I'm So Pretty

Posing was not challenge for this beautiful peacock in Prague, Czech Republic. She (assuming she not a he) was absolutely stunning as she spread her feathers in this display. Noisy too!

I'm so pretty by Andy Hayter

On My Photography - Part II

Time for an update about my photography.  2011 was a year for some investment in equipment.  First and foremost was a 300 mm f4 AF Nikkor.  Bought this from e-bay in MINT condition.  Came with case, both caps and the requisite 39mm internal filter holder and filter.

Here is a sample from that lens.

The green heron was photographed locally near Gettysburg, PA.

Ebay has been kind to me this year. Soon after the lens arrived a mint condition TC140B Nikkor teleconverter popped up on Ebay and I grabbed it at an exceptionally great price. Been lucky with mint condition, both caps and clean inside and out.  Need more practice with both the 300mm and the 1.4 teleconverter, but I'm getting the hang of it.

It became obvious to me that I had outgrown my trusty ThinkTank Urban Disguise 30. Shopping around for a new camera bag is not an easy task when where you live does not have a single full service camera store with anything more than point and shoot bags.  My travels allowed me to visit camera shops all over the states and try different bags. I wanted another ThinkTank bag.  The quality and thought that goes into their designs and manufacturing are not equaled by any other bags on the market.  I also needed a bag that would allow me to carry a laptop when necessary.  The perfect solution was the ThinkTank Streetwalker Pro.  You would be amazed at the amount of equipment you can fit safely and securely into this bag. I highly recommend the bag for any one with the need to carry around more than the basics and a laptop.

One more major purchase (Ebay of course) was a mint condition Nikon MB-D200 battery grip.  I was running with one battery till then and found myself more than once running low on juice.  The battery grip allows you to install two rechargeable Nikon batteries at a time.  When one battery drains the grip switches to the second battery for more battery life than I need for one session.

I made on mistake this year. I purchase a low price "Nikon" EN-EL3b from a store on Amazon. Fully charged I headed out for a full days field trip with the Harrisburg Camera Club to Gettysburg, PA.  It was not even halfway through the day that my D200 started to act flaky. Error messages, sometime it worked other times it froze. Thinking the worst, I sat down and went through a full problem determination sequence. Of course the first thing I check ( and last thing I expected to find) were dead batteries. How could I have possibly gone through two batteries in such a short amount of time?  Lucky for me another club member had a spare EN-EL3b I could borrow and the rest of the days shooting was saved.

Once I got home into the charger both batteries went. After they both showed full charge, I tried them in the MB-D200 grip again, checked the battery meter and found that one battery was already low.  Hmm, maybe I had a defective battery grip? Trying each battery in the camera without the grip gave the same results. One battery fully charge and one about 80%.  Wait a minute. What's wrong with this picture. Aha, picture.  At that moment I remembered a Nikon technical article on counterfeit batteries. Wow, was I surprised to find out that the "low price" battery purchased through a store on Amazon was counterfeit.  That explained all the trouble I was having with the camera and the grip.

Move forward a month to the PhotoPlus Expo in New York City.  Knowing what a real vs. counterfeit battery looked like I was able to purchase at a reasonable price a real Nikon EN-EL3b battery.  I recommend visiting the Nikon site to check before buying batteries so you won't get burned on a cheap imitation like I was.

Oh the trip to Gettysburg....yeah. Here is an example of what you can find in the area.

Sauck's Covered Bridge from the inside. Nikon D200, 29mm, f5, 1/6sec, ISO 100

For what it's worth,
Andy

Holocaust Memorial - Berlin

Holocaust Memorial - Berlin
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000
Wonderful photo opportunities await you in Berlin. The Holocaust Memorial affords endless photo opportunities.

Monolithic stones of varying heights form the monument giving way to paths and alleys where the light varies with the height of the stone. A must visit in Berlin.

Via Flickr:
Holocaust Memorial, Berlin, Germany

Harrisburg Camera Club

Recently, I joined the Harrisburg Camera Club.  Very eclectic variety of members. From beginners to advanced the club has something to offer anyone interested in photography.  Challenge your skills and enter one of the monthly competitions. The critiques on many images might surprise you.


