Rodney Campbell's Blog

One recent morning I looked out into our back yard and noticed the old Agapanthus heads were laden with rain/dew drops and not one to miss a good opportunity I grabbed my camera and the Nikon 105VR (which I’m still borrowing :)) to try a few handheld compositions before heading out…

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

I found I liked the predominantly backlit views on the drops and I have two very different views (both in technique used and monochrome processing)… which do you like better?

Drops

NIKON D600 + 105.0 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm, 1/125 sec at f/16, ISO 2200

Rain Drops

NIKON D600 + 105.0 mm f/2.8 @ 105 mm, 1/160 sec at f/4, ISO 100

In my previous post I indicated I might do some further testing to see whether the light was only leaking in during the moments the mirror is moving up and down.

Turns out this isn’t the case…

The following three shots were taken under the same conditions – low light room with the viewfinder cover removed – camera sitting on the desk with lens cap on and a manual shot at 30 seconds @ f/8 and ISO 100

In this first shot I waited about a second after the shutter is triggered and then shone the LED torch directly into the viewfinder for most of the exposure (20 seconds?) but ensuring I turned it off before the end (before the mirror flips up again) – as you can see it’s leak city

NIKON D600 + 20.0 mm f/2.8 @ 20 mm, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 100

This second is the reference frame – same exposure but no torch lighting the viewfinder hole – all black as expected

NIKON D600 + 20.0 mm f/2.8 @ 20 mm, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 100

and this third is similar to the first in that I triggered the shutter – waited about 5 seconds and then shone the torch briefly at the viewfinder (from further away and with less intensity) for only a few seconds (less than 5) and then stopped and waited for the rest of the 30 second exposure to complete

NIKON D600 + 20.0 mm f/2.8 @ 20 mm, 30 sec at f/8, ISO 100

as you can see even still a faint leak is registered

My three girls all having just had their hair done at the hairdresser… the cheeky one seems pretty pleased with herself 🙂

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

NIKON D600 + 85.0 mm f/1.8 @ 85 mm, 1/200 sec at f/4, ISO 200

plus an impromptu portrait of my middle daughter a couple of days later – in the city attending a holiday Drama workshop with some of her friends

NIKON D600 + 85.0 mm f/1.8 @ 85 mm, 1/320 sec at f/2.5, ISO 100

be interested in peoples thoughts on the processing of this second

I joined some friends for an early morning in The Rocks on Australia Day to photograph the GIO Oz Day 10K wheelchair race.

It was a great morning to be out shooting and the action was good (and boy can some of those Paralympic Athletes move). It was perfect for practicing both telephoto closeup shots of the action as well as some wide angle panning technique.

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

A little pre race practicing on the course

NIKON D600 + 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm, 1/1600 sec at f/2.8, ISO 360

The leaders steaming into the Rocks on the first lap

NIKON D600 + 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8 @ 200 mm, 1/800 sec at f/2.8, ISO 110

Some wide angle panning on one of the bends – 1/50th sec at 23mm with a little pop of flash from the on camera flash in Slow Sync mode – this one felt like it almost took me out 🙂

The Bend

NIKON D600 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 23 mm, 1/50 sec at f/16, ISO 100

Down further on the course I could get really close to the riders without being run down on the corner 🙂 – here I’m using a slightly faster shutter at 1/100 sec at 35mm and again a kiss of on camera flash. I got lucky and framed riders coming in opposite directions on the course.

Opposing Forces

NIKON D600 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 35 mm, 1/100 sec at f/9, ISO 100

lastly an image which to me showed the grim determination and incredible upper body strength of some of these athletes – it’s not technically perfect but I like the image none the less…

Determination

NIKON D600 + 70.0-200.0 mm f/2.8 @ 150 mm, 1/2000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 500

After our sunrise shoot at Glebe I headed into the city to meet some other friends shooting some Australia Day festivities in The Rocks. I’d parked in World Square and then came up into the main courtyard between all the skyscrapers – it was still early and there were almost no people about. I’m not sure why I looked up but I’m thankful I did; up in the sky above there were these hundreds of smaller puffs of clouds with blue inbetween and the clouds were moving rapidly through the sky. It looked perfect for that urban architecture long exposure I’d been meaning to do here for some time.

I’d left some of my gear (including my tripod) in the car so I just manually prefocused the lens and a rough angle of view, fitted the screw in B+W 10 stop ND to the 16-35, and just sat the camera upside down on the pavement pointing up with the remote release attached and fired away – I got two attempts and just like that it clouded over with thick heavy foggy clouds and the moment was gone.

Note: These images (especially the wider shots) look much better when larger – so click any of the images below to see larger versions in an inline overlay slideshow gallery viewer.

Here we have 30 seconds @ f/11 at ISO 100 and 20mm… converted to monochrome of course…

NIKON D600 + 16.0-35.0 mm f/4.0 @ 20 mm, 30 sec at f/16, ISO 100