So maybe it's because my day job has me surrounded by others like myself, the public academia world; but regardless, testing is a four letter word in my surroundings. Since the inception of No Child Left Behind, our children are measured, assessed, evaluated, examined, analyzed, checked and rechecked and just basically tested up to their eyeballs with filling in the bubbles, no. 2 pencils, scratch paper, read alouds, separate settings, choices ABCD... Their natural desire to learn is being testing right out of them. But I will stand down from my standardized testing soapbox and talk about what I really had fun testing this weekend - my new Canon 60D at a brand new location!
(Just a disclaimer here - if you're not a photog geek, this remainder of this blog may bore you. If that's the case, pretend you're a little kid again and just look at the pictures.)
(Just a disclaimer here - if you're not a photog geek, this remainder of this blog may bore you. If that's the case, pretend you're a little kid again and just look at the pictures.)
The time of day was between 5 and 6 o'clock in the evening, sun was setting, shadows were darkening. I grabbed one of my in-house subjects, slung my camera bag over my shoulder, hopped in the Suburbabus and headed to a location that I have wanted to shoot for quite some time.
This downtown location is experiencing a revival of sorts. It's actually quite a large downtown area for what now seems to be a small town. However, not so long ago, our area was very well known for being a leader in the textile industry. Textile money spurred much growth back in the day. Now, in a period of revitalization, the back of a group of these vintage buildings has turned canvas and displays a fabulous children's mural. Its color and cuteness drew me in and I just couldn't quit snapping my eldest-one-of-three in front of this wall of fun! A great test to see how my new 60D performed in the color department. Bubble number one - check!
The time of day was another form of measurement for my new toy. The shadows were increasing by the minute. All of the shots in front of the mural where taken on the east side of the building which meant the sun was setting on the opposite side so my subject and I were in the shadows. Still, plenty of light was available especially when the setting sun reflected off of some windows in a building behind me while I was behind the lens. My ISO was at 200 and worked perfectly. My aperture choice for most of these shots was f8 - another test from a recommendation that I've recently been reading about in Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. All that being said, my low ISO and my middle of the road aperture still gave me great results in semi-low light conditions! Bubble numbers two and three - check!
The ultimate assessment though came as the darkness seemed to creep in quickly. I took a risk and left my ISO at 200 but changed my aperture to wide open. Still, my new 60D didn't disappoint. A little more effort and focus was required on my part because my shutter speed had to slow down; however, my results were super sharp in really low light without having to raise my ISO. Bubble number four - check!
Like our school children, my camera has many more evaluations in its future. But if round one is any indication of its examination future, my new Canon 60D won't have to face remediation.
Click here to see my entire gallery from this shoot.
The time of day was another form of measurement for my new toy. The shadows were increasing by the minute. All of the shots in front of the mural where taken on the east side of the building which meant the sun was setting on the opposite side so my subject and I were in the shadows. Still, plenty of light was available especially when the setting sun reflected off of some windows in a building behind me while I was behind the lens. My ISO was at 200 and worked perfectly. My aperture choice for most of these shots was f8 - another test from a recommendation that I've recently been reading about in Bryan Peterson's Understanding Exposure. All that being said, my low ISO and my middle of the road aperture still gave me great results in semi-low light conditions! Bubble numbers two and three - check!
The ultimate assessment though came as the darkness seemed to creep in quickly. I took a risk and left my ISO at 200 but changed my aperture to wide open. Still, my new 60D didn't disappoint. A little more effort and focus was required on my part because my shutter speed had to slow down; however, my results were super sharp in really low light without having to raise my ISO. Bubble number four - check!
Like our school children, my camera has many more evaluations in its future. But if round one is any indication of its examination future, my new Canon 60D won't have to face remediation.
Click here to see my entire gallery from this shoot.
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