Photo Friday: Learning my new camera, around Ashland, Oregon

Today's Photo Friday post is photos taken on a recent visit to Ashland, Oregon (mostly on a dayhike at Grizzly Peak). Mostly, though, they were me learning to use a new camera, the Lumix DMC-ZS100. The change of camera cost me a bit with regard to the macro, but the test was to see if the additional clarity (it has a much larger sensor than my previous Lumix) would compensate. It looks like it does, though it requires a little more work in post-processing.

Note: this isn't a camera review. For that, check out the assessment by a pro at Photoseek.com.

We were visiting a friend, and in training for a pack trip, so instead of spending a lot of time in town, we went for a hike (we did go wander around downtown afterwards, but I didn't take photos). We drove about 20 minutes out of town and did a very popular 5.5-mile loop on Grizzly Peak.

Wildflowers were still blooming with enthusiasm. The meadow made this feel a lot higher than it is.

Mt. Ashland is just visible behind the trees.

A closer look at the wildflowers.

Insects liked them too. Especially the butterflies.

A big part of what I had to figure out was how to get the macro shots. I had to learn to back away, and count on cropping. All of this is made more challenging by the fact that I have to use the viewfinder, since I can't see the LED screen without my reading glasses.

I improved over the next couple of weeks, but it's clear that the camera can do a lot.

I took about a dozen photos of these giant seed balls. They were easy to see to test if I was getting a clear macro, plus they are really cool.

More flowers as we head over the top.

From the top of Grizzly Peak you can see into California, to Mt. Shasta. This was mid-day, so not very good light for the view.

The next morning we did a hike in the watershed, and stumbled on some cool art in the forest.

And another:

This guy wasn't in Ashland. He was at the Klamath River rest stop on I5 while we were on our way to Oregon. I'm a little worried about him, because he just sat there and let us take photos, etc. But a beautiful fox, anyway.

This was taken just by the light of our pathetic headlights, with the camera braced on the car door. It is a little grainy, but amazingly clear for the conditions and the camera, and way better than the old camera could have done.

So that's the first test, and I'm pretty pleased with the results. We went on to spend a week backpacking near Glacier Peak (Washington State), and I'll have more photos in the weeks to come as I get on with editing them.

Meanwhile, hopefully by next Friday I'll be back in the groove and get a bit of flash fiction up. Right now I'm working on a longer short story, for submission.

©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2017
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