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The cool change here is very nice, but here are some cold photos anyway...


Adelie on ice, Fish Islands
EOS 40D, 100-400mm IS @ 130mm


I couldn't eat a whole one
Gentoo Penguin and chick, Jougla Point, Wiencke Island
EOS 40D, 100-400mm IS @ 400mm


Whilst on the boat I got to play with a PhaseOne 645 medium-format camera for a while. It had a 75-150mm lens on it, and the new 60-megapixel P65+ digital back. The files from this are huge: just under 70 MB for each RAW file (8984 x 6732 pixels).
Here're a couple of shots from the Grandidier Channel area:


P65+, 75mm


P65+, 150mm (full-width crop from original)

Both of those photos were taken at 1/500s handheld from a moving ship.
Handheld medium-format definitely works, although it's not a camera for high-speed AF shooting. I'll stick with my EOS bodies for now.


I haven't shown you any of the grey and overcast scenery yet: we had the full complement of weather types.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Dave,

The second of those images, which I presume is the mother feeding her chick, is just brilliant.

DaveB wrote:Whilst on the boat I got to play with a PhaseOne 645 medium-format camera for a while.

What was the body? Mamiya? Hassy? I presume that you were shooting tethered?

I would be interested in seeing a full size crop from a couple of these files, and I think several others here would be too. Especially if you have comparative images shot with the 5D II.

Pixel peeping can be fun.

Both of those photos were taken at 1/500s handheld from a moving ship.
Handheld medium-format definitely works, although it's not a camera for high-speed AF shooting. I'll stick with my EOS bodies for now.

Of course, 1/500 would have been the maximum shutter speed available on the camera, and I'm presuming too that the mirror didn't reset itself until you cocked the shutter, and so, yes, not an ideal format for hi-speed shooting of any type.

But which would you rather use for shooting a hi quality magazine spread in a studio?

gstark wrote:The second of those images, which I presume is the mother feeding her chick, is just brilliant.

Or the father feeding the chick. It's hard to tell. Thanks!

DaveB wrote:Whilst on the boat I got to play with a PhaseOne 645 medium-format camera for a while.

What was the body? Mamiya? Hassy? I presume that you were shooting tethered?

Phase One. The Phase One 645 is a rebadge of the latest Mamiya 645 AFD. It's a full SLR, complete with 3 AF points. There's no in-lens AF motor in the 75-150mm Mamiya lens I was using though: it's not the fastest AF system in the world.
I was shooting handheld directly to a CF card in the back. I would have needed a 20m cable to shoot tethered to a computer: I was out on deck in the cold wind...

I would be interested in seeing a full size crop from a couple of these files, and I think several others here would be too. Especially if you have comparative images shot with the 5D II.

I'll see what I can dig up. But although I was on deck with 3 cameras around my neck (5DmkII+24-105, 40D+100-400, PhaseOne 645) and apparently there are some amusing photos of me, I didn't switch cameras every couple of seconds...

Both of those photos were taken at 1/500s handheld from a moving ship.
Handheld medium-format definitely works, although it's not a camera for high-speed AF shooting. I'll stick with my EOS bodies for now.

Of course, 1/500 would have been the maximum shutter speed available on the camera, and I'm presuming too that the mirror didn't reset itself until you cocked the shutter, and so, yes, not an ideal format for hi-speed shooting of any type.

You presume wrong: max shutter speed from the focal plane shutter is 1/4000s, and it handles like a regular SLR (ok, the grip's a bit different, but that's all). I was shooting in Av-priority mode.

But which would you rather use for shooting a hi quality magazine spread in a studio?

Probably not going to make a huge difference to me. The 5DmkII has enough pixels for 12x18" at 300 ppi with no interpolation, so I don't feel handicapped there. The price of the medium format digital systems is just a bit too much for me to justify, even with the deals PhaseOne offered to me.

Dave

#1 by a country mile for me. This is a finely crafted shot. The composition is spot on and the crop is just right. This screams Antarctic to me. Thanks for sharing these images.

DaveB wrote:

gstark wrote:The second of those images, which I presume is the mother feeding her chick, is just brilliant.

Or the father feeding the chick. It's hard to tell. Thanks!

You mean you didn't look?

