My new toy

My neighbor gave us tickets to this car show and we had the opportunity to look at some great production and concept cars. I liked this one because of the colors. Comments?

California Dreamin

I took this at a cousin's wedding back in January. I took the picture through a fence trying to frame this wonderful car. Comments?

Late Afternoon Valley Trail - Yosemite

Nikon F4s, Kodak 400CN

You would never know it, but about 10 yards to the left of this trail is a line of cars heading out of the park that looked like rush hour in San Francisco :).

--Warren

Mini-Falls at Lloyd Lake

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kodak 400CN

Is there a technical term for this? :)

This is a short, cascading inlet to Lloyd Lake. I just liked the shape of it on this image.

--Warren

Vintage Photo: Fashion Shoot at Portals of the Past

(Photographer: Unknown?)

whoops, here is the photo from the turn of the century.

Pump Station?

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kodak 400CN

I think Dan M. would know what this really is. I think this shed made out of cement blocks is housing the pumping equipment for the lake, right Dan?

This is at the other side of Lloyd Lake where the Portals of the Past is found. Seeing things like this reminds us that the setting, though it's very nice, is man-made.

I wondered if it was possible to make a picture of this stark, utilitarian object that was somehow aesthetically pleasing... Was I successful?

--Warren

Paying it Forward, Take Two

Hi Folks,

I would like to give this camera to someone who will actually use it. I am offering it here first to see if any of you want it, or know of someone who is interested in using a film camera. The camera is a vintage Nikon FM. I had it checked out by a professional repairman, and the camera is performing to within factory specifications. I also had him replace all the light seals at the same time, so this camera is ready for action! All functions work on the FM, and the only obvious flaw on the camera is a slight dent/malformation in the prism housing, which does not affect functionality at all. This is the story of how I acquired the FM almost two years ago:

link: I adopted a Nikon FM

I promised that guy that I would use the camera, and I did. You can find numerous pictures posted here that were taken with that camera.

The lens that I am giving with this camera is not the lens in the picture. I am giving a Vivitar 28-70mm f3.5-4.8 Macro Zoom. This lens uses a 52mm filter, and the glass is pristine, and focusing action is smooth. The only fault of the lens is in the push-pull zoom action, which is extremely stiff.

The batteries are not included, and if you are not local, you'll pay for shipping cost.

Let me know if you are interested.

--Warren

Picture of Camera:

Portals of the Past

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kodak 400CN

Longer view of the Portal with Lake.

--Warren

Portal Detail

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kodak 400CN

The front porch of a Nob Hill mansion miraculously survived the 1906 earthquake. It was taken to this lake, preserved, and became a reminder of the perseverance of the City.

--Warren

GG Park Duck Couple

Nikon F4s, Nikkor 50mm f1.4, Kodak 400CN

I went to Golden Gate Park to finish off a roll of film. There is a lake near 25th Avenue with an old columned entryway called "Portals of the Past".

--Warren

SF from Marin Headlands

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

It's been a while since I've driven up there. It was windy and a bit hazy last Saturday. There were some whitecaps on the ocean side, but it was calmer towards the Bay.

--Warren

Boom Lift Convention

Nikon D100, Tamron 24-135mm

This was too bizarre a sight to pass up. I was driving through the Presidio on my way to the Marin Headlands to take some pictures when I saw this bunch of boom lifts parked in a lot on the side of the road. I had to stop to take some pictures of it. It's not something you normally see in the Presidio.

On a side note, does anyone know of a good sensor cleaning kit and/or a local shop who can help me clean my D100's sensor? I think mine is extremely dirty, and it's beginning to compromise my images.

--Warren

Bumble Bees on Lavender

180 macro iso 1000, 400 shutter speed, f7.1

Dan in Marin

I was born and raised in SF in the 50s and 60s. My first experience with photography was a summer school photo class at Parkside Grammar. We built a pin hole and shot and developed some local neighborhood scenes. My best friend was more heavily involved, and was able to afford first a Nikkormat , which he eventually sold to me and then a Hasselblad. We were both 14 and armed with these ventured throughout the city shooting anything that intrigued us. Unfortunately, most of this work was lost through time, but the urge to capture life on film and now digitally was instilled in me. Our technique at the time was to shoot all of our film and something good was bound to result. I am pretty much into the same technique and digital has allowed me to practice this in a less expensive way.
I have been using a Digital SLR now for about three years (Canon 5D MK I) and continue to practice and try to capture what I see, sometimes it works and obviously most of the time "ack".
I currently, work in SF and live in West Marin so I shoot a lot of landscapes and macro flowers. I am just retiring from a 35 year career in horticulture/arboriculture and hope to start a BFA or MFA program in photography. Although, I consider myself strictly an amateur, I am enthusiastic and hope to hone my skills. Hopefully, by sharing some of my shots I can learn from you all. I met Warren through his wife Gail (we work together) and look forward to posting some of my work. I truly appreciate the broad spectrum of great work posted on the forum.

