I always really liked the sharpness of these photos I shot at Mare Island (in California, near Vallejo) last spring, but assumed they were with the Canon 400mm I had at the time. Looking again at them, they were actually shot with a non L lens, the Canon 70-300 f/4-5.6, which is a very reasonably priced, but high-performing lens.

I wanted to get the whole building, but from the street, the sun was directly reflecting into the building about 3/4 of the way up

if anyone has any post-processing ideas for this photo, I'm all ears.

good idea. Actually I'm just across the street, and an officemate pointed it out . . .

Looks like a painted mural, but it's all reflection. This is downtown Sacramento on Capitol Mall, just a couple of blocks from the State Capitol Building.

Does that rule apply when using a monopod as well?

Thanks for your comments. And the hitter, Nate Freiman, was up and down with the A's during 2014 and saw a lot of playing time in the majors. The San Francisco Giants will be Sacramento's parent club this season.

Yes, unfortunately since we're in the middle of a bad drought, but we've had a couple of 75-degree days this month

This sequence was shot last summer behind home plate at Sacramento's Raley Field with a Canon SLR1 and 70-300 4-5.6 lens.

It is a great lens for the money, much sharper than its 75-300 cousin

Yesterday, the New York Times ran a story in the print edition about California's Delta estuary and the iconic species found there in increasingly limited numbers, the delta smelt. As the public affairs specialist in the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Bay-Delta office, I organized the Feb. 2 trip for the Times' reporter and photographer and was with them that day. Below is a link to the Times story and photographer Jim Wilson's awesome photos. I had my camera out on that trip as well, and I've posted two of the many photos I shot that foggy day.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/us/threatened-smelt-touches-off-battles-in-californias-endless-water-wars.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0

I haven't found anything on whether Aperture will still be able to open the Photos library, like it does with iPhoto. Anyone know the answer to that?

A foggy start to a long morning on the California Delta, just outside of Rio Vista.

I just got the Yongnuo for my Canon 7D/70-200 2.8 setup and it works great. Check out the reviews for yourself, but I'm happy with it, and you can' beat the price.

the smallest DSLR on the market is the Canon SLR1, which I got about a year ago. I still have it, but have added the Canon 7D. I still use the SLR1 on occasion because of its ease of use, small size, and great photo capabilities. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a starter DSLR.