Category: Photography

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Changing Weather

A English village scene. A old Norman Church on the right with old farm buildings on the left. Its a winter scene with snow on the ground and the sun creating a star patten shining though the leafless trees.

January saw snow, and I took a number of photographs testing out my Leica 24mm M lens on my Nikon Zf.

Photo through a wire fence of snow covered tennis courts. The sky is blue on a cold sunny day.

Then just a few weeks later we have temperatures over 10C and it feels lovely to see the sun again.

Old village Norman church in bright sunlight.
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New Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8

Advertising shot of the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S II

When Nikon came out with their first Z cameras, they release the traditional modern trinity to go with them. The Z 14-24mm, 24-70mm and the 70-200 f/2.8. There were essentially minor reworks of the latest F designs, better but not as good as they could have been given the advantages the new mount gave.

Recently we had the new 24-70mm and now they have announced the new 70-200mm f/2.8.

Smaller, lighter, faster in focus; and finally it comes with an Arc Swiss foot.

The best thing I like about it is the new control ring which can click or be de-clicked. So if your using it for aperture or exposure compensation or maybe ISO, your less likely to knock it to another setting.

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Street Portraits

A young woman with a collection box on Lincoln high street. She is dressed as Alice in Wonderland.

This was a quick snap taken with an old Nikon S3 compact camera.

There are two ways that people take street photographs. Shove a camera in someones face and get the picture, or ask them first for permission.

A young woman in a early period dress posing on the street.

I prefer the later and you can get much better shots I feel and most people do not mind at all.

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Tamron 35-100mm f/2.8

Advertising shot of the Tamron 35-100mm f/2.8 zoom lens.

Canon have a f/2 zoom a useful but short range. The 24-70mm and 70-200mm f/2.8 constant aperture zooms are the standard lens for most professional photographers.

Now Tamron announce this, a constant aperture zoom from 35mm to 100mm, this is an extremely useful range with most of the competition being either 24-105 f/4 or 25-120mm f/4.

This lens is going get a lot of attention.

Announced today for the Sony E mount and the Nikon Z mount.

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Limit your lens, which two?

Cariad sat on a stone step by a door. She is wearing a pretty pink dress and wrap. Her hands are cross and she is looking directly into camera.

If you’re a zoom user then this is an easy question. Wide angle zoom to 24mm if that’s your thing, then a 24-70mm, 24-105mm, or 24-120mm. If you’re not into ultra wide, then drop the wide angle zoom and add a 70-200mm. If the middle ground is not your think then a ultra wide zoom like the 12-24mm f/2.8 and the 70-200mm f/2.8.

But what if you are into primes and want to travel small and light. Well its down to what you photograph and what focal lengths you enjoy.

When travelling with just my Leica, I take three lens, 24mm, 35mm and 50mm but you can argue that a 35mm and 50 are too close together. A 24mm or 28mm and a 50mm make sense but not the 35mm. If you had the 35mm your more into thinking about a 75mm, 80mm or 90mm. Many wedding photographers who do not use zooms often have a 35mm on one body and a 75mm / 85mm on the other.

I think it if was general use I would favour a 28mm and a 50mm. If I was shooting fashion with a model in the city streets then likely a 35mm and a 85mm, I might if shooting Nikon go as far as the stunning 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. Though I do know of one top New York fashion photographer who now uses a Leica Q with its 28mm lens for everything.

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Photo and Video Show – Part 1 Travelling by EV

Screen grab showing the time of the Photography & Video Show on at the NEC Birmingham, 14 - 17 March

I have not been to the show for a couple of years, last year it was held in London, which if you live in the south of England is fine but for the rest of England and the UK, its a pain. Talking to. a couple of venders I know, they’re expecting much better footfall to this years show.

So I’ll be travelling by EV. A quick trip to drop my greyhound off at the dog sitter, then a trip to Chris’s to collecting him and then off to the show.

Its still a bit of a haul south to the midlands for us, but we can get there with a full charge without issue.

The show is being held at the Birmingham NEC so a far more central location for England. The NEC was a charging nightmare, but now has lots of rapid chargers and even better, a dedicated EV carpark. This carpark is for EV’s only and each parking space has a type 2 AC charging post. You can park up, plug in and leave your car charging while you enjoy the show. You do need to provide your own cable but a part from that its a great if slightly pricey solution, but shows are never cheap.

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The Nikon Zf – my perspective

Ella a dark haired model wearing red bra and pants. See is reclined and looking directly into the camera

The Nikon Z9 is ergonomically one of the best cameras out there. Followed by the Z8, Z7, and Z6, in the Nikon Z range.

I can dial in a shot, change settings etc incredibly quickly on my Z7.

The Zf is very much a compromise. Old school, takes time to change settings in comparison. So by have I bought one?

Winter scene. Old church to the right, snow on the road and the sun can be seen coming though the trees on the left.

Recently I had the chance to use both in the studio, and with its better ergonomics the Z7 is clearly the better camera, so again why. Well I enjoy using it. It’s not a camera I will be using professionally, though it will be in the bag as a backup. It will be a camera to use for pleasure and with its traditional controls it like my Leica, just an enjoyable experience to use if slower. I have also been using it with other manual focus lenses, which is a delight.

So would I recommend the Zf. No the Z6 III is a better choice for you. Do I love it and enjoy using it, oh yes.

It’s one of those cameras you need to try.

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Boultham Park, Lincoln

Railway Poplar that is a 160 years old, backlit by the sun in Boultham Park, Lincoln. Stong shadows can be seen cast forward towards the view with the sun peaking into the image through the trees.

Last months picture of the month was of a poplar tree. This is a 160 year old tree and one of the oldest poplar’s in the UK.

Boultham Park in Lincoln is a popular park with an indoor and outdoors bowling green. Swings and slides etc for the children, a bandstand and a large lake.

This used to be the Ellison Estate but was turned into a park for the use of the people of Lincoln. You can read about its history here.

A swan on the lake at Boultham Park with its wings outstretched. Seagulls can be seen out of focus in the background.

I spend the morning walking around the park taking pictures. I had my Nikon Zf and a Voigtländer M to Z Adapter. Attached to the adapter was my Leica Elmar-M 24mm f/3.8. Despite what you might think with its slow aperture of f/3.8, it really is a stunning lens. Many people think the wide angle range starts at 24mm, while 28mm, 35mm and 50mm are more street photography lens then true wide angles.

I visit this park quite often as I have family nearby. You will find me wondering round with either a large telephoto shooting the wildlife on the lake, or I might just have a wide angle, attached to either my Leica or Nikon Zf.

A pair of Swans on the lake at Boultham Park looking left. Its misty and the image lacks colour but looks somewhat dreamy.

These two wildlife shots were taken a few years ago with a D200 and an 70-200mm f/2.8.

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Whitby Photos – Church Cross

The old cross at Whitby in the foreground. There is a wooden fence in front of it and the church on the hill by the Abbey can be seen in the background.

Whitby Cross.

After last Monday’s Whitby post, I went through some very old photographs taken with my Nikon D200. Not exactly fine art but it’s a reminder of a great holiday. I find a few others from that trip and post them over the course of the next month.