Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm f3.5 Lens Review

Putting together this review of the Vivitar series 1 70-210 f/3.5 lens was way more difficult and time consuming than a review of a 50 year old vintage lens has any right to be. It took me a long time to really get the hang of using it and to figure out how it worked best with my Nikon Z6, so I ended up re-shooting the video review multiple times as my opinions changed. My second problem was the general chaos that 2020 keeps throwing our way. For two weeks in September firestorms threatened to annihilate the entire Pacific Northwest, and the landscape was engulfed in toxic smoke, which really made it tough to film an outdoor lens review in my usual style. Anyway, It’s finally complete, so let's dig into the review.

Bridges in the Smoke - Mt. St. Helens Aerial Panoramas

 

The mountains lie hidden beneath a choking veil of toxic smoke that cloaks Mt. St. Helens as it does the entire West Coast of the United States. The dark forests and silent valleys are thick with the stench of millions of acres vanished in flame and burning ash. Even so many miles from the blazes that have torched Oregon, California, and Washington State the smog of these infernos has consumed the Pacific Northwest in its entirety. I flew my drone through this sickly stillness, driving ever higher into the mountains and launching from lofty viewpoints, but never could I rise above the haze and murk. I returned home stinking of smoke, having documented this historic catastrophe.

Summer Vegetable Garden

Fresh food from your own garden is a wonderful thing, not only is it more delicious than what you get from the store, but there is immense satisfaction is eating something that you have grown from a seed. This is our garden back in August, the early fall weather since I filmed this video has not been kind to it, but there are still peas and tomatoes to munch on.

Pacific Northwest Wildfire Smoke

Catastrophic wildfires have transformed the normally clear blue skies of the Pacific Northwest into an landscape wreathed in dense smoke from the the forest fires that are raging in Oregon, Washington, and California. The entire West Coast has gone up in flames, and I filmed this video to document the awful air quality and fear that I and millions of other people in the Pacific Northwest are dealing with right now. It is unhealthy even to go outside, as the air has become more polluted than anywhere else on Earth.

 

Rode Wireless Go Review

The Rode Wireless Go is an easy way to get professional sounding audio on a small budget. It is both remarkably simple and customizeable at the same time so that it can be both a quick recording solution and a versatile component of a more complex recording setup. For me, being able to setup and record quickly and easily is absolutely essential, and the Rode Wireless Go makes recording in loud environments a non-issue. Overall, the Rode Wireless Go is one of the best wireless microphone systems out there.

Summer Flowers

Dahlias, Gladiolas, Roses, Snapdragons and other summer flowers fill my garden in a rainbow profusion of life and natural splendor. Building and maintaining a garden is difficult labor of love, and the blossoms that swarm with hummingbirds and honeybees through the heady flower scented air are the fruits of that labor.

Leech Lake

The green hues of Leech Lake mirror a blue sky streaked with summer clouds here in the crest of the Cascade Mountains at White Pass, the dividing line between the Western rainforests and the arid lands of Eastern Washington. The snubbed cones of ancient volcanoes rise imperiously overhead, and emerald forests team with secret life here in Gifford Pinchot National Forest.