Guacamole!

Recently, I made a trip to Costco and bought a huge bag of Abuelita stone ground white corn tortilla strips.  I thought they would be good with some nice thick chunky salsa.  Hubby mentioned they would be good with guacamole.  Not a bad idea.  So I bought some avocados and waited for them to get ripe.

Tonight I made guacamole.  I used two avocados, half a lime, chopped sweet onions, fresh chopped cilantro, and garlic salt.  I can handle simple recipes like this one.

I'm always looking for an opportunity to take a few foodie pictures:

100mm, f/4, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

120mm, f/8, 1/200, ISO 400 and SB-700

I'm still testing my 24-120mm f/4 lens.  The more I use it, the more I really like it.  The lens is sharp!

Hubby came home in time to finish the guacamole.  If he was a few minutes late, it would have been gone!

Spring Colors!

I'm so glad that it's Spring!  Looking forward to the many Spring blooms that should be appearing in our gardens over the next few weeks.  Unfortunately, the weather is not cooperating.  I'm still wearing my winter coat most of the day.

So while it's chilly outside, I'm inside comfy and cozy and testing out my Nikkor 24-120mm f/4 lens.  I'm shooting everything at f/4...zoomed in or zoomed out and everything in between.  I really like what I'm seeing.  While this lens is no match for my Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 prime lens (and it shouldn't be), I'm enjoying the center sharpness and even the lovely bokeh it produces.

Spring colors!

This 24-120mm f/4 lens is a monster.  Okay, it's the biggest lens I have.  It's the heaviest.  Probably uses the largest filter I have ever owned...77mm.  It feels hefty in my hands.  When I have it on my camera, D600, it's beautiful to hold and to handle.  Now, I do notice the extra weight around my neck and I'm using the well padded Crumpler's Industry Disgrace strap.  I have to hold my camera by the lens.  It feels that heavy.

I read a review where the Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is heavier than this one.  I can't imagine.

I've put my camera and my monster lens through some tests.  The first thing I noticed is how fast the lens focuses.  It's quick.  At first, it took me by surprise.  Now, I'm happily getting used to it.  The above picture called 'Spring Colors' was taken indoors in natural light.  More like not much light.  I set my camera to aperture of 4 and zoomed all the way out.  Auto ISO came out at 1600.  The focus was fast!  Not like my 24-85mm lens which would have spent seconds "hunting" for some better light.


Here are a few more pictures taken with my monster lens:

I'm a Nikon Nerd!

It's after 5pm and so bright outside!

The heavy limbs reminds me of fingers

In a hurry to get to the other side...as the commuter train is leaving....

In my head, I've decided to stop comparing lenses and use each one to it's fullest potential.  Each of my Nikkor lens has it's own personality.  Gosh darn, I hope I don't start giving each of them nicknames....

My Thoughts on My D600

I enjoy taking pictures with my D600.  I've had it for a little over a month and taken 2600 pictures.  Enough time to get acquainted with most of the settings and different lens use.  I hardly have to do an post productions to my pictures except for my usual straightening, minor cropping, and adding my copyright information.

I have not found any major issues with my camera.  During the first few weeks it came out, there was little negative chatter about the camera.  There was a lot more "Wows" and "Awesome" from those who appreciate the fine art of photography and for those moving up from DX to FX format.  There's a lot to appreciate in using this camera.  Kind of like taking photography to the next level.

In recent days, there's been grumblings about dust issues with the D600.  Out of curiousity, I took my camera and set it the smallest aperture and shot a picture of the sky.  I think I was at f/16.  I looked at my LCD and sure enough I saw some dust spots.  Mostly in the upper left corner.  I went ahead and continued to open the aperture and took a couple more shots at f/11, f/8, f/5.6, f/4, and f/3.5.  The dust spots slowly disappeared  as I opened up the aperture.  Wide open at f/3.5...there were no signs of the spots.  I didn't notice them at f/8.

My previous camera D7000, which I still have, has the dreaded oil spots.  Again, I don't notice it unless I shot at f/16 or f/22.  I plan on sending that camera in for maintenance real soon as I've rolled the camera over twice.

Here are my thoughts.  I did take a chance by getting this camera in the early stages when it came out.  I will live with this slight issue on the D600.  I rarely shoot at f/16 or f/22.  That's probably why I haven't noticed any spots in my pictures.  I plan on setting my camera up to do an internal cleaning when I turn on the camera.  At some point, I will send my camera in to have maintenance...most likely next year.  If there is a major issue with the mirror and Nikon ends up replacing a part, I will get it fixed.  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy my lovely camera and all it's beautiful capabilities.

While my brother was still in town, he and I made a trip to Georgetown and walked around the town and the University:

One of the beautiful buildings - Georgetown University

From the inside looking out

Georgetown is the place to see many lovely homes

They are all so different!

Many of them are going through renovations both inside and outside

This exterior was beautiful

We walked along the "locks" at the canal

Outside with My Full Frame Camera

Early this week, I jumped at the chance to take a quick field trip to test out my new camera in bright daylight.  I headed over to a local nursery as they have more interesting and colorful props to help with my test.  

Colorful gourds

Reminders of Fall:  mums, gourds and pumkins

Mums on a bench

A small fountain in the garden

Colorful pansies

Wood carving

Orchids with watercolor-like background

Striking flowers

At first, I wasn't sure how my D600 would handle the daylight.  Compared to my D7000 which has the tendency to overexpose in bright sunlight, my D600 handled it well.  I left my exposure compensation at 0.0. 

