It’s Game Day…Go Colts!
Today is a day that happens very few times in a lifetime. A day that your team plays in the Super Bowl.
Obviously, there is only one Super Bowl winner. Every other NFL fan has suffered disappointment as some point during each season. Some will begin losing hope in week one while others could lose that hope in the final seconds of the Super Bowl.
Having been a Colts fan for about the past 46 or so years certainly has put me into the extremes of those categories. The first time I believed that the Colts were certain to win a Super Bowl came in 1969. It didn’t happen despite the late game heroics by John Unitas.
I only had to wait two years for Super Bowl V to see the dream come true on a kick with nine seconds remaining by rookie Jim O’Brien. Then, I would have to wait 36 years for another Super Bowl win in 2007.
By the 1972 season, injuries and age had gotten the best of the greatest quarterback to every play the game. John Unitas’ career was done with the Colts. The glory years beginning with NFL titles in the late 50’s including “the greatest game every played” was over. Those years included great players such as Raymond Berry, Art Donavan, Gino Marchetti, Alan Ameche, “Big Daddy” Lipscomb, Lenny Moore, John Mackey, Bill Curry, Tom Matte, Bubba Smith, Mike Curtis, Ray May, Ted Hendricks and backup QB Earl Morrall. Those years also included great head coaches “Weeb” Ewbank, Don Shula and Don McCafferty. I believe the only reason the Colts lost to the Jets in Super Bowl III was Shula’s failure to bring in the injured Unitas earlier.
During the 1972 season, Unitas was benched but came in for the last series of the last home game that season after a scam by Colts players and the coach to make Unitas believe the starting QB was injured. His very last pass with the Colts was for a touchdown to Ed Hinton. Unitas changed the game of NFL football.
It was a 36-year wait for another Super Bowl, and there were some big disappointments during that time. Bert Jones carried the Colts to within one overthrown pass away from the Super Bowl in the final playoff game ever played in Memorial Stadium on East 33rd Street in Baltimore.
Danny Boswell and I took a college road trip to Baltimore in the late ‘70s. We sat in the end zone stands. During pre-game we jumped the wall, ran into the end zone where the Denver Broncos where warming up and yelled at Denver quarterback Craig Morton, “The Colts are going to kick your “rear” today.” We then ran back and jumped over the wall before security could get us. Thank goodness they left us alone.
In 1984, team owner Robert Irsay pulled the Colts out of Baltimore and moved to Indianapolis. My loyalties moved with them. The Colts won just 12 games in their first three years in Indy. They started the ’86 season with 13 straight losses. There were a lot more lean years despite some great players.
In 1995, Jim Harbaugh took over as quarterback and the Colts went to the NFC Championship game. A late game dropped interception almost took them to the Super Bowl. The Colts had one more chance but Harbaugh’s “Hail Mary” was touched, then bounced off the ground before being caught as time ran out.
Then in 1998 came Peyton Manning and the decade of 2000 where the Colts were the winningest team. There were disappointments like the season that ended with the “idiot kicker”. But in 2007, after waiting nearly four decades, I enjoyed another Super Bowl victory. All of the pundits, today, will cover the past 10 years. I don’t need to.
In recent years, my son, AJ, has been a Tennessee Titans fan. We have traveled to Nashville and Indy to see the Colts vs. Titans games. Too bad the Titans have won every game we attended. It’s always been a long trip home. Here’s an iPhone photo from a trip to Indy.
Today, I will watch the game with Mattie in my living room. Super Bowl parties aren’t for me when the Colts are in it. It’s a game to savor and take in every moment without distraction. It doesn’t happen often. It’s a day to remember all the Colts players and great moments of the past and enjoy today’s glory. Besides, if they win, I will probably shed a few tears.
Why Did The Turkey Cross The Road?
These turkeys tried to commit suicide yesterday, but due to my lighting quick reaction time they were saved. However, I did shoot them with my E-P1 through the passenger side window as they ran away.
Lucy Scores – iPhone Photo
I took Lucy and Leo out this afternoon before I left for a shoot at the studio. I was standing on the deck checking out twitter on my iPhone when I saw Lucy walking towards the basketball goal below me. I waited for her to walk under the basket and “click”. I’d score that photo a two. Sorry, I had to do that.
By the way, the backboard is broken from one of my dunks.
Afternoon Walk
Inspired by Ibarionex Perello’s latest The Candid Frame podcast, I decided to get out of my office chair about 5:30 this evening and go out to shoot some photos.
