St. Joseph North Light from the South

This winter hasn't been as cold as usual.  As such, my favorite wither light area didn't have the usual ice formations in February.  Taking a photo from the north has very little ice.  Taking photos from the south, Silver Beach park, there was ice in the protected area south of the inlet barrier.  But past the barriers, there is no ice.  There are nice ice formations on the rails that protect the walkways to the light, and the farther from land you go, the more ice.  Sort of makes sense?   For as many people that were out on a day trip like myself, I'm pleasantly surprised there weren't as many walkers to the light.  Granted the walkway was very icy, however there are usually some people with questionable courage.  They must have stayed home.
I was happy to go visit the area last weekend.  First time I've been out there in winter without a flat sky and a lot of wind.  And like the shots from Reno with the clear blue skies, I find a little cloud action would be welcome.  
But because it was clear, I still stuck around.

St. Joseph North Light from the South

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

160 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/8, ISO 100

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

It's always a good day, even without clouds.

I shouldn't be surprised - the D780 takes a good picture

Saturday was made to order for a day trip.  Perfect Michigan winter sky.  Temps above freezing.  Light breeze.  And two pieces of equipment to test/play with.
First, the D780.  For the day I had it matched up with the 70-300.  (I typically don't change lenses out in the field so testing with the 200-500 will come later.)  I wanted to use the Live View option but never did.  Optical View Finder all the way.  But what I did get to play with was multiple forms of Auto Focus.  I usually shoot with single point but with the Live View there are multiple options, much improved due to the Z6.  And so I didn't play with the Live View Auto Focus modes, but did play with more in the OFV.  Interesting to watch the points move with the sea gulls.  Technology.  And truth be told, the D500 has the same options and I just got stuck on single point.  But that is getting away from the point, the photos from the D780.
Magnifying to 100%, looking at photos from the D7200, D500 and D780 I can really tell the difference (Improvement) between the D7200 and D780.  The D500 is a different animal.  In 'normal lighting' it is tough to tell the difference.  Since I was shooting with Auto ISO today, the cameras did a lot of the work.  But definitely the ISO was lower for the day on the D780.
So, some of today's fun.
The St. Joseph North Pier Light is one of my favorite shots.  And it looks like the house has been painted recently.  My last shots has some 'rust' colored spots on the white paint.  Also the roof looks a lot brighter.  All in all it looks good.  The last time out was the first adventure with the D500.  Great proving grounds.

St. Joe's Light in February - No Ice

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

220 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/8, ISO 200 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

While walking around, there was a local doing some fishing.  I saw on of the rods against the ice encrusted rail.  Great subject picture.  There is a lot to like here.  The detail in the reel and that part of the rod is really great.  That ice, so cool.  (Sorry...)

Fishing Pole on Ice

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

95 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/8, ISO 100 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Meanwhile at the South Haven light.  There is some ice on the south side, somewhat protected from water movement I guess.  It was fun to move around, anticipating the waves for timing and position.  Would have been really nice with some bigger waves, but I'll take this action.

South Haven Splash

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

220 mm, 1/1600 sec, f/8, ISO 110 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size FX

Coming up soon, the work with the 200-500.  Spoiler alert, it all worked.

F/A-18E Super Hornet Nose On

Last September while walking around the military display at the Reno Air Races, I was thinking of creative ways to describe the air power I was in the midst of.  I was staring at the business end of the A-10.  I was thinking if this was the first thing you saw in your day, your day is not going to end well.  And you would have this same thought with any of the aircraft on display.
My photos of the A-10 that days didn't turn out as I wanted.  To be fair to the rookie photographer, I was not the only one in the area.  Lots of people 'noise' in the images.  And if I cropped in too close to the nose of the aircraft, well lets say if I get into that opportunity again I'll have a better image to work with.
So on to the Super Hornet.  47,000 pounds of whoop ass.  Carry anything, anywhere, any time.  Any weather.  Blue Angles aircraft will make the change from F/A 18 Hornet to the Super Hornet in 2021.
I saw a few shows with some form of Hornet aircraft last year.  Now that I know what to look for to tell the difference between the two, I'll be better informed.  What we saw for a brief demo at Reno was the Super Hornet.  I had an earlier post here.
The year before I had done a head on shot of a F15 Eagle.  I liked how it turned out, even if all I could photograph was the aircraft sitting on the ground.
This last year, the Super Hornets were on the tarmac.  This is a great frame with the blue sky and mountains.  And, the aircraft fits nicely in the 1920x1080 format.

