Scout Images

I had an interesting day photographically. This morning I headed over to a friends place to have my widened by the many different coffee’s available. Being an occasional coffee drinker, I knew there were different types of coffees but didnt realise how different they are.

Much later this evening I shot my friends car. This car has been his pride and joy for the last 18months slowly being converted from a stock standard Peugeot 206 to a mean little show car with a bark and a bite that he has dubbed the “GTX”. However he is moving on and will be selling the car to finance something a bit larger and more practical to his changing needs. For these photos I used a variety of lenses (AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye) on my Nikon D300. Lighting was provided by my trusty Wolfeyes Defender 260 and my SB-800 and SB-600 speedlights.

It has been a while since I have uploaded anything (well 9 days in fact) so I thought I would share some of the adventures that I have been up to.

Yesterday, I headed to the Australian Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which included an interactive photo studio component this year. Armed with my Nikon D60, Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8 and Sigma 180mm f/3.5 Macro I headed in. A prime kit? Between these two lenses I have everything I want, from close focus ability to candid captures, throw in the SB-400 and the Phottix Duo Cable I am ready to take on anything.

That evening I attended the DSLRusers/ex-SURCAS/current SURCAS fire night, an event that I had organised with the help of my friends from SURCAS. Although I was officially there as part of the photographic party, I was too tempted with the thoughts of playing with fire and spent a fair bit of time with the staff in hand. My D300 spent most of the night in the company of the Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 and my Manfrotto 055 Pro B/322RC2 combo. The Tokina 10-17 fisheye and Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR also made appearances.

It has been a busy few days for me, with Christmas coming up I have been working more in my retail day job but this has not meant that I have not been able to find time to pursue my photographic interests.

Firstly, I wanted to share some photos that were taken over the last few days, whilst heading into the city and USYD at night and then Mittagong the following day.

After this I swapped a lot of my Nikon gear for some Canon gear (refer here for the status of my kit including loan gear) to brush up on my Canon usage in preparation for some workshops requested by some Canon users. So I was out and about with a 400D and some lenses today.

Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you all know that the Sydney Camera Markets are around again.

On the Sunday 18 October the Sydney Camera Market will be held at the Ultimo Community Centre. 10am – 3pm

It is an opportunity to grab a photographic bargain!

Near new digital cameras can be found alongside old box Brownies. Classic Leica Rangefinders, a favorite with artists and press photographers since the 1930’s can be bought at reasonable prices. 

Run since 1997 this hall full of photographic bargains is also an excellent museum of all the very best and worst image capture devices made. What is a Daguerotype, Polaroid instant film process, Holga or Diana F photography? A pin hole camera? 

Note that we have been running the markets since 1997 and they have been at the Ultimo Community Centre since 1998. We do it for the fun as we are interested in photographic images and photographic technology. We only have three markets per year and this is the last one for 2009.

For those who have missed out, Nikon has announced the D3s and the AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 85mm f/3.5G ED VR. The D3s improves on the D3 by adding sensor cleaning, increased buffer size, dedicated Liveview and Info buttons, increased ISO range, and the ability to shoot 720p video. The new lens is a cheaper alternative to the Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR for DX users that should also double as a good portrait lens.

As mentioned before (here, here and here) I have finally gotten around to taking a few pictures of my new toys, the AI Nikkor 135mm f/2.8 and the Tokina AT-X DX 107 AF 10-17mm Fisheye. Since my Nikon D300 is away (yet again…refer here) so the Fuji S5 Pro has been pressed into service. The gear used?

• 75cm x 75cm x 75cm light tent (sorry I have to iron the backgrounds but couldnt be bothered this morning)
• SB-800 and SB-600 (at 45 deg to light the light tent, controlled using CLS)
• Sigma 180mm macro, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8

I got carried away and did some more images of my other lenses as well.

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.

It has been a bit of quite period for me, with work and other commitments severely limiting the amount of time that I have to take photos. But there were some flowers at home this week so I took out the big Sigma EX 180mm f/3.5 and snapped  a few shots. Just whilst I was at it I decided to play with a watch that was given to me as a present.

These were taken using my D300 and my Manfrotto 055PRO B + 355RC2.