Scout Images

I have managed to get the camera out twice in the last week, the first time it was when I headed out to the city for coffee and cake (which became chocolate and chocolate). As an impromptu chance, I grabbed my Nikon D60 and it so happened that I had my Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8, which meant manual focus.

Just yesterday I was given the opportunity to accompany a good friend to a shoot at a slightly different location. This was a model shoot at an abandoned warehouse/factory. This is not my usual sort of thing, but I brought out some toys and headed off with an open mind. What do you bring when you are not sure what you will be doing? I brought along my Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8, Nikkor AI 135mm f/2.8, Sigma APO EX DG 180mm f/3.5 Macro, Nikon SB-400, Nikon SB-600 and Nikon SB-800. Not everything got used in the end but I didnt feel like I missed out on anything.

I have just come back from a weekend up in the Blue Mountains. This trip was not primarily a photographic one, but a trip away with some friends. As a result I did not lug a lot of gear but instead opted to bring my treasured Nikon FM2n and my new Sony Cyber-Shot TX5. This means that despite the many, many photos of Mt Solitary taken whilst hiking along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk from Lyrebird Dell to Gordon Falls to Leura Cascades then onto Echo Point, I dont have anything to share just yet as I have to send off my precious rolls of Fujifilm Velvia  (I shot one roll of traditional, old style Velvia, and a roll of Velvia 100F) to be processed and scanned.

Keep your eyes posted as I will be adding photos as soon as I get this film back.

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 some of the dodgy photos I took on New Years Eve and some that I took today whilst at Mamak with my baby Fuji F100fd.

I have to admit that I have often underestimated my needs, and NYE 2009 was just another occaision. I was thinking travel light, travel discreetly, so as a result I kept my gear to the smallest, most unassuming kit that I could. This resulted in:

• Nikon D60 – light and unassuming
• Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8 – small and light, BUT manual focus on a D60
• Nikkor AI 135mm f/2.8 – small and light, BUT manual focus and no metering on a D60
• Tokina AT-X 10-17mm fisheye – small and light, BUT manual focus on a D60
• Nikon SB-400
• Nikon ML-L3
• Phottix Duo Cable
• Joby Gorillapod (Thanks Mr Ken)

With this kit, I assumed that any fireworks images would not be a big problem, unless I wanted a longer exposure to get trails (which you would when your friends are doing so). But this was not my largest problem, whilst setting up for the midnight fireworks down at Darling Harbour, a group of young ladies asked us to take a few pictures of them (using their compacts). After the fireworks we took a few more photos for theses ladies, afterwhich we asked if they wanted us to take some photos for them using our cameras (they will be getting their photos soon). This is when I found myself caught short, really short. The AF-less lenses that I had with me were fine up until that point, but for portraiture they proved to be a nightmare, esepecially since my saving grace (the SB-400 on the Phottix Duo Cable) required a hand to hold off camera. In the end I had to borrow my mates 18-200 and eventually comandeer his D90 (Sorry Mr Jod).

Here are some of my dodgy, hand held fireworks images (I used the Joby for some of the Ferris Wheel shots).

As I have mentioned earlier, I was at Mamak today and took a few images of what I ate. I have to admit that they make a damn good Roti, and I am addicted to their Sambal. These were taken with my now found again Fuji F100fd.

I recently spent a day out with a good friend attempting to capture some of the scenes from the streets of Sydney. What better a day to try this than Boxing Day when everyone is out and about trying to bag a bargain in the many department stores downtown. As an added bonus, mother nature provided us with the gift of rain, I am still undecided as this was to our advantage, or our disadvantage.

Neither of us can claim to be well equipped for street shooting, both of us using fairly large DSLR’s, but I kept my trusty D300 gripless and choose to mate this with the trusty AF-D 50mm f/1.8 and kept my treasured AI 135mm f/2.8 handy for some length.

Here are a few images from the day, as always those denoted with a “_1″ have been post processed.

I am very happy to say that I now have both my Nikon FM2n and my Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro back from Camera Service Centre. I have to say that the experience with getting these cameras serviced has been both pleasant and quick, other than a short wait for parts to come in.

My treasured FM2n was sent in for a general check up and to have the AI metering ring (the ring that couples with the tabs on the end of a non-G type Nikkor lens) replaced as the previous owner had removed the tab.

I had stupidly scratched the focus panel on my S5 Pro trying to clean out some stubborn marks in my viewfinder with a PecPad wrapped around a plastic spatula cut down for sensor cleaning. Turns out this focusing screen is more delicate than the image sensor itself!

So now, if you refer to where all my gear is, I am getting closer to having all my gear in my possession, something that has never happened before.

Just thought I would post a few new pictures. These were taken on my Nikon D60 using my Nikkor AI 135mm f/2.8. This combination results in a lightweight camera with an amazing portrait lens, but you are left without any form of metering. A solution to this is an implementation of the “sunny 16″ rule. In this case, 800 ISO, f/2.8 and 1/100 sec did the trick.

I also reworked one of the fisheye images (from the Tokina 10-17mm) from my last post in Capture NX2 to remove the distortion, just to see how it would looked.

I have been using my new (new to me) AI Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 and have been nothing short of impressed by what it can do. This experience has got me thinking and wanting more older style lenses….primes and manual focus primes. With the quality that is obtainable with zoom lenses it seems rather silly to be thinking about old manual focus primes, but after using the 135mm it has dawned on me that these lenses are of another breed.

The manual focus prime is a lot smaller, more compact and lighter than their modern brethen. Using primes forces you to be more careful with your compostion, drives your creativity and the need to manual focus adds to the care that is taken for each shot.

My usage of the 135mm brings me back to the days when I was first learning to shoot SLR (on an old FM2) and the pleasure of the precision that the MF demands means every shot that works brings a great sense of satisfaction. My only true MF lens at the moment is the AI 135mm f/2.8 but the build quality and precision is simply mind blowing.

Coincidently, the lens that this 135mm is looking like displacing is actually another prime…the AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. I can now proudly say that I own three prime lenses (AI 135mm f/2.8, AF-D 50mm f/1.8, EX 180mm f/3.5 HSM) and two of these are my two favourite lenses that I own.

Whilst I am not going to ditch my auto focus zooms, I think there will always be room in my kit for a good MF prime or two. I will definitely look into getting some more MF primes in the future when my budget allows for this.

In the mean time…..anyone want:

• Tamron 28-105mm f/2.8 (big, nice range, does hunt a little – I really dont need this lens as I have the AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8)
• Sigma 180mm f/3.5 Macro (I am tempted to downsize this to a Tamron 90mm, AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105VR or head for the Tamron 180mm f/3.5)

Only serious offers will be considered.

Razor sharp, tough as a tank, built with the precision of a swiss watch….in the few short hours that I have had this new addition to my kit, it has cemented it’s place. This small, solid lens really proves that they dont make them like they used to!!!

I have searching for an AI or AIS series lens to match my FM2n. Ever since I used the Carl Zeiss 135mm f/1.8 (for Sony Alpha) I have been mystified by the focal length, so when this lens was offered I jumped for it.