Wayne Ryan's blog

Sunday, 4 October 2009

Lens Choices

If you want to capture images in more than one style or genre, you need to have the right gear. The first rule of photography is supposed to be that its not the gear, its the artist and their ability to create with a sense of composition, colour, light and timing. All true but the right gear also helps. So lens choice counts when you know what type of images you want to make. You need the optimal focal length and field of capture to suit the style you want. Focal Length and Angle of view of a lens are related, focal length is used to describe a lens. A 35mm f2.0 is a lens with a fixed focal length and a 70 - 200mm f2.8 is a zoom lens. The angle of view or field of view describes the amount of a scene that can be captured by a camera.

This diagram helps describe this. CLICK ON IMAGE FOR A LARGER VIEW

.......... Wide Angle - Normal / Portrait - Macro/Portrait - sport/Nature

Typically, but depending on preference and style a broad selection of lenses and their general use might be;

11-16mm f2.8 Zoom - ULTRA Wide - great for indoor, close up indoor architecture and landscapes.
35mm f2 - Normal Prime - portrait, indoor happy snaps and walk around versatile.
105mm f2.8 - Macro prime - close work for insects, product and detailed close up, also a fantastic portrait lens.
18-200mm f3.5-5.6 - versatile zoom for a wide range of uses but not so fast so low light can be an issue.
70-200mm f2.8 - super zoom - sports and action, great for picking people out at a distance, pro's event lens.

Hmm looks familiar :-)

Photography Genres I'm interested include:

Other genres are Travel, Wedding, Aerial, Black and White, Documentary, Fashion, Forensic, Glamour, Nude, Photojournalism, Still life, Stock, Underwater, Wildlife and more . . .

Saturday, 3 October 2009

35mm f2D

I just got a new Nikkor 35mm f/2D lens for my Nikon D300 DSLR camera :-) You can get great bokeh with this lens that is perfect for environmental portraits, landscapes and photojournalism or walk around lens. It's compact, lightweight and very fast f/2 so great for hand held low light indoor situations. The 35mm f/2D AF it can focus very close to about 1/4 life size or closest focusing distance .25 metre and is a great feature of this lens.

For a DX sensor Nikon D90, D3000, D5000, etc its the equivalent of a 50mm prime lens on a Full Frame D3, D700 D3x etc. Its classed as a wide angle Nikkor because on a full frame camera the picture angle would be 62 Degrees but with the DX its 44 degrees. For comparison the standard normal prime for a full frame camera has a picture angle of 46 degrees. So on a DX this is a normal prime. For a great explanation and pictures to help go here.

Just Walking The dog Queen Elizabeth II Park Concord, Sydney

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2, 1/250 sec

This morning Hermione and I explored a nearby park we had not visited before. It was before 7:30 am, overcast and rainy but the light was quite good to test my new lens (see above). Queen Elizabeth II Park has BBQ's, a playground, an important bush regeneration project, a war memorial and sport fields.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f8, 1/30 sec

It is the home of Concord RSL Junior Cricket Club throughout the summer and Russell Lea Women's Soccer Club.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f8, 1/160 sec

It contains the Concord War Memorial a brick and tile rotunda structure on a concrete base with an enamelled tiled floor. It was established in 1921 and dedicated on the 15th September that year.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.2, 1/320 sec

The inscription on the dedication plaque reads 'CONCORD PAVILION OF HONOR. ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS TO PERPETUATE THE MEMORY OF OUR NURSES, SAILORS AND SOLDIERS WHO ENLISTED IN THE GREAT WAR. 1914-1919'

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.2, 1/100 sec

The park also contains on of very few remaining isolated remnant examples of the once extensive Cumberland Plain Forest (see link) in the council area of the City of Canada Bay.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.2, 1/160 sec

These remnants contain the Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest vegetation community containing approximately 5Ha of regenerating Sydney Turpentine Ironbark Forest (STIF) see link.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 35mm f2 @ ISO 200, f2.2, 1/250 sec

The restoration of this natural asset was started about fifteen years ago by the then Concord Council, and has continued to improve and expand through the coordinated efforts of Council and the Concord Bushcare Group.

Tuesday, 29 September 2009

Coastwatch

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 70mm, 1/3200 sec

Stanwell Park and Stanwell Tops are at the edge of the Royal National Park, Sydney. Stanwell Park was possibly named after the village of Stanwell on the south side of London. It was also known by the Aboriginal name "Little Bulli". Bulli means "two mountains" and referred to those on each side of the village.

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 200mm, 1/3000 sec

The Sea Cliff Bridge between the coastal villages of Coalcliff and Clifton. The Sea Cliff Bridge replaced a section of Lawrence Hargrave Drive that was permanently closed in August 2003 due to a landslide that destroyed the old road.

Crop from first image, 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 70mm, 1/3200 sec

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 105mm, 1/4000 sec
Very windy day and two lonely benches

Nikon D300, Nikkor 70-200mm 2.8 @ ISO 200, f2.8, 200mm, 1/5000 sec

A keen tourist

Thursday, 24 September 2009

Wine Flavour Visualiser

How do different wines taste? What is the relationship between wine varieties and flavour components? This visualisation attempts to show the strength of the relationships of flavour, aroma, characteristic and sensation.