Blog hits 100 Countries

What you see above is a map showing all the countries where MooseNewsBlog has been read in the last 30 days (the green areas). The counter just hit 100 countries today. It’s a cool time when from a small office in the Sierra we can “beam” out across the planet images and thoughts to be shared with other like minded folks. The power of photography is pretty darn awesum is reaching out when even there might be a language barrier. It just gives one at times hope that we can make a difference with a mere click!

Thanks!

Nikon Trivia

Nothing earth shattering, truly just trivia. I received my D3 back from receiving its buffer upgrade while I was in HI. The turn around was less then two weeks. It was interesting that the paperwork included with the upgrade stats, “The memory buffer for your D3 has been upgraded to 2GB…” Personally, I never knew the exact size of the buffer. That’s why this is trivia. With the Jpeg quality set to Optimum and shooting Raw +Jpeg (14bit lossless compressed) the D3 buffer will now hold 32 and 916 images with 2x 16GB cards. Cool!

Those who have updated their D3′s firmware to 2.0, you can now update the firmware in the WT-4a to work with the D3 and Camera Control Pro 2.0.

And this is in from my friend Lindsay Silverman at Nikon. It’s a followup and addition for the 24PC piece I published on the web and in the BT Journal a while back. It’s good info.

Great issue and great piece on the 24 PC-E.

However (you know me well enough to find at least one additional way to work with a piece of gear) you tell your faithful to use Manual exposure for the obvious reasons.  I have discovered a cool way to stay in Aperture priority mode (my preferred way to shoot) – simply go to D3 Custom Settings and re-program the AF-L/AE-L to become a LOCK button without having to hold it in during the tilt/shift phase of composition.

Custom Setting f/6: Assign AE-L/AF-L Button AE-Lock HOLD

By selecting this option and pressing the AE-L/AF-L button prior to shifting or tilting – exposure locks and you can then compose literally hands-free from exposure adjustment.  An advantage of this is when you use auto bracketing

That’s pretty darn cool, thanks for sharing it Lindsay!

One last thing…I know there are TONS of blogs out there on the Olympics (my favorite is Vincent’s) but one you might not know about that I also like belongs to Scott Diussa’s, Nikon USA NPS mngr. It’s a little off beat but Scott has some cool images I don’t think you’ll see elsewhere.

Monday followup Answers

First, thanks for all the kind words about the images I posted last week. The portraits seemed to garnish the most attention, I guess folks just simply don’t think of me doing “portraits” especially with flash. I received lots of emails with lots of questions which I answered. I wanted to just take a moment to answer some on the blog.

*What was my favorite island? – Kauai by far!

*Are we doing any workshops in HI? – Yes, we have a DLWS scheduled for next March and we’re looking into doing a Base Camp there as well (dang cool birds on the islands)

*How’d you get your gear around? – Sharon & I both used our MP-7 which worked great. The photo above shows what I took and how it was packed.

*Will I be cruising again? – NO, at least not while teaching photography

*Do you really like the D700, or are you being paid to say that? – Yes, I’m being paid so I can now retire and not have to blog another thing. Really, can’t believe folks still ask that question. Yes, I love the D700 it did a great job. No, I was not given a D700 nor paid to say that.

*How many images did you come back with? – Darn interesting question. Photos that went into the library were around 3100 but I came back with about 6000, the balance being “experimental” shots taken while putting the D700 and SB-900 through their paces. I still don’t have all the answers I want on the SB-900, more testing to do.

*What lens did you find you using the most in “tourist” mode? – the 24-70AFS rocks and is the lens I used the most.

Thanks to all who take the time to write, hope this helps all.

"Remember, you're visiting the grave of 900 sailors"

“Remember, you’re visiting the grave of 900 sailors”

Mighty Mo

We no sooner get off one ship and we’re on another. But this was no “cruise” ship, oh no. It was the Might Mo or the USS Missouri and it was just cool!

Photos captured by D700, 14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

Kauai's Na Pali Coast – WOW!

We left the harbor today as we started to make our way back to our home port. But, we didn’t head straight back.

Nope, we headed up the coast to the spectacular Na Poli coast and wow, is it gorgeous!

