With innovations in the Nikon Z Mirrorless line, I find my kit is getting physically smaller. I need less gear to get more accomplished. Back in March, I talked about using the ThinkTank Digital Holster 150. The addition of the Nikon Z24-70f2.8II to the kit, its smaller size, begged for a smaller case. I specifically wanted protection so I could drop the Z 8 / Z24-70f2.8II combo into the center console of the truck without hesitation. The 150’s smaller kin, the Digital Holster 20 v3, works perfectly! It can work on a strap, your belt or just in your hand. It has a zippered foot so you can lengthen the case if you’d like to have the shade in operational position. The two pockets easily hold batteries, flash and a camera strap. It keeps the wx out but in case you’re in doubt, it comes with the amazing ThinkTank rain shield. It’s such a simple thing that works for simplistically, I think it’s brilliant!

The “Super Moon” was just a couple of days ago but its brightness, photographically, is still an influence in the night sky. What might appear like sunrise in the photo is actually the moonrise, the slight color is the dust over the New Mexico skies. With the lake in the foreground, I needed one more element to photographically set the mood for the quiet splendor. Stars! I went into the Menu of the Z 8, Picture Control and selected C-1 Stars and made the click. It works really sweetly! You might not find it in your mirrorless Nikon cause it doesn’t come from the factory, you’ve gotta create it and it’s real easy. Head to Manage Picture Control, then to Landscape. Use all the defaults and alter just Clarity +2, Contrast +3, Saturation +3. Click OK and set it to C-1 and I named it Stars. Now you have a Stars Picture Control you can use when photographing stars. Not my idea or formula, created by someone much smarter than me, it’s just too sweet not to share. Picture Control, Stars.

The Museum of Mountain Flying just added to its collection this past Friday the A-26, “Fire Eaters.” If you’re a movie buff, you might recognize it from the Movie Always. Yeppers, this is the actual A-26 from the Spielberg Movie and it still flies! The brand new Z24-70f2.8 II arrived yesterday afternoon, so when I went to work today (I volunteer at the museum), it came with me. It seemed like a natural testing ground for it. Right out of the box, its smaller size and weight is a dream. Shooting with it, even more so. I wanted to get a quick post up to say, you should get yours, it’s simply spectacular, the Z24-70f2.8 II !

Our cameras are a powerhouse of technology, of goodness, having the ability to do so much of the photography heavy lifting for us. While their line item descriptions sometimes seem like Greek, the instruction book breakdown is confusing, you have the ability to tame them and make them yours! Where do you start? May I suggest by plugging in my settings, the settings I use with every click bringing you the images you see here, IG, my articles and books. I’m often asked how I came by these settings. Their foundation comes from the D1 and a whole winter’s printing of 24×30 prints looking at what works, what doesn’t and most importantly, captures exactly what I was seeing and seeing that in the file WITHOUT any post processing (other than using the instruction set created by the camera). Those settings are the bases of what I use today.

With every new camera, new firmware, I go into test mode shooting, printing and making slight adjustments to take advantage of the newest technology. The goal is simple, the best possible quality file when I go click with the camera (not computer). You don’t have to just go through these hoops, you can plug my settings in and go. What you do need to do, whether using mine, someone else’s or your own settings, is make them yours! This means shooting with settings in a controlled, repeatable situation, creating your own baseline. Then, based on who you are personally and as a photographer, make changes, taking notes the whole time. Once you have these settings, go out and shoot with them in the real world to further test. Then, and only then, do you start to make them yours, harnessing their power.

Understand, settings won’t make a sucky photograph better. Settings won’t help you see a photograph where there isn’t one. Setting won’t make up for not practicing proper handholding or long lens technique. Settings won’t make an image sharp where it’s not sharp. Setting will make the camera your friend, working the way you think. Settings can open up the world of creativity that YOU imagine and execute. Settings will permit you to operate the camera the way you logically think and physically move. Nikon has been tremendous in releasing FREE firmware updates upping the power of our gear. To harness it, let’s talk settings.

Shooting from a low angle is on the first page of my playbook. Handholding a lens like the Z24-70 and using the LCD monitor is pretty simple. Change up that lens to like the Z180-600 and I need support. I went looking for a flexible support for the Z180-600 and came back with the sweet Benro Tortoise Columnless Tripod #0 Carbon Fiber TTOR03C+GX25 head, 3 sections. Folded up, it’s only 11″ and maxes out at 16″. Carbon fiber, goes completely flat and weighs a 2lbs, it fits the bill perfectly. On a side note, it comes in the cutest little case! The Benro Tortoise “Mini” (as I call it) is now standard equipment whenever I go out to shoot. I love it!