I drove to Uptown Martinsville to see what was happening. I discovered there wasn’t much going on since all the stores had closed a half hour earlier. In about 40 minutes, I did find a dog walker, a left behind toy, footprints in pavement, dinner in a store window and a reflection.
I took my Olympus E-P1 with 17mm F2.8 to shoot with as I always do when I go for a walk. Check out that last photo. It’s a great example of how well in-body image stabilization works. I shot that photo handheld at a shutter speed of one second. The passing truck is nothing but a streak of light. By the way, the first photo is with the pop art filter and the third and fourth is with the pin hole filter. All shot in jpeg.
Snow Day
My lovely wife really enjoys the snow. We just had 24 hours of snow, and woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny day. Since she really can’t go out and play in the snow with a broken ankle, I decided to take her and the dogs for a ride around town. Crews are working hard to get the snow off the road, but it’s pretty packed. As of 11 a.m. this morning, the roads in town were still covered. There seemed to be more people walking around than driving. The photos are with the Olympus E-P1.
I Need An Olympus E-P2
If by chance you visit my blog on a fairly regular basis, you know I am a big fan of the Olympus E-P1. There are a lot of reasons for that. It’s smaller than a Leica rangefinder camera (which I also use), it gives me DSLR image quality, and I can put it in the front pocket of my trousers along with a 17mm F2.8 lens.
Recently, Olympus released the E-P2. Since then, I have been torn between two lovers. My wife will certainly appreciate the fact that it’s between two cameras.
I have resisted buying the E-P2 simply because I have the E-P1. Until there is a second lens I want, I figured there is no real big reason to get one. Currently, Olympus only has the 17mm F2.8 (which I have) and a 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 zoom. As I mentioned, one of the things I like about the camera is the small size. I’m really waiting on another prime lens or a fast aperture zoom.
Three days ago, my good friend Mike Wray stopped by and gave me his E-P2 to see what I thought compared to the E-P1. Mike has been the photographer at the Martinsville Bulletin since Lyndon Johnson was our president. Many of you probably weren’t even born then. He can go into any situation and come away with a great photo. He likes the camera and wanted to know what I thought. My attitude has now changed about whether or not I need one. Yes, now I know I need one.
There are several – what I consider minor – differences and one real big one. The E-P2 has an EVF (electronic viewfinder). With an EVF, the image is projected in the viewfinder right off the sensor electronically. Before now, I was never a fan of an EVF. The only camera I ever owned with an EVF was a Minolta A1, which actually was a pretty nice point and shoot.
The EVF, which sits on the camera’s flash hot shoe, is amazing. It’s bright, sharp and you can move the camera from side to side without getting dizzy from the electronic image. It brightens, as the light gets darker, so that you can actually see what you are taking a photo of.
I wasn’t sure an EVF was for me, but I love it. I think this could be the future of photographic equipment, and I assume Olympus is counting on that. Having an EVF allows the camera to be smaller because there’s no need for a mirror to project the image to a viewfinder like in a single lens reflex camera. It makes the camera smaller and quiet. Unlike a point and shoot (which we called an idiot camera in the newspaper business), Olympus has put their 4/3s sensor in the camera. The sensor is much larger than what is in a point and shoot camera. Therefore, the image quality is much better. However, the camera really isn’t much larger than the average point and shoot. Having a quiet camera is very important to me. When I am shooting a wedding, I don’t want people to know I am taking a photo. The quieter the camera, the less intrusive I am. Here are some examples of wedding photos with the E-P1 at ISO 3200. Image quality from the E-P2 is essentially the same.
I like smaller cameras. I don’t use a camera with a built in battery pack that also serves as a vertical grip. I have the add on battery grips for my Olympus E-3s, my Nikon D700s and the D300, but I only use them if I am using a bigger lens like the Olympus 50-200mm or Nikon’s 70-200mm. Therefore, I use Nikon’s D700s instead of the D3. Olympus doesn’t have a camera with the vertical built-in grip. The Olympus E-3 is a wonderful camera, but that’s a story I’ve told many times.
I’ve incorporated the E-P1 into my work. I’ve used it at events, weddings and even used it in the studio. Last fall, I shot a few photos with the E-P1 during a bridal portrait session and one of two photos the bride chose to show at the wedding as 16×20 canvas prints was from the E-P1. I have also used E-P1 photographs on the dust covers of two wedding books that are 11×13 inches. Both of those photos were shot at ISO 3200. The image quality is great.