I mean, it’s this incredibly tall, green rugged coastline that you can only access by boat or helicopter. And while we had a sweet 30min with this natural wonder, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Photographing it was pretty darn simple, underexposed 1 stop to bring out the shadows, process in NX2 dropping a black point to remove the haze, Nik Tonal Contrast in CS3 and wham, you get to see the treasure we saw.

Tomorrow we’re off to a very special treat, hope to blog at the airport as we head home…yahooooo!

Photos captured by D700, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Kauai’s Na Pali Coast – WOW!

We left the harbor today as we started to make our way back to our home port. But, we didn’t head straight back.

Nope, we headed up the coast to the spectacular Na Poli coast and wow, is it gorgeous!

I mean, it’s this incredibly tall, green rugged coastline that you can only access by boat or helicopter. And while we had a sweet 30min with this natural wonder, it wasn’t nearly enough.

Photographing it was pretty darn simple, underexposed 1 stop to bring out the shadows, process in NX2 dropping a black point to remove the haze, Nik Tonal Contrast in CS3 and wham, you get to see the treasure we saw.

Tomorrow we’re off to a very special treat, hope to blog at the airport as we head home…yahooooo!

Photos captured by D700, 70-300VR on Lexar UDMA digital film

Kaua'i is gorgeous!

We got into dock this morning at 07:00 and were instantly greeted with a blow hole exploding out our cabin deck. Sharon & I instantly took a likin to this island. It wasn’t too long after that we were on the big old bus heading to locales. Our first stop was the beautiful Opaeka’a Falls.

We then made the long, but very worth while drive to Waimea Canyon. Called the Grand Canyon on the Pacific, this gorgeous canyon has a surprise around every turn. It’s just spectacular from it’s 4000 foot tops right down to the ocean

We finished our day up at Spouting Horn blow hole. This was a little more challanging since the light was flat and we had gray skies. Couldn’t see the spray from the blow hole all that well. I decided to go around the corner to catch the action on this section of coast. You can’t see it in the frame, but there is a Green Turtle in the surf by the rocks. It was just a great day, we can’t wait to be back here in March with our DLWS event to experince even more of this gorgeous island!

Photos captured by D700, 24-70AFS/14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

Kaua’i is gorgeous!

We got into dock this morning at 07:00 and were instantly greeted with a blow hole exploding out our cabin deck. Sharon & I instantly took a likin to this island. It wasn’t too long after that we were on the big old bus heading to locales. Our first stop was the beautiful Opaeka’a Falls.

We then made the long, but very worth while drive to Waimea Canyon. Called the Grand Canyon on the Pacific, this gorgeous canyon has a surprise around every turn. It’s just spectacular from it’s 4000 foot tops right down to the ocean

We finished our day up at Spouting Horn blow hole. This was a little more challanging since the light was flat and we had gray skies. Couldn’t see the spray from the blow hole all that well. I decided to go around the corner to catch the action on this section of coast. You can’t see it in the frame, but there is a Green Turtle in the surf by the rocks. It was just a great day, we can’t wait to be back here in March with our DLWS event to experince even more of this gorgeous island!

Photos captured by D700, 24-70AFS/14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

A week of D700 shooting

I’ve been shooting with the D700 exclusively now for a week (never picking up the D3) and the frame counter has just hit 10,000 so I thought I would pass along a couple of D700 thoughts. It is without doubt  the funniest little camera I’ve shot with in a long time, even replacing the D200 as a favorite. Since I’m basically in “tour” mode, as in getting off the boat and walking the streets of Kona, I wanted a “small” camera over my shoulder. The D700 without the MB-D10 is just that, it’s a small camera and quite a delight to be carrying around while capturing BIG image quality (I honestly don’t see why you’d buy a small camera and then make it big by adding a battery pack when you bought a small camera but that’s just me). Having a pop up flash is really sweet especially with the larger size of the SB-900. Having the pop up flash working as a commander makes the amount of gear to carry less which is a plus.

