Yesterday in addition to a new image (here), I posted a few from 2016 (here and here) that I’d never gotten around to sharing (so in a sense they were new too).

This all came about because the winter here has really decreased my photo opportunities lately and in my restlessness to do something creative I decided go back and revisit some old images of mine.  As an aside, this is a good thing to do from time-to-time because it inevitably leads to some form of insight (though I must admit that I haven’t been good about engaging in photographic self-evaluation lately).

Specifically, I was looking at this image from last summer:

↑ Nikon D500 + Nikon 200mm f/2 G ED VR II.

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… and realized that, in my haste to post-process it along with 100 other images from that day, I had probably not optimally processed it.

Post-processing has been on my mind lately because a reader of this blog recently shared a photo with me (taken by another photographer) that he considered “over-cooked”.  I have written about such over-zealous post-processing in the past and I heartily agreed with him.

In looking at the photo above, I wondered whether I had shown too much restraint — whether I had, in fact, under-processed it.  I subsequently fired up Lightroom and played with the settings to arrive at this alternate version:

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The two versions are not drastically different (remember, I’m still trying to be cautious) but I believe the re-worked version is better than the original.

I will take what I learned from experimenting with this image and most certainly will apply that knowledge to my images this year, and it will probably make a bigger difference to my output than any gear-related change I could potentially make.  I’m therefore glad that the winter weather forced me to pause and reflect.

As a second aside, I can’t wait for spring to arrive so I can use this combination of gear (D500 and 200mm f/2) again; I only had one chance to use the lens before the baseball season ended.

For those interested in a how sharp the Nikon 200mm is @ f/2, I’ve provided a crop:

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Did I mention that I can’t wait for spring?

—Peter.

 

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The Nikon 28mm f/1.4E is one of my favourite lenses (of any focal length, from any manufacturer).

It renders in both a sharp and smooth way and achieves the perfect balance between the two for environmental portraits (and this is my main use for it).

 

↑ Nikon 28mm f/1.4E @ f/1.4 | 1/320 | ISO 1100.

 

Contrast and micro-contrast are excellent.

Colours are saturated and rendered with great clarity, for lack of a better word.

Distortion is limited.

The lens vignettes at f/1.4 in a very pleasing way; I will sometimes correct for it during post-processing but more often will not.

My particular copy required 0 (zero) focus adjustment with my Nikon D850; it worked perfectly right out of the box.

This is one of those lenses that imparts a je ne sais quoi quality to its images.  Most technically proficient lenses tend to render in a very sterile fashion (perfect for photographing brick walls, not so good for photographing people) but the Nikon 28mm f/1.4E is one of the few lenses I’ve encountered that gets both the technicals and intangibles right.

Highly recommended.

I’ve included a few sample images below.

—Peter.

 

 

Leica M3 fitted with metal flash socket plugs.

Camera jewelry, yes.

But…

The metal plugs are inexpensive, smaller, and nicer than the standard plastic white ones that tend to catch on clothing/bags and turn yellow over time.

—Peter.