F/A-18E 'Super Hornet" Nose On

NIKON D7200 Ver.1.04/18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6

70 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/9, ISO 280 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode, Size DX

This was taken in the noon hour, you can't tell by the shadows.  Still looks like morning.  I do like the way it fills the frame, almost like that was the primary design.

#3 Hole Save

It is tough not be excited about hockey this time of year.  It is this week in 1980, 40 years ago if my math is correct, that the USA Men's hockey team beat the best team, amateur or pro, in the world.  A group of college kids beat the Red Army.  In 9 of 10 games, it would be the other way around - but on on February 22, 1980 that 1 in 10 happened.  There are three events that I remember where I was and who I was with.  This is one of them.  Thank you YouTube.
So the Pens win over the weekend and are looking like they are playoff bound.  I'm getting to the point where I can say 'my' Firebirds, and my Firebirds are looking good as well.  So I'm in the hockey mood these days.  (I've been working on some aircraft photos taken last spring in an effort to have warm thoughts about this year's tour, but not over this week.)
So in the hockey mood, I took the D780 out for its first night out.  Lucky to have any good results at all, I was playing with the menu a lot.  But only on the DLSR side, not the mirrorless side.  Still working on the mirrorless stuff.
One of the things I need to see work is that the new camera would write to both cards.  So I set it to write RAW files to one and JPG files to the other card.  (Spoiler Alert, both slots work.)  And I have a JPG file to work with as well, for comparative purposes.
The #3 hole save.

Straight from the camera.

My take.

Goalie #3 Hole Save

NIKON D780 Ver.01.00/70-300mm f/4.5-5.6

300 mm, 1/1000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 (AUTO)

MANUAL Mode

One of the advantages I've been using as a crutch when shooting with the D500 is the focal length there is a optical 'trick' that gives an allusion of a larger lens.  Not so here.  300 mm is 300 mm here.  But it was enough.
Saturday was Tropical night.  Dig those outfits.

The D780 has arrived

I pulled the early trigger on the D780.  It's what I do best.  I did take advantage of the Nikon trade in program, so we say goodbye to the D7200.  The D7200 was a great learning camera.  Had all the bells and whistles to introduce Nikon's menus and options.  And took great photos.  But time to move forward.
The D780 is a jump to full frame.  (Fortunately I saw the move coming some time ago and have a number of full frame lenses to help the transition.)  It is not in the professional class.  Nikon lists it as Advanced Entry.  It will do, easily.  
Why did I get it?  The full frame sensor is one reason.  The other reason is the advancement in the 'Live View'.  Essentially Nikon made the LV a mirrorless option.  Without getting too deep into the types of auto-focus in play here, Nikon took the Z6 auto-focus and put it in a DSLR body.  I get that the Z6 is first generation and has a long way to go to get to Sony-land but you have to start somewhere.  And I believe as the Z6 is advanced, the updates will flow to the D780.
The D780 will give me better low light performance, remember the arena horse events and the challenges.  I can only reference the D500 specs, but the D500 pixel size is 4.22 microns and the D780 size is 5.94 microns.  The larger the pixel, the less light required to generate light information.
In practical terms, the first field trip for the D780 was last night's OHL hockey game.
For practical purposes, the aperture (f/5.6) and speed (1/800, 1/1000) were used int he outings.  In outings with the D500, I had the ISO limit set to 6500.  With the D780 last night, the ISO limit was set to 16000.  With the D500, there were a number of images at 6500, which tells me the limit was reached.  (Still great photos.)  Last night, with the D780 only one image hit ISO 5000.  Same arena, same lighting, same camera set up.  All things as equal as I can get.
The D500 is still considered the flagship of Nikon's DX line.  There are a number of specs that are heard to beat, and the D780 falls a bit behind.  Difference between a Flagship and an Advanced Entry.  For example, the D500 is 10 frames per second.  The D780 is listed at 7 FPS.  But.....  kick the D780 into 'mirrorless' mode and it will go 12 FPS.  Battery life goes to the D780, by almost double.  Which is good, because there is no battery grip/pack available at this time.  Not a fan of this development, as I liked the feel of the D7200 and D500 with the option.  On a positive note, it takes the same battery as the D7200 so I can use the one that was in the grip as a spare.  The D780 also boasts of an internal focus stacking operation.  Need to read up on that.
The only major down side I had last night was the placement of the AF On button.  On the D90, D7200 and D500 progression, I used the option to set up back button focus with this button.  On the D780, the button was moved slightly.  In its place was the 'Live View' button.  When I had to move fast, I would put myself in LV.  Then I'd to look for the AF On.  I'll get over it, but I wonder who made that decision.  Maybe I'll grow into it.
The D780 will help me move into a mirrorless environment.  It is not totally mirrorless, but does have some of the benefits.  I does have a true silent mode.  No mirror actuation.  Focus off of the sensor, not of disassociated optics.  Looking forward to learning this.  
Thankfully there is YouTube to help me along.  I'm sure my favorite camera author will have a book out soon, but for today I will be involved in videos.

