Photography – Page 29 – Ink, Yarn & Beer

Lens

As a birthday present – a bit early – I got the Nikon 32mm f1.2 for the Nikon 1 cameras. I have the V1. This lens, equivalent roughly to an 85mm lens, has a separate manual focus element on it, unlike the others in the Nikon 1 series.

Yesterday, I went to a local garden, and took a series of pictures. Some I used the automatic focusing, on others I used the manual focusing. I need to figure out how to use it. The main, point, though, of the excursion was to simply evaluate the lens at f1.2, to check the bokeh, to check the accuracy, and to simply see how it worked.

Follows are some of the shots, with some post-processing, just because that is what I do, but I did very little sharpening because that was the main focal point – observe the depth of field of the lens.

Overall, I am quite pleased with the lens, but there is definitely a time and place for such a wide open f/stop. Click on the composite picture below, then click again to enlarge it, if you want to see more of the details.

The Eyes Have It

Every now and again we set out for several weeks, driving all the way, and stopping at various places to visit family, friends, and see the sights. This year is a tour of scenic places, and places with character. Because I want to take some good pictures, I have been going through my lenses and checking them for accuracy in focus. Of course, some lenses are better than others, and some systems work better than others.

The Nikon D7000 has the ability to adjust the autofocus in different lenses, and store those manual adjustments in the menu, for up to twelve different lenses. I have been going through all my autofocus lenses, rather painstakingly, to sort them out. Only one is really out of kilter, and it could be that I just need to send it in to be refurbished by the manufacturer to factory specifications. Needless to say, it will not be traveling with me!

There are a lot of ways to check the focus of a lens, so I won’t get into it here. The final test, though, is on the eyes of my victim. His left eye is the one I use – don’t ask why, I don’t know! Once I like what I see in the lens, I record it by naming the picture with the adjustment in the camera, the f/stop, and file it in a calibrations directory. I’ve heard that lenses should be checked every 6 months or so, and certainly be checked out with any new camera.

Lies

There is the purist in me that says a photograph should never be changed from what the camera took. To change it means I cannot take a picture in the first place.

Another part of me that realizes there is such creative potential in photography – especially digital photography. And, in some situations, it is the only thing that makes a dismal photo worth looking at. For me, color and contrast are always attractive. Together, both change mood, season, emotion, focal points.

Today, I went out to the local botanical garden around noon. There was not the least bit of interesting light, only shadows. I wanted to see what a new lens could do, and was too lazy to get out when the light is particularly nice (meaning get dressed and out the door before 7 a.m.!). The intention was to see how well the V1 does creating panoramic pictures on manual focus – important to learn as the camera is highly automated. A couple came out okay, but they were truly boring to the eye. So, color manipulation and such – the art of post processing.

Creativity or lying?

Off the Limb

Sade Reid

The meetup photo shoot went really well. The models were lovely, and the site, even though it was along a busy street, proved to be a perfect backdrop for the models.

The building has tall columns, long windows, and is completely white. It recalls a Southern plantation house on the front – but it is far from that – it’s an office building!

The building and the models’ clothing complemented one another quite nicely. The models were really fun to work with, and most of us got some pretty good pictures I think.

And, both cameras and all the lenses used worked out very nicely. No need to feel anxious. I do, think, it would have been good to bring the 70-300mm lens, for use with the D7000. The V1 handled itself quite well.

Out on a Limb

Anxiety Today I am doing a photo shoot with a local meetup group. There will be professional models and make up and lovely dresses. Because of my personal preferences, I am traveling light as far as camera gear. With 8-10 photographers scrambling for access, it seems like it could be almost a free-for-all, so it seems to be even more reasonable I do this.

Coming with me will be the Nikon D7000 with only one lens – the 85mm f1.8G. And to augment this, the Nikon V1 with a few lenses. Nothing else – no flashes, no reflectors. I want to focus on photography, not the peripherals of photography.

This is where the title of this post is coming from – I am out on a limb about using the V1 and a single lens on the DSLR. With a lot of gear, I feel I would go absolutely crazy with everything else, and everyone else. This is me – not other people. When I shoot alone, or one or two others, it is considerably less stressful for me, so more gear is okay. However, I feel I could miss out on some really good shots . . . but I also know my main focal points of this shoot. To try to do too many other things could decrease that concentration. I want to shoot portraits, and panorama portraits. The D7000 and 85mm are for this purpose. With the V1, I want to see what it can do under these circumstances with the 10mm f2.8, the 18mm f1.8, and the 30-110mm.

While these meetups are a little crazy, they are also a great learning experience. Seeing other photographers at work, meeting new people, and chatting about the process are always fascinating. Doing it myself, in the middle of it all, is a challenge. There are soooooo many times when I loved what I was seeing on the camera back, only for find my EV was -5 because of the dials on the top of the camera! Today, the goal is to NOT do that, and to only use the info seen on the back panel for adjustments . . . so, little goals, big goals, and a lot of anxiety because this is one shoot I really want to go perfectly!