Made the Leap: Nikon D600

When I first saw the rumors of an intro Nikon FX camera coming out...I immediately knew a new camera would be in my future.  I just didn't know it would be this soon.  Nikon did a great job with making the announcement and then five days later had the cameras shipped to the retailers.  It only took two days of reading the reviews and specs to realize this was going to be an awesome camera.  It definitely is!

I did have the usual buyer's remorse until the camera arrived in my hot little hands.  The D600 uses the same battery as my D7000.  No waiting to charge a new battery.  I was ready to go.  I also had an extra Crumpler's Industry Disgrace strap that I attached before turning on the camera.  It's an amazing thing for me to have an extra strap...it was meant to be.

The D600 feels a bit heftier in my hands.  It's slightly bigger than the D7000.  The grip is a bit deeper.  The camera is a bit taller.  The LCD is a whopping 3.2 inches.  Looking through the viewfinder...it's huge!  The 39-focus points are the same as the D7000.  BUT...it's noticeably smaller.

I can use both my DX and of course the FX lenses on this camera.  The camera automatically knows when I switch my lens.  When I have my DX lens mounted and I look into the viewfinder, I can see a thin black horizontal window that shows me the cropped DX area.  At this point the 39-focus points look just like what you would see in the D7000 viewfinder.

The D600 handles beautifully in low light.  It's quick to focus.  So far, I've only taken 200 pictures.  I'll be back with some sample pictures and additional findings that I uncover using this amazing camera.

Stay tuned!

A Visit to a Local Camera Shop

Earlier this year, I was devastated to learn that my local camera shop, Penn Camera, had closed half of their stores including the one within driving distance of my home.  Local to me is within 10 miles.  They were a true camera shop where they provided all types of services:  camera & lens rental, photo processing, and classes.  Besides cameras they sold a limited supply of bags, refurbished and used cameras/lenses, offered an array of studio products, and some unique photography accessories.  I enjoyed spending time at their shop.  Their sales personnel were very knowledgeable and often spent time answering my questions.  I purchased my DSLRs from them.  

Recently, I had the chance to visit another camera shop, Ace Photo.  I had read their ads and visited their website a few times.  I thought this shop would be similar to Penn.  Was I wrong!  As I walked inside this shop, I was immediately drawn into the nostalgia feeling.  The shop had a "mom and pop" feeling.  Nothing fancy, except they had a lot to offer for a photographer.  They carried the latest camera models as well as used/refurbished and vintage cameras.  

I spent quite a bit of time at this shop.  I met a very knowledgeable sales person who answered all my questions.  Ace Photo is now my favorite camera shop.  Their inventory is probably the best I've seen for a brick and mortar store.  Their selection is better than B&H Photo Video in NYC.  

One area of the shop that really intrigued me was their camera bags.  They carried a big selection of Tamrac, Lowepro, Think Tank, Kata, Domke, JillE, Tenba, Crumpler, Canon, Nikon, Bower, Vanguard, Clikelite, etc.  I'm sure there were a few others I might have missed.  

Camera bags galore!  (Picture by Ace Photo)

Yes, I did spend some wonderful time here.  Time well spent.  

Simple Flash Techniques with My D7000 and SB-600

Photography is art.  When I look through my camera's viewfinder, I'm looking for art.  The camera is my tool.  I can adjust the zoom, aperture, shutter speed, and produce something creative.  Something of my own.

A tool that I use with my camera is an external flash.  This changes the mood, light, and colors I see.

The Nikon SB-600 flash is a great all around external flash to use.  I've used it with my D40, D5000, and D7000 cameras.  While the SB-600 feels cumbersome and bulky on my D40, it feels well balanced with my D7k.

What's included with the SB-600?  A plastic flash stand to mount on a tripod and use as a slave flash, a soft case, and a sliding diffuser that's built into the flash head.

The accessories I've purchased for my SB-600 include a StoFen Diffuser and a Gary Fong Lightsphere (Cloud).  Both products work well.  When I use my flash, I always have the StoFen attached.  It softly diffuses the harsh projected light.  I've experimented with the GF Lightsphere and use it primarily for portraits and taking pictures of flowers.  It's best used for up close pictures.

The first year I had my SB-600, I used the flash straight on.  I didn't know any better.  I noticed huge shadows appeared behind my subjects.  I also noticed a lot of red-eyes.  As you can imagine, a lot of my pictures were blown out.  The flash was too bright...even with the flash exposure set to 0.  It was frustrating.  I didn't like my pictures.



Sto-Fen Diffuser:

I started doing some research and noticed a lot of photographers were using diffusers.  That's when I bought this Sto-Fen Diffuser made for the SB-600.  It sits over the flash head and diffuses/spreads the light over a wider surface area.  It lessons the shadows (some are still there but not as pronounced) and softens the light on the subject.  I was happy with the results I was getting, but I was still getting some red-eyes.