22 Hour Thoughts

Back from a week in Rochester, MN.  I quit flying to these meetings a few years ago.  I drive.  About 22 hours round trip.  I head north over the bridge, follow the top of Lake Michigan out of Michigan, through Wisconsin, cross the Mississippi to Minnesota.  And five days later, reverse the process.
The trip is a good clearing of the mind for me.  Like opening the windows to my head.  It's not entirely a 22 hour 'vacation'.  For the first half of the return drive, I'm trying to comprehend what I had learned in the prior days.  I get to chat with some really bright people.  Really bright.  And I have to come down from those conversations.  Or try to understand them.
And I get to listen to books.  This trip, I finished a book on Lockheed's Skunk Works.  And got a few hours into a book on the Battle of Midway.
Now to the photography stuff.  Lots of time to think of the upcoming photo tour.  And this year's equipment path.  And is there anything new to go after.
I keep looking at the air show pages.  The Charleston page has the event, but none of the other events or attractions.  There will be more than the Blue Angles.  I know there will be more.  The Cherry Point show is shaping up nicely.  The London show has added a flying event with a Focke-Wulf 190 and Messerschmitt ME-109.  This show started as a 50/50 deal for me because it is right up against the Reno show.  With the Snowbirds, Thunderbirds and these two WWII veterans, it is a must go now.  I'll figure out the border crossing thing.
For the horses, I have the October dates for the MIHA finals.  I also have the dates for the regional events.  I have dates for the Michigan Barrel Riders events.  So, lots of horse stuff opportunities.  Maybe even some cowboy boots?  (I did have a nice pair when I was stationed in Lubbock, TX a lifetime ago.)
So on the lookout for something new.  During last haircut, the hairdresser told me about a drag strip that isn't too far away.  Could be interesting.  There are also a couple of Saturday night race tracks in the area.  Hockey doesn't run all year.
There is a point to all the rambling.  That is, I have lots that I can do, if I get off my duff, the weather cooperates and the paying job doesn't interfere.  And as a male who is always in toy acquisition mode I had time to think of the equipment road-map.  The next step for me in the camera world is a full frame.  I've been holding off on a purchase of the D850 waiting for the price to drop a bit more.  There is a rumor that it will be replaced this year.  Or for the year end fire sale this year.  The D850 is professional grade - that is a lot of camera.  And $$$s.  And is recognized as one of the best out there today.  However....  The D780 which is just released can be had for a lot less.  There are a few negatives to the frame, that is things that could have been added.  There are a few positives.  The sensor was stolen from the D5 and the brains (EXPEED6) is from the Z6.  Yep, it has mirrorless technology.  And it is what was called Live View, is now a mirrorless process.  A hybrid.  In a DLSR body.  Now the only question is to jump now or wait till the fire sale at the end of the year.  And this is where all my plans for the next few months kicks in.  If I jump now, there will be lots of use in the next few months.  And the damn Nikon Sales department keeps reminding me about the sales offer.  Every day.
As to the next lens, I can wait.  Looking at the 70-200 f/2.8.  I'm doing OK with what I have but would like something faster for the indoor stuff.  End of year fire sale.
All that in a 22 hour drive.