All pictures taken with 85mm f1.8 lens and in Aperture mode.  

My Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G Lens...Results

When I attach this 85mm lens to my D7k, it becomes a 128mm lens.  Basically, it's an FX lens on a DX camera.  I've had to physically take two steps back to get my subject framed correctly in my viewfinder.

This lens does a beautiful job with portraits and general photography.  I've found that I like setting the aperture to f/4 and the results are clear, sharp photos with beautiful bokeh.

July is typically a busy photog month for me.  This week we're having a VBS event at our church.

Initially, it was very hard for me to leave my wide-zoom (18-200mm) lens in my bag and just use a prime lens.  My instinct told me I don't want to miss a shot and you know it's easier to zoom in and out than it is to walk back a couple of steps.  I made do and in a short time, I felt at ease with my prime lens.

I noticed, since there is some distance between my subject(s) and my camera, the kids and adults felt more comfortable and relaxed when I took their picture.  

Taking pictures at this event has allowed me the chance to try out my new flash, new lenses and trying out different features of my D7k.  In the next few weeks, I'll share my findings.  

Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G Bokeh: Daylily Pictures

I went out and photographed a daylily.  I wanted to see the results of the different aperture settings and the bokeh.  I also wanted to find the "sweet spot" for my new lens.  Here's the results at different aperture settings:

85mm, f1.8, 1/8000, ISO 100

85mm, f4, 1/2000, ISO 100

85mm, f8, 1/500, ISO 100

85mm, f11, 1/250, ISO 100

85mm, f16, 1/125, ISO 110

I set my D7k to Aperture mode and since the flower was in bright sunlight I set the exposure to -0.7.  My post production (PP) changes included cropping, adding copyright notice, and reducing the file size for posting on the web.

Bleeding Hearts

After having so much fun with my micro lens, I decided to switch and use my 18-200mm lens.  I wanted to see if I could capture some close ups while using my monopod.  Here's the results:

Bleeding Heart flowers (200mm, f/5.6, 1/2000, ISO 100 )

My monopod is my tool of choice for now.  Especially when I'm finding I can't hand hold my camera like I used to for close ups.  While using the 18-200mm lens, it sure makes picture taking a lot easier.

Peonies & Lighting & Aperture

After working long hours this past week, taking a break yesterday to regroup and recover mentally, I was ready to get my creativity going today. I was out and about in our garden early this morning looking for some beautiful blooms to put in my vase. The peony blooms and buds are abundant this year thanks to the our snowstorm blizzard we had in early February. Right now, our gardens are looking lush and green.

I stumbled across three different varieties of peonies. Two are double flowers (white and pink):

(ISO 800) The only touch up I did with this photo is to auto adjust the colors. Typically, the image from the camera produces a dull white flower


The other is a single flower peony in a striking dark red color:

(ISO 1600) No touch up was done to this picture

Personally, I try to not to cut a peony stem if there is a blooming flower with buds attached. After the stem is cut, the tight buds will never open for me. I prefer not to waste a bud that could be blooming it's heart out in our garden later.

I wanted most of my flowers to be in focus with the background slightly blurred. I set my camera to Aperture Priority with an f/22 setting. Both pictures above were taken with this setting. I also used my SB-600 flash with a Gary Fong Universal Lightsphere attached (including its dome covering). I bounced the flash off my living room ceiling. I received a nice surprise.

I did take a few pictures with a smaller f-stop at 11. The center flower was in focus, but the rest of the flowers became slightly blurred.

After many years of working a hectic schedule, I'm learning to stop and smell the flowers. I'm learning to open my eyes and see God's creation and beauty around me. Photography is a great way to capture those moments. I'm glad I have the ability to do that.

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
ISO: 800 & 1600
Flash: SB-600
Accessory: Gary Fong Lightsphere

In the Garden and Learning About Aperture

I came home from work just in time to catch the last of the late evening light. With camera in hand, I snapped away at the flowers and plants that were blooming in our garden.

Peonies are my favorite flowers to photograph

After so many years of blooming, this is the first time we've had an abundance of blooms from this Clematis

This clematis doesn't like to climb our mailbox


This is a rogue Geranium that seeded itself amongst the ground covering. I would have liked to have seen three purple flowers in this pic, but will settle for whatever I can get.




Believe or not, this is a really small plant (Columbine) that grows along the edge of our walkway. I had to get really low on the ground to capture this shot.





** How-to-Series: Learning About Aperture **

I started this blog last year with the intent of sharing my picture taking experiences and what I see through my lens. I haven't been doing a great job of providing any insight on how I take pictures. So, I thought I would take a moment and share a "learning" experience.

Here, I am playing with the Aperture on my camera. It's the large "A" on my DSLR dial. No, it doesn't stand for "automatic". "A" is for Aperture. A small aperture number (large opening) produces this type of picture with the main flower in focus and the background out of focus.

Taken @ f/5.6. Extreme fuzzy background


Taken @ f/8


A large aperture number (small opening) produces this picture with the background somewhat coming into focus along with the flowers.

Taken @ f/22

I will be back with more "how-to" posts. In the meantime, grab your camera and start taking some pictures.

Camera: Nikon D5000
Lens: 18mm-200mm
Flash: None