Mason G's Photography Journal

What a dream machine! My SONY A1 Mark ii arrived after about 3 months of waiting. Got to get on that wait list sooner! I WAS able to purchase this before any tariffs were enabled so I got it for the original list price.  The camera is much like my SONY A7 iii. I feel I had outgrown that camera in several ways. I like the doubling of pixels in RAW for one. I have watched several good videos on customizing the SONY A1 and a few new ones for thge A1 ii. It helped me understand a lot about the camera and its capabilities. I got this camera as my eye was beginning to heal from the torn retina experience. So it was slow going and I feel that a lot of my camera work is a bit slower because of how my eyes have changed in the past 2 years. I have to use reader glasses to see things up close when wearing contacts. That is kind of frustrating, but I remain positive about how my eyes have changed... What can I do - it's a part of aging. Anyway the big thing I wanted to try to get better with w...

On Friday February 14TH, 2025 my left eye retina tore and detached. It started the day before. I noticed a slight eyelash-like line appear in my field of view and I thought it was related to my new trial contacts I received the day before. I figutred the line wo0uld go away with a new set of contacts, but on Friday it was still there in the morning. As I left Bardo after a coffee visit with Brian I noticed the line change to more of a sphere as I stood up from the high-table chair I had been sitting in. I still kind of thought it might be related to the new lenses so I headed off to the Botanic Gardens. Once there I noticed the sphere change to more of an opaque coloring and contacted Optique to get a quicjk diagnosis before theuy closed. Once I arrived there they took a look and concluded that my retina has torn - probably through the Macula. They immediately contacted Kaiser for a surgical consult and by Tuesday I think I went in for surgery. Here's a nasty photo of my eye afte...

My wife and I enjoyed a trip to Japan in July. We toured across the country for 11 days and had a great time learning about culture, food and so much more. On this this trip the focus was not photography and wa geared more towards learning about Japanese culture and seeing the sites and cities.  We ventured on all forms of transport inclining the famed Shinkansen bullet train, ferries, airplanes, taxis/limos, Japan Rail subways and trains. I think I liked the Shinkansen the best - he had fancy first-class rail cars we glided upon. From a photo-taking perspective I found difficulty in using my gear. There were specific rules and restrictions in the many of the iconic locations we visited. In crowded areas one could not use a tripod to set up that perfect shot or use a filter to get a longer exposure for example. That didn't stop me from using my iPhone ALOT of the time. My photos from the journey came out pretty well. I have a mix of shots from my SONY A7 III and the iPhone 13Pro....

 I set out in late April to join a workshop to be held in the Outer Banks of North Carolina to shoot piers, lighthouses, and beaches - hopefully with the Milky Way gracing us with dark sky views. We also had a few days to head over to an inner banks animal refuge where we might see bears, alligators and other wildlife. I stayed in Rodanthe at the KOA (in an actual room) arriving a few days early to get adjusted. I also planned an extra few days after to shoot wild horses on the beach of Carova further north.  Sunset in OBX Our biggest challenge was cloudy weather and also the timing of the Moon as it approached a New Moon after our workshop ended (but I'd still be in the area).  My first morning I rose before sunrise and shot the beach at the KOA which turned out to be fairly nice. I was able to rise early most other mornings and shoot the sunrise which was a lot of fun! I discovered that the colors and hues along the beach and in the water reveal amazing pastels and colo...

 Got a lens to capture that distance I feel I am missing out on with my older 70-300mm. I really like my new Sigma, but have had to practice a bit with it to learn how best to use it. It is a beast of a lens. I don't know if it is something else or just a coincidence, but my right arm/elbow has been aching more (could be arthritis coming on) since I've been taking this lens out.  Here's a link to the Sigma blog with this lens featured.  I did my research before buying and found a new/refurbished one at Mike's for less than top price. In practice I would say that it works GREAT in good light. Not sure yet how well it does when there's less light so I need to see how noise and shade other factors play into what I've seen so far. The weight is a bit of a concern and it takes up a lot of space in my bag. I had to dedicate the top 1/3 of my big Peak Design bag for it, but I've also carried it in the smaller bags with modifications to the velcro shelves in them.  ...

 I've recently visited my opthalmologist to check my eyes. I have a number of age related issues like most of us in our 60s.  A little background will help...  I had both eyes receive Lasik over 20 years ago. That really improved my vision and I have not needed glasses to go about my day life or so I thought. A year or two ago I noticed (during COVID) that I had these bumps on part of my eye and had it diagnosed as pinguecela which is a non-cancerous growth on the cornea caused by UV rays - like a lifetime of UV rays. As an adult I have worn sunglasses when outside, but from what my doctor explained a lot of the exposure happened when I was younger.  This time at my visit in October of 2023 I had my annual visit with Dr. Schaeffer and learned that my eyes needed correction for distance. I had noticed a drop off and especially when there is less light that I cannot see clearly so I got a prescription set of sun glasses.  When I tried the new cool frames for the f...