Sony A7R IV | 24-70 GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f11 | 1/200 secSony A7R IV | 100-400 GM | 143mm | ISO 100 | f5.6 | 1/500 secSony A7R IV | 100-400 GM | 306mm | ISO 100 | f5.6 | 1/500 secSony A7R IV | 24-70 GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/8 secSony A7R IV | 24-70 GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 30.0 secSony A7R IV | 24-70 GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1.0 secSony A7R IV | 24-70 GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/800 sec
I recently enjoyed the fall in Georgia. I spent some time up in the mountains, and then a couple of days in Atlanta. This was a trip that I was invited to, so photography was not at the top of the list, but I did prepare a “hit-list” in case I had some time come available. I was very fortunate that my trip fell during the fall time. I think the mountains were just slightly passed prime, but Atlanta was not yet to prime fall color.
Mountains
I was staying in Blue Ridge, GA. I was in a cabin on the side of a mountain. The sunrise photo was my view from the cabin. I haven’t done much with sun stars, but as the sun emerged, I cranked down on the aperture, and I really like what it adds to the image. This image is made from a bracketed HDR merge. It wasn’t super necessary, but I wanted to recover some of the shadows without destroying the highlights.
For the next photo, I was driving on Highway 60 south to Dahlonega, and stopped at overlook that provided a view of the layers of mountains. Upon arriving, I was thinking I was going to shoot wide, but I used the viewfinder app, and realized I needed to shoot tight. This is about 150mm. The light was quite harsh, and really I should have thrown on a CP, but I was able to warm it up in post, and get it closer to tolerable.
The last photo is a spot found when driving south on Highway 136 toward Jasper. There was an overlook that provided a nice view of the fall-colored trees with a piece of the highway exposed.
Atlanta
I got to Atlanta in the early afternoon and drove around to numerous of the spots that I had mapped, most were busts, but one just north of midtown looked like it could work. I checked into my hotel and returned later for the softer afternoon light. There was no convenient parking, so I found a public lot and hiked to my view point. This was not the perfect spot, I was too close to go with a longer focal length, but too far to feel immersed. It was still a pleasing scene, and I did appreciate the bright fall colored trees. The highway underneath also allowed for the light trails as the sun set.
The next morning, I woke up early and headed to Piedmont Park for the classic midtown view. There was a bit of bird activity, but as the sun rose, the fog emerged over the lake. I only wish there was a bit more fall color.
On the way to the airport, I did a stop at the Jackson Street Bridge. It is a nice perspective of the city. I did CP up to get the color back in the sky. I’d like to have gone during blue hour to get the city lights. This spot was much busier, numerous others were there to take selfies.
It was a good time, and I came away with some pictures that I liked. Now I’m gearing up for a trip to West Texas at the end of the year.
For a brief moment, the sun, the moon, and I were in alignment. I was there, prepared, and these are my photos of the event.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 1/640 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 1/640 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/640 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/25 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/100 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 2000 | f/11 | 1/25 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 2x Teleconverter | 800mm | ISO 1000 | f/11 | 1/640 sec
Preparing for the Eclipse
The First Attempt
Preparing for this event started back in October of 2023. I was in Houston, and learned that an eclipse would be passing over south Texas in just a few day’s time. I was really kicking myself for not being prepared and being in the path.
I went to B&H to see what filters they had for eclipse photography, and I found a bunch of 16 stop neutral density filters that blocked ultraviolet and infrared radiation. I also learned that the PolarPro Summit filters that I use met these requirements. At the time, I had a 10 stop and a 6 stop filter, so I just planned on stacking them.
On the day of, I found a parking garage and setup my tripod. I enabled bracketing, manually focused, and started shooting. In Houston, we only saw about 85% coverage of the sun. I did not have eclipse glasses, and it was always too bright to look at. It does dim, but it’s a very gradual process. However, at peak coverage (for Houston) it was then obvious how much dimmer it was than normal.
This was good practice because the changing conditions did require changing the exposure. I really leaned on the histogram to gauge this, and it was reliable. Throughout the event, I did over and under expose just to see how those would turn out. Over exposed was terrible as the entire sun was clipping, but under exposed did appear to yield more detail. However, this was detail that was recoverable with some minor edits with the exposing to protect the highlights.
