Isle of Rum

Looking back to the Isle of Rum and the Cuillin mountains from the deck of the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Mallaig. This was the first clear day after 8 days of rain and storm. Taken with Provia 100 film through a Nikon FM2N + 28mm lens and polariser.

Harris Mausoleum

Floors Eventing 2011

Nikon D200, 70-300mm VR panned at 1/60th f11 Iso 200

Floors Eventing 2011

Mount Keen

A Day on Mount Keen the most easterly Munro photographed on Kodak Tri-X with a Nikon FM2N and 28mm Series E lens and 50mm/1.4 plus orange and green filters.

Nikon FM2N

The first FM2N I snapped up, and fitted with this bashed 50mm/1.4, was a chrome model. I parted with £175 for that camera in 1992 at Leeds Photovisual in Birmingham.
It was my main camera for the next four years of building up my photojournalism. I used it for sports pictures published in a myriad of local newspapers as I created a portfolio.
In 2010 I returned to mainly using film for my own work and alternated between my F100 and Rolleiflex. But both are weighty compared to the sublime FM2N.
A month ago I spotted this mint condition black FM2N in Cameratiks, Morningside Road, Edinburgh. Patrick, the proprietor added this neat Nikon strap and again I spent £175.
The first rolls of Tri-X from it were great as you'd expect from a virtually unused machine.
Hillwalking last weekend I handed it to a stranger to take mine and Geraldine's picture,
"What a lovely sound," he said as the shutter went off.

Kodak Tri-X

Shot on Kodak Tri-X 35mm, using my Nikon FM2N + 28mm lens and orange filter, 1/250th f11.

50mm f1.8 Nikon

A bargain Nikon AF 50mm f1.8 pre AFD but very nicely made with metal rear mount spotted for £59.00 on ffordes.com see screen shot below:

Short Duration Flash - A Practical Application in Sport

My regular readers will remember the notes on this photograph, a few things came together.
As I arrived at the pool sunlight was burning through the window behind the lanes of swimmers, creating great out of focus highlights (bokeh). The sunlight also helped to highlight the water streaming off her arm and disguises the fact that I used flash.

I'd recently started at the Sevenoaks Chronicle(1996) and they'd given me a kit which included an Nikon F90 camera and SB26 flash - I'd wanted to get my hands on kit like this since reading about in magazines three years previously.
The flash allowed the photographer to get synchronisation at speeds faster than the usual sync speed of 1/250th, Nikon call it AutoFP. This has another effect it cuts down duration and distance over which it will fire. It is the short duration of the flash which has frozen the water pouring off Laura Tingley's arm. 1/500th would not have frozen it in midair.
I used manual focus and prefocused at a point in the water, (I didn't really trust AF), the settings were ISO 800 film, 1/500th sec f2.8 + flash. It was slightly overexposed on the colour neg. I only had about 10 minutes as it was part of a triathlon and I had other parts of the event to photograph.
On camera flash is essential for pictures such as this, in a live event it would be impractical to use a large device and powerpack.

Geraldine in August Rain on the Coigach Peninsula

Fill-flash

Tweed Green Snow in Peebles

Mrs Davey walks across Tweed Green on Wednesday afternoon. There is a brief respite in the snow fall and we have some blue sky.

This year snow has come about a month earlier than in 2009 when it was the week before Christmas.

I took this on Geraldine's D200 with the 18-55mm lens and a polariser. Settings were Iso 400, f16 1/250th sec.

Apertures

During Borders College Peebles classes from day one I encourage my students to use manual.

Regular readers will know that I have a graphic on the site which describes different shutter speeds. It shows the increasing bluriness of a football and the players as an inept photographer tries to capture the action at slower and slower shutter speeds.

I have now prepared a graphic starting at f5.6 (most kit lenses have variable apertures from f3.5-5.6) and increasing in steps to f36.

I used a Nikon D200 and 105mm f2.8 VR Macro lens to create the graphic which shows the depth of field variation. Photographers now seem to like the term "Bokeh" for the out of focus highlights seen in my f5.6 shot.

Confetti

Nikon D40x v D80

One of my customers is stuck on whether to buy the D40x or D80. He wants the 18-70 AFS lens with either camera but is undecided. He likes the lightness of the D40x but thinks paying a pound more for the D80, which is the kit price is a better deal. He has been back and forward to Calumet twice this week at least it gets him out! I'd buy the D40x as it is a lovely little camera but then I've already got the D100.