Erik, thanks!
Thomas, thanks, I love the 105DC, however I only used that lens once during our gathering in Photokina last year.
My beloved lens is the 85/1.4 AFD, and recently the 45P which just matches the Df in my opinion.
All these images were made with D200 and 10.5/2.8 fish-eye. I adore fish-eye lenses, and I started off with the 16/3.5 and then the Sigma 8mm circular fish-eye lenses. The 10.5/2.8 is a lens I chose for these travels, and I have to admit that it is very good. In fact they are all good, now I have difficulties choosing
Gary, thanks, I have a 600nm cut-off filter covering the sensor of the IR-modified D200. The filter is similar to the Nikon R60 filter which the 16/3.5 has already installed. I believe the Nikon 8/2.8 fish-eye has it too, and probably other lenses. I also bought that same Nikon R60 to mount on lenses which helps tremendously with B&W photos in achieving dark skies. Bjørn and Erik showed me that feature on Erik's baobab tree shot. I wonder if Erik can find it and post it here. Ever since I say that photo and the effect the R60 makes I fell so in love. Of course, in visible light with the R60 you have a range from 600-700 nm. However, when I shoot IR the range extends the 700nm, and I guess it reaches 1000 nm, perhaps even further. The photos aren't 100% IR because I get the visible light from 600-700nm, but who cares
The reason why I chose this filter instead of the 720nm or 900nm is because I have more colors to play with. The beauty of IR for me is the fact that I never know how the color balance will turn out, or how I will end up processing it. Because the colors are false anyhow (apart from the reds, a bit of orange and traces of yellow on some occasions dependent of the light and scenery). Bjørn taught me a lot on how to process these images, but I am very stubborn and I don't listen to him as much as he would want me to or as much as I should, so we process them differently. Whilst Bjørn process the photos with curves, colors, white balance, etc. I mostly maneuver the color balance, by either desaturating colors that I don't like and changing their hue. Attached you will find a non processed image of the same subjects (the plane and chopper), and that was my starting point. I used to process all IR images the same way, but that turned out to boring after a while, so now, I rarely process them the same way, and I deliberately don't keep notes as to how I have come up with a certain image. IR is simply fun
I hope I was eloquent enough
Bjørn can explain things better than me!
Frank, thanks, don't get me wrong, Yugoslavia's architecture is all about the East, and there are many many many blocks of buildings that resemble all you're talking about. After WWII New Belgrade erupted on the north-west of the river Sava, and they literally named parcels of land as blocks. The Western towers are in Block 30 or Block 31, can't remember exactly. About half a million people live in New Belgrade in the Blocks...
