Adirondacks (Upstate NY, USA)

[iamjanco]

Hi folks,

Found the group after John H. mentioned it over at Fred Miranda's (thanks John). I'm not a returning member, but I do recall the group being up and running a few years back, and I'm glad to be here now. I do know a number of you from your web sites (always liked that trunk full of gear Bjørn pictured on his web site, though I could never figure out how he could find anything. I'm sure he has a system for that though).

Let's see, a little about me... I was born a few months after Einstein died, and have been shooting Nikon off and on since 1975 (the F2AS was my first). Strictly as a hobbyist, mind you. I'm just returning to the hobby now after dealing with a few eye issues these past few years, and I'm hoping to be up and running again shortly.

I've done color and b&w lab work in the past developing both film and paper. The last time I did that though was back in the early 80s, using a Durst AC707 and Jobo CPA2 processor equipped with a lift. That was back when I was in the service, stationed near Cologne. I spent a total of almost 15 years in Europe (Spain, Holland, England, Germany & Turkey), and used to be fluent in Deutsch as well as Nederlands (I studied German in school as a kid, and made good use of it while I was in Europe. As for the Dutch, I went with a Dutch girl from Leusden for about a decade, and the similarities between it and German made it easier to learn). Oh, and I do know bar Spanish, but you probably wouldn't want me to use that here.

Today, those language skills are a bit rough, but I can still get by in them.

Anyway, camera wise, I've been toying with a D700 recently and a few manual focus lenses, getting my macro setup ready, etc. I also picked up a used D810 at a good price, but my vote is still out on it simply because of how unfriendly it can be to use with manual lenses (especially with my eyes). I do have one AF lens for use with it though (16-35/f4), and I've also set it up to use DslrDashboard with a Samsung Tab S. which though somewhat clumsy, actually works pretty well. Time will tell if I keep the D810.

As for why photography, besides the simple pleasures one can experience taking, processing, and displaying pictures, I like how images can be used to convey a message, a meme if you will. Being old school, I tend to think about what I want to shoot and what sort of message it might convey, then how I want to shoot it. Takes time and patience, but I find it very rewarding. That said, I often find comments like "1 in 10 keepers" and "it only has 77,000 shutter actuations" somewhat amusing. I do realize that's the nature of the business today, using today's latest gear.

Oh, and btw, I'm a freelance web developer/designer/technical writer (that's how I buy my gear), who's worked with a lot of folks from a lot of different places, all over the world. Skype and cable internet made that very easy and affordable a number of years back. 

Lastly, I did note the use of SMF (Simple Machines Forum) here and if you'd ever like a hand with it or the web stuff in general, let me know. Though it's locked down, I do have an example of an SMF forum I put together for marketing purposes over on one of my various web sites.

Well, that's it for now and again, happy to be here.

Looking forward to being an active member of the community.

Cheers,

Jan


...from an older gallery of mine at The Shining Lamp

[Bjørn Rørslett]

We are pleased to have you here - welcome.

Any member volunteering for assistance might be called upon in due time ...  There are some SMF issues you might help us with. However out Chief Whip on technical matters has left for a much need summer vacation. She'll be back in a two weeks' time.

Meanwhile enjoy the site and do show more of your own photography.

[Frank Fremerey]

A whole biography in writing. Wow. We  are looking forward to seeing many of your 10 in 10 keepers.

I was always a "waste film guy" wich does not mean I do not think about what I do. My idea was to have 2 or 3 keepers in a 36 roll.

After a little learnig after my starting photography 1983 the technical fails were reduced to nearly none though.

Today I think in series. I decide that a light situation topic and background are worth the effort and then I move.

It is a dance around the topic dance with the model .... bee or human plant or building.

What is very important about modern hi res cams like the D810: unless you only shoot employing sturdy tripods and
best technique on top you need to shoot series to attain at least one or two shots at full res in a series.

That costs time to learn and "waste of film". If you have taken the first perfect D810 shot with nailed focus
you will see that you can shoot a head to toe photo that doubles as an Irisscan.

then you are hooked.

welcome. Guten Tag aus Bonn!

[Frank Fremerey]

PS. Get a decent AF lens like the 1.8/50G or 2.8/60G to learn about the potential of a hi res cam like the D810

If I compare film day shots and even early digital, the current generation is a huge leap forward.

of course a pefectly handled Hasselblad or 4x5 cam are still better even with film

but the distance is not fa anymore

[iamjanco]

Thanks, Frank--I guess I was a bit verbose with my bio, sorry about that.

Yeah, thinking about what you said about keepers hit home with me. You're right, even with film back in my day, I often only had a few real keepers per roll. Also, I'm not ready to give up on the D810 yet, and really want to make it work. I got it not only because of its high resolution sensor, which in the hands of capable users really does work well, but also because of its video capabilities. Though I'm not a pro photographer by any means, I do have a few clients that are very interested in having videos made for marketing purposes. We'll see how far I get with that.

I also like your idea of getting something like the 1.8/50G or 2.8/60G as a learning tool for use with the D810. It's a different beast from the D700, where the vf doesn't give me much in the way of trouble, mostly because it has got a Katzeye split screen. I do want to be able to use the D810's vf with mf lenses, and we'll see how that goes.

Cheers,

Jan

[Frank Fremerey]

There is a thread here discussing alternative screens for Nikon. Katzeye is out of business though....

[Bjørn Rørslett]

Our shooting patterns are individual and I for one, shoot far fewer frames per year than in the film days. Probably 1/10 or even less. Does that entail I'm ten times better photographer now? Absolutely not. I'm just utilising the digital camera's built-in feature of showing the result immediately. Then I can check that the material for the final image is OK - sort of shooting Polaroid all the time without the associated costs.

As to the verbosity - there is no set upper limit to any post. If you have a lot to communicate then just do it.

[Mike G]

Jan my only experience with MF on a D810 is a recently purchased Nikkor 45mm F 2.8 and I didn't have an awful lot of hassle, but I a real novice at MF and there are some real MF experts here!

Every time I see the name Adirondacks I think of chairs. 

[iamjanco]

Thanks for the warm welcomes folks!

@Frank: Thanks for the reference about the focusing screens. I do know that Katzeye went out of business (such a shame, they made a great product), and I've read that the screens from focusingscreen.com are nowhere near as bright. In any event I'm in no big rush to change out the screen on the D810 and would rather try polishing my focusing skills with it, using a lens you suggested. Just bought a 60/2.8 macro for a good price off Fred Miranda's, we'll see how that goes. There's always liveview if needed, and of course the overly cumbersome tethered approach.

@Bjørn: yup, and thanks for the encouragement 

@Mike: chairs, eh? I somehow get that all the time. Funny how they'll occasionally crop up in some of my photos 

Here's another couple of old images from the same series as the one I posted above, taken ca. 2011. In hindsight, I should have leveled the camera more in the first that follows as well as lightened up the interior a bit to bring our more detail, though I still somehow like it (memories, eh?). The second image is one of the barn I was in, after scrambling through the "entrance" on the right side. Funny enough, the locals call it "The Red Barn," and though I've seen a lot of images of it from the outside, I've never seen any others from the inside looking out.

The place was literally falling apart back then (still is), and I'll probably do a reshoot sometime this summer:

[Gary]

Welcome to the forum, (from another non-returning member). On this weekend, celebrating the birth of the USA, I thank you for your service and sacrifice.

[armando_m]

Pleased to meet you Jan

[The_Traveler]

What they said^/

Lew