Micro 4/3 Strawberry Fields in Texas - pics with GH2 and K5

Armanius

Bring Jack back!
Location
Houston, Texas
Name
Jack
I've been meaning to share these photos for a long time. I took these over a year ago! This was my first time ever going out with two large sensor cameras. Prior to this outing, I'd always carried a large sensor camera and a point and shoot. But on this day, I decided to take the Pentax K-5 with a 35mm F2 lens, and the Panasonic GH2 with the 45-200mm lens. So I had a 50mm equivalent on one camera, and telephoto of 90-400mm on the other camera. No need to change lenses. Ironically, I no longer own either camera. How things change in one year!

My fiancé (then girlfriend) and I took a day trip to a strawberry farm out in Alvin, Texas. It's about 20-30 miles south of Houston. It was our first time ever to a strawberry farm.

Our first stop was at BBQ joint for lunch. Luckily for me, it was rib buffet day. Not so lucky for me, the ribs just weren't very good! (Pentax K-5)

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3000 calories by Armanius, on Flickr

The fiancé however was smarter than me and ordered something else, which she was obviously enjoying. (K-5)

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Food makes me happy by Armanius, on Flickr

The strawberry farm was packed with people upon our arrival. (Panasonic GH2)

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Strawberry Patch 2 by Armanius, on Flickr

The plan was to use the K-5 for close ups, but the plan was quickly thrown out the window, and I was taking far shots with the K-5, close ups with the GH2 and vice-versa. (K-5)

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Strawberry Field 1 by Armanius, on Flickr

(K-5)

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Strawberry Portrait 2 by Armanius, on Flickr

(GH2)

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Strawberry Portrait 4 by Armanius, on Flickr

One thing I really enjoyed about having a telephoto lens, was the ability to take candids of people without the subject ever knowing that there was someone taking a photo of them. I was very impressed with the quality of the Panasonic 45-200 lens.

Is that a doppelgänger of Amin in this photo? :) (GH2)

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Strawberry Patch 4 by Armanius, on Flickr

(GH2)

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Strawberry Patch 6 by Armanius, on Flickr

(GH2)

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Strawberry Patch 5 by Armanius, on Flickr

This photo turned out to be my favorite photo of the day. I like the combination of colors, the interaction of the subjects, and the near 3D-like pop. It could have well been an Abercrombie Fitch ad, even though the "models" on this photo have too much clothes on for an A&F ad! (GH2)

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Strawberry Patch 3 by Armanius, on Flickr

The K-5 has amazing dynamic range. And it allows for some near HDR-like post processing with only one single frame. The clouds in the original photo were overexposed and nearly white. I was able to pull back the highlights to give the clouds more definition. (K-5)

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Strawberry Patch 1 by Armanius, on Flickr

The 45-200 lens even allowed for some pseudo-macro photos. (GH2)

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Strawberry by Armanius, on Flickr

The Pentax FA35/2 is likely one of the better and most underrated lens in the Pentax lineup. Sharp at F2, while providing a nice out of focus blur. (K-5)

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Strawberry portraits by Armanius, on Flickr

The strawberries turned out to be the sweetest strawberries I've ever had. Time to go back and pick some more!
 
Great images, Armando, thanks for posting! Were you trying to make sure your other children were not feeling jealous of the Fuji baby? :D

I was really thinking about that 35/f2. It seems like it is actually better than the FA 31 at f2. BTW, what do you think of the manual focus ring on that lens? Is it as tough to find as some people say? Definitely find myself doing some MF in quiet places on my K-01... makes for a stealthy camera.
 
Very nice Armando. Too bad the ribs weren't good - they must have been pretty bad if you remember that detail! Fortunately the strawberries made up for it. And that the girlfriend is now the fiancé makes it a great memory indeed!

I have to admit, though, that when I saw the thread title I thought the Beatles were going to be involved somehow. Shows you how deep cultural moments like an old song can seep in - I can't even see the words "strawberry fields" and just think of simple strawberry fields without the song coming along for the ride. On the upside, it'll probably be stuck in my head all day, and I could do much much worse!

-Ray
 
Great story telling! Fresh strawberries right from the field taste amazing don't they.

I've been enjoying the K5. Used it in the rain the past couple of days.
 