Preparing for April 2024
Fortunately, after the 2023 eclipse, I was pumped to learn of the total eclipse coming close by just 6 months away. I started looking into AirBNB’s in the area and quickly found that they were charging over $1000/night. I switched to hotels, and found one reasonably priced just east of Austin, so I booked it. It was nice to have that out of the way because a few weeks later a friend was doing the same search and found no results.
Next was gear. One effect I did have in my images from the first attempt was some ghosting. I did buy a 15 stop ND filter to eliminate that. I also purchased the 2x teleconverter. I know many believe teleconverters are bad because they degrade the image quality too much. I wanted to try it out, anyways. I took many test shots of many different subjects in different lighting conditions and pixel-peeped like there was no tomorrow. If I’m being honest, I don’t have the best trained eyes, and I don’t have experience with many other systems to compare against, but I was happy with the results. I found images to be sharp, and I liked the additional reach. The smaller apertures didn’t bother me, either. I do believe 800mm was a great focal length for shooting the eclipse. I also purchased some typical cardboard eclipse glasses. Coolness factor aside, being able to look up was useful.
A few days before the eclipse, we did our grocery shopping so we could pack a cooler and be self sufficient on the day of.
The Eclipse
The Weather
As the calendar approached April, my attention turned to the weather. Many websites posted weather forecasts, but this wasn’t based on any real information. One thing I love about living in Houston, is having Space City Weather. That team does a fantastic job of interpreting the data and providing real information. They’re honest when confidence is low, and they also call out bogus predictions when the data isn’t there.
That rant about weather predictions was due to the fear and frustrations weeks prior to our trip. Fact is, the closer we got, the better the forecasts got, the worse the news got. Of learning of the grim forecast, I immediately became an armchair meteorologist.
The prospects weren’t good.
Since I’m unable to affect the weather, I started searching and marking possible viewing locations like city and county parks. My goal was to have a plethora of options so on the day of, I could see where the best weather was and head to that general area.
The Day Of
Monday morning started at 5:00 AM. We had a 2 hour drive ahead of us, and we weren’t sure what kind of traffic we would encounter. We’d also be competing with typical Austin commuter traffic, too. My girlfriend was not appreciative of the early start.
Based on weather, it looks like we’d have a shot in Lampasas, which had a nice downtown park area, so that’s where we headed.
Traffic was thick, but not bad, and once we got to Austin and headed Northwest, things really cleared out. The more we drove, the light started to come out, we got further into Hill Country and it was a quite pleasant drive.
We made it to Lampasas with no drama. The park was quite empty, but people had been camping there overnight and we were far from the first on the scene. We were able to secure a picnic table and setup for a long day. I walked around the park. Here’s a shot of the creek and foot bridge.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 34mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/25 sec
Then it was just waiting for the eclipse, which was to start in early afternoon. As time got closer, I setup my equipment, did some test shots, confirmed focus and exposure. Then with about 10 minutes to go, it was all eyes on the sun.
By this time the park was packed. There was no more parking, and people were everywhere. We were situated next to a family from Alaska.
It was an incredible day and a brilliant experience. I do recommend it if you’ve not had the chance before. Traffic was terrible on the way out, and we waited until the moon had passed completely by. Fortunately, I found back roads and wasn’t having to do deal with the stress of it all.
When we got back to the hotel, I did a quick first pass on my photos to share with friends and family.
Weeks later I finally got around to a more thorough culling process and creating my composite.
After a busy holiday season, I finally had a weekend to myself, and so decided to get out and do some photo taking. I opted to go downtown, and they still had the Christmas decorations up. Although I don’t typically obsess over Christmas decorations, I did appreciate how it dressed up the typical scenes. I did a little walk from Buffalo Bayou east into downtown, and then south to City Hall and back.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 16mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 8.0 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 30mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 0.8 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 16mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1.6 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 16mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1.6 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 16mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1.6 sec
I visited Arizona for the first recently. It was everything I hoped it would be. I got to see a cactus, some canyons and even a desert. Two of those three were also firsts for me. Having grown up on the east coast, these were not common sights for me. Having photography as a hobby means I’m acutely aware of what I’m missing. The issue was, I figured I’d need several weeks to make a trip like this worthwhile. This trip, however, I would only have time for an extended weekend, and it would have to start in Phoenix.
Originally, I was planning on just seeing the Grand Canyon. In researching, I discovered Page is nearby and it was home to two photography bucket list destinations: Horseshoe Bend & Antelope Canyon. Monument Valley is also on my list, but it just wasn’t in the cards for this trip.