The E-P2 is more useful than the E-P1 if for no other reason than the EVF. Since Mike gave me the E-P2 it has been raining. I used the E-P2 around the house and played with the menus, but wanted to try the camera outdoors before deciding how I felt about it. I wanted to know if it was an advantage using the EVF viewfinder in daylight as compared to the E-P1.
Today was still overcast and a pretty nasty day, but I was able to go out for about 45 minutes to shoot outdoors. The EVF is great outdoors and is almost as good as a normal optical viewfinder, as in a DSLR, and in some cases better. Since it was a nasty overcast day, I shot a few photos that fit the day.
I’ve been taking photos since I was six-years-old starting with a Kodak Instamatic 104 and have been using SLR’s for the past 30 years. I used Nikon FM2 bodies when I was a newspaper photographer. The Nikon FM2 did nothing for you. A photographer had to set the shutter, aperture, and focus. Oh My! (A little play on The Wizard of Oz. Sorry.) I loved that camera.
I’ve had Nikon F4s, N8008s and, when I moved to digital, I used the Nikon D1H, D2H and D70. I also used Canon’s 1D Mark IINs, and 5Ds and have also used Olympus equipment beginning with the E-1.
The E-P2 may just be one of the best cameras I have ever used for general shooting. It’s small, light, quiet, and has a great EVF viewfinder. Most importantly, it has great image quality. It’s not the best for sports. I have shot football, basketball and even NASCAR Truck Racing with the E-P1. (You can see some of those shot’s here). However for sports, I’ll use a DSLR. But could I use two E-P2s on assignment? The answer is YES! I could if I had a wide angle, normal and short telephoto for the camera. Right now, I use it in additional to my SLRs.
In a perfect world, I want a fast wide angle, a lens that is considered normal (a 50mm view on 35mm film format) and a fast short telephoto. Even a fast zoom would help. The great thing about the micro 4/3s format, which the E-P2 is a member, is that Panasonic is also producing cameras and therefore lenses for the system. Both Olympus and Panasonic will be introducing new lenses this year.
The micro 4/3s system is based on a sensor that is about half the size of what is called a “full-frame sensor”. A “full-frame sensor” is a sensor that is the same size as a 35mm negative. I think that is pretty much meaningless when it comes to digital, but that is also for another blog post.
Below I have done some comparisons with the Nikon D700, which has a “full frame sensor” at higher ISOs. A lot of what I do is at ISO 800 and higher. The E-P2 has more noise than the Nikon D700, but the E-P2 does have some advantages. A big advantage, depending on your goal, is more depth of field at wide apertures. That can be seen in the photos.
These photos were shot in my lovely wife’s (Mattie) office. This is where I do my ISO test when I get a new camera. All I care about is the final image. I want to know what it’s going to look like as a print. To me, nothing else really matters. With the Olympus E-P2, I shot with the 17mm F2.8 lens. With the Nikon D700, I used the 35mm F2 lens. Therefore, I had about the same field of view since you double the size of the lens with Olympus to get the same field of view with the so called “full-frame sensor” of the Nikon D700. For full disclosure, I used Nik Software Dfine 2.0 noise reduction on the E-P2 files and no noise reduction on the D700 files. On both cameras, I used the normal noise reduction in the camera and shot jpeg on both. Also, I made the photos 240 DPI and reduced them to an eight-inch high photo. These are crops from the 100% view of the photos. Both cameras were shot at F2.8.
E-P2 at ISO 1600 with Dfine
Olympus E-P2 at ISO 3200 with Dfine 2.0 noise reduction
Nikon D700 at ISO 3200 with no post processing noise reduction
Notice the difference in depth of field? At a print size of 8×10 you really would not be able to tell much difference except the depth of field.
Also one thing that many people don’t think about is that the E-P2 has in-body image stabilization. I was shooting these photos at about 1/15 or 1/20 of a second handheld. As I said, the only thing I am concerned about is the final image and what it looks like printed. The E-P2 is not a match for the D700 at high ISO. But, all of my E-P2 images were sharp shot at these slow shutter speeds while I had to hunt for a sharp Nikon image that I shot at similar shutter speeds. With a little noise reduction on the E-P2 images, they look really good. Usually I don’t even use any noise reduction on the images. The E-P2 is no replacement for the D700 at high ISOs but with the right post processing it can hold it’s own.