The photo is from Mt. Barnabe (about 1,800' elevation) looking towards Tomales Bay, I liked the velvet texture of the hills. I had to do some split toning work because the sky was way too washed out. Shot with a 17-40 at 40, f22, iso 250 and a shutter speed of 200 because the wind was really blowing.

Dan

Half Dome, May 2009

Nikon F2, Nikkor 85mm f2, Kodak 400CN

Documenting Half Dome from Sentinel Bridge in late afternoon.

--Warren

Yosemite Falls, May 2009

Nikon F2, Kodak 400CN

A view of upper and lower Yosemite Falls from the valley floor in the late afternoon.

--Warren

Sun Avoider

Nikon D100

Taken on the same, hot sunny day as the Pier 39 shots.

--Warren

Sun Worshippers

Nikon D100, Nikkor 300mm f4.5

Our famous sea lions at Pier 39.

--Warren

David & Cristina

Bessa R, 50mm f2 J-8, Fuji Superia Xtra 400

We had brunch with our friends David & Cristina a couple of months ago. I like David's expression here because none of us knew that morning that he was planning to propose to Cristina a couple of days later. I wonder what he was thinking here while fondly gazing at Cristina.

--Warren

Maze of Branches

Nikon F2, Kodak 400CN

I saw this interesting, tangled, maze of branches on this old tree in Yosemite Valley.

--Warren

Cigarette Break

Bessa R, 50mm f2 J-8, Fuji Superia 400

Chinatown alley scene.

--Warren

Take Out Order

Bessa R, 50mm f2 J-8, Fuji Superia 400

Hmmm, seemed like some serious ordering and order taking was going on here :).

--Warren

Leica M8 mini-review

A few weeks ago I ended up getting a Leica M8. I'm aware of the issues this camera has had since it came out a few years ago, but wanted to try one out first hand. I didn't have high expectations, but so far I like the image quality, size, and haven't had any major issues with coding of lenses or filters. I think I will keep it for awhile.

The body feels much more solid than the other digital rangefinder, the Epson RD-1, and has a larger sensor. It's about the same size as a film M body, which is quite compact, especially coupled with a small lens. The shutter is noticeably quieter than an SLR, but about the same as a film M. The latest firmware update allows the use of coded or uncoded lenses, and with or without UV/IR filters. I have UV/IR filters for all of my M lenses except for 2, but haven't seen the need for them, and have primarily been shooting in color mode. The filters might be a good idea if you plan to shoot black synthetics in color, and coding of ultra wide lenses (< 28mm) might have an effect on vignetting, but so far 28mm uncoded, and without filters has not been a problem for me.

What slows me down with this camera (as well as most digital cameras) is that I have to go into the menus to change WB and ISO, there is no dedicated dial for these functions. Also to view the histogram, you have to press a display/info. button instead of having the histogram overlay the main image by default. But other than these minor issues, the camera takes great photos and has less of a crop factor than the Epson (1.3 vs 1.5 for the Epson). I've been using the following lenses with the M8 - Canon, 28/2.8, Summicron 35/2, CV 40/1.4, Summilux v2 50/1.4, and Summilux 75/1.4 (which this photo was taken with, at ISO 640, f1.4, 1/20th second). One feature that is faster than the Epson is AE lock, which is just pressing down the shutter half-way like focus lock on an AF DSLR.

The M8 has the same # of megapixels as my DSLR, but my DSLR images pale in comparison to the images from the M8. Could be the lenses, but the DSLR (mine is the smallest available) with it's big mirror slapping prism and shutter, extra high contrast colors, and gobs of molded cheap plastic, make the small M8 with faster and smaller prime lens a much more enjoyable tool.

Trio of Small Trees in B&W, Yosemite

Nikon F4s, Kodak 400CN

Three small trees in a meadow caught my eye. The Walgreens scans were pretty horrific this time. I will try a different lab from now on because I find myself dissatisfied every time I get a roll back from them. I think their scanners were not adjusted properly for scanning chromogenic b&w film. On our recent trip to Yosemite, the valley was so crowded with day trippers that we decided to simply explore the valley on foot, so most of my shots this time are from the valley floor.

--Warren

Cherry Blossom Festival Picture Hunter

Bessa R, 50mm f2 Jupiter-8, Fuji Superia 400

This is not a fantastic picture, but the story is fun, anway :).

I saw this photographer using a Canon dslr with a HUGE telephoto lens, so I decided to take a picture of him. He reminded me of a hunter with a rifle stalking prey. As it turned out, I think he was aiming at me, or someone next to me. After we both took our shots, he came over to say "Hi" and he made a friendly comment about my Voigtlander Bessa R rangefinder camera. 

Incidentally, this roll was to test my theory that the annoying light leak in this camera was due to the film canister viewing window on the film back. I was right, because I taped over the window with some black electrical tape, and I didn't get the light leak at all for the entire roll of film this time.

--Warren