worth getting up early for

toned tree
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

At easter monday.

I'm now getting the feeling that I can make that D300 sit up and sing.

D300 at iso3200

first high iso shot
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

I've used one of the custom settings banks for family gahterings where image quality isn't as important as getting the shot. This one turned up at iso3200. I'm baffled. This is more usabel than iso1600 was on the D50.

Snapshots a snap with the D300

parrot
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Saw this bird sitting on top of a display case. Some netting in the background. Still had the 100mm mounted, decided I'd try it anyway. I got an af point on it's eye and squeezed off half a dozen shots. Every one of them as clear and colorful as this one.

flickr continues to amaze me

Happy "yellow" easter sunday
Originally uploaded by Ferdi's World.

Take this. Piss poor shot of a tulip. Yet it manages 23 views and about as many comments.

Getting it right the first time

feeding bee
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Noticed this bee, took a dozen frames as fast as my camera would go. Why a dozen? Because focussing is very tricky if you are this close and if there's enough breeze to move the flower.

This one I choose, chopped a bit of the right and.. well... there wasn't anything to process really. I'd nailed the exposure, contrast and colors. Was quite proud of that actually.

Thom Hogan wrote in his D300 review that when moving from an amateur DSLR such as the D50 to the D300 you need to step up your game photographically. He's right, I did, I still do but it's fun and shots like these are the encouragement you need to keep at it.

Got invited by Getty Images!

Some time ago flickr added the option to allow Getty to review your pictures to see if anything had potential. I agreed and expected never to hear anything about it.

Yesterday I found an invite in my inbox. Getty had selected 16 of my images! I feel so proud!

Now the hassle begins, I need model releases for these. For most this is no problem because the models are family but there’s also a few that feature people I don’t know. So I’ll have to drop those. Still leaves quite a few pictures. Would be very nice if some would actually sell. Some cash to spend on the hobby and the fun of getting your work published.

heron cleaning

heron cleaning
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

This shot is a lot better than the earlier one. Or is it?

I seem to be expecting national geographic quality from me, an amateur with my sigma 70-300, a lens costing as much as a pro will spend on a single filter.

Sometimes you shoot pics you know are not going to be popular

And yet, you enjoy them. Typical dilemma if you publish on sites like flickr. Are you going to shoot what you want or what you think your audience wants to see?

This morning I got up early enough to catch the morning fog.

 

This might me more of a crowd pleaser:

 

Ah well, there’s always Melody Gardot and a good glass of whisky!

Went for a much needed walk today

At the moment it’s busy at the office. Not only my regular work but the workscouncil is also very busy. So, this afternoon I took a few hours and went walking.

The weather was nice, very bright, blue sky, never good for my landscapes so I looked elsewhere. Had the 28-105 with polarizer on my d300.

First I noticed this huge pike, 70cm at least. Just hovering there, not doing much.

A bit further along the path, these plants.

Also spotted this cow, liked the contrast between it and the trees.

These roam free to control young trees, especially the american Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) which otherwise takes over the area completely.

And of course, there’s trees, big trees!

My One And Only Thrill

Is the latest album by Melody Gardot. Wow! What an album! I can’t believe she’s only 23. A very adult sound, hint of French in it. Excellent rhythms. One of those albums you need to listen to at least half a dozen times to start appreciating it.

Highly recommended!

New Diana Krall album out

I’ve waited quite a few months for this but Diana Krall’s latest album quiet nights is out now. Diana Krall is one of my favorite jazz artists, I just wish she’d release more live material. She’s good in the studio but really shines onstage.

It’s a lovely, very relaxed bossa nova album. Mostly classics done very well. One nice twist is that she’s recorded the boy from Ipanema.

If you’re into Diana Krall I’d certainly check it out.

My love

Snapshot
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

I've taken the trouble to map yesterday's walk in google earth. It's about 8km long and starts and ends at the zandvoortselaan entrance of the waterleidingduinen.

Everyone can enjoy nature!

Everyone can enjoy nature!
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

When I was finishing my walk I encountered this couple. To me it shows that everyone can enjoy nature.

vintage klm scheme

vintage klm scheme
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Here's something you don't see every day. A Klm 737-800 in the old color scheme as was used in the 1950s and 1960s.