Find your way to the Camp Hill Giant on Tuesdays (check the calendar of events on the Website for schedule.)

Andy

A question

Is photographing art recursion?

NJTrout

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), wings spread, hanging on to the butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) to which it is so attracted.

Yellow Butterfly on Butterfly Bush

Photograph taken around 6:30 p.m. EDT with a Nikon D200, 55mm Micro Nikkor at 1/1500 sec. f2.8.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/njtrout/4806711178/

Daylily in Bloom

Daylily in Bloom
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000
I've been waiting for the perfect time to photograph this daylily. The peach color, curves and light were aligned perfectly. Nikon D200, 55mm Micro Nikkor, f2.8 @ 1/320 sec. ISO 400.

Andy

All this for me?

All this for me?
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) rabbit out for a quick snack and finding a feast.

Chirping Sparrow - Spizell passerina passerina

Chirping Sparrow - Spizell passerina passerina
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

This chirping sparrow posed for only a second. Shot through window screen and glass gave this image a very soft focus..

Andy

Reflections from the Garden Pond

Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000
Bright Day, Clear Water - Reflections

What you can find when you open your eyes...backyard photo.

It’s the little things…

It’s the little things (and some stupid things) that drive up the cost of medical care in the US.

For example, I received a call from the mail order prescription company, Medco  that is part of my medical plan to confirm an address prior to filling a prescription. Caller ID displayed an 877 number for the incoming call. Listening to the message and giving the appropriate voice responses I was was informed that the call was being transferred to a representative for assistance.  No more than 30 seconds later the programmed voice tells me that all representatives are “busy now”.  Please call another 877 number by Tuesday or the prescription would not be filled.

Wait a minute! You called me! I immediately called the 877 number provided, provided all the same voice responses and actually connected to a human representative.  The person didn’t seem to concerned when I explained the previous call they made to me.

With the rising cost of medical care attention to the little things could help save everyone money. 

Let’s consider who placed the original call; the mail order prescription company. I am sure they know how much that cost along with the infrastructure to handle the voice responses.

I have to call back on another toll-free number. Gee, I wonder who get’s billed for that. Well you know the mail order prescription company gets the phone bill. Had their system worked the resulting charge would have been for only one phone call by the company. Since they had a pretty uncoordinated system, not having a representative available, I had to place the second call adding to the phone bill.   Cost? Pennies maybe. Add all the calls made and not handled properly by the prescription company forcing the plan member to call back and the cost now doubled.

Maybe not so small…just stupid.

Andy

White and purple Trillium – Muir Woods

Under the canopy of the giant redwoods in Muir Woods National Monument are beautiful samples of both white and purple trillium (trillium erectum).

Night Snow

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday

When one door opens...

Door Number 12, Geneva, Switzerland
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

Big doors, small doors, in between size doors. I have been photographing doors during my travels to show you the size and variety around the world.

Check out a Flickr collection of doors starting at #12 door in Geneva, Switzerland.

Andy

Geiko and Maiko and Taiko Performance in Kyoto, Japan

The entertainment at our banquet dinner for AVAR 2009 Conference held in the Hyatt Regency Kyoto was spectacular! The delightful and colorful Maiko and Geiko performance provide a quiet reflection on the culture of Japan.


Once dinner was over the need for quiet faded into the beat of Taiko drums. The main Taiko player had the largest bicepts and tricepts I have ever seen. The pounding of the ōdaiko drum could be felt through your entire body. Check out more photos from Kyoto on my Flickr pages at

Great Egret (Ardea alba), Kyoto, Japan

AVAR, Japan 2009
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

The scenery and wildlife were easily viewed in Kyoto, Japan. The were dozens of Great Egrets, Grey Heron and other birds at this location. None were shy about having people around. Amazing to get so close to photograph and observe this beautiful bird.

Andy

On My Photography

It has taken over thirty-five years to feel confident enough to show others my work. Now that I have broken the ice with this blog let me tell you more about my approach to photography and the obligatory equipment list.

