A Few Details

I have a Rokinon 14 mm lens for my Nikon D800E that I have found very useful for photographing churches, cathedrals, and other architectures of interest. Extra care is required since the lens is manual focus. Since we have all gotten used to autofocus, it is a real effort to handle a manual focus lens. Especially when using the lens in places that are not brightly lit.

For a "normal" lens, focusing is not all that hard, but for a wide angle lens it is a bit tricky since the variation in focus is slow with a turn in the focus ring. So much is in focus, or nearly so, it is hard to tell what you are doing through the viewfinder. So let's change the game and simplify the process.

Strangeness Abounds

I have been very careful to avoid politically charged posts so far. I'm at my limit.

The number of crazy things that are getting put out on the intertubes these days is just astounding. It is difficult to believe that real people in the US are saying these things in public. Perhaps it is really true that we have been invaded by the body snatchers and these aren't people who spout this shit. Maybe all these shows and movies about zombies are trying to tell us something. Maybe I should just take the hint.

We Get Fog

Nikon 1 V3 -- 18.5 mm,  ISO 160, 1/125 s,  f/1.8

After a recent rain, the sky began to clear about sunset. It was warm. The water soaked ground made a place where lots of pockets of ground fog were generated. And this made for an interesting display of textures across the fields.

Staunton Train Station

Took some time the other day to wander a bit about the Staunton train station to get a few shots. I took my trusty Nikon 1 V3 with the 18.5 mm lens (equivalent field of view to a 50 lens on a FF camera). I was in a B&W kind of mood so I converted all this to B&W using the Nik software.

Amazing Landscape Photos

First Prize International Landscape Photograph of the Year 2015: Luke Tscharke

The Landscape Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners and they are, as expected, amazing. The article on Huffington Post  also collects the winner's photos in a form that may be a little easier to scan, and I want to share them here as well to be sure that you see these remarkable photos.

I have my work cut out for me, clearly.

Summertime

 On a hot summer's day the bumble bees are thick in the agastache. These guys are constantly feeding  and enjoying the abundance.

Hardware update

Cleaning the windows on Beverly Street.

I have been using the new Nikon 1 v3 to learn what I can learn. And I have to say, I'm impressed. Compared to the SOOC jpg's from the Fuji X100s, the jpgs from the v3 are head and shoulders better.  Above is shot from downtown of window cleaning that shows what I mean. Note that only parts of the sky are blown out while the rest of the image filling the exposure range very nicely. Details remain in the shadows of the brick wall and the highlights across the street. Well done.

Tools of the trade

The coast of Cornwall at Tintagel.

To take on the world, one needs the right tools. For me, this means photography equipment.