My trip spanned 4 days and roughly 750 miles. We flew to Phoenix and drove to Tusayan, did a day trip to Page, did a day in Grand Canyon National Park, and then returned to Phoenix via Flagstaff & Sedona.
South Mountain Park
South of Phoenix is a South Mountain Park. Entrance is free, and the park is beautiful. Rolling hills and cacti make for, what I would consider, a classic western landscape. To complete my childhood, while in the park, but not at the same time, I also saw a roadrunner and then a coyote.
At the park, you have great views of Phoenix and the surrounding landscapes. I got my photo of a cactus, and then finally is a view of 16th Street heading north from the park.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 400mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 374mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/800 sec | 2x Teleconverter
After my afternoon in the park, I hit the highway and headed north for Tusayan. Shortly after my start, the sun set and it got dark. Living in a city, going dark is more of a figure of speech. North of Phoenix it gets really dark. Another facet that I was unaware of, was the elevation. We saw the signs as we passed 5,000 feet, then 6,000, and then 7,000.
Drive to Page
The next day started with a stunning sunrise, but of course I wasn’t prepared or anywhere with a worthwhile composition, so I just got to admire the colors from my room. Then we headed out to Page, which involved driving through Grand Canyon National Park. The first views are incredible, they aren’t unlike the pictures one sees, but the pictures really don’t prepare you for being there in person. The sheer size is just hard to comprehend.
But after taking a scenic drive through the park and exiting out the east side, I continued East on Arizona 64, until heading North on Highway 89. Along the way were some stunning landscapes. I enjoyed how much the landscape would completely change along this route.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/500 sec
Glen Canyon
We arrived in Glen Canyon with a few hours to kill before our tours. We started at the Glen Canyon overlook, and then went for a closer view of the dam.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 sec
Secret Canyon
Slot canyon so much fun in person. Although the pictures came out okay, I do wish I had used a traditional tripod to reduce the amount of glare. I was also moving through pretty quickly to not annoy everyone on the tour.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 sec
Horseshoe Bend
Again, another sight that despite having seen the pictures you just don’t feel like you were prepared when you first see it in person.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 sec
Grand Canyon
This was mostly an overcast day, but I was fortunate to get some views with some light. We went in for the sunrise, then drove to Desert View, and then worked our way west to Hermit Trailhead. We hit every view point along the way.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 374mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 16-35mm GM II | 35mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 50mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 sec
San Francisco Peaks Valley
On our final day, we drove out early in the morning. Took a very scenic route to Flagstaff, then on to Sedona before picking up I-17 to Phoenix. While working my way through the San Francisco Peaks, it was snowy and wintery and then I found this gem.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 374mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 1/800 sec
I just completed my holy trinity today. I purchased the new Sony 16-35 G Master mark 2. This makes my holy trinity a 16-35, 24-70, and a 100-400. I had originally purchased a 70-200 (the G F4 model), but I constantly found myself wanting more reach, so I sold that and went with the 100-400. Even still I find myself wanting more reach, but for most opportunities, it is perfect.
I’ve really struggled with my decision on wide angle options. I was waffling the 14mm G Master prime and the 16-35mm. The main two reasons I went 16-35 had to do with filters and flexibility.
Most of my photography is landscapes and cityscapes. I’m often out in public or in the elements and frequently changing lenses is not always easy and rarely desirable. Although the 14mm with the aperture of 1.8 was very attractive, fact is, I’d throw it on to get a few shots, but then I’d want to switch back to my 24-70 for most shots. I do genuinely believe that given I’d have to change lenses frequently I’d likely no and miss opportunities. 16-35 gives me the wide view for vast landscapes or tight city views, but it also offers that 24-35 range so I can get some subject isolation when I want it. To me, this meant less lens changes and increased likelihood of actually using it.
My camera does have an impressive dynamic range, but it isn’t unlimited, and thus I like gradient filters for sunrises/sunsets. I also like traditional ND filters for waterfalls or moving clouds/traffic to show that sense of movement. Even though the 14mm has a gel filter option, I already have filters. Filters I actually like. The 16-35 has a 82mm thread, which is the same as the 24-70, so I’m already set.
My filters, PolarPro Summit, says they’re fully compatible to 17mm lenses, so I am interested in testing them out at 16 to see if it will work, or if I’ll have to do a minor zoom to make it work. I’ll be sure to update when I get a chance.