I've been doing serious photography since I was about 15. Armed with a Lord 4D rangefinder I started out exploring B&W photography and developing. In those days my darkroom was in the basement. I covered all the windows with rubber lined blackout material and prayed for the best. Reading many photography books I began to develop and print my own B&W images. There are very few moments in life that are more special than seeing the first print you ever made come to life in the tray of developer. (Kodak Dektol if I remember correctly.) Into the stop bath tray (Kodak Indicator Stop Bath) and on the the fixer. I worshiped the Great Yellow God, Kodak, for all of my film life. Rinse and more rinse until the print reached the final step of rolling on a ferrotype plate to dry and create the glossy finish. If you have done this you certainly remember the dreaded paper "curl". I should point out that all of my equipment was from my aunt's darkroom who gave it all to me when she began to shoot nothing but color. My enlarger at the time was a Federal 450 (4x5 Diffusion type). For you digital novices, that is an enlarger that can handle up to a 4x5 negative. The difficult part of working with the Federal 450 was it's use of glass plates to sandwich the negative in the carrier. Glass plates make visible every scratch and defect in the emulsion. Nose grease to the rescue. (I'll let you think about what that is.) It might have been the smell of the photo chemicals that kept me behind the camera or the challenge of photographing and processing my own film that kept me in photography. In those days Plus-X (ASA 125) or Tri-X (ASA400) were the staple of 35mm B&W photographers.

With more experience came the need for more camera. Enter my Rollei 35SL. Certainly one of a kind, but I have very few good things to say about the body. The Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.8 lens was very sharp. Armed with a set of close-up lenses as my only accessory I explored the world around me. The Rollei SL35 made it through high school and then some. When I began to study Photographic Communications at Ramapo College of NJ the need for more camera evolved.

The Nikon Years - I still rmember the day in 1980 that I bought my Nikon F2-DP1 from Olden Camera in NYC. This was a fine photographic instrument that deserved to be treated like royalty. For the next 27 years almost all my images were created with the F2. Over time I added Tamron 28, 35, 105, 135 and 300mm lens and a Nikkor 55mm Micro. For more history on Tamron lenses check out Adaptall-2.com. Under the ever critical eye of my professor at Ramapo, Ed Scully, I improved all the skills I had self taught, especially in the B&W darkroom. A Gossen Luna Pro light meter and a gray card for initial exposure than measurements taken with a densitometer in the dark room and my images took leaps forward.

Leap many years ahead to the one of the worst days of my life when our house got burglarized. Not only were many valuables taken, but my Nikon F2 and all my equipment was gone.

Once the insurance claim was settled, I had to decide on what to buy to replace my dear old Nikon F2. I had almost 30 years of images with that camera. Should I stay with film or go digital. Film or digital. It took almost 4 months to decide.

The results of my decision have been depicted here with recent images. The Nikon D200 is a very welcome replacement for my beloved F2. (You have to have owned an F2 to understand the emotion of losing one.) For those interested I purchased the camera at L.A. Cameras in Chambersburg, PA.

I don't travel anywhere with out the D200. It has all the function of my F2 plus the benefits of digital. Of course it is NOT as heavy as an F2, but you have to compromise somewhere. (Another one of those you have to have owned an F2 to understand.)

So for the past 2 years I have been relearning how to develop an image (post processing). Sometimes the results are the same as when I was 15 and developing prints in the basement. Oh, by the way, I did eventually build a darkroom in the basement.

The tools now are Nikon Capture NX2, Nikon ViewNX and Nikon Transfer. I have GIMP installed in case I need function it offers that Capture NX2 doesn't. Additionally, I purchased a copy of Microsoft Expressions Media 2 for DAM. If I can offer one initial piece of advice to a new digital photographer, learn all about DAM (Digital Asset Management) before you have thousands of images to catalog. I've added to the mix a Huey Pro for monitor calibration. I wonder if anyone has bottled the scent of B&W photo chemicals.

In the future, I'll write about my post processing philosophy.

Andy

Phare, Paquis, Geneva, Switzerland

Phare, Paquis, Geneva, Switzerland
Originally uploaded by njtrout_2000

Lazy Day on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.

Nikon D200, F 6.3 1/640, ISO 100, 200mm.