescopes and mounts over the years. Their equipment is top of the line and I can't speak highly enough of them. I just read on their website that John Ratzenberger's "Made in America" has filmed a segment on AP and it will air this coming Tuesday night at 9:00 p.m. EDT. The show is on the Travel Channel and please double check the listings for the correct time. I have scheduled it on the DVR and I am sure it will be a very interesting segment.

We're back in the game!

I just placed my order for a modified Canon 350D with Hap Griffin. The camera will have the UV/IR Baader filter in place. I am very excited about re-entering astrophotography. I am excited to bring what I have learned over the past 3 years to image optimization and composition. There are at least 8 compositions I find interesting with the 135mm f2 lens and I hope to begin imaging in June. Some testing will take place before then with the first images coming on-line later in the summer. So, here we go, it is definitely not as intense as when I was imaging 3 years ago, but it will be fun and I believe very capable of producing portfolio quality images.

First Look at PS3 beta

Adobe has released a beta version of Photoshop PS3. I have been reading some remarkable stories of the enhanced Photomerge function with PS3 over PS2. I have recently gone to utilizing tilt/shift lenses as well as panoramic gear to aid in the quality of digital stitching. While at the Fine Art Digital Summit I captured a 3 pane image with the 24mm tilt/shift from Horseshoe Bend. I had played around with PS2 Photomerge and the results were not that impressive. Now my core program for stitching had been PTAssembler, so I was not concerned, it was simply an act of experimentation more than anything. Well I have been quite busy with the San Juan work and finally had a chance to take a look at PS3 Photomerge with the same 3 Horseshoe Bend images. I must say that the first impression is extremely positive. The blend was seamless and dead-on with alignment as well as tonal transitions in the sky. This is really impressive for an automatic setting. Now I just went through the paces rather quickly tonight and hope to really give the image a thorough workup over the next few weeks, but I must say that the initial impression is very favorable and I am relieved to now have a very high quality stitching solution with a very simple user interface. Stay tuned for more.

The San Juan River Exhibit Debut

On Friday night the San Juan River exhibit opened and was very well received. I am very happy with the look and feel of the exhibit. It is really my first attempt at building a gallery style show and I am hopeful to place the show in other galleries. Now my attention will turn to some other publications I am seeking on this as well as updating the website for the portfolio and individual webpages for each portfolio image. All prints will be in a limited production of 100 and will be available in one print size. More to come soon so stay tuned. Also, more Podcasts to come from Florida as well as on numbering prints. A lot to come, so stay tuned and thanks for your interest.

Getting closer to AP gear decisions!

OK, things are getting very clear now. I have settled on the 135 f2 Canon L lens for my main imaging lens for the next few months. After comparing the field of view with the 200mm, I really like the compositions I have in mind for the 135mm much better. Reviews for the 135 are very good and like I mentioned before, Loke Tan's work with the lens is excellent. I am not 100% sure on the camera yet. It is between the Hutech modified Canon 350D or the XTi. From my readings it appears that the 350D may have some advantages for one night sessions over the XTi and therefore be the most appropriate camera for my needs. The mount is a G11 which will be most graciously loaned to me by my very good friend Dave Tolley. So, the Astro-Photography picture is getting very clear and I am hoping to pursue my first compositions this summer. Stay tuned for further updates.

Update: The weather did not cooperate for photographic opportunities of the Lunar Eclipse, but we did catch some of the reddish glow of the total eclipse during the early moments of the penumbra eclipse. The clouds parted just enough to see the beautiful glow on the totally eclipsed portion of the moon.

Maybe I found it!

Wrapping up a crazy weekend with a very successful opening of the San Juan River exhibit. I am writing to follow up on some of the "return to astrophotography" musings I posted earlier. To reiterate some of my criteria for re-entry:

1. Ease of setup. This means no computers, no autoguiding, and lightweight mounts and scopes.
2. Quality data in one night. The system must be fast and produce superb images.
   
3. Everything must come together in a unique package that I am not seeing done by anyone else. This is very challenging, but we will give it a try.