Having built-in image stabilization, means that I can get a sharp image at really slow shutter speeds. Being able to shoot at 1/10 of a second and even slower and still get sharp photos is almost unfair.
Basketball With E-P1 and 17mm Lens
I shot a basketball game tonight and of course took my Olympus E-P1 along for fun. Here are a few with the E-P1 and 17mm F2.8. All the photos were shot at ISO 3200 at 1/320 second at F2.8. In that last photo, the player was getting danger close. I really needed a faster lens to get up to a shutter speed of 1/400 or 1/500. Maybe I’ll get the Olympus 4/3 adapter and try it again with the Leica 25mm F1.4 lens or the Zuiko 14-35mm F2.
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas everyone. I thought I’d show you some of the decorations at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, WVa. I shot a wedding there the first weekend of December. All the photos were shot with an Olympus E-P1 or Olympus E-3.
Elamsville Road From My Driver’s Seat
I had to get up early this morning, drive to Patrick County, pick up my mother and take her to Roanoke for a doctor’s appointment. I could have been at Litchfield Beach, S.C. as much as I drove today.
Anyway, after leaving her house, I decided to take a few photos with my Olympus E-P1 and 17mm lens. Because plows have piled up snow all along Elamsville Road, where she lives, there was no place to pull off to take photos. Therefore, I decided to see what I could get while sitting in the driver’s seat of my Jeep. Fortunately, I never once met a car for the entire five-mile drive down Elamsville Road. When I saw something I wanted to photograph, I just stopped in the road and shot out of the window.
The first photo is of the neighbor’s farm. As I was driving down the road, I noticed two dogs walking right in the middle of the road. In Patrick County, there is no leash law. Dogs roam freely. If the Patrick County Board of Supervisors tried to pass a leash law, there would be more people showing up at a supervisors meeting than if they planned to raise taxes. I know because I covered both while a reporter/photographer at the Martinsville Bulletin. I shot the photo after the two dogs walked safely back into their driveway.
The third photo is of the hill where I learned that’s it’s difficult to drive a car from the passenger’s seat. I stopped there today because another dog wandered in from of me, and I took a photo while I was sitting there. Thirty years ago, I was coming home from college and drove through the curve at the bottom of the hill at about 55 miles per hour. After it was too late, I noticed the hill was covered with ice. Instead of slowing or trying to stop, being the daring sort I was, I gunned it trying to build up enough speed to make it to the top of the hill. I let off just before I hit the ice and then everything went silent. I rolled about halfway up the hill before having to make an adjustment. With the slightest adjustment of the steering wheel, I proceeded to face each ditch about three times before one correction through me into the passenger side seat. I was able to make only one more correction before hitting the snow bank with one hand still on the wheel. I walked to a nearby house, called a friend to pull me to the top of the hill and finished the drive home.
The fourth photo is an abandoned church along the road. The fifth photo is one of four graveyards (that I can think of) along Elamsville Road.
Finally, there’s a photo of a hearse at Clyde Turner’s junkyard and antique car lot. That’s Clyde and his dog in the final photo. Clyde is an interesting guy and quite a character. From time to time I stop, hang out and get all the latest scuttlebutt. I had not stopped to talk with Clyde in a couple of years. After greeting him with a handshake over the passenger side seat of my jeep as I said my name, he told me the names of all my family and what a great guy he thought my father was. He invited me in to say hello to my high school bus driver, Wilson, but I declined as I needed to get home and do some work. I see Wilson on a fairly regular basis anyway.
At one time, Clyde had a pet boar that followed him out of the woods when he was hunting, and a chicken that could take the wrapping paper off a mini Tootsie Roll. I know that sounds strange, but I actually watched the chicken do it during one of my visits with Clyde.
Today, as always, he pulled a Tootsie Roll out of his pocket and gave it to me telling of the health benefits for men who eat them (I won’t go into detail).
Notice the apparatus for distilling liquids on top of the building? I always thought that was pretty cool.
It’s Snowing!
There’s about six inches of snow on the ground and it’s still coming down. It’s been a nice evening at home watching it snow.
The first photo is Lucy at our front door. The second photo was at the end of my driveway. The driver of that truck was a friend who stopped to say hello since I was just wandering around in the snow. He was eating a banana and heading to Wal-Mart to do some Christmas shopping.
