Going Retro

[Tronhard]

With a bunch of legacy gear dating back 10 years or so I decided to haul out my old Canon 400d, put the modest but (I think) excellent 18-135 IS STM lens on and go for a walk in the remains of a very blustery day in Victoria. The results show, I believe, that there is still value in older gear, despite the pressure to get the newest kit. Comments welcome.


HEAVEN knows why the skipper chose to leave harbour in a howling gale, and they weren't even completely away from shelter at this point. I had to really brace against the wind for this...


Taking a few steps back and looking the other way one can see the pounding the breakwater was taking. The sea depth at this point is about 25m.


Moving into the inner harbour, while still gusty it was much easier to stand... This is a shot of flowers in a garden dedicated to Canadians who liberated The Netherlands in WWII


It seems I can't get away from Captain James Cook RN, who has major historical links with both NZ and Canada. I liked the drama of the backlighting as his figure dominates the centre of the Inner Harbour.


A crisp breeze and backlit flag offered a chance to see how the lens would reach. The result has been fairly heavily cropped!

[JBW]

Early spring sunny day and a good breeze for sailing... what's not to understand. I admit to being a neophyte but to me the shots look great.

[Shadowman]

Nice captures.

[george013]

Good shots. Not much wrong with an older camera. You might compare 2 shots with the same lens and 2 different camera's with basic settings.

A few questions about the used subjects.
Skipper souds as a Dutch word. Original schipper, from schip which means ship, but often pronounced as skipper.

Wondering why there is a garden in New Zealand dedicated to the Canadian liberators of Holland. There must be a story behind that garden.

I had to look for the connections between James Cook and Canada and New Zealand. As a member of the Royal Navy he fought in Canada against the France. Well, fought not exactly. He was cartograph and made some excellent and usable carts. In New Zealand he was the first European that merchandised with the Maori's. New Zealand was discovered in 1642 by Abel Tasman. He thought he was in South America and called it Stateland. Hendrik Brouwer sailed around Stateland and proved it was an island. He mentioned it Nova Zeelandia after a Dutch province. James Cook changed it in New Zealand after 150 years.

And again a Canadian flag. There must be some more behind those pictures.

I hope you don't mind.

George

[Geoff F]

These look OK, Trev.

Just a couple of thoughts. I think I would remove the seagull from the top left corner of Capt. Cook photo and there are a few sensor dust spots on the flag shot; plus one very small bright spot towards the bottom left corner.

[Tronhard]

Hi Geoff:

Thanks for the head up! [

I had left the photos much as taken apart from the cropping so I let the bird do its thing but I will look at that. I had not noticed the blotch on the flag image, but will check my camera to see what the issue is. I did have to clean the lens after because of wind-blown stuff, but I never actually took the lens out... I shall investigate!

These look OK, Trev.

Just a couple of thoughts. I think I would remove the seagull from the top left corner of Capt. Cook photo and there are a few sensor dust spots on the flag shot; plus one very small bright spot towards the bottom left corner.

[Tronhard]

Hi George:
WITH REGARDS THE NEW TECH:
We are beset constantly with the latest toys that will apparently improve our images. I am not immune from such temptations, although I have throttled back on my purchases of late. Still, when on looks at the quality of photos that were taken by earlier equipment, there was nothing really wrong with them.

ABOUT THE USED SUBJECTS:
The term skipper is a very common on in nautical parlance to refer to the ship's (aircraft or boat's) commander or captain - it now often refers to any leader. I have lived in the UK, Oz, NZ and Canada and found it transcends all of those borders. It may well be of Dutch or German origin, which would not be surprising since English is an amalgam of many cultures' languages.

Captain Cook:
Coming from a family steeped in naval history, Captain Cook is a bit of a hero of mine. Born from humble agrarian beginnings in 1728, his love of the sea and parents who valued education, combined with intelligence and hard work, saw him achieve a prominent position in history. He was a phenomenal navigator, surveyor and explorer.

