Here is a capture from morning walkies a few days ago. The snow was still on, although it was melting down here in the valley. One of the neighbors had put up a sign. The wind blew it over and the snow covered most of it. All that was exposed was this portion. For some reason, this caught my eye. The capture was made with the Nikon D300 and a micro-Nikkor 105mm f/4.
My friend Les loaned me this old Bausch & Lomb 100mm f/2.3 lens. He added a Nikon F-mount and focusing helicoid to it. I took it out and spent some time with it. It’s obvious from the image at the right that the lens is a bit soft wide open, but is much better by f/4 or f/5.6. That is shown in the second image below, that was shot at about f/5.6. The background is not quite as pleasant, but the image is much sharper.
The image quality is quite good and the bokeh is pleasant (smooth). It’s a good lens. The iris fascinates me — so many blades. So the aperture is nearly circular throughout the full range of stops.
It’s a really neat piece of vintage glass.
A few mornings or evenings ago, the Girl and I went on walkies. It was a very nice evening and the light was gorgeous. I carried my D300 along with me, although I don’t recall which lens was mounted. Textures and contrasts continue to fascinate me and so I made this capture.
This morning was quite different. It was about 22F this morning when we went walking. It was the kind of day that is too cold and too warm. I was overdressed for exercise but my hands were cold. I got sweaty and clammy from the exercise and was happy to be home, shed a layer, and get a dry shirt.
On our way back from southern Nevada a couple of weeks ago, I drove through Death Valley. Although the Girl wasn’t welcome most of the places in the park, we were able to get out and walk around the parking lot for Dante’s Overlook. I even managed to snag a couple of decent frames.
The shot was captured with my D300 and a Tokina 28–85mm f/4 coffee cup lens. I probably made the capture at about f/8, which is a good aperture for that lens.
I think my Girl and I like walkies the best. Well, maybe… We both like our walkies — she lives to run on the trail of “wabbits” and I love the sun, the air, the walking, and watching her.
When the light is good, I make images. I seem to carry the D300 more often than not now. I like the Tamron 80-210/3.8 zoom in my collection. It’s adequately sharp for images that aren’t too critical. It’s a great range of focal lengths. It focuses reasonably close so that macro-like shots are possible. It’s fast enough that the optical viewfinder is bright enough for daylight work. It’s fast enough to get some separation between subject and background as well. So, the Tamron is often on my D300.
The afternoon capture I made of the Girl was a Tamron-based walkies. She ranged out and back, like she does. Part of the time we play a game called “Come find me!” If I can’t see her, or suspect she can’t see me, I’ll call out “Come find me! Ki, come find me!” and then watch and listen for her.
I usually see her before she sees me. Her “flag” is her tell. If she doesn’t see me, I’ll call again “Come find me!” so she has a chance to get direction with her ears. When she sees me, her ears and tail drop, and she will race in to me, laughing that doggie-laugh of hers. When she nears, she’ll either break off and turn to range out again or will blow past me a full speed, sometimes showering me with sand and gravel. It’s a great game and I think we both like it — a lot.
That afternoon I made the capture was pretty late in the day, probably 1530 or so. I knew the sun was going to drop behind the Carson Range in a few minutes. She had ranged out 20–30 yards and turned to look back at me, probably in response to my call. That’s the expression I see when she tells me “C’mon, you… you’re lagging!” I love it!
Of course, I love my Girl. She rescued me as much as I rescued her. The inter-species relationship fascinates me. Without speech, she tells me many things. Many of them are simple needs — food, water, go out, play, cuddle… However, she can communicate some things that are more complicated. “Take me with you!” is a favorite. Another favorite is “You’re taking me with you, right?” The latter really is a question. Her body language is different for the demand and the request. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
She is my terrible terrier. She is as manipulative as any human female I’ve ever been around. She knows my attachment to her is very strong and she uses it. I am sometimes shunned when I leave her (because I have to). She’ll camp out with Young Son and I get The Look. She’ll sleep on the sofa instead of with me.
Yeah, she works me emotionally very well. I know it. She knows it.
Her intelligence is different than mine. Her skills are physical and perceptive. She solves one-step problems well, but two-step problems are more challenging for her. She is devoted and protective, just like me.
She is my best friend. It doesn’t matter that she’s a different species. She’s still my best friend.
Here’s another image of Prospector Pete. I think I like the other I posted better, but this is still fun. It was shot with the D300 and Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 AIS lens at ISO 400, f/16, and about 1/320th of a second.
Same bird, same camera, same lens, different position.
Heh. This was a fun shot with the Nikon D300 and the Tamron 80–200/3.8.
A couple weeks ago I made a number of captures at Virginia Lake. All were shot with my Nikon D300 and a Tamron 80–210/3.8 BBAR zoom. Most of the captures were shot at f/8 or f/11, although there were a few exceptions. This pair of ducks was shot at 210mm and f/8, I believe. Enjoy.
While walking around Virginia Lake in Reno last Saturday, a number of the waterfowl appeared to pose for me. Of course, they’ve figured out that they can get freebies by playing to the crowd, so they do.
The shot was captured with my Nikon D300 and the Tamron 80-200/3.8 at about 200mm and most likely about f/8.
