the return
02/05/2013 00:04 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1DX - 420mm: EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM + 1.4x EF Extender III
- iso1600 - f/5.6 - 1/1600 sec - Michael Grobe
Returning for the night after a day of hunting and fighting in the sky. Loved the unusual perspective from high above over the lake and shot this bird late at sunset a few weeks ago, just before leaving India for some business, intensives and holidays. I will return though, soon.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1DX: Canon's actual flagship professional camera body with 12fps, full frame 18MP sensor and what seems to be the best autofocus in a DSLR so far. Low light shooting with this body is addictive.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment. Get the updated vII: even sharper, 4 stops of IS and even lighter.
Canon 1.4x EF Extender III: The latest version III is a welcome update to the former, improving image quality including sharpness effectively. Together with the version II telephoto lenses (like the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM) autofocus speed is improved also.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
the sharing
22/01/2013 19:12 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1DX - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L II IS USM + 1.4x EF Extender III
- iso25600 - f/4 - 1/125 sec - Michael Grobe
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1DX: Canon's actual flagship professional camera body with 12fps, full frame 18MP sensor and what seems to be the best autofocus in a DSLR so far. Low light shooting with this body is addictive. The shot above is a heavy crop of an iso 25600 shot at near darkness!
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the sharper, better stabilized (up to 4 stops IS) and overall great update to the long time classic. My most used lens.
Canon 1.4x EF Extender III: The latest version III is a welcome update to the former, improving image quality including sharpness effectively. Together with the version II telephoto lenses (like the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM) autofocus speed is improved also.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
the king of nowhere
16/01/2013 14:49 Filed in: photos
Sony DSC-RX100 - iso100 - f/5.0 1/60 sec - Michael Grobe
The guy got dangerously close to the edge. At this height a gust of wind could throw you off balance. Just one more of these common occasions, where it is clear that the assessment of risks here is not at the level I am used to.
Captured the shot right out of an office window, Mumbai in the mists in background, with the fabulous Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100.
This little pocketable camera is now with me almost always, when I can't or won't carry the bigger DSLR gear.
The gear used to create this image:
Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100: best pocket camera with professional image quality. Beats everything else at the same small pocketable size.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
light in the jungle
Canon EOS-1DX - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L II IS USM + 1.4x EF Extender III
- iso25600 - f/4 - 1/60 sec - Michael Grobe
A farmer's hut in the dark of the jungle. Even here a satellite dish on the roof...
This is a heavy crop of a handheld shot at at 280mm with 1/60 of a sec shutter at ISO 25600 in near darkness, showing how good 4 stops of image stabilization are. The Canon EOS-1DX recorded ample detail here at the crazy ISO, but this dark version is how I saw and envisioned the shot.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1DX: Canon's actual flagship professional camera body with 12fps, full frame 18MP sensor and what seems to be the best autofocus in a DSLR so far. Low light shooting with this body is addictive.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the sharper, better stabilized (up to 4 stops IS) and overall great update to the long time classic. My most used lens.
Canon 1.4x EF Extender III: The latest version III is a welcome update to the former, improving image quality including sharpness effectively. Together with the version II telephoto lenses (like the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM) autofocus speed is improved also.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
life on the lake
Canon EOS-1DX - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x III (420mm)
- iso100 - f/8 - 180 sec with long exposure noise reduction - Michael Grobe
Been living near the lake here now for a few weeks, but never saw anybody landing on or leaving these floating huts, wonder what they are used for, even having a satellite dish. Guess I have to investigate a bit. This is also one of my first real shots with the Canon EOS 1DX, that finally arrived in Germany in October after months of waiting and pre-ordering. So far after a couple hundred test shots, it seems the autofocus is outstanding, image quality in low light real good and overall an addictive camera to shoot with. The 12fps sure is...
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1DX: Canon's actual flagship professional camera body with 12fps, full frame 18MP sensor and what seems to be the best autofocus in a DSLR so far.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment. Get the updated vII: even sharper, 4 stops of IS and even lighter.
Canon 1.4x Ef Extender III: The latest version III is a welcome update to the former, improving image quality including sharpness effectively. Together with the version II telephoto lenses (like the EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM) autofocus speed is improved also.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
tire tube fisher
08/10/2012 23:11 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM +1.4x III (420mm)
- iso3200 - f/8 1/500 sec - Michael Grobe
Getting up early (around 0600) rewards usually with photographic opportunities. One of the few fishermen of Lake Powai in Mumbai, India paddles from net to net in the early morning mist. That lake has a few crocodiles living there, so sitting on a tire with ones legs in the water might show either some bravery or disastrousness...