In his early years, serving as a merchant navy apprentice, Cook studied algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and astronomy — all skills he would need one day to command his own ship. After passing his officer's examinations in 1752, he soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks but in 1755, within a month of being offered his first command, he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy, at a time when Britain was re-arming for the Seven Years' War between England and France. In joining the Royal Navy he lost his status and started as an able seaman and masters' mate. His abilities in action saw him promoted quickly to botswain and his first temporary command was in March 1756 when he was briefly master of the Cruizer, a small cutter. He took his naval command exams and 1757 he joined the frigate HMS Solebay as ship's master.

During the Seven Years' War, Cook took part in the major amphibious assault that captured the Fortress of Louisbourg from the French, after which he participated in the siege of Quebec City and then the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. He showed a talent for surveying and cartography, and was responsible for mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege, thus allowing General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack on the Plains of Abraham.

Cook's surveying ability was applied to mapping the jagged coast of Newfoundland in the 1760s. His efforts over five seasons produced the first large-scale and accurate maps of the island's coasts and were the first scientific, large scale, hydrographic surveys to use precise triangulation to establish land outlines. They also gave Cook his mastery of practical surveying, achieved under often adverse conditions, and brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his career and in the direction of British overseas discovery.

In 1766, Admiralty engaged Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The initial purpose of the voyage was to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun as a means of determining longitude. Cook, at the age of 39, was promoted to lieutenant to grant him sufficient status to take the command. Secretly we was also ordered to explore for land masses - the Terra Australis that was hinted at in discoveries by the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman.

While he did not originally discover New Zealand (that honor goes first to the Maori, then the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman), he was wily enough to plant the British flag and claim it for the English Crown. He gave many of NZ's major geographical places their names: such as The Bay of Plenty, where he and his crew found abundance in material and a welcome from the local Maori, further south he named Poverty Bay for much the opposite reasons. His first sighting of NZ was on the extreme east coast of the North Island, which he named Young Nick's Head after the cabin boy who first spied land. He was an amazing surveyor: when, using the technology of the day, he set the distance from spots between Auckland and Wellington in NZ (a distance or some 600km), later GPS readings suggest he was out by less than 100m. The stretch of water between NZ's North and South Islands is called Cook Strait in his honour. So one can see why he is held in high esteem within NZ. Cook went on to claim and survey parts of Australia, ran aground on the Barrier Reef and spent some time repairing his ship and giving his crew R&R before continuing up to Indonesia.

His reports to the British government convinced them to populate both land masses. While he was hailed as a hero upon his return to England, he was overshadowed by the aristocratic Joseph Banks, who had provided scientific services for the voyage. He was promoted to commander (promotion was hard to come by in those times) and given a larger ship, plus a second vessel for a second voyage. This was again supported by the Royal Geographical Society, still convinced that there was a large land mass to the south of NZ, either connected or separate. He circumnavigated the globe along the incredibly rough Southern Ocean - this has no land mass to break waves that consequently grow to enormous heights. He circumnavigated NZ to prove its size, sailed south almost to Antarctica then sailed past South Africa into the Atlantic, surveying and claiming South Georgia along the way before returning to Britain. Among many other things his voyage was the first use of a chronometer, giving accurate time to establish longitude.

Cooks third voyage was to establish the Northwest Passage over the North American Continent. He sailed into the Pacific from the South then north, meeting continental America around California. Cook explored and mapped the coast all the way to the Bering Strait, on the way identifying what came to be known as Cook Inlet in Alaska. In a single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American north-west coastline on world maps for the first time, determined the extent of Alaska, and closed the gaps in Russian (from the West) and Spanish (from the South) exploratory probes of the Northern limits of the Pacific.

In 1779, returning via the Hawaiian Islands, he was involved in a dispute with the natives and while attempting to take the Hawaiian King prisoner was killed by the local tribesmen.