I would have needed a 20m cable to shoot tethered to a computer: I was out on deck in the cold wind...

Or somebody could have brought the computer out onto the deck. By what you're saying though, that suggests a desktop rather than a laptop.

Of course, 1/500 would have been the maximum shutter speed available on the camera, and I'm presuming too that the mirror didn't reset itself until you cocked the shutter, and so, yes, not an ideal format for hi-speed shooting of any type.

You presume wrong: max shutter speed from the focal plane shutter is 1/4000s, and it handles like a regular SLR (ok, the grip's a bit different, but that's all). I was shooting in Av-priority mode.

Yes, of course; the Mamiya has an FP shutter. I should remember that, given my experiences with Mamiya 645 bodies.

Thank you.

I agree with Peter. #1 is just fantastic.
#2 had me smiling at your caption, nice clean pic also.
#3 does not grab me like most of your other examples
#4 gives a real insight into the seascape for this area.

Were you on this trip to document it or a paying passenger?

Dave,

some wonderful shots here. I have been really enjoying the photos you have been posting. The first one here is a top capture, very well composed. I also like the chick being fed. The last one gives the place a bit of sense of scale and how big it is.

Were you on the Michael Reichmann trip? I was reading that he was there at about the same time and also had some PhaseOne backs, just curious.

Cheers,

André

No. 3 is just fantastic. The reflection and clarity are excellent and so is the composition. Fantastic photos!

Alex

This screams Antarctic to me.

#1 & #2 classic shots!

gstark wrote:Or somebody could have brought the computer out onto the deck. By what you're saying though, that suggests a desktop rather than a laptop.

He obviously needed a decktop.

All brilliant images, but #1 is even better than the other 3.

radar wrote:The first one here is a top capture, very well composed. I also like the chick being fed. The last one gives the place a bit of sense of scale and how big it is.

Subtly not saying anything about the 3rd. Interesting - I've been curious as to how that would rate with audiences.
(thanks for the comment Alex )

Were you on the Michael Reichmann trip? I was reading that he was there at about the same time and also had some PhaseOne backs, just curious.

Yes, and in fact it was Michael's camera I borrowed. He headed off to his cabin for a nap (which is part of the trick with Antarctic travel - trying to cope with 24 hours of available shooting time!) and left his camera upstairs for several of us to play with.
There's some material about the trip at The Luminous Landscape already, but there are quite a few articles and galleries still being prepared. As I said in an earlier thread - I'll make announcements.

colin_12 wrote:Were you on this trip to document it or a paying passenger?

Both.
The Antarctic portion of the trip was organised by MR, while the Patagonia and Easter Island portions either side of it were organised by myself (taking 2 people with me). I had to pay for it, although the material I got is producing income for me. The Patagonia and Easter Island destinations were partly to gather images, but also to investigate options for future workshops. For that matter, depending on economics (e.g. if people are interested) there is the possibility of a future trip to Antarctica. I'm planning on leading some more local (Australian) field workshops before then though, and there are some related projects that need to come off first also.

DaveB wrote:

radar wrote:The first one here is a top capture, very well composed. I also like the chick being fed. The last one gives the place a bit of sense of scale and how big it is.

Subtly not saying anything about the 3rd. Interesting - I've been curious as to how that would rate with audiences.

I actually quite like the 3rd, it's just that I find that there is actually two competing photos in there, the top 2/3 and the the bottom 1/3. I think both would have been very good on their own but that's just IMHO

Were you on the Michael Reichmann trip? I was reading that he was there at about the same time and also had some PhaseOne backs, just curious.

Yes, and in fact it was Michael's camera I borrowed. He headed off to his cabin for a nap (which is part of the trick with Antarctic travel - trying to cope with 24 hours of available shooting time!) and left his camera upstairs for several of us to play with.
There's some material about the trip at The Luminous Landscape already, but there are quite a few articles and galleries still being prepared. As I said in an earlier thread - I'll make announcements.

thanks Dave, it would have been a special trip to be in Antarctica on its own but also add all the other photographers that were attending, it would have made it even more interesting. Looking forward to announcements, articles, photos, just anything really from that trip

Cheers,

André

 BTW, I just dug up this picture of one of my friends using a Phase 645...