The 1.3x APS-H sensors are a breed of the past for Canon and most likely discontinued with the advent of the full frame highspeed 1DX. I will keep my 1D MK IV for a while, since that 1.3x factor turns the 300/f2.8 plus 1.4x teleconverter package into an 546mm f/4 equivalent with still gorgeous image quality. Can't wait to shoot the new autofocus of the 1DX though.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
panasonic olympics 2012
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso1600 - f/3.5 1/400 sec - Michael Grobe
A few weeks back I was supervising a commercial for the Olympics 2012 in London with sports legend and 9-time olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis. Due to logistics we shot the stadium plates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Carl in a greenscreen studio in L.A., California. The VFX we delivered out of Mumbai, India so a truly multi-national production.
READ MORE...
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too. Superseded now by the 1DX, which still is hard to come by.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
hollywood morning : sony cybershot dsc-rx100
Sony DSC-RX100 - iso125 - f/4.9 1/1250 sec - Michael Grobe
Heading out early morning on Hollywood Blvd to catch the first sunlight. Waited 5 years for this little camera to come out: The Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100
For the first time a pocketable little camera has image quality to satisfy even demanding professionals. So far I refused to take any point-and-shoot-small-pocket-camera on the road, since the image quality was always so disappointing, that I wouldn't want to shoot with it. This has changed now, the little Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 shoots RAW with a 20.2MP 1" Exmor CMOS Low-Light Sensor and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T Lens.
The files coming off this camera are astounding for it's size and don`t have to hide compared to what I am used to see off a standard DSLR. They hold up very well until ISO 3200, so you can use this little gem for night shooting as well.
All that available in a camera, that really fits into a jeans pocket. Love it. Almost always with me now.
This is the original uncropped image, so the one above is already heavily cropped and a 100% 1:1 pixel crop to show the resolving power of the camera.
100% 1:1 pixel crop
The gear used to create this image:
Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100: best pocket camera with professional image quality. Beats everything else at the same small pocketable size.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
olympics
01/09/2012 02:14 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso2000 - f/2.8 1/320 sec - Michael Grobe
The 2012 Olympics in London are over and this athlete has been shot in a stadium in Malaysia instead. There is a relationship between the two though, a commercial, that was shot for the London Games.
While lens flares are often to be avoided (unless you are J.J. A.), I loved it here coming from the nice backlight.
More about the commercial to come soon.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh. Just released the latest version 4 with a few really helpful additions.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
banganga darkness
27/08/2012 04:14 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM
- iso12800 - f/4 1/40 sec - Michael Grobe
A house entrance around banganga tank, it was shot hand held in almost darkness, the interior of the house only illuminated by the dim shimmer of the TV. Current cameras with low light capabilities up to iso 12800 (and beyond if necessary) together with image stabilization made this possible. A shot like this without a tripod and a long exposure wasn't possible in old film days, when ASA 400 pushed to 800 was grainy and ASA 1600 was "super high speed". Photography has come a long way in digital age. I liked the contrast of blue and orange colors here and the hint of a man sitting behind the door.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too. Superseded now by the 1DX, which still is hard to come by.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh. Just released the latest version 4 with a few really helpful additions.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
banganga tank
26/08/2012 00:53 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM
- iso5000 - f/2.8 1/160 sec - Michael Grobe
A famous place in Mumbai, seen in many Bollywood movies and a few TV series as well. The Banganga Tank in Malabar Hill, Mumbai. I took this photo well after dusk with the last sunrays reflecting in the water tank, iso5000 and the lens resting on the knees made it possible.
You gotta love India's colors.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh. Just released the latest version 4 with a few really helpful additions.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
huntington summer
24/08/2012 07:45 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso160 f/4 1/400 sec - Michael Grobe
Back online after another few months of hibernation. Lots happened actually, just not too much time for online activities. Right now preparing a film project in London, L.A. and Mumbai, so I had the chance to meet old friends around the globe and enjoy the all-year-long summer in L.A. last weekend at Huntington Library and it's botanical gardens.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too. Superseded now by the 1DX, which still is hard to come by.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
monkey brunch
31/03/2012 09:19 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso400 - f/6.3 1/640 sec - Michael Grobe
Monkey enjoying potato chips for late sunday brunch near the Kanheri Caves in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park Mumbai, India.
A great place to relax, once you managed to get out of ever busy Mumbai for a while.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 (until the 1DX comes along...) makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh. Just released the latest version 4 with a few really helpful additions.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
happy holi
08/03/2012 19:29 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 24-105mm 1:4L IS USM - iso320 f/5.6 1/400 sec - Michael Grobe
The festival of colors again in India. Went out to the beach with a few fellows, which is admittedly quite a tough place to be as a stranger durig that day. Boys can get quite excited about getting you your load of colors...
You definitely want to seal your camera in some watertight plastic bags for shooting.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 24-105mm 1:4L IS USM - iso1250 f/9 1/250 sec - Michael Grobe
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 (until the 1DX comes along...) makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM: great all-round zoom lens for all occasions, when one lens on one body is all you want to carry.