Great images, Armando, thanks for posting! Were you trying to make sure your other children were not feeling jealous of the Fuji baby? :D

I was really thinking about that 35/f2. It seems like it is actually better than the FA 31 at f2. BTW, what do you think of the manual focus ring on that lens? Is it as tough to find as some people say? Definitely find myself doing some MF in quiet places on my K-01... makes for a stealthy camera.

The FA35/2 is very good IQ-wise. I've never used a FA31, but according to Photozone's testing, both lenses are comparable IQ-wise. It's a rather plasticky lens though, while the FA31 is built like a tank (and priced accordingly). The construction is identical to the FA50/1.4. It's a screw-driven lens (so no worries about SDM failure), noisy AF, but actually pretty fast. The manual focus ring works very well. There's no quick shift, so you have to use the switch from AF to MF first. But it's a short throw and fairly smooth. There's even an aperture ring on the FA35/2.

The lens is "allegedly" discontinued, but I found it "new" at BH for $475 back then. I say allegedly, because more than year later, BH is still selling the lens! You are in luck. Here's the BH sku for the lens: PE352ALFA. I highly recommend the FA35/2. The lens comes with a plastic snap on hood (reversible for storage) and a pretty nice pouch.

Doh - just read the part where theses were taken a longtime ago. Forgot that you didn't even have the K5 anymore! :eek:

LOL! No jealousy from these two of the Fuji. I made sure they never even met each other. :)
 
Very nice Armando. Too bad the ribs weren't good - they must have been pretty bad if you remember that detail! Fortunately the strawberries made up for it. And that the girlfriend is now the fiancé makes it a great memory indeed!

I have to admit, though, that when I saw the thread title I thought the Beatles were going to be involved somehow. Shows you how deep cultural moments like an old song can seep in - I can't even see the words "strawberry fields" and just think of simple strawberry fields without the song coming along for the ride. On the upside, it'll probably be stuck in my head all day, and I could do much much worse!

-Ray

Great, the song is stuck in my head now ... need to get rid of it ... :dash2:

The ribs were tough ... I spent a good amount of time trying to get that meat off the bone!
 
great series. One year brings a lot changes. Out with 2 cameras, in with a fiancé

Nice one! I was thinking that myself! Thankfully, I don't go through girlfriends like I go through cameras. Although, I get the feeling I won't be able to go through cameras left and right anymore ... :crying:
 
Great story telling! Fresh strawberries right from the field taste amazing don't they.

I've been enjoying the K5. Used it in the rain the past couple of days.

Thanks Andrew. The strawberries were amazing. This is going to sound somewhat stupid, but I ended up not doing much of the strawberry picking as I was taking photos. But in the back of my mind, I was also thinking that I would come across a snake while lifting up some of the leaves to look for strawberries! I hate snakes!!
 
But in the back of my mind, I was also thinking that I would come across a snake while lifting up some of the leaves to look for strawberries! I hate snakes!!

I grew up in Texas and not once saw a rattler (clearly the snakes I fear most), but in California I've run across several. Oddly, my immediate response was primal fear, but quickly followed by respect and admiration.
 
I'm fainting at the sheer quantity of food on that plate!!!!

Strawberries...MMMmmmmmmm!! There used to be a place near Sydney (Dural, PeterB might remember it) where you once could go and pick your own strawberries. Long gone by now I expect. I loved it, made a great day out and there was a really nice Devonshire Tea house and gallery there as well.
 
Snakes? I grew up in Arizona - snakes were part of the landscape. I had a school friend as a little kid who's dad was killed by a rattler when we were in 6th or 7th grade. I had a healthy respect for them, but learned not to be freaked out by them. I was a camp counselor for a couple of summers at a camp way out in the desert and we came upon them pretty frequently and you had to know how to react and keep the kids calm to lessen the chances of the snake reacting out of fear. Never had a problem, but there are few things in life that will get your attention like the sound of a rattler in the midday sun in the desert!

But other than rattlers snakes were no concern. Used to find 'em a lot, usually dead in the street - they didn't do well after being run over by cars...

-Ray
 
Nice work, Armando! It looks like a fun place, too. Do you miss the DSLR at all?

I was using my sister's DSLR about three months ago, and I actually liked it a lot. It's nice to have telephoto sometimes with fast AF. As for the K5 itself, I don't regret selling it because it really wasn't get enough use in spite of it being an excellent camera.
 
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