Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
At sea level, at 6 feet above the surface, you can see an object at about three miles away. With a 600mm lens, details come into focus.
Uncropped image of a sailboat taken with my 600mm lens. With the naked eye, the boat was a white spot on the horizon.A slight crop of the original image reveals additional details.At an extreme crop. My Canon EOS R does well with its 30.3 megapixels.Canon EOS R.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Welcome to Florida sign along US 17 just south of the Georgia border. Fujifilm FinePix S9900W.Fresh fudge. Nicca 3-S.Ahead of his time. David Yulee with a Yashica Pentamatic S from 1961.At the ready. Fort Clinch State Park (Florida). Sony CyberShot DSC-W170.Industrial ugly. Canon EOS R.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Why the “Beaver” Moon? This is the time of year when beavers begin to take shelter in their lodges, having laid up sufficient food stores for the long winter ahead. During the fur trade in North America, it was also the season to trap beavers for their thick, winter-ready pelts.
Moonrise over the Atlantic as seen from Amelia Island, Florida. November 5, 2025. When the moon is low on the horizon, it’s viewed through most of the atmosphere, which gives it a reddish color and reduces image clarity. When the moon is higher in the sky, its reflected light is more clearly seen, resulting in sharper images.
Behold the Full Beaver Supermoon!
November’s Full Beaver Moon orbits closer to Earth than any of the other Full Moons this year, making it one of the three Supermoons of 2025! At its nearest point, the Beaver Moon will be 221,817 miles (356,980 kilometers) from Earth… this is the closest Supermoon of the year!
Moonrise on November 4, 2025. 99% full.
My images are not AI-generated, and I do minimal post-processing. I used my Canon EOS R mirrorless digital camera (30.3 MP) and my Canon EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM lens with a Canon EF Extender 2x III for an effective reach of 600mm.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
I have a Nikon Nikkor-H Auto f/3.5 28mm lens set with unique <E.P> markings. The lens was manufactured between 1971 and June 1973. The <E.P> markings indicate that it was sold in a US military exchange store or could it have been sold in a duty-free shop. What I don’t know is where it was sold. Most likely in Japan, but it could be at any exchange store in Asia since there were many military installations in the Philippines, Guam, South Vietnam, or Thailand. The other possibility is that it was sold at a duty-free shop in Japan or Hong Kong, since by the early 1970s, such shops were common and available to foreign tourists.
The lens is clearly marked with the <E.P> symbol, as is the box. The serial numbers match. The kanji on the box translates to ‘Duty-Free for Export Goods Sales Outlets’, which I have never seen before. During my time in Japan (1977-1980), I never remember seeing a sticker like this on anything I purchased while shopping at the Navy Exchange shops in Yokohama or Yokosuka. Everything sold in an exchange was always ‘duty and tax-free’, so why put a sticker on the product?The translation. Please Nippon Kogaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. Our trademarks, Nikon and Nikkor, are registered with U.S. Customs. Under U.S. law, Nikon products cannot be cleared through customs by anyone other than our sole distributor, even if they are sent by mail or as separate cargo to the U.S. Therefore, if you are bringing a Nikon product to the U.S., please be sure to carry it with you. The Nikon products that can be carried are one still camera, two interchangeable lenses, one binoculars, and one other optical device.
My first thought was that this was a lens sold at a civilian duty-free shop frequented by tourists, not necessarily by military personnel or their family members. But the <E.P> mark was mainly used on items sold exclusively at military shops, not duty-free shops. The pink card was included in the lens set and may hold the answer, since it mentions only the US.
I enjoy using and collecting early wide-angle lenses. This one is in like-new condition.Complete as it may have looked when sold in the early 1970s.
So, have I confused you or myself? The sticker on the box still troubles me a bit, but the pink card clearly indicates it was meant for export to the United States, suggesting it was sold at an exchange.
I can’t wait to use it on my Fujifilm X-T2. The results soon.
<E.P> marked camera gear isn’t necessarily worth more in the marketplace. As a collector, I enjoy collecting gear with the marks whenever I can. In some cases, they are extremely rare, so that’s an added bonus.
My Canon F-1 from August 1971. <E.P> marks on these early F-1s are hyper rare. This is the only one I’ve seen in decades of collecting.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
A local surf fisherman was captured with my Canon EOS R, Canon EF 300mm f/4 IS USM lens, and Canon EF Extender III.
Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach.
Slightly cropped original JPEG.Original, no post-processing.Put it together for 600mm on a budget.
I can’t say enough about this combination. Since the Canon EOS R doesn’t have IBIS, it’s up to the lens and my slightly unsteady hand to keep 600mm images in focus. The lens was made in October 2010. Older EF lenses are a great value, but they are getting on in years. The EOS R is a full-frame 30.3 MP mirrorless camera.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
A few images from a quick photowalk along the Amelia River here in Fernandina Beach this afternoon. What contrasts—industrial ugliness mixed with our natural beauty.
Canon EF 300mm f/4 L IS USM lens with a Canon Extender 2x III. 600mm of reach!
‘Talaria’ Denver, Colorado. That must have been one heck of a trip!Double-crested cormorant.Juvenile royal tern (I think).Tankers for the mills.Mill one of two along the river. Ugly.Shrimp boat. Only a few are left.Crane.
One thing is obvious: Fernandina’s riverfront isn’t dull.
Comments are always welcome; I’ve learned a great deal from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by. While there, visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios, hosted on Etsy). – Chris Whelan
Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris 