Scout Images

I was recently up in the Blue Mountains, with a few intentions. To get away from reality, to get out there and take in some of the beautiful landscapes that are so close to us here in Sydney, and to try to re-shoot some of my lost photos (refer here).

So what does one bring on a trip like this? I didnt actually think too hard but settled for a quality over convenience kit, which in many ways I probably regret (the weight made me not so happy whilst we were hiking).

• Nikon D300
• AF-S Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8
• AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR
• AF-S DX Nikkor 35mm f/1.8
• Tokina AT-X 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 Fisheye
• Nikon SB-400
• Phottix Geo One
• Phottix Duo Cable
• Cokin P-Series ND4
• Cokin P-Series ND8
• Lowepro Fastpack 350

Some Panorama action (Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 + Cokin ND4 + Cokin ND8)

Some HDR action (Tokina 10-17mm, 7 frames)

This morning I met up with some of the members of DSLRusers.com for one of our 2×2 meets. Today’s meet was a walk from Bondi through to Coogee, and the weather was not really on our side with intermittent rain that varied from light drizzle through to moderate showers. On the plus side the overcast skies allowed for great lighting.

Gear wise, I chose to bring along my trusty (and weather sealed) Nikon D300 along with the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 and the Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8VR all inside my Lowepro Vertex 200AW. This gave me a weather resistant solution that would cover many needs even in demanding light. Also in the bag was my Tokina 10-17 fisheye and SB-800 flash, neither saw any service.

I had a bit of fun today with the images of the Peugoet 206 GTX that I shot last night (refer here). More for my own amusement I changed some colours around.

Taken with my Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, NEF processed through Capture NX2 and then editing done in Photoshop CS2.

The original image as shot, minor retouch to clean up ground

Lightened up

Blue GT stripes…because red doesnt agree with everyone

Black GT stripes….just for fun

Over the last week or so I have not had much time to take photos (been trying to get this website up and running again) but I did manage to get a few shots in last night at dinner and today at the Fish Market and in Glebe. So here are a few shots that I thought I would share.

These were taken with my Nikon D60 and the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8. Some of the photos in this gallery used the Phottix Duo Cord + Nikon SB-400 combination as well.

On another note, my venerable Nikon F80D is out on loan again, this time accompanied by my Tamron SP 28-205mm f/2.8 and my Nikkor AF-D 28-80mm. This means my current gear status is….

Just thought I would share some of the pictures taken over this last week. The D300 has been out and about a few times lately.

First up was Wednesday night’s photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we headed out there with the intent of recording the illuminated symbol from NYE but to our dismay the signage had been switched off early. Regardless we took a few snaps to continue what is becoming a New Year’s tradition.  These were all taken using the Nikon D300 and a variety of lenses, but most importantly they were all placed on top of my trusty Manfrotto 055 Pro B tripod, GPS data captured using a Phottix Geo One.

The D300 came out again on Friday night, when I headed over the Strathfield with some friends for dinner. This time it was no tripod, high  ISO and the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 + Nikkor AI 135mm f/2.8 coming out to play.

Finally, Sunday was spent out and about along the coast south of Sydney. Thirroul, Sea Cliff Bridge and the nearby beaches. Once again the combination of the D300 and the 24-70mm was given the work out. Interestingly, I used a mates Nissin Di 622 flash for some shots, this flash works really well and would be a worthy SB-600 alternative especially with the very low import prices for them available at the moment. Included in this set is a 9 shot HDR bracket which has been processed with Photomattix, not my best efforts with this piece of software but an interesting result all the same.

Just thought I would share two panorama’s that I made whilst I was up on Mt Wellington. These 12 image stitches were made with my baby D60 and the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8.

You may have noticed that I have been very busy and have not been posting much over the last fortnight (until last night that is) so I thought I would apologise once more and share with you images of my recent travels.

Firstly, I headed off to Kanangra Boyd National Park (beyond the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves) with members of my old lab group from USYD. This was not a photographic expedition, but rather a scientific field trip to collect lizards to continue the work on the evolution of viviparity (live birth) – yes this was the broad subject for my honours year. As it was not a photographic trip, I restricted myself to bringing only my Fuji S5 Pro (the D300 was still with Nikon Australia), Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 and Phottix Geo One.

Soon afterwards (literally a two day break) I headed off to Kiama with some friends for an overnight getaway. However, the weather was not quite smiling down upon me so I did not get a lot of good photos. With me on this trip I brought along my Nikon D60, Nikon F80 (shooting Velvia 50), SB-400, Phottix Duo Cord, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 as well as the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye.

Then after a single day at home, I headed down to Hobart for a four day trip. This trip was meant to be pretty photo intensive, so between myself and my younger sister we had the entire kitchen sink bringing the, Fuji S5 Pro + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 180mm Macro, Nikon D60, Nikon F80 (shooting Velvia 50 and Superia 200), Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8VR, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye, as well as the Phottix Duo Cord, Phottix Geo One and my trusty Nikon SB-400. This four day trip can be roughly split between four events:

Mt Wellington – standing behind Hobart, this landmark provides some great views of the city and surrounds

Cascade Brewery – Australia’s oldest continuously operating brewery, a great tour and some great drinks, I really enjoyed their Mercury Cider and the Cascade Lager (only available in TAS).

Bruny Island – untouched wilderness, some animal encounters and a hell of a ride in a 1400Bhp, 14m boat.

Salamanca Markets – a must see, a mix of craft and food and a great way to spend a day

I have only posted digital images taken with the D60 (as my younger sister was using the S5 Pro) with film images from the Superia 200 and the Velvia 50 to come if I have time.

Lastly, I thought I would share a few images from today’s bittersweet adventure where I welcomed back my trusty D300 but my good friend lost her D80.

Just thought I would share a few pics from a recent trip down to Bowral, taken with my Fujifilm Finepix S5 Pro and Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8.

Another trip to the Zoo and this Zoo Friends pass is really starting to get a workout. This time with so much gear out…including my 70-200mm f/2.8 VR and my D300 I decided to try very different kit just to see how it would go. So on this grey, wet day out came the Nikon D60, Sigma 180mm Macro and the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8. Shooting alongside me was a friend Marcus (Photomarcs) with his Canon EOS 1000D, Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and Sigma 18-200mm OS.

Enough gear talk…here are a few images.

Today I paid Taronga Zoo another visit, the second visit on my Zoo Friends pass, this time I actually picked up my proper membership card so I didnt have to use my invoice again. However, since my D300 is out of action (and in the hands of Nikon Australia) once again (still the LCD issue) the Fuji S5 Pro came out to play once more.

Like the last time, I found that the Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR proved to be worth its weight in gold. Despite the heft, and the heft of the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 which was also in my trusty Lowepro Fastpack 350, I managed to see a lot of the zoo and snap off a few pictures. I was also carrying my new Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye, which proved to be versatile, providing a uniquely different macro.

Without further fluff I will share a few images, please accept my apologies as the files themselves have remained quite large (something about the S5 Pro I guess).

Click through for more images.