He was very careful of his crew's health and took along fruits, especially limes, to reduce the risk of scurvy a disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. From this habit English sailors became known to their American counterparts as Limeys. Over his three voyages he covered much of the globe and made a major contribution to discovering and mapping many new landmasses.

Below is a map showing his three voyages:

Red shows his 1st Voyage, Green shows the 2nd and Blue is the 3rd - the dotted line shows the voyage after his death

The Dutch Gardens:
During the period in WWII after the D-Day landings at Normandy, Canadian units were heavily involved in the battles for Caen. After that they were tasked with working their way up the coastlines of Belgium and Holland to liberate the coastal belt. This involved a long slog of hard fighting against some of the Wehrmacht's best units. For a full description of this campaign I would suggest this link: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...on-of-holland/

I hope this helps! :-)

[george013]

Hi George:
WITH REGARDS THE NEW TECH:
We are beset constantly with the latest toys that will apparently improve our images. I am not immune from such temptations, although I have throttled back on my purchases of late. Still, when on looks at the quality of photos that were taken by earlier equipment, there was nothing really wrong with them.

ABOUT THE USED SUBJECTS:
The term skipper is a very common on in nautical parlance to refer to the ship's (aircraft or boat's) commander or captain - it now often refers to any leader. I have lived in the UK, Oz, NZ and Canada and found it transcends all of those borders. It may well be of Dutch or German origin, which would not be surprising since English is an amalgam of many cultures' languages.

Captain Cook:
Coming from a family steeped in naval history, Captain Cook is a bit of a hero of mine. Born from humble agrarian beginnings in 1728, his love of the sea and parents who valued education, combined with intelligence and hard work, saw him achieve a prominent position in history. He was a phenomenal navigator, surveyor and explorer.

In his early years, serving as a merchant navy apprentice, Cook studied algebra, geometry, trigonometry, navigation and astronomy — all skills he would need one day to command his own ship. After passing his officer's examinations in 1752, he soon progressed through the merchant navy ranks but in 1755, within a month of being offered his first command, he volunteered for service in the Royal Navy, at a time when Britain was re-arming for the Seven Years' War between England and France. In joining the Royal Navy he lost his status and started as an able seaman and masters' mate. His abilities in action saw him promoted quickly to botswain and his first temporary command was in March 1756 when he was briefly master of the Cruizer, a small cutter. He took his naval command exams and 1757 he joined the frigate HMS Solebay as ship's master.

During the Seven Years' War, Cook took part in the major amphibious assault that captured the Fortress of Louisbourg from the French, after which he participated in the siege of Quebec City and then the Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759. He showed a talent for surveying and cartography, and was responsible for mapping much of the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River during the siege, thus allowing General Wolfe to make his famous stealth attack on the Plains of Abraham.

Cook's surveying ability was applied to mapping the jagged coast of Newfoundland in the 1760s. His efforts over five seasons produced the first large-scale and accurate maps of the island's coasts and were the first scientific, large scale, hydrographic surveys to use precise triangulation to establish land outlines. They also gave Cook his mastery of practical surveying, achieved under often adverse conditions, and brought him to the attention of the Admiralty and Royal Society at a crucial moment both in his career and in the direction of British overseas discovery.

In 1766, Admiralty engaged Cook to command a scientific voyage to the Pacific Ocean. The initial purpose of the voyage was to observe and record the transit of Venus across the Sun as a means of determining longitude. Cook, at the age of 39, was promoted to lieutenant to grant him sufficient status to take the command. Secretly we was also ordered to explore for land masses - the Terra Australis that was hinted at in discoveries by the Dutch sailor Abel Tasman.

While he did not originally discover New Zealand (that honor goes first to the Maori, then the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman), he was wily enough to plant the British flag and claim it for the English Crown. He gave many of NZ's major geographical places their names: such as The Bay of Plenty, where he and his crew found abundance in material and a welcome from the local Maori, further south he named Poverty Bay for much the opposite reasons. His first sighting of NZ was on the extreme east coast of the North Island, which he named Young Nick's Head after the cabin boy who first spied land. He was an amazing surveyor: when, using the technology of the day, he set the distance from spots between Auckland and Wellington in NZ (a distance or some 600km), later GPS readings suggest he was out by less than 100m. The stretch of water between NZ's North and South Islands is called Cook Strait in his honour. So one can see why he is held in high esteem within NZ. Cook went on to claim and survey parts of Australia, ran aground on the Barrier Reef and spent some time repairing his ship and giving his crew R&R before continuing up to Indonesia.

His reports to the British government convinced them to populate both land masses. While he was hailed as a hero upon his return to England, he was overshadowed by the aristocratic Joseph Banks, who had provided scientific services for the voyage. He was promoted to commander (promotion was hard to come by in those times) and given a larger ship, plus a second vessel for a second voyage. This was again supported by the Royal Geographical Society, still convinced that there was a large land mass to the south of NZ, either connected or separate. He circumnavigated the globe along the incredibly rough Southern Ocean - this has no land mass to break waves that consequently grow to enormous heights. He circumnavigated NZ to prove its size, sailed south almost to Antarctica then sailed past South Africa into the Atlantic, surveying and claiming South Georgia along the way before returning to Britain. Among many other things his voyage was the first use of a chronometer, giving accurate time to establish longitude.

Cooks third voyage was to establish the Northwest Passage over the North American Continent. He sailed into the Pacific from the South then north, meeting continental America around California. Cook explored and mapped the coast all the way to the Bering Strait, on the way identifying what came to be known as Cook Inlet in Alaska. In a single visit, Cook charted the majority of the North American north-west coastline on world maps for the first time, determined the extent of Alaska, and closed the gaps in Russian (from the West) and Spanish (from the South) exploratory probes of the Northern limits of the Pacific.

In 1779, returning via the Hawaiian Islands, he was involved in a dispute with the natives and while attempting to take the Hawaiian King prisoner was killed by the local tribesmen.

He was very careful of his crew's health and took along fruits, especially limes, to reduce the risk of scurvy a disease caused by deficiency of vitamin C. From this habit English sailors became known to their American counterparts as Limeys. Over his three voyages he covered much of the globe and made a major contribution to discovering and mapping many new landmasses.

Below is a map showing his three voyages:

Red shows his 1st Voyage, Green shows the 2nd and Blue is the 3rd - the dotted line shows the voyage after his death

The Dutch Gardens:
During the period in WWII after the D-Day landings at Normandy, Canadian units were heavily involved in the battles for Caen. After that they were tasked with working their way up the coastlines of Belgium and Holland to liberate the coastal belt. This involved a long slog of hard fighting against some of the Wehrmacht's best units. For a full description of this campaign I would suggest this link: http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.c...on-of-holland/

I hope this helps! :-)

Thanks for the answer. Of course I knew about Cook, but not that much.
I just wonder why Canada is a central point in your pictures. Even the ship has a Canadian flag.

Some more about history. Abel Tasman called New Zealand Statenland first, the land above Stateneiland which is the most southern part of Argentinie. Sailors could calculatie the latirude when they new the day of the year. On your map New Zealand and South America are about on one line. What they couldn't calculate was the longitude. They had to compare the local time with a reference time, now the Greenwich time. They hadn't clocks that could resist the movements of the ship. I still don't know how and when that was solved and if Cook had that knowledge already. Seeing his straight way north on his third journey I suppose he did.


About old gear, newer isn't better. When my camara's and lenses were stolen I bought exacly the same back again. A Nikon D700 and a Nikon 28-70 f2.8 AF-S. The lens isn't made for a long time but I think in some ways still better as the newer 27-70 f2.8. It only doesn't have VR.

George

[Rebel]

I love the first 2 shots Trev, you've captured the energy of the ocean well!

[george013]

Trev,
I found the answer on the longitudal problem. James Cook was one of the first to use it on his second trip.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison
Ted will be pleased, it's a chronometer.

George