huddy wrote:
I don't get to make it in to check in very often these days. I am still shooting when I get the chance. I broke out my all of my lenses longer than 50mm a couple days ago as I started fearing that I'd be tempted to get rid of them due to my general lack of use. On the positive, my extensive Leica and 35mm shooting has reminded me of just how little grain there is on a D700 at ISO 6400. Makes me think that I could easily get away with 12,800 for nice useable images in the right scenarios. So here is a high iso, telephoto sampler of some quiet times getting ready for bed:


300/2.8 ED AI-S, D700, ISO 6400

Love this one Alan!

–Tony

MDoc9523 wrote:
The Downtown area of Plant City has been revitalized with beautiful parks. The same area that once was thriving with every sort of freight from all over the country is now a meeting place for the retired, middle aged and the young at heart.


Great colors in this Ray.

–Tony

NightOwl Cat wrote:
I had gone to Pizza Hut one night to pick up my order, and this kitten was in the parking lot, jumping into the store windows and meowing loudly at the customers on the other side of the window as they were eating. As I opened the door, she made a rush to get in, but I kept her from going in. When I came out, she was still out there, and and very friendly. This particular store is at a very busy intersection, and I knew if she stayed there, it wouldn't be long before she became a splat. So.... I scooped her up, and put her in the car along with the food. Got home, whisked her into the back bathroom, fed her, and took her to the vet the following day for a complete checkup. Looks like she's found herself a good home, just needs a name now..


Cute kitty! Have you come up with a name yet?

–Tony

NightOwl Cat wrote:
I had gone to Pizza Hut one night to pick up my order, and this kitten was in the parking lot, jumping into the store windows and meowing loudly at the customers on the other side of the window as they were eating. As I opened the door, she made a rush to get in, but I kept her from going in. When I came out, she was still out there, and and very friendly. This particular store is at a very busy intersection, and I knew if she stayed there, it wouldn't be long before she became a splat. So.... I scooped her up, and put her in the car along with the food. Got home, whisked her into the back bathroom, fed her, and took her to the vet the following day for a complete checkup. Looks like she's found herself a good home, just needs a name now..


She is so cute! Apparently she loves her new pet's too! My Tabby girl's middle name is Tabitha, Soleil Tabitha, in honor of her Tabby heritage! Maybe Tabitha would be a good first name too?

georgms wrote:
leighton w wrote:
George, I like the B&W version better too. Is that amount of CA normal for this lens?

Leighton, the conditions (harsh sunlight and water/ice/snow) are challenging for every lens. Under normal conditions the longitudinal CA's of Nikon's fast 135 are not that much pronounced, but still visible.
I have just two longer lenses who are completely free of LoCA's - the fat and expensive 200/2 AF-S and an old Leica Apo-Telyt-R 3.4/180 (lens mount changed to Nikon).
The 70-200/2.8 VR1 is already pretty good when it comes to this kind of aberrations, I still have to check out the 180/2.8ED.
Here's the same image re-processed. ACR can remove a lot of CA's:




Thanks Georg, I've experienced some CA on some of my lenses, but none as bad as what I saw here, thus the reason for asking. I guess the conditions were just right. The new slider introduced in LR4 for CA is wonderful, and I've used it a couple of times already.

Jose - Your B&W pano turned out beautifully! I never tried shooting B&W in camera, but in this case it seems well worth it.

John - Your girls are becoming young women, I feel sorry for you in a couple more years!

Alan - Nice of you to drop by, love the second one...."Got Milk?"

Tony - Very nice image, looks very iconic having the Buffalo in it.

Haha very nice John, I just showed the page to my wife and she was estatic

Just a few from the barn today. With the 24mm f2.8.

The first one is feeding time for the orphaned lambs.

I can imagine Leighton that lambing time is both a great deal of work and wonderfully heart warming... new life abounds. My mother grew up on a farm and the most painful part of it for her as a child was that she fell in love with the lambs that she knew would eventually be sent to the butcher. The cycle of life and end of life isn't always easy to embrace.

Love both these shots.

Thanks Curtis. Most of the time it is heart warming, but then there are times..... Read Barbara's blog post of today and you'll see what I mean.

http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2013/01/even-when-things-go-dreadfully-wrong.html#.UQFzMSfC18E

georgms wrote:
Curtis, the leaf-picture is spectacular! Beautiful work with textures and shadows, angles and DoF...


Thanks Georg. Sometimes the simplest shots can be the most rewarding. Of course, one needs to see the possibilities both with camera in hand and at the computer. This shot involved decisions at both occasions. Needless to say, I like this crop. Glad you did as well.

I'm pleased that you continue to make your presence known on this thread Georg, both with your excellent photos and your thoughtful comments. You're one of the good guys. We're blessed to have so many of the good guys and gals hanging out on this thread.

leighton w wrote:
Thanks Curtis. Most of the time it is heart warming, but then there are times..... Read Barbara's blog post of today and you'll see what I mean.

http://homesteadhillfarm.blogspot.com/2013/01/even-when-things-go-dreadfully-wrong.html#.UQFzMSfC18E

I read her post and even responded, though once again I'm in blog purgatory. Those letters and that photo with numbers is incredibly hard to read on a 27 inch monitor. I don't blame you for protecting your site from spammers, but getting there from here isn't easy.

