New Zealand fiords and valleys

[Mongo]

Nikkor 20mm f3.5 AI-s (usually used at f8)

[Peter Connan]

Mongo has outdone himself once again!

And I don't even like black and white.

[armando_m]

Fantastic images !

[Anirban Halder]

Gorgeous images and great bw conversion. Were some of the scenes from "Lord Of the Rings" movies shot over there?

[Mongo]

Mongo has outdone himself once again!

And I don't even like black and white.

thank you Peter. Hope you may be a convert to B&W

Fantastic images !

Thank you Armando - happy to have those words from someone of your experience

Gorgeous images and great bw conversion. Were some of the scenes from "Lord Of the Rings" movies shot over there?

Thanks Anirban. Not sure if these were scenes from Lord of the Rings but highly unlikely. Conversion was all done using photoshop CS5

[Frank Fremerey]

#1 is gorgeous
#2 is difficult to understand for me in that size.

[Mongo]

#1 is gorgeous
#2 is difficult to understand for me in that size.

thank you Frank. RE #2, Mongo understands what you mean. It may be too cropped to give an adequate perspective of this engulfing "U" shaped glacial valley. Mongo appreciate your feedback/comment

[Akira]

Mongo, these are not only terrific landscape images, but also can be paired nicely.   The contrast between the concave mountains and the convex valley is attractive. 

[Mongo]

Mongo, these are not only terrific landscape images, but also can be paired nicely.   The contrast between the concave mountains and the convex valley is attractive. 

thanks Akira. Mongo had not noticed that. Your observation is quite true. Yin and Yang, peaks and troughs, mountains and valleys. Glad you like them.

[Netr]

Gorgeous images and great bw conversion. Were some of the scenes from "Lord Of the Rings" movies shot over there?

The whole of "The Lord or the Rings" and "The Hobbit" were made in New Zealand using real or computer-generated backgrounds. http://www.newzealand.com/int/feature/the-lord-of-the-rings-trilogy-filming-locations/

Ross

[David H. Hartman]

Where is the original Sea-Land? It's somewhere is Scandinavia isn't it?

Dave

[Tom Hook]

Mongo, these are beautiful. Your choice of black and white is perfectly fitting. I recently acquired this lens for close ups with a K-1 and am pleased to see that it works so well for landscapes. Thanks for posting!

Tom

[David H. Hartman]

When I bought a 20/2.8 AIS I was thinking of selling my 20/3.5 AI. I checked Bjørn's reviews and kept the 20/3.5 for its flare and ghost resistance. I also picked up a K-Ring set. I still check those reviews from time to time.

Bjørn's old site is a great resource!

Dave

[Roland Vink]

Where is the original Sea-Land? It's somewhere is Scandinavia isn't it?

From Wikipedia: "In 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand."

There is also a Zealand in Denmark, but it is not the origin of the name New Zealand.

[Akira]

Bjørn pointed out that Ai/Ais 20/3.5 suffers from field curvature and that it is not the most suitable for the landscapes.  I've used my Ais 20/3.5 only on the film and digital DX bodies.

How do you think about the performance of the lens on FX bodies?