So, I revisited some of my first impressions of astrophotography and recalled that I just loved the Schmidt camera field of view. Today everyone seems to be headed for the big 20" RC and small fields of view, at least with one non-mosaiced frame. My first thoughts on an imaging system were the Tak FSQ. Now this is a great scope and may be in my future, but I believe I have found a better alternative for my needs. The Canon 135mm f2 lens performed for Loke Tan very admirably on his trip to Chile. I revisited his website as I recalled the remarkable photographs taken with that lens and the SBIG 11000 camera. The 135 stopped down to 5.6 provides excellent quality at a fast speed. The field of view is roughly 9x6 degrees which is nearly equivalent to a 5" Schmidt camera. Even better is that it should not require a computer or sophisticated equipment for focusing as I should just be able to utilize infinity for focus on the barrel. I just reviewed the field of view in compositions on my star charts and I calculate at least 10 compositions that I feel are worthy to pursue with this lens. It should be simple to piggyback on a scope and should not require autoguiding with a well trained PEC mount. So, that is the update today as we are looking at the 135mm f2 lens with the modified Canon 400XTi camera from Hutech. Now to find a mount! No hurry, just thinking out loud, remember?

Addendum: After further research, it appears that the Canon 200mm f2.8L II lens is very good giving a little tighter field of view at a very affordable price. So this is perhaps the direction now.

Can it be done?

I have been researching the latest in astrophotography since my last photograph was taken nearly 3 years ago now. I am not sure I can do what I set out to do in my original post a few days ago. There are plenty of opportunities with scenic astrophotography with my current camera gear and I am preparing to explore those. My first efforts will be with next Saturday's Lunar eclipse at evening twilight. I have a composition in mind and I am hopeful for cooperative skies. But as far as imaging with a telescope, I am not sure I can setup a simple imaging system capable of acquiring quality data in one night of imaging. The major question I have is whether I can accomplish this without autoguiding. Astrophotography is complicated enough and the equipment starts to pile up unbelievably. I am trying to avoid the "need" for a computer at the telescope and thus eliminate an autoguiding setup. Autoguiding requires a separate scope, more batteries for computer and autoguider, and more cables. My hope is that I can image with the FSQ and focal reducer at f3.6 for at least 5 minutes with the Mach1 mount with periodic error correction turned on and calibrated. Will this work? I don't know, but I am in the process of evaluating the setup and its capabilities on paper at least. Stay tuned and hope for clear skies next Saturday.

Astrophotography revisited

Well, I am starting to get an itch to return to astrophotography. If I do, it is only because I feel that there is something unique I might be able to bring to the genre. I have been casually thinking about how to do it and here are some of my thoughts. First, it must be extremely convenient. What do I mean by this? Well, the equipment cannot be monstrous and I must be able to accomplish a significant image acquisition in one night. This means that I need to acquire enough data in one night to come up with a portfolio quality image. So that leads me to looking into fast short refractors, DSLRs, and very portable mounts with accurate tracking which require no autoguiding. The lead candidate for refractor is the Tak FSQ. The camera would be a modified Canon DSLR and the mount would be the new Astro-Physics Mach1. All of these together would yield a very light-weight setup, virtually airline transportation capable. I have no interest in investing in an off-site remote imaging station in the high elevations of New Mexico or Arizona. I primarily want a setup that I can take out on a clear night and get some significant imaging accomplished. When I get the chance to take the system to a remote location for an extended amount of time, the imaging system that I have chosen will more than meet those needs. So, just thinking out loud on what may or may not ever happen, but it is fun to think about.

Canon 1D Mark III

I don't dwell on new camera technology, but I do watch with interest what is happening at Canon. Today, Canon introduced its replacement for the 1D Mark II, a camera geared at sports and photo journalists. I don't completely evaluate the camera based on the size of the megapixels as I have seen dramatic improvements in images simply through Canon's improved in-camera processing and other chip improvements around noise reduction. This camera has a 10.1 megapixel chip and is capable of 10 frames per second. It is a APS-H sized chip translating to a field of view magnification over standard 35mm size of 1.3. I am anxious to now see the replacement for the 1Ds Mark III which will hopefuly deliver some new technology for the landscape photographer.

Here is a link to the press release:

Busy as a bee!

Hello,
Just a quick update as things are quite busy at the moment. The Florida trip was amazing and I will have some Podcasts and writings on the experience. I am hopeful of at least one portfolio quality image from the trip. At the present time, all of my spare moments are spent preparing the San Juan River presentation in my gallery which opens March 2. So my online interactions will be sparse. Thanks for your interest in Jeff Ball Photography and talk with you soon.

