A True Classic: The Canon EOS 5D

 The Canon EOS 5D Mark I (Classic). You can do a lot with 12 megapixels.

My first digital camera was a six-megapixel Canon EOS 10D, which I bought in 2003 for the princely sum of $3000, the most I have ever paid for a camera, even to this day. However, that six-megapixel 10D convinced me that the future was digital when it proved itself capable of making a 16x20 print as good as my medium format film Pentax 6x7.

I used the 10D for a year or two, but was never quite happy with the autofocus, so I moved on to the next generation 20D, which had an eight megapixel sensor and was a much-improved camera in every way.

In 2006, I ponied up $2600 for a new 5D. It was a good deal, because most places were selling the 5D for $3000 at the time. It had all the good features of the 20D, plus a new twelve megapixel CMOS sensor and more.

That camera was my constant companion for the next seven years as I photographed architecture, weddings, portraits, and commercial assignments, carried her to Israel in 2010; as well as rambling around Georgia for several years, culminating in a week-long drive around the perimeter of the state, making many of the photographs that would become my limited edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait.  

I had a good selection of lenses for the 5D, but most used were the 24-85mm f3.5-4.5 USM and the 70-200mmf4L

Sadly, by 2013 my friend was becoming too heavy for me (she hadn't gained weight, but I was 76 by this time) so I replaced her with a smaller, lighter Canon EOS 6D with twenty megapixels and automatic sensor cleaning. (Dust on the sensor was an ongoing nuisance with the 5D.) 

The 5D at work: Face-off in south Georgia. Highway 122, Ware County.

Greatly loved by photographers of all kinds, but especially wedding photographers, the 5D has gone through four editions. Each edition was improved in various ways over the previous ones, but yet, like an old girlfriend you can't forget, the original 5D still has her charms.

She is a true classic.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     Canon EOS 5D Classic camera     Canon 24-85mm USM lens       Georgia     Canon 6D camera      Canon 70-200 f4L lens     Canon EOS 10D camera     Canon EOS 20D camera

I Never Photographed for National Geographic. . .

Carrot farmers in northern Guatemala bring their produce up to the highway to sell.

. . .but I did get a portfolio review. And not many people get that far. Working for the Geographic was, in those days, the pinnacle of photographic success.

Actually, I got the review through the influence of my friend Don Rutledge, probably the greatest Christian photojournalist of the 20th century. He was friends with the Director of Photography at the Geographic, and asked him if he would look at my portfolio, which consisted of a tray of slides showing my best journalistic work from around the world. I dropped it off at their office in Washington D.C. 

A few weeks later, my tray of slides was returned by carrier, along with a very nice letdown letter. The editors praised my work, and complimented me on the way I used light in my photos.

They also said that it took about three years to train a photographer to shoot in their style (I was already past fifty by that time), and that they were up to their necks in photographers, but only ankle deep in ideas.

Not having any story ideas to suggest to them, I quietly gave up on my ambition to be a National Geographic photographer. The compensation was that not long after, I was commissioned to photograph and write Rock City Barns: A Passing Era, my greatest achievement.

I'm showing the particular photograph at the top of this post because my friend, the graphic design artist Michael Largent, took one look at it and said, "That's a Geographic picture! 

Although I did a lot of different things in my career as a photographer and enjoyed them all, my heart was always in photojournalism and I always regretted that I never got to work for the Geographic. 

The photo: Olympus OM2n, 24mm Zuiko lens, Fujichrome 100D film. 

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel photography    film photography     Olympus OM2n camera     Zuiko 24mm lens       Guatemala     National Geographic magazazine     Don Rutledge, photographer     Rock City Barns: A Passing Era

Sunset Light

Sunset light on a little, south Georgia farm shed. U.S. Highway 1, Bacon County. Sometimes the light is subtle. . .

 Photography is about light. In fact, as I've written before on this blog, the word “photograph” comes from two Greek words: photos, which means “light,” and grapho, which means “to write.” So to photograph means to write with light. The best light for photography usually comes in early morning and late afternoon when the sun is low, bathing everything in a rich, golden glow and casting long shadows which reveal texture and form. 

 Learning to see and use light well is the most important skill in photography. For me, it has been the most difficult skill to acquire and I'm still working at it. A true master of photography can find ways to use almost any kind of light,

Some photographers prefer evening light, but I often find my best pictures early in the morning. There's a different, softer quality of light, a calm freshness in the air, and both people and nature seem more relaxed and approachable. 

But sunset can serve up some beautiful light also, and when I find it, I'm always happy to use it. 

. . .Sometimes the light is bold. Salem United Methodist Church, Georgia Highway 201, Whitfield County.

Adapted from my limited-edition book Georgia: A Backroads Portrait.

The photos: Shed: Canon EOS 5D Classic, Canon 24-85mm USM lens. Church: Canon EOS A2 camera, Canon 28-105mm USM lens, Fujichrome 100D film.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     Canon EOS 5D Classic camera     Canon 24-85mm USM lens       Light     Georgia     Canon EOS A2 camera      Canon 28-105 USM lens     Fujichrome 100D film     film photography

America's Smallest Church

 

The new stained-glass window in the rebuilt church.

 

Traveling south from the Savannah area on US 17, about twelve miles south of Midway is Christ's Chapel, billed as the "Smallest Church in America." It will be on your left, set back from the road in a grove of sturdy pine trees. 

Mrs. Agnes Harper, who operated a grocery store in the area, built Christ's Chapel in 1949 and "deeded it to Jesus Christ," to serve as a place of rest and meditation for travelers.

Is it really the smallest church in America? Hard to say, because that category is more competitive than you might imagine. But at 10x20 feet, it’s just big enough to seat a dozen people plus a preacher.

Sadly, vandals burned the church in November 2015, but donations began pouring in and it was rebuilt in less than a year, including a very beautiful stained-glass window depicting Jesus with his arms open wide.

The church is open all day, every day, and local ministers hold services there the third Sunday of each month. Thousands of travelers have found the little church a welcome and welcoming place for a few minutes of rest and meditation. And admission is free! Certainly one of the best deals on the Georgia coast.

But remember: close the door on your way out, so the automatic lights will go off!

 Pretty small! But is it the smallest church in America?

 

The photos: Stained glass window: Olympus E-M5, Panasonic Lumix 14-140mm lens. Church exterior: Fuji X-H1, Fujinon XC 16-50mm lens.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

Signed copies of my book Backroads and Byways of Georgia are available. The price is $22.95 plus $4.95 shipping. My PayPal address is djphoto@vol.com (which is also my email). Or you can mail a check to 8943 Wesley Place, Knoxville, TN 37922. Include your address and tell me how you would like your book inscribed.

Photography and text copyright 2025 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography     travel photography    digital photography     Olympus E-M5 camera     Panasonic Lumis 14-140mm lens       Fuji X-H1 camera     Fujinon XC 16-50mm lens     churches     smallest church     Georgia