Windows to the Past

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

A couple more images from Bodie, California.

--Warren

I shot this one through the front door of an abandoned house:



The old church as seen from the bedroom of an adjacent house:

To Photoshop or not

Canon 20D with 28-300L IS - 1/125s f/5.6 ISO400 at 70mm.

What do you think? Photoshop or no Photoshop?

Lap Record Smashed

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5, Tokina 2x teleconverter

One of the highlights at the Historic Race was the demonstration laps by the Toyota Formula One team. The team test driver attempted and successfully broke the all-time lap record at Laguna Seca. We were watching this from the grandstands at Turn 4.

--Warren

Modern in Mayberry

D70 35mm

I was driving around Beloit Wisconsin one evening and saw this modern sculpture that was totally out of place in this city. Most of the town is about the1930s, with people setting out in front of the houses and just talking.

Before Palmolive

D70 35mm

I found this sign, in good condition, on the back of a building in Wisconsin.

RX-7 Racer

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm f3.5

Now THAT's an Exhaust Pipe

Nikon D100, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 AI

This is the loud end of a Norton 500cc single cylinder engine mounted in a Cooper Formula 3 race car.

--Warren

Historic F1 Car Leaving Paddock

Nikon D100, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 AI

Historic Formula One racer drives out of the paddock to do some practice laps. The tires look fresh, they still have writing on them :).

Our friends, Gayle (with the camera)and Paul (with the wide brimmed hat) are in the background.

--Warren

Mightier than the sword

Found my extension tubes so I decided to try them out today. Pretty weird set up. 50mm f1.8 reversed onto a 100mm f2.8 attached to 68mm of extension. It cranks up the magnification quite a bit. Flash is off shoe again. This is a freebie pen. That lint was left over from me wiping the tip with a tissue prior to the shot. 100% crop below for scale.

Fun at Bonfante Gardens

A group of us went to Bonfante Gardens in Gilroy, CA. It is an amusement park with a lot of really nice landscaping. There are quite a few rides there for little ones. This shot is of Tom's son, Jeffrey, and my daughter, Madison, having fun on spinning ride. Even though you can't see a clear expression on their faces, I hope it still shows enough that you can definitely tell they are having fun. Shot at 1/8, f/32, 75mm on D70 with Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8.

M3 Sedan in Carmel, CA

Nikon D100, Nikkor 35mm f2.0 AI

There were a lot of car enthusiasts in Carmel last weekend. We went for a walk in town, and I saw this nice M3 parked in the street in a nice setting. So of course, I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

Any other Bimmer fans out there? :)

My old Nikkor manual focus lenses are getting more time on my D100 dslr as I am getting more used to the idea of shooting the D100 without TTL metering with the MF lenses. I particularly enjoy using the smooth manual focusing rings. I think it may be all in my mind, but I really like the resolution and "look" of digital images shot with these old lenses.

--Warren

The spice of life

Time to spice things up a bit. I don't think I've ever posted a macro shot so here it goes. This is a shot of some pepper. Shot with a 100mm f2.8 macro at 1:1 with a 50mm f1.8 reversed onto it. I'm at f25 and my DOF is under 1mm. Also of note, this picture has been cropped down by a factor of 4 so it can easily be displayed. Just for fun, here's a 100% crop. Nice thing about shooting macro is that one can have a ton of opportunities to shoot rather mundane things and see them in a new way.

A blade of grass.

A boardwalk.

In an old quarry.

Best Man

My nephew got married yesterday and I made a few photos of the event. I went to the groom's house before the wedding and shot this of the best man, Chris, making final changes to his speech at the banquet. Original is in color.

Trolley Window

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ai

"NO"

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ai

Nightmare on the Embarcadero

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 ai

My Friend Greg

Nikon D100, Nikkor 105mm f2.5 AI

I just received my new (old) Nikkor 105mm f2.5 AI lens that I snagged off of Ebay for $105 (!). I guess I'm in my old lens-on-digital-body exploration mode.

I already own a 105mm f2.5, but it's a non-ai lens meaning I cannot mount it on my D100 body. I used it many years ago, and it's a killer lens, but I missed using it for a while now since I stopped using my Nikon F2 as my main camera.

I decided to hunt for an AI version of this lens so that I can use it with my newer bodies. It will not meter with my D100, but I don't mind at all. I took it out to the Embarcadero yesterday to do some test shots before our guys' night dinner. It was a pleasure to manually focus with the wide, smooth-actioned focusing ring.