John Sexton Interview at Digital Outback

I just found and listened to a wonderful interview with John Sexton conducted by Uwe Steinmueller. I really enjoyed the comments made by Mr. Sexton with regards to finding creativity and projects by getting out in the field and making mistakes. He also comments on where digital processes come into play into his work flow and what Ansel Adams may have thought about digital photography. I highly encourage you to check out the interview with one of our masters of photography today.

You may hear the podcast at this link.

San Juan Portfolio Webpage Updated

Today the San Juan Limited Edition Portfolio webpage was updated to include more information about the portfolio with a sneak peek at the images. Please check out the latest at the link here. Stay tuned as much more information will be coming in the next few days.

San Juan Portfolio nearing release

I am very excited to announce that the creative energy has reached a boiling point and that the long-awaited San Juan River portfolio is nearing its release. To receive the latest information on the portfolio and to reserve your spot for a very limited edition portfolio, simply sign up for the newsletter on the website or send me an email to jeffball@earthandskyphoto.com . Thanks and have a great day.

Video Tour of Galleries

Today a very brief video tour of my galleries at Pendleton Art Center was published on the podcasts. To view the video, simply go here or cut and paste this url "http:/feeds.feedburner.com/earthandskyphoto" into your iTunes after you click "Subscribe to Podcast." Enjoy the video and I hope to see you at the Pendleton Art Center.

Alain Briot Interview Part 4: Film vs Digital capture

In part 4, Alain discusses technical considerations when selecting film or digital as your image capturing sensor. The podcast is available through your iTunes or by following this link.

Alain Briot Interview Part 3

Part 3 of the Alain Briot interview was posted today. In this segment, Alain discusses color photography as an art form relative to black and white. I find Alain's comments very insightful and accurate in his description of the status of color photography in the photographic arts today.

You may access the podcast through your iTunes player or other podcast readers or by clicking here...

Happy New Year...a look ahead.

Happy New Year to you and your family. My best wishes on a healthy and blessed New Year for you.

As I reflect on 2006 and what was accomplished photographically, I am pleased in that I accomplished much of what I set out to do on this day one year ago. My first priority was an in-depth study of black and white photography in the digital age. My goal was to achieve high quality fine art black and white prints. I now believe I have achieved this goal as I am quite happy with the latest prints I am producing with the latest technologies.

I guess I will always consider myself a "student of photography." There is so much to learn, but through my study efforts and experimentation in 2006, I am much more focused on what I need to do in 2007. This year I will refine my personal vision and it will be focused exclusively on color photography as fine art. I have begun to study the works of recognized color photography artists and will also be contributing some of my own writing on the subject as the year progresses. This year will see less experimentation with still-life and architecture and really focus on our natural world. This is the environment in which I need to be creative...out in the forest...high on a ledge...paddling on a river...experiencing the quiet and power of nature and communing with God. This is where I should be concentrating my photographic vision.

I will be experimenting with some new image capture techniques that promises to bring the highest quality artwork possible today. I will share my experiences with you as I work through the learning curve on this process. It is a technique that world famous color photographer Joseph Holmes is currently engaged in. I have seen Joseph's prints utilizing these image capturing techniques and it is stunning. I am very excited about this endeavor and hope to have more information for you soon.

Photographic locations for 2007 are still undecided with the exception of the southern Florida trip in February. Possible locations for the year include Big Sur, CA, Zion N.P., Smokey Mountains N.P., Shenandoah N.P., Hocking Hills S.P. (Ohio), and as always the Monongehala National Forest in WV. I also hope to visit two locations at some point in the future to further my photographic education. One is the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ and the other is the Art Museum on the Mall in Washington, D.C.

This year will also see a concentrated effort on building on-line content that enhances your enjoyment of fine art photography. I will continue to refine the content as well as the scope of the Podcasts and improve on the production quality as well. In addition, video productions will join the broadcast menu. The videoblogs will present a behind the scenes look at fine art production, on-location travelogs, interviews, portfolio presentations, and much more. I am very excited about this component and will also launch a new website dedicated to the broadcasts coming this year. I don't know exactly where the broadcasting venture will lead, but it looks to be very exciting.

As you can see, there is a lot coming in 2007. Whether you are a fine art photography student or a collector of fine art photography, my wish for you in 2007 is that you realize your creative goals. Please contact me if you have any questions or comments on these topics as I always welcome an engaging discussion on such matters. Thanks for your interest in Jeff Ball Photography and have a wonderful day!