In 12 Steps they refer to "meeting life on life's terms." Your work keeps you eternally humble since your best efforts are never a guarantee. You simply have to keep showing up and giving your best. If that isn't a profound spiritual practice, I can't think of a better one.

Thanks for the greetings Georg, Samy, Alan, Mihai, Scott and Jose. I even heard an echo from down under... Thanks Ben for having a vague recollection of someone named Curtis. I promise I'll be nice to Nikki when she arrives next month. What an amazing adventure this has been for all of us.

Great to see you once again gracing the thread Tony. I love the shots you capture during your commute, including the wonderful panorama above.

And Alan, that photo of your boy sprouting a mustache is priceless. You need to contact the National Dairy Council with that one.

Curtis, I looked on your profile and I could have sworn you had an 85mm f1.4. If so, how do you compare it with the 1.8 H version. Ray is supposed to give his feedback about that as well.

leighton w wrote:
Curtis, I looked on your profile and I could have sworn you had an 85mm f1.4. If so, how do you compare it with the 1.8 H version. Ray is supposed to give his feedback about that as well.

I have the 85 f/2 AI-s, the 85 f/1.8H AI'd and, yes, the 85 f/1.4 AI-s. I had the f/1.4 with me when I traveled to Florida with the express intention of tempting Ray... I brought the 35 f/1.4 AI-s for the same reason, and guess what? I succeeded. He now owns both of those lenses.

I haven't done a formal comparison of the H and the f/1.4 but I've certainly enjoyed the older lens. I would note, however, that for $152.59 plus shipping, it was a wonderful deal. I paid $600 for the f/1.4. Granted, the fast lens was in better condition, but it isn't easy to find perfect copies of forty year old lenses. I'm happy I have both lenses, but in terms of value for money, the H is a pretty sweet deal. When weather improves a bit I'll take some comparison shots between the two lenses and share my observations. I might even through in the f/2 lens as well. I was very pleased with that lens when it first arrived in my kit. This was shot with the f/2 with a 20mm tube attached.

Here is a wide open shot of the leaf I posted yesterday, taken with the 85 f/1.8 H AI'd. It handles out of focus areas quite well.

Thanks for the comparison Curtis. I need/want a fast 85 in my arsenal, but I'm not sure I need the speed of the 1.4, (not to mention the cost for having that speed). When I used Nikki, I found f2 or 1.8 was fast enough considering that I could go to 6400 iso with no sweat on my D600. I DO know that Nikki can be sharp as a tack when stepped down a little bit so I'm not sure what I'd gain by getting the 1.4. Perhaps they differ in contrast and color output, I just don't know. Anyway, I may have a beat on a Nikki sister here locally, I'm going to go check it out one day soon. Thanks again!

Ray, if you read this, I'm waiting...

Curtis - great to have you back with us and nice images too

Jose - the B&W "film style" is a knock out - I loved the old filters specially when I forgot to take them off when I put in a colour film until there was a "duh" moment!!

Georg - more great images - I like the gables on the buildings. We have many in SA based on Dutch and probably German influences.

Alan - I can remember taking B&W images of my son in 1973 when he was a year old - 40 yrs ago - and turning the kitchen into a "semi" dark room. It seems like yesterday and now he has 4 of his own....treasure these moments. Very nice pics.

Tony R - our countries share so much - wide open spaces and the thrill of seeing the occasional wild animal where only a couple of hundred years ago they covered the plains. What an evocative image - gorgeous.

Leighton - Barbara's blog really tells it the way it is. Here sheep generally lamb naturally and out in the open in very large paddocks but it's not without the trauma of losing lambs to the occasional Caracal lynx or Jackal who tend to cause havoc when they manage to get in. Many farmers have taken on Anatolian sheepdogs who have an amazing protective attitude to sheep and usually keep predators at bay.

leighton w wrote:
Thanks for the comparison Curtis. I need/want a fast 85 in my arsenal, but I'm not sure I need the speed of the 1.4, (not to mention the cost for having that speed). When I used Nikki, I found f2 or 1.8 was fast enough considering that I could go to 6400 iso with no sweat on my D600. I DO know that Nikki can be sharp as a tack when stepped down a little bit so I'm not sure what I'd gain by getting the 1.4. Perhaps they differ in contrast and color output, I just don't know. Anyway, I may have a beat on a Nikki sister here locally, I'm going to go check it out one day soon. Thanks again!

Ray, if you read this, I'm waiting...

You know that value for money has been a motivator for me through this entire journey. I invested in the high priced spread only after liberating money from the final five Canon lenses and the Canon 5D I sold when the siren call of Nikon overwhelmed me. I'm very happy to own all those fast lenses, but it certainly wasn't dissatisfaction with what the slower lenses were capable of doing. Without those liberated funds, I would doubtless of been very happy with my first collection of lenses. And, of course, my more recent fascination with even older lenses, stirred no doubt by Ben's arrival on the thread, has me enjoying old, SLOW lenses like the 28 f/3.5H AI'd and the embarrassingly cheap 50 f/2 H AI'd. Yes, speed can be important in some circumstances, but as you note, the current crop of DSLR cameras are so good in low light, we have a great deal more flexibility.

Here's a photo taken last summer with the 50 f/2 H AI'd that I bought for $56... not a bad investment.

Some experiments with the 105 2.5 + about 1cm tube and two conversions - the first my standard PSE 6 version and the second using Topaz B&W effects