Adobe Lightroom 4: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh. Just released the latest version 4 with a few really helpful additions.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
the trade
18/02/2012 17:20 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso800 f/4 1/125 sec - Michael Grobe
Shot at the old fishermen's bungalows in Andheri, Mumbai near the ocean.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of early 2012 (until the 1DX comes along...) makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
morning ablutions
31/01/2012 17:20 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso6400 f/4 1/100 sec - Michael Grobe
Another Hollywood project with a tight deadline caused a few nightshifts and early mornings at the facility here in Mumbai, so I could grab a few shots of the colorful life happening just below my office window right at dawn.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 (until the 1DX comes along...) makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too. The 10fps bursts helped even with this image to capture the right moment with the smile of the woman.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
night barber
14/01/2012 20:33 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 16-35mm F/2.8 L II USM - iso8000 f/2.8 1/100 sec - Michael Grobe
Back in Mumbai for some time to supervise some Hollywood stuff in Bollywood. Got a first chance to do some drive-by shooting on the way from the facility to the hotel, which needs some fast shutter speeds, as the driver is racing across the bumpy roads of Mumbai. A barber shop next to a hospital. And there is always life in the streets atacking all your senses...
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 (until the 1DX comes along...) makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography. I use it for fast and responsive street photography, too. Those 10fps bursts help you catch the right moment shot from a fast moving car.
Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM: great ultra-wide angle zoom lens for street photography. The wide 2.8 aperture is necessary to give you decent shutter speeds for low light street photography, while still maintaining enough depth of field.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
goetz of the iron hand
13/11/2011 22:47 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-5D Mark II - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso160 - f/2.8 1.6 sec - Michael Grobe
Schloss Schwarzenberg in Frankonia, Goethe opens his 1773 play "Goetz von Berlichingen" in a tavern near the castle. The famous quote of "Goetz of the Iron Hand" can still be used to give excuse and justification for ones malicious tongue...
"Mich ergeben! Auf Gnad und Ungnad! Mit wem redet Ihr! Bin ich ein Räuber! Sag deinem Hauptmann: Vor Ihro Kaiserliche Majestät hab ich, wie immer, schuldigen Respekt. Er aber, sag's ihm, er kann mich -".
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-5D Mark II: 21 Megapixels resolution, fullframe sensor with gorgeous 1080p video, great high ISO noise performance.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
the fifth white tree
01/11/2011 00:26 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - TS-E 24mm 1:3.5 L - iso800 - f/5.6 - Michael Grobe
During a few days of business meetings in London I stumbled upon the fifth white tree.
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography.
Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II to straighten perspective with shift and create that magical miniature look with it's tilt.
Zacuto Z-Finder Pro 3x: the Zacuto viewfinder is invaluable to properly focus a TS lens using the tilt feature. Through the viewfinder of the camera it is very hard to get the exact rotation and location of the plane of focus right, but judging it through a Z-Finder Pro 3x in live view (going to 5x or 10x magnification for absolute accurate focusing) gets it done quickly and precisely.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
to be a photographer
23/10/2011 23:47 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso800 - f/2,8 1/250 sec
I had been asked, what it takes to be a photographer. While that is a very subjective and personal question, for me this might be a possible answer.
The urge to get up before dawn to hike into the the dessert carrying too much of your gear to the perfect spot to catch the first rays crawling over the dunes painting the mountains gently while freezing your hands off capturing the moment you had envisioned and hoped for to be found in loneliness.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-5D Mark II: 21 Megapixels resolution, fullframe sensor with gorgeous 1080p video, great high ISO noise performance. The image has been taken with the 1Ds Mark III, but I recommend the newer 5D Mark II with comparable image quality and slightly better ISO performance.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
last clouds of summer
28/09/2011 01:25 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso320 - f/5.6
- exposure blending of 7 HDR exposures - Michael Grobe
Another summer gone by.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
light my way
21/09/2011 01:16 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 70-200mm 1:2.8L IS USM - iso100 - f/8 - 1/500 sec - Michael Grobe
A distant memory of New York, taken from Liberty State Park looking over to Liberty Island.
Light my way by N.F.D. the offspring of the legendary Fields of the Nephilim.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography.
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM: the image was shot with the discontinued version I predecessor, get the newer EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM. The 70-200 is my most used lens delivering great results.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
slovenian beauty
08/09/2011 22:31 Filed in: photos
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV - EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM - iso160
- f/2.8 1/160 sec - Michael Grobe
Not only truffle pigs, but also beauty to be found in Slovenia.
The gear used to create this image:
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV: one of the best low light and sports cameras today. Canon's best image quality as of 2011 makes this camera also highly desired for nature and landscape photography.
Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS USM: awesome image quality, as-good-as-it-gets, a lifetime investment.
Adobe Lightroom 3: the best tool for image management and manipulation on Windows and Macintosh.
See my gear pages: recommended equipment.