I then played around with the flash head.  Moving it straight up to bounce off the ceiling.  Moving it around (swiveling on the base) and point the flash head behind me towards a wall.  Bouncing the flash reduces the harsh light directed at the subject.  I'm not a technical person when it comes to photography.  If one is interested in knowing the technical aspects of external flashes and the bounce techniques, I would research this on Google.

This is my typical flash setup with the flash head pointed slightly upwards

I used this setup when I take portrait pictures and I turn the camera sideways

When I don't want a lot of flash (softer light), I will bounce the flash behind me towards a wall or ceiling

After experimenting with the movements of the flash head, I noticed something else was missing or lacking in my pictures.  Sometimes the flash was still too bright.  I've learned to play with the adjustments right on the flash itself.  While my camera exposure remains at 0 (zero), I've learned to tweak the flash settings.  Many times I've been inside a dark house, room, or church setting and the flash pushes out immense light...even when bouncing off the walls or ceiling.  I've learned to adjust the flash exposure down.  Typically for portraits and still life, I will adjust the flash down to -0.7.

My typical external flash settings I use.  I press the "-" button until I get to -0.7

When I take pictures of my artwork, the -0.7 setting on my flash will produce a harsh glare on my paintings.  I've had to adjust the flash down further to -1.0 and sometimes -1.3.  

Again, press the "-" button until I get to -1.0

If I just want some soft lighting, I will go all the way down to -2.0.  

Pressing the "-" to get to -2.0 for just some soft lighting from the flash

All this depends on how far away you are standing from your subjects.  The settings above are good for distances of 5-10 feet from your subject.  If you are further away, you will need to up the flash exposure...possibly going up to +0.7 or even +1.0.  I hardly ever have to go in the + side of exposure.


Note:  pictures were taken with my Nikon D40 and SB-400 external flash:

My 4 year old D40 used to take the pictures for this post.  It's my back up camera.  This camera has taken over 15,000 pictures and still produces beautiful colors!

Low Light Photography

While I've enjoyed taking low light pictures using my Nikon D5000, the camera itself didn't have a wow factor. I've been spoiled with the wow factor I get when I use my Nikon D40. My D40 is still an awesome camera with limited capabilities.

So what did I do? I sold my D5000 and bought a new D7000. I'm still in the playing phase with this new camera. I wanted to share some pictures with no flash. Yes, I was in the kitchen while I was experimenting in this photo session. I was waiting for my banana bread to finish baking in the oven. I shot in P-mode with auto settings. I wanted to see the results...kind of like baselining before I start to tweak. Notice the ISO settings in the following pictures.

King Arthur Flour (52mm, 1/30, F4.8, ISO 1800):



A bottle of vanilla extract (120mm, 1/30, F5.3, ISO 2000):



My lunch bag (135mm, 1/20, F5.6, exp +0.7, ISO 6400):



This D7000 has been touted for it's low light capabilities. So far, I'm sold.

It’s Cold Outside…Fingerless Gloves!

You’ve heard me mention before that I use photography to capture and record my other hobbies like knitting.  Well, I’ve managed to use my knitting skills to knit up a pair of fingerless gloves.  These gloves come in handy during the times I’m outside taking pictures in the cold weather.  With the gloves being fingerless, I can still grip my camera and access all the buttons and take a picture without having to worry that the camera will slip through my hand. 

My new gloves will keep my hands warm while I’m capturing my Kodak moments. 

Oh, I can also use them at work while I’m typing in my cold office. 

A Test Post Using Windows Live Writer

Testing-1-2-3.  This is a test post.  I’m trying out Windows Live Writer to see if this really works.  WLW is suppose to allow me to write my posts offline (complete with pictures, videos, hyperlinks, etc), save it local to my hard drive, and then publish my post when I have Internet access.  How cool is that? 

Okay, so this has nothing to do with photography.  It does have something to do with having a cool tool that allows me to write my photography posts, collect my thoughts, pictures, etc whenever I want and then post when I’m ready. 

After spending 10 minutes with this program and writing this post, I have uncovered a cool feature, I can set the date of when this post will appear.  To document today’s date for this post, it’s Friday, October 29th.  I’ve set the post date to be yesterday’s date, Thursday.  We’ll see if this function really works. 

I can add bullet points like why I think WLW is a handy tool:

• intuitive to use
• picking a date for the post
• inserting hyperlink, pictures, or videos
• spell checker

Now I need to figure out if I can use WLW for updating my other blogs.  Will post back the results. 

Busy Photog Week

Last week was a busy week for me. Photography-wise. From Monday through Friday, in the evenings, I headed over to my church to take pictures of our VBS (Vacation Bible School) activities.

Monday started out hot and humid and we had to deal with the rain towards the end of VBS.







Tuesday brought the winds and we had to deal with holding on to the tents. We gave up and dismantled them for safety reasons. We all headed over to the church for indoor activities, but not before the rain drenched some of us.








My DH ran the brick making shop. The kids had a ball mixing the soil, straw and water and placed the mixture in their molds:








Here are additional pictures from the remainder of the week:













All in all, I had a good photography week. Took over 300 pictures between my D5000 and S90 and a few from my iPhone.