Dad

Dad
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Pic I'm proud of. Light from three fluorescents above the table. Shot at iso 1600 with a 40 year old 135mm 2.8.

And of course I love the model here, after all, it's my dad!

misty trees

misty trees
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Went to work today, noticed it was a foggy morning so I grabbed the camera. Noticed this on my way to the office. Did a bit of cropping to get the thirds working here. I do need to work on exposing these properly, I had to push contrast and correct a stop of underexposure.

Yellowstone park has just made it on my list of places I'd like to visit before I die. I am watching a documentary on BBC about winter in yellowstone. Impressive is a massive understatement. Wow, the animals, the vast landscape empty of anything manmade! And come on, who wouldn't want to take a picture like this:

layered clouds

layered clouds
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Boring perhaps at first look and I like it. Three layers there, a few diagonals, nice colors. Works for me.

DSC_2983 copy_kodak_t-max_3200_sepia-gold
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

DxO Filmpack, lovely plugin! It allows you to emulate film in photoshop and does so very nicely. This shot was done with the Kodak t-max 3200 emulation and a sepia gold toning. Lovely effect, I wish I could shoot film this well.

The light here was all natural, trough the window, trough the hallway and between the stairs. I was inspired by some 1930s soviet pictures. Next time I just have to remember to take down that picture in the background.

Shot was with a 100mm tokina 2.8 on my trusty Nikon D50.

chasing your dream

chasing your dream
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Esther has wanted a saxophone for quite some time now. Today she bought one. I was amazed that she could play scales within a few minutes.

Came home today

in his room
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Went upstairs and noticed Bas sitting at his table. Ran back down to grab my camera and managed this. Lousy light of course so I kicked it to iso1600 and opened wide.
Tried a bit of crossprocessing to see if it works.

Sunday morning rowing

Sunday morning rowing
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

A pair of rowboats in the ringvaart on a sunday morning.

I made a metering error which resulted in an almost monochrome picture. To add a bit of variety I've used capture to add a tobacco colored gradient to the sky.

Not my best work but I sort of like it. I also realize it's definitely going to be too understated to appeal to the flicker masses. Well, so be it.

D50 vs D300 part 2

D50 vs D300 part 2
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

And with the D50

D50 vs D300 part 2

D50 vs D300 part 2
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

D300

It's all a matter of taste.

DSC_2751 copy
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

D300 test revisited.

Thanks to some very nice people I've had a chance to do some more comparative testing between the D50, D90 and D300 and with various telezooms on all three. We did some test shooting on a dark indoor kart circuit and on a living room table filled with nikon gear.

Initial impressions:

D50:
AF system performs surprisingly well with a 70-200 2.8 VR in near darkness. iso1600 is somewhat noisy but the noise is nicely distributed.

D90:
Straight out of the box the blacks seem somewhat over intense. Costs detail, especially in shadows.


D300:
Lovely neutral colors, almost identical to the D50, little less warmth. AF system performs well, even with a simple telezoom such as my 70-300 Sigma. Seems to have just that bit more detail if you look closely.

More tomorrow.

dynamic range

dynamic range
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Went for a walk in the waterleidingduinen. Blistering cold wind, remains of a hailstorm still on the ground. Lovely! Then I looked back and saw this.

what to think of this

grass
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

I took it very deliberately. Did a fine job processing it if I say so myself. Stuck in on flickr and it hardly attracts any attention. Is it boring or soothing? I'm not sure yet.

went for a walk in the forest

for a walk in the forest
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

This morning and suddenly I noticed this. Took a quick snapshot and this is what I got. A second or two later the situations had totally changed.

I did push the contrast a bit.

About yesterday's post....

Turns out it's a rather controversial post. OK, first of all, I did not take these shots. Secondly, it's unscientific, it's just two frames taken a few minutes after eachother. There's a difference in lighting and it's tricky light to begin with. Now that doesn't bother me, I know the average dutch livingroom is tricky to shoot.

I've also had a number of reactions in this thread on dpreview. A substantial number of those were predictable. But there were also a number of constructive reactions. Seems that the guy who shot these two frames may have made an error or two when shooting.

