huddy wrote:
Pulled this old shot out of the archive, nearly 4 years old now. Interactions between children and animals at zoos are very fascinating, and my children tend to get more than most as they're very good at observing patiently and not getting in a rush.
We were at the local zoo walking through a river exhibit and I noticed the alligator was watching the children very closely as they quietly watched him swim. I had the presence of mind to turn on the shutter on my FE2 and grab a first shot with focus on the glass roughly as he started to swim slowly our direction; I quickly advanced the film and waited to see what would happen next. He accelerated suddenly and smashed right into the glass wall (impact resistant, and it held, thankfully!!) and I somehow managed to hold reasonably steady and release the shutter just at the right time to get his snout hitting the glass. It was impressive and startling at the same time to see just how quickly this giant animal could increase his speed.
FE2, Nikon 50 1.2 AI-S, Portra160, probably f/5.6 and 1/125-1/250 or so.
Ray,
Thank you so much for all that info on tripods and ball heads. I really appreciate it.
Jim
pbraymond wrote:
Jim, it's been awhile since I did my research and purchasing. Most of my support system is old, but works well for what I need. I've mostly used carbon fiber tripods from Gitzo (rock solid, maybe not as full featured as others), and one Feisol that was very reliable. If you get used twist lock legs, be sure to get the ones that lock in 1/4 turn, and not the old style ones that took a lot of turns. My current most used legs are the Gitzo 2545T. I also have a 3 series Gitzo that is crazy steady, plus a very old Series 0 Gitzo aluminium that is my backpacking tripod. Previous Gitzos included the Series 2 Mountaineer which was great except my older version had the "many turns" twist locks.
As for heads, I've use Linhof Profi II (small backpacking head), RRS BH-40, BH-55, and the matching Gitzo GH1382QD head to the 2545t legs that allow if to fully close over itself for a compact travel kit. If I recall correctly a couple of the Markins M10/20 are pretty decent too. Most of these are old/outdated/no longer made, so I'm not sure if they are a good value compared to the more current / newer heads. All heads are compatible with the Arca Swiss QR and plate system.
A pretty current guide to legs (at least for the priorities I value) can be found here:
I thought I was all set support wise, until I spied a Peak Design CF tripod in the shots of a certain North Carolinian a while back, who proceeded to tell me that it worked pretty well. And if it was good enough for him for really compact packing purposes, it made me think...... maybe I need one too. Traces of "The Devil" I tell ya....Show more →
Many of the less expensive L brackets, base plates and cages are not machined from a billet of 6061 but are cast aluminum, and cast aluminum is prone to failing under light loads.
Make sure you buy the right stuff.
I have a two piece L bracket made by RRS that is gossamer, has a magnet that retains an allen wrench and gives easy access to left side ports
The posting pace has been at a nice, steady level for a couple of days now, which is always enjoyable, especially with the current (and usual) variety of images and banter. To add to the L-bracket discussion: I have SmallRig L-bracket/grips on both of my Fuji cameras, mainly for the added grip volume. So far I have only used the X-T4 on a tripod, and it was very nice to have the L-bracket convenience for vertical shooting.
Here is a small set of visible-spectrum photos from the Forbidden Plateau with the X-T4 along with the 50 f/1.4 SC (first and third images) and the 24 f/2.8 NC (second image).
Nice set Glen! They have a great feel to them. Is that a photographic term? Feel?
Makes me want to be there.
G
GroWeb wrote:
The posting pace has been at a nice, steady level for a couple of days now, which is always enjoyable, especially with the current (and usual) variety of images and banter. To add to the L-bracket discussion: I have SmallRig L-bracket/grips on both of my Fuji cameras, mainly for the added grip volume. So far I have only used the X-T4 on a tripod, and it was very nice to have the L-bracket convenience for vertical shooting.
Here is a small set of visible-spectrum photos from the Forbidden Plateau with the X-T4 along with the 50 f/1.4 SC (first and third images) and the 24 f/2.8 NC (second image)....Show more →
Alan, I bet that alligator left either a temporary mental scar, or else it generated a huge round of nervous laughter, but definitely a great memory.
Sage advice on the L-plates, Jay.
That last shot from the Forbidden Plateau makes me want to run out of the office right now to get outside. Love the setting and the clouds. Do you still use a physical graduated ND filter?
pbraymond wrote:
Alan, I bet that alligator left either a temporary mental scar, or else it generated a huge round of nervous laughter, but definitely a great memory.
Sage advice on the L-plates, Jay.
That last shot from the Forbidden Plateau makes me want to run out of the office right now to get outside. Love the setting and the clouds. Do you still use a physical graduated ND filter?
I used no GND filter at all, Ray. I exposed for the sky, then brought up the shadows in Lightroom. Camera sensors are pretty amazing these days!
That is an understatement. I started processing my 120 film shots from last weekend and man oh man am I spoiled by the dynamic range and ability to work with shadows and highlights with digital sensors
GroWeb wrote:
Camera sensors are pretty amazing these days!
GroWeb wrote:
The posting pace has been at a nice, steady level for a couple of days now, which is always enjoyable, especially with the current (and usual) variety of images and banter. To add to the L-bracket discussion: I have SmallRig L-bracket/grips on both of my Fuji cameras, mainly for the added grip volume. So far I have only used the X-T4 on a tripod, and it was very nice to have the L-bracket convenience for vertical shooting.
Here is a small set of visible-spectrum photos from the Forbidden Plateau with the X-T4 along with the 50 f/1.4 SC (first and third images) and the 24 f/2.8 NC (second image)....Show more →
I agree with George, very nice set, but there's something about the second one I really like.
GeorgeBo wrote:
That is an understatement. I started processing my 120 film shots from last weekend and man oh man am I spoiled by the dynamic range and ability to work with shadows and highlights with digital sensors
And just think of all the coffee beans you could buy instead of film.
There is a parallel there. Like exposing film, there is a very small window in the roasting process to get things just right. Instead of roasting beans, I could just use Kcups too
leighton w wrote:
And just think of all the coffee beans you could buy instead of film.
GeorgeBo wrote:
That is an understatement. I started processing my 120 film shots from last weekend and man oh man am I spoiled by the dynamic range and ability to work with shadows and highlights with digital sensors
HCE HCE wrote:
Like Bjorn says, a STERN WARNING: .
Many of the less expensive L brackets, base plates and cages are not machined from a billet of 6061 but are cast aluminum, and cast aluminum is prone to failing under light loads.
Make sure you buy the right stuff.
I have a two piece L bracket made by RRS that is gossamer, has a magnet that retains an allen wrench and gives easy access to left side ports
I went digging in wikipedia and found that the temperature sensor there isn't of a furnace, but this location! That would not be survivable for human beings. I guess you get out of the air conditioning in the car for a short while to take the picture?
Problem I had and I knew it going in, was I was using Portra 160 and in very low light (heavily shaded by deep woods in a deep ravine waterfall. My experience with 160 is muddy shadows and colors when shooting like that. But it was what I had and needed to clear out of my stock due to the date of the film. I am going to restock with some ISO 400 and go back in a few weeks.
Here is an example of one of the better exposed shots (not Nikon)