The image quality is exactly what you’d expect from the D3 sensor which now has a new home. The buffer size being the same, the shooting experience is exactly the same as the D3. That’s a good thing because I’ve become quite use to that. The battery life I have to admit is a lot better then I thought it would be. I’ve only charged the battery once since first starting to shoot with the D700. I have to admit not having a vertical firing button has messed me up mentally a couple of times though. So has the slightly slower fps. The D3 and D700 are so darn similar it’s spooky!

One thing I’m not liking at all is the door for the CF card. It’s this new fangeled thing that you slide sidewise and then it pops open. It’s not built like a rock to say the least. A couple of times walking, my arm as slid it open by accident and one time when that happen, it caught on an object and instant panic as I thought I was going to break it off. I’m not liking that at all. But on the flip side, the image preview PIP is VERY cool and I like that a ton and find it to be something I’m wanting in the D3. Same with the active AF sensors selected when shooting in AAA. I love it in the D700 and hope Nikon incorporates it in the next D3 firmware upgrade.

Would I personally make the D700 my prime shooting camera? NO, I’ll stick with the D3. Would I go out on a project with a D3 as my prime camera and the D700 as a backup? In a heartbeat and without hesitation! Other than missing a couple features as I previously listed in my 1st D700 blog, you couldn’t find a better 1 for 1 backup then what you find in the D700. More then a week ago, I highly recommend it and while I’ve not has an opportunity to add it to Moose’s Camera Bag in writing, you can now count it as in.

Photos captured by D700, 14-24AFS/24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

The photograph just doesn't do it justice

Tonight we cruised by the lava flow of the big island Hawaii and it WAS a sight to be seen! We shot here three years ago, walking out to the flow and getting just feet from it. Tonight, we were a half mile off shore. Seeing it late at night (10PM) and from a distance was, well, just leaves one awe struck! The glow of the lava, the pouring over the earth in the process of creating new earth and the massive steam explosions is just simply beyond words to describe.

Since words escape one, it’s time for photography to give it a go. But the event is so huge that even photography falls short. Cranking the ISO to 25k only yielded a shutter speed of 1/2sec, on a cruise ship pitching on the seas and moving forward, well you can see the results. The images are noisy and not even tack sharp and yet, they were all saved to the harddrive because for no other reason than they will remind us of this spectacle of nature we were so fortunate to witness.

Photo captured by life’s great rewards

The photograph just doesn’t do it justice

Tonight we cruised by the lava flow of the big island Hawaii and it WAS a sight to be seen! We shot here three years ago, walking out to the flow and getting just feet from it. Tonight, we were a half mile off shore. Seeing it late at night (10PM) and from a distance was, well, just leaves one awe struck! The glow of the lava, the pouring over the earth in the process of creating new earth and the massive steam explosions is just simply beyond words to describe.

Since words escape one, it’s time for photography to give it a go. But the event is so huge that even photography falls short. Cranking the ISO to 25k only yielded a shutter speed of 1/2sec, on a cruise ship pitching on the seas and moving forward, well you can see the results. The images are noisy and not even tack sharp and yet, they were all saved to the harddrive because for no other reason than they will remind us of this spectacle of nature we were so fortunate to witness.

Photo captured by life’s great rewards

Hilo Haunts

So, we make port at 08:00, the same time I started teaching. It’s now 17:30 and we’re about to sail out, so, not much time for shore leave. Luckily, our favorite restaurant in Hilo is just across the bay so Cafe Pesto we go. After lunch we strolled across the street where we found this funky old tree. It had the spooks so that’s how I finished it. It was a simple Nik Silver Efex Pro and then a Color Efex Pro Glamour Glow. Well, off to see the sunset.

Photo captured by D700, 24-70AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

Sailin Away…again

We left the beautiful island of Maui tonight, setting sail for the Big Island. I do have to admit that being on board this big ass row boat and seeing it spin on a dime, backout and then leave port is impressive! As we left tonight, we were greeted by Hawaiian rain shower. It put on quite a show which needless to say, we were on deck and at the bow to photograph.

The top two images are pretty straight forward shots. The bottom image I shot with this effect in mind. I just went into my favorite filter in Color Efex 3.0, Tonal Contrast and made sure all the sliders where to the right. The whacked out color with the contrasty edge just works for me.

Photos by D700, 14-24AFS on Lexar UDMA digital film

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