How to Transport Five Dogs

Last week at Yoyogi Park, I caught several glimpses of this gentleman and his pack of poodles. He seemed to be enjoying pampering his pooches in the park and transported the pack stylishly with ease in a trioBike mono. He was swift, but I was quick with my shutter. Although I had to manual focus my old but trusty Nikon 24mm f2.0 performed well.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/800 sec.

Winter Hats

Last August 2013, I took a walk through Shibuya and took many photos of people in hats and blogged about it in a post titled, Thinking about hats.... Seems that I am experiencing a sort of artistic déjà vu and shot more people in hats in Shibuya with the same trusty 30-year old 85mm f/1.4 AI-S Nikkor.

However, these samples were not of the straw variety favored in the summer, but were suited for a Tokyo winter although the fashion inspiration had to cross the pacific from the American west. Seems that the original hat of the West, the “Boss of the Plains” is admired for its fashion sense and practicality in the land of the rising sun.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/80 sec.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S f4.0, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Koi in a glass bubble

After a delicious late morning pancake breakfast in Nakameguro, I was walking back to my car when I spotted this interesting koi (goldfish) wind chime. I'm not sure it actually can chime, but I liked it none the less. Anyway, I shot it with my positively ancient Nikkor 24 mm f2.0 AI (Nikon produced the AI version from 1977-1981). Other than the flare, it seems that the lens was performing remarkably well. The sharpness and contrast look great, and the bokeh wasn't as bad as some have complained about. It amazing that this lens performs so well in spite of the fact that it was designed over 35-years ago for film cameras!

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ 5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

The raw shot was a little too wide and the flare on the top right was a little annoying, so I cropped it.

Nikon D600 with Nikon 24mm f/2.0 Nikkor AI @ 5.6, ISO 200, 1/250 sec.

Thinking about hats....

Before the family returned in August, I walked through Shibuya with friends and spent some time taking photos of people passing through. For some reason, I was drawn to people wearing summer hats. Straw hats are one of the most popular styles worn by men, women, young and old to beat Tokyo's summer sun and heat while looking fashionable.

I spent most of the day with two manual focus lenses in my camera bag. However, once my trusty 85mm f/1.4 AI-S Nikkor was mounted, it stayed on my D600for the remainder of the day. You've just got to love the bokeh and sharpness on this classic lens. It's hard to believe that this lens was first produced by Nikon back in 1982 and only retired from production in 2006. I have had the pleasure of shooting with this classic lens since about 1987. Back then I used to shoot it with a Nikon FE2. The 85 balances and performs well on my D600, but I do miss the sound of the titanium shutter and whir of the MD-12 motor drive.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f5.6, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/320 sec.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/400 sec.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/500 sec.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f4.0, ISO 100, 1/250 sec.

Nikon D600with Nikon 85mm f/1.4 AI-S @ f2.8, ISO 100, 1/500 sec.

Strange flower and new lens

I added a new lens (AF-S VR Micro-NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED) to my kit recently and was trying it out today at Yoyogi Park.

One of the interesting things that I shot, was this strange little flower.  I was able to take a photo of one with petals and one without.  I wonder what kind of flower this is...

BTW - I have started a blog more focused on photo technique and equipment called F2.0 Photography. The latest post there has more photos taken in Yoyogi Park with this exceptional lens.

Maple Leaves and Nikon Lenses

I've been shooting a lot with my Nikon 16-35mm f/4G.  It's a lovely lens.  Sharp and contrasty, but heavy.  When you are shooting with it, the extra bulk and weight is not really noticeable.  The lens handles really well, balances nicely and focuses fast and surprisingly close on my Nikon D700.

However, this setup is too large to fit into my Kata KT DW-495 Digital Waist-Pack.  So if I am heading on a walk around the city with the camera and lens in the waist-pack, I usually have my Nikon 50mm f/1.4G or my Nikon 85mm f1.4 AI-S mounted with 16-35mm f/4 in a side pouch.  When I feel that I am going to get the most use out of it I'll switch to the bulky wide zoom.  The Kata waist pack makes it easy to access my camera and switch lenses when needed.

This past weekend, I was out with the family at Yoyogi Park.  I decided to pack light and mounted the Nikon 20mm f/2.8D AFinstead of the 16-35mm f4.  This prime can take amazing photos, but it has several limitations that will keep the 16-35mm f/4 on my camera most of time.

When the wife and kids took off on rented bikes, I took this photo of a maple with fresh spring leaves. The flare is little distracting, but the contrast and sharpeness are really good at f/5.6.  The 16-35mm would have handled the flare better and given me the option of a tighter shot.

New glass wanted

Nikon just released this new super wide zoom lens for it's digital FX and film cameras.  The AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR looks like it may be the glass that I have been waiting for.  There's a short blurb about it on dpreview.com but you might as well read about it on the official Nikon website.

If you live in Japan, it's already listed on kakaku.com.  Prices in Japan on 15 February 2010 are shown starting at ¥116,790.