On this shot, I was sitting with Greg in Starbucks and I decided to shoot an impromptu portrait of him. The light was very dim, so I had to bump ISO up to 1600 and shoot wide open (f2.5).

I saw some shots that someone posted on the Internet using this lens on a dslr body. I was so impressed with the quality of the images that I decided then that I would get one when the right opportunity came up.

--Warren

Follow Me!

This pic was taken yesterday at Mount Nemo Conservation Area.


The conservation route is marked in yellow and the Bruce Trail route is marked in white. The Bruce Trail is very long (hundreds of kilometers) while the conservation route is small and stays on the conservation area. It only takes a few hours to walk.

(I have a bunch more pics at my blog if anyone's interested ... I didn't want to spam them all up here ;)

Fort Funston Hiker

Nikon D100, Nikkor 200mm f4, Tokina 2x teleconverter

She was walking her dog, but you can't see the dog from this angle.

--Warren

Flying Away

Nikon D100, Nikkor 200mm f4, Tokina 2x teleconverter

I would have had a better formation flying shot if I snapped the shutter a split second sooner. Oh well, this one didn't turn out so bad either.

--Warren

VFR - Visual Flight Rules

Nikon D100, Nikkor 200mm f4, Tokina 2x Teleconverter

In preparation for this Saturday's auto races, I took this setup out to do some further testing at Ft. Funston, where the hang gliders and dog walkers are.

--Warren

Forest of Legs...

...from a child's perspective.

Since I was using my 17mm, I did a lot of one-handed, point shooting where I basically aimed the camera in the general direction of what I wanted to shoot, and tripped the shutter. I let the continous focus setting, auto exposure, and wide angle take care of the rest.

--Warren

Fun or Fear?

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm f3.5

Distracted

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm f3.5

Seen at the Burlingame Art and Jazz Festival. This guy was cooking something on the BBQ. I hope he didn't burn himself :).

--Warren

T-Rex Attacks Burlingame

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm f3.5

We went to the Burlingame Art and Jazz Festival this afternoon. This was taken at thee kids' area.

--Warren

Angels Trumpets

Nikon D100, Nikkor 24mm f2.8

I saw this on our walk in Berkeley yesterday.

--Warren

Nice Backyard?

D70 300mm

I just realized that I had several pictures still on the memory card from our vacation. I remember looking at this great view and wondering how the homeowner feels when it storms. I like the perspective I got on this shot with the fishing boat and mountains.

Came Across An Old Photo of Mr. Lincoln

I came across this old photo of Abraham Lincoln and thought I'd post it. Just joking. I took a picture of this statue in front of City Hall using my Holga and Ilford HP5 120 B&W film with 400 ASA. I then used Picasa software to give it a sepia look. Hey, it was fun.

Eric

Spanish Tile Mountain

Nikon D100, Nikkor 200mm f4, Tokina 2X doubler, 1/640 f8

I have gotten used to shooting the D100 as a meterless dslr body, using the histogram display as a quasi-meter. I have a 200 f4 Nikkor that was home converted (dremel tool) to ai, so this lens cannot mount on the D100 body. I realized that I had a Tokina 2x teleconverter that IS ai (auto-indexing). So I found out that I could use the doubler with the 200mm Nikkor on the D100.

This gives me an effective focal length of 600mm (!!!). Now I have an alternative to using my 500mm reflex on the dslr. While the 500mm is compact and useful, sometimes the out of focus highlight areas have that typical unsightly reflex lens donut problem.

This was one of my test shots from out the back window of our house. I found out that images are soft at f4 and f5.6. It looks acceptably sharp by f8 (like this one). So this is a sunny day lens if I want to hand hold, or for tripod use under low light conditions.

--Warren

My non-blue suede shoes

I was walking around at lunchtime and at Gough and Oak Streets in SF, I saw these shoes outside of a laundrymat. I guess someone was trying to air them out. Why not? The weather was nice.

Eric

Presidio Army Base in SF

I took this photo a couple of weeks back with the Canonet using Ilford HP5 400 ASA film. I am really impressed by the quality of the photographs this camera takes. They are really clear. Not my doing. It's the quality of the lens. The housing you see here is, I assume, the officer's housing at the Presidio in SF.

Eric

Joyride

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

There's nothing like going on a joyride with your friends.

