“What is the best f/stop?” This is the #2 most frequently asked email question that I receive. Seriously! I’ve written about this a few times here on the blog. It came in again today and this time it really struck me as really funny since, I’m rethinking that whole DOF question for myself. Readers of the BT Journal have read a little about how I started to “re-investigate” minimal DOF earlier this summer. While I’ve owned the 28f1.4 AF for some time and I didn’t have really kind words about the new 50f1.4 AFS, I now own one. It’s all Joe’s fault!
The upcoming issue of the BTJ will chronicle how with the file quality of the D3x, I’ve gone 180 degrees back to shooting mostly wide open. This photo of a Brooks Griz is a good example of what I’m liking, 600mm at f/4. Technically the only thing that is sharp are the eyes, a little behind them and a little in front. Why does more look in focus than that? The readers of the next issue of the BTJ will have the answer (I gave an answer to the class last week in ME). What does that have to do with buying the 50f1.4 AFS?
This portrait of Jim taken in Central Park is why I think McNally is on to something in his own retro look back/forward at minimum DOF. Making the subject “pop” visually in the photograph has been the cornerstone of my photography from the get go. You can see it plainly in the photo of Jim where the background is physically so far away when shooting at f/1.4, the background is out of focus. It’s not so obvious in the thumbnail image of the griz. I’ve been very privileged to see some of Joe’s images where he’s exploring this same retro look back at minimum DOF that he has taken with the new 50f1.4AFS. What makes it work is the fact that while the 50f1.4AFS is not a fast focuser (is that a word?) it is gloriously wicked sharp! That measure of sharpness for me is when you can count the whiskers on the chin; this image of Jim taken with the 28f1.4 has that quality. The 50f1.4AFS delivers the same which is why I bellied up to the bar and bought a class B one from Jeff at Adorama when it became available (saved me some bucks).
Creating a video on the 50f1.4 AFS (and I still owe one on the 16Fish) will serve as a better review of the lens. For now, just wanted to keep you all in the loop where photography is taking me and where I’m taking my photography.
I am incredibly excited to announce our Nov12 & 13 workshop at Adorama. After the sell out, incredibly successful event this spring, we decided to not only do it again, but up the ante. The Thursday night presentation is open to as many folks as can squeeze into the room. It’s a presentation all about YOU so you don’t want to miss it.
Now on Friday, this is the big news. We’re heading out to Jamaica Bay NWR. What’s so good about that, especially if you want to go but don’t have a big lens for bird photography? Let me tell ya. Nikon will have a dozen, that’s 12 long lenses, 500mm/600mm (w/1.7x converters) loaners for folks and Gitzo is providing the sticks. That’s all covered in the price of admission. All you have to do is show up with a camera body & cards. Now, that’s cool! This event is brought to you by Adorama and sponsored by Nikon and Gitzo and is going to be big time fun and some sweet photography thrown in for good measure.
What are our subjects? Birds! The Short-billed Dowitchers you see here were photographed at Jamaica Bay a number of years back at a Walk Softly field trip. We had more folks along that time than we will have on this workshop and had the nastiest overcast you can imagine. Even still, I produced this one image that to this day I really like. It’s these skills and many more we’ll cover over the workshop and if my plan all falls into place, I will have grabbed the imagination of at least one new wildlife photographer and started them down the road of my favorite type of photography.
Registration is handled all through Adorama and if its like last time, it will be filled within a couple days of this posting. I hope you’re one of the ones who we get to share this special day with us.
We awoke this morning to a thin layer of ice on the bird baths. The sun is making its way over the fall hump and the light angle and quality has made its change (I love fall light). The majority of our spring and summer birds are gone and just our residents are at the feeder. It must be fall!
And what does that mean for us wildlife photographers? We need to make sure we have our long lenses cleaned and ready to go, gloves and jackets out of storage and packed as we’re heading to those great hot spots where migratory birds congregate. I know I’ll be at Bosque in Dec, but there are other great locales I would like to make it to. There are the marshes in WA, Bear River NWR in Utah, there is a place in OH & others that I would really love to get to. I don’t think I’ll visit them all. So I hope you do and head to Twitter and post a link so we can see what you experience.
Now when I say long lens cleaned, I mean exactly that. I send all my Nikon gear in once a year to have a CLA, Clean, Lube and Adjust done to it. Why? The gear goes through a lot in a year’s time and making sure all the screws are tight (wonder if they can work on Mooses?), glass cleaned and contacts sound just makes sure that when I’m shooting, the only problem I run into are pilot error.
Many ask about gloves, especially the ones I’m wearing in my Kelby Training videos. Those gloves are Swik Techical Wear XC Ski gloves and sadly, they are no longer available. The three pairs I had originally bought have all worn out so I was looking for new ones. I found some new mountain bike gloves that are perhaps a little better than my old ones. I’m going to test them out the next couple of weeks and if they are as good as I was told, I’ll pass along their name.
Jake had airport run duty today, picking up Stephie my assistant. I think he wanted to get even by getting me up early to head to Mono Lake. He wanted to see if the wren family were still around. We never saw them but we were more than entertained for a couple of hours with locals like the California Gulls.
The gulls are in full swing Brine Fly munching mode. They’re in the lake stirring up the bottom to grab the larva of the flies and mowing. The wading shot, I worked the reflections of the tufa and the sky in combination with the biology. I also looked for good looking gull which right now is a challenge. They move kinda a slow in the water, totally the opposite of when their are mowing. They are so comical as they run up and down the shoreline, stirring up the flies while trying to catch them by snapping their bills closed. It’s a great activity to photograph in the harder light, need the extra shutter speed to stop the action!
Yeap, the gulls were laughing at us and they aren’t even Laughing Gulls. This is a California Gull down at Mono Lake and I had to work to get this shot. The gulls are molting with the end of nesting season. There was no finding a good lookin one and there was no getting close to them or other birds. A couple of hours went by and only a couple of clicks were made, it was that slow. But it only takes one to make me happy. When you see the Moose Cam, you’ll see what I’m talking about. mtc