What it all comes down to... D300 is an awesome camera but it's not perfect and it's weaknesses are different enough from the D50 that it will take me quite some time to adjust.

I'm planning to get together with at least one D300 owner and do some more testing. I want to see if we can do some more comparative shots and I want to see if someone with a load of D50 experience can make that D300 shine in the first 50 shots.

Comparing the Nikon D50 and D300 in an unscientific way.

I've bought a Nikon D50 in the summer of 2006. Excellent camera back then, I've shot about 24000 pictures with it, had loads of fun and have learned an awful lot more about photography. But, just like anyone who reads the major photo sites, I now and then had the urge to replace that simple D50 by something better. The first camera that really appealed to me was the Nikon D300. It feels great when you pick it up and has features that are really tempting. Things like 51 AF points, AF tracking, metering with Ai lenses, CLS commander and a dedicated button for metering to name a few.

An acquaintance who owns both the Nikon D50 and D300 was kind enough to shoot the same image with his 17-50 2.8 on both cameras. Shots were is01600, A-mode, f8, 1/5 on the D300, 1/2 on the D50. Light came from two compact fluorescent lamps and the window.

All pictures are stored on Flickr with full exif. Click on any to see the full sized version.

Here's the original, just converted to jpg:

D50:


D300:



Hmm... Immediately you notice the difference in dynamic range but also a weird color cast on the D300.
Let's get both in Capture Nx, I'm running 2.0.

First an Auto Whitebalance:

D50:



D300:



Let's see what happens if we brighten the images a bit. I'm applying +1 EV to both.

D50:



D300:



There is still a lot more detail visible trough the window on the D300 shot. In the D50 it's mostly blown.

OK, on with the D300 shot. Picture Control wasn't set to neutral yet, now it is.



And now let's disable active d-lighting:



Finally, for the pixel peepers a crop. To be honest, I didn't expect this level of noise.

D50:



D300:




I don't know, perhaps the test setup was wrong. I do like what I can do with the D300's raw files. There's loads of room there and at +1EV the D300 clearly retains a lot of dynamic range. That color cast I can't seem to get rid of bothers me. There's, obviously more room to crop and a load of dynamic range to play with. Looking at http://www.flickr.com/cameras/nikon/d300/ there's lots of people out there shooting beautiful pictures with this impressive camera.

But why this color cast???

If anyone has any ideas, I'd apprieciate some feedback. I still find the D300 a desireable camera but, based on this, I am a bit disappointed in the image quality.

In case anyone wants to play with them, here are the NEF files:
D50
D300

abstract attempt

abstract attempt (best seen big)
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Or seeing what the Fred Miranda B&W plugin does to an image. I'm sure it's not to everyone's taste. I'm not sure if I will still like it next week but I've tried.

I do like that you can barely see the trees on the horizon. I couldn't when I took the shot but they did appear when I processed the RAW.

skating

DSC_1912
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

For the first time in 13 years enough ice to skate on!

Gotta love ebay!

Well, sometimes at least. I was looking for some Pratchett books. My collection of hardbacks was 3 issues behind. In a dutch bookshop a single book can easily set you back 30 euros. Even at bol.com you're lucky to pay 20 euro for one. Via ebay and thanks to the current pound-euro rate I got Thud, making money and wintersmith for only 33 euros including delivery. And all of them with Paul Kidby's excellent artwork.

another bull

another bull
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

We went for a walk in the Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen today. Heard some bulls bellowing. After a quick walk of the well known paths we discovered three bulls bellowing for supremacy over a dozen cows. Impressive sound and sight.

caught reading

caught reading
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Or, less than perfect. Noticed his expression, quickly grabbed my camera and was faced with a technical dillema. Either up the iso to 1600 or go for a very marginal shutter speed. I know my colored couch gets noisy easily so I went for iso 800 and 1/30.

It's not quite as sharp as it should have been, both because of the 1/30 and the slight focus error. For me the expression makes up for it.

fishing contest in B/W

DSC_1295_bw
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Trying dxo optics on a shot I took this morning. Like it even though the whole series is not exactly getting great reviews.

quite proud of this one

Kal boeing 747
Originally uploaded by j_wijnands.

Went planespotting for an hour this afternoon. After almost the complete F70 fleet the KLM owns this big brute came in.