These are the only three lenses I have at the moment. But since switching to Sony, I’ve had 11. I started off buying more affordable lenses, sensibly, but after encountering issues, I’ve been upgrading, but only now am I where I want to be.
My first lens was the kit lens, 16-50 power zoom that shipped with the a6400. I remember taking some beautiful shots at sunrise in a marina, but it was so soft around the edges. Since that time I’ve gone from a 24 MP APS-C sensor to a 61 MP full frame. The need for better resolving lenses has increased, and although Sigma does a fantastic job for much less, I really appreciate Sony’s attention to size and weight.
This summer, I was fortunate to escape the oppressive weather in Houston by taking a road trip in Michigan and Canada. I’m quite fond of road trips, and so when I found out I needed to be up there, I started planning my route.
I have familial ties in Michigan, and I have been numerous times. For this trip, I wanted to try somewhere new. My last trip north I had done a road trip around Lake Michigan. That trip was enjoyable. I knew I wanted to do something similar. Having done the west coast, the obvious answer was the east coast. A road trip along Lake Huron.
I researched sights and points of interest. Started with reviewing highlights on maps, then general search engine searches, and finally, for the first time, I tried searching on YouTube. I was a little surprised in that there was less content than I was expecting. I did find some cool videos from Felicia Fullwood (https://www.youtube.com/@feliciafullwood). I also enjoyed the live cam in Port Huron of the Saint Clair River (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F1ABQXtCmI). I found my desired subjects, I mapped them out, calculated times and mileage, and then searched for viable hotels, and my itinerary was set.
All in all, this road trip spanned 5 days and 1,300 miles. Below are my maps and select images from my trip.
Day 1
My first day was really a preface to the road trip, I had to be in Traverse City, but I had flown into Detroit. The people I was visiting weren’t going to arrive until late, so I used the day to get north, and see some sights.
The below images are from Old Mission Peninsula, just north of Traverse City.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/400 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/250 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/160 sec
This is the Grand Traverse Lighthouse.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/400 sec
Scenes from Frankfort, MI.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/400 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 400mm | ISO 160 | f/5.6 | 1/4000 sec
Charlevoix, MI
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 58mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 sec
Day 2
The second day was getting from Traverse City up to Mackinaw City. My main goal was to get the Mackinac Bridge for sunset & sunrise. The first pictures are from Boardman Lake in Traverse City.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 100mm | ISO 100 | f/4.5 | 1/60 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 226mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/250 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 400mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/250 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 224mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 8 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 42mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 6 sec
Day 3
The third day was from Mackinaw City to Tawas City.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 148mm | ISO 100 | f/16 | 1/6 sec
Cheboygan, MI
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1600 sec
Ocqueoc Falls
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 10 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 46mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/320 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 43mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/400 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/320 sec
Day 4
Tawas City to Port Huron.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 39mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/500 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/500 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 400mm | ISO 100 | f/8 | 1/400 sec
Day 5
Port Huron to Windsor.
This was the last leg of the road trip, but I did have one more day of photography in Detroit. The drive wasn’t long, so I went up the coast a bit to catch some lighthouses.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/160 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 70mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 69mm | ISO 100 | f/5.6 | 1/800 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 3200 | f/4.0 | 1/50 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/11 | 15 sec
Final Day
Images from around Detroit.
Sony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 55mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 58mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 24-70mm GM II | 24mm | ISO 100 | f/2.8 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 100mm | ISO 100 | f/4.5 | 1/640 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 218mm | ISO 400 | f/5.6 | 1/1000 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 400mm | ISO 200 | f/5.6 | 1/500 secSony Alpha 7R IV | Sony 100-400mm GM | 196mm | ISO 200 | f/5.6 | 1/800 sec
Final Thoughts
Given I had family time, having a week to drive around by myself and get my along time in was appreciated. This had been a rough summer for me from a photography perspective. The heat in Houston was unbearable, so I wasn’t out taking pictures. The few times I tried, I was going to the usual spots, and I just felt very uninspired. When I found out I had to go to Michigan, I was quick to extend the trip to and take some pictures.
I’ve always enjoyed nautical themes, the trip along Lake Huron was pretty empty, but nice scenery, many lighthouses, I really liked Alpena, Tawas, and Port Huron. The ship activity on the lakes is also something I enjoyed watching.
Michigan is a beautiful state. I enjoyed my trip and taking photos. If you haven’t been, I can’t recommend it enough.