Shot at the Union Street Fair.

On another topic, I want to bring to your attention a recent development on Rangefinderforums.com. There is now a Critique subforum. I think the good folks on RFF hit upon the right formula for a critique forum. For those of you like me who are interested in giving and receiving critiques with real, constructive comments, you really need to go there to check it out. I am very happy about this new critique forum because the quality of the critiques and participation there was something that I hoped would happen on this forum when I first created it.

So far, I've participated in two critique threads. I chose two of my more successful images (in my opinion). It was a very interesting and educational experience. The carefully considered comments and different viewpoints of each participants make for a very rewarding experience. The rules for participating are posted at the beginning of each thread. You can read it there first to get an idea of the format.

The first one was a Landscape Theme. I chose to use my "Merced River in Winter, Yosemite" shot. You can read it here:

Critique #10 Landscape

The second was an Open Theme. I chose to use my "Broken Window" in Holbrook, AZ shot. You can read it here:

Critique Lucky #13 Open Theme

If you thought it was too much work, or that you didn't have time to comment here on the Friendly Forum, then you probably won't want to participate over there because you are obligated to comment on 4 other pictures in a given critique thread. However, even if you don't participate, it's fun just to read each thread to see what the participants have to say about the pictures.

If you have a chance to check it out, or to participate over there, drop a comment here to let us know what you think about it.

--Warren

Lens pr0n

My first attempt at product photography. In surfing camera sales sites, seeing crumby shots have been a pet peeve of mine. Someone is selling a 1500 buck lens which they swear is tack sharp. Meanwhile the shot of the lens looks like it was taken with a camera phone, at dusk, after drinking three shots of expresso. Okay...

Lots of room for improvement here. Need to stop down. This was shot at f/4. I'm thinking f/8 would be better because the dof is too thin. Need a slightly whiter backdrop and much better lighting. This was done with a bounce, a diffuser, and one side reflector. I need some side enclosures to get rid of the shadows. Thinking about building a lightbox this weekend with some hotlights. Any suggestions?

Lonely Tree at Canyonlands, UT

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

Lea's tree picture reminded me of this one that I took at Canyonlands NP in Utah.

Vegetation is scarce there. Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

--Warren

Tall Coniferous Tree

This tree pic was taken here in Waterloo, ON.
























When I took this pic, I loved the way the lower deciduous trees kind of framed it... almost like a new exhibit at a museum -- The Unveiling of the Conifer :)

What We Do When We're Not Out Taking Pictures

That's a huge bottle of Vodka:



Cheers!



Actually, speaking for myself, that's the first time that I ever drank a martini. It was good, but not something that I would do regularly. I happened to bring my Nikon D100 w/35mm f2 Nikkor MF lens. Eric wanted to sample Benson's martini recipe, and I couldn't resist trying a bit myself.

The photo of the martini brothers was taken by Gail.

--Warren

Look, up in the sky!

8:30 on last Saturday night. Not a cloud in the sky. As day ended, a lone jet provided the only vapor for the setting sun to illuminate. Canon 5D with 24-105 f4 IS. 1/100s f/7.1 ISO 1600 @32mm

A Daisy

My first post -- how exciting!

Flowers are a girl's best friend, not diamonds. Whoever said that diamonds were was probably in the business of selling them. Diamonds will make me sad if they go missing because they cost so much. With flowers, you just go find more :)

This is some kind of daisy I think:



















It was very small -- like two or three centimeters in diameter. It has so many pedals for such a little flower. I love seeing the detail of small things after I photograph them. When you walk by, you often don't notice it all.

Welcome to FPCF, Lea!!!

Hi Gang,

Please join me in welcoming Lea to our merry band of photographers!

You've probably seen her comments on our picture posts. I asked her to join us as a contributor, and she agreed.

Following is her self-written intro:

Hi, I'm Lea and I am totally an amateur photographer. It seems to be quite fun! My little digital camera (Canon PowerShot SD400) has carved out a little place in my heart :)
My approach to taking photos so far has been, if I like it, I'm going to take a picture of it!

Introducing Henry

Introducing Henry everyone. He's one of my cat buddies, and he lives at 23rd Ave and Judah in SF. He's a popular guy and is known as a nice neighborhood cat. I caught him in his "I'm going crazy" pose after playing with him. This photo was taken with a Canonet rangefinder using Ilford HP5 400 B&W film. I don't recall the aperture or shutter speed.