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Interest 1
I am very
interested in computers,
computer three dimensional cad-cam design, and an
emphasis in the area of
computer graphics,
photo restoration, photo
enhancement, and digital
photography.
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Interest 2
Along with the
computer interest I have
been an avid amateur
photographer for over fourty years. In the past ten
years I have renewed this
interest and become highly
involved again. Ninety nine
percent of my better photos
have been taken within the
last ten years. I have
included some of my most
recent photos in the Photo
Gallery area. I primarily
use a Nikon D2X, or F6 but I
also use a Nikon F5, D1, N-90s, N90,
8008, and 401s, with Nikkor
AF-D and some VR lenses.
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I may have to change the way I take photographs. Recently I received the
new (serial number 626) Nikon D2X digital camera. 12.4 Mega Pixels and
everything to go with it. My first findings are that it is simply an
outstanding camera. I went to New Orleans and after viewing the pictures
from my D2X I didn't even put film in the other cameras. Sharp, Crisp,
saturated, color balanced pictures. You can view some of the first pictures
from this camera on the
New Orleans page on
this site.
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I have added the Nikon F6 to my camera body lineup.
Along with the MD-40 this is a major upgrade in many areas. But I
still keep the F5 close at hand with other film in it. I have recently also
added the 24-120 AF-S Vibration Reduction and 70-200 2.8 AF-S VR
Nikkor lenses. I love their compactness, fast focusing, quality images and
the excellent instant manual focus in those tight situations where you have
multiple layers on the scene. My newest lens are the extremely wide
12-24mm Nikkor and the Extremely crisp Nikkor 200-400mm F4 VR.
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I added a Nikon D1 body about
eight years ago, which was fun, and was used mostly for ad work, but
does not produce the quality
of of image that the F5 film,
scanned with a Minolta 5400
film scanner gave, nor was
it's light metering and CCD
as forgiving. But the
instant gratification was
great. Snap the picture.
Look at the back. I now find
myself looking at the back
of my F6 after taking the
picture and wondering where
the preview is. The D2X has replaced the D1 and it's short comings.
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Quite obviously I like the
more saturated films and
usually use Fuji Velvia 50 (If
it doesn't move) Velvia 100 most of
the time. I have also
carry Fuji Provia 400F for moving
objects such as flying
birds farily mornings, which has opened a
whole new, fun and
challenging field for me.
The close ups are usually
taken with a Nikkor 70-180mm
micro. The animal shots are
usually taken with a Nikkor
300mm f2.8 AF-S or
Nikkor 500mm F4 AF-S with or
without a Nikkor TC20E
or TC14E II tele-converter. These two
telephotos, when stopped
down one stop, are
dreams in sharpness,
handling, relatively
lightness in weight, and
fast auto-focus. I am becomming very fond of the 200-400 and its VR on
the D2X. A very few
pictures were taken with a
Sigma 1000mm F8 Apo (which I
have now sold, too sloppy in the collar area).
Most of the scenics were taken with a 12-24 f4 Nikkor or 24-120 F3.5-5.6.
Some of the hand of man
photos were taken with a Nikkor 20mm F2.8.
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I
love the smooth,
rugged, quality,
quietness, sharpness, and
precision of Nikon
equipment. I have had Canon,
Sigma, and Tamron Cameras
and lens, but I'll stick
with Nikon in the future. I
also have a Hasselblad which I use once in a while but I like the freedom and
versatility of 35mm. And since I do not have to make a living at photography
I can do pretty much as I like. I sold my Sinar P2 to get the D2X and
My RZ67 setup to get the 200-400. I want to go back and shoot many areas in
digital again but I may wait for something larger than the D2X now.
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All most all of my shots are taken
on Tripods: I used to use a Bogan 3221
tripod with the 475
mini-geared head for
close-ups, now I use a Gitzo 1329
Graphite tripod with a Arca
Swiss B1-G or B2 heads for up to 300mm, and all of
my long lens shots (300mm
and up) are now shot on a
massive Gitzo Graphite 1548
and Arca Swiss B2 ball head or Wimberley II gimbaled head. The B2 head or
Wimberley II gimbaled head and heavier tripod are the only way
for me to go with the large heavy artillery. This is
sometimes still not enough using the 500mm, the TC-20 2X and the D2X which
gives the 35mm equivalent of a 1500mm lens so I have backed off to the TC-14
for a maximum. I use Really Right Stuff plates on
all my bodies and lens. Technique has to be finite at these
extremes. I have recently added the Wimberley II gimbaled head which makes it
easier for flying birds. I recently acquired the Nikon 200-400 F4 VR zoom
lens and I am extreamly impressed withe the sharpness of this lens.
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What's in the bag
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Nikon D2X
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Nikon F6 w/MD40
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3 - Sandisk Extreme III cards (10
Gigs total)
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Epson P200 Portable, Viewable hard
drive (40 gigs)
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20mm F2.8D Nikkor
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12-24mm F4 Nikkor DX
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24-120 VR Nikkor
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70-180 Micro Nikkor
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70-200 F2.8 VR Nikkor
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200-400 F4 VR Nikkor
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300mm F2.8 AF-S Nikkor
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500mm F4 AF-S Nikkor
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All with Really Right Stuff
QR plates
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TC-14 IIE tele-extender
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TC-20 2X tele-extender
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SB-800 Nikon Flash and
extender
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Nikkor Polarizers for all sizes of
lenses
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Shing-Ray split density filter
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81As for all lens sizes
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Gitzo 1329 CF Tripod
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Gitzo 1548 CF Tripod
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Arca Swiss B2 and B1-G ball heads
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Wimberley II gimbaled head
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Kirk Window mount tripod
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Small Bean Bag
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Cables, Chargers, Etc.
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Bazooby photo vests
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Lowepro Pro Trekker backpack
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Toshiba Satellite P105, 17
in screen, 2 gig ram, 2-2 gig processors, 1-105 gig 7200 RPM disk,
and fast graphics card.
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R500 Mercedes all wheel drive
to carry all the stuff (I call it my 6000 Pound "portable"
rolling blind. With 300 HP and
7 speed transmission it will get you there)
I
obviously do not carry all the lenses or tripods at once. I tailor the bag to
what I am shooting at the time. I find that most of the time I will have with
me my walk around kit:
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Nikon D2X
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12-24mm F4 Nikkor DX
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24-120 f3.5-5.6 AF-S VR Nikkor
(main walk-about lens)
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70-200 F2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor
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SB-800 Nikon Flash
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Gitzo 1329 CF Tripod w/Arca
Swiss B2 head
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Epson P200 Portable,
Viewable hard drive
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filters, cards, etc
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Bazooby photo vest
When I
go birding or wildlife hunting (photographically only today) I usually carry:
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Nikon D2X
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24-120 f3.5-5.6 AF-S VR Nikkor
(main walk-about lens)
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70-200 F2.8 AF-S VR Nikkor
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200-400 F4 AF-S VR Nikkor
OR 500mm F4 AF-S Nikkor
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TC-14 IIE tele-extender
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SB-800 Nikon flash with
extender
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Gitzo 1548 CF Tripod with Wimberley II gimbaled head
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Epson P200 Portable,
Viewable hard drive
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filters, cards, Really
Right Stuff converter plate etc
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Bazooby photo vest
    
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