Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 VR Image Samples
I have been playing with the new Nikon 16-35mm f/4.0 VR lens and I must say, this thing is sweet! The first thing that wondered me when I grabbed the lens, was to see if VR is truly useful on an ultra-wide zoom lens like this. Well, after some quick tests, I must say that VR truly does work the magic!
Take a look at this shot at 1/10th of a second that I shot hand-held in a very dark restaurant:
Nikon 16-35mm f4.0 VR - 17mm, 1/10 @ f/4.0, ISO 3200
Sunset
Too bad the kite surfer got mixed up with the black horizon - otherwise it would have been an OK picture.
I waited for the kite surfer to jump up, but he never did and it seemed like he spent more time in the water, trying to get back on. The sunset though, was beautiful!
Shot with Nikon D700 and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G lens.
Low Light Photography Tips
Low light photography is not necessarily just night photography, as many people assume. There could be different amounts of light coming from various sources and whatever is less than daytime light outside, I consider low-light. Indoors photography without much ambient light (as in many of our homes) as well as the light that is barely visible to our eyes at night, is also considered to be low-light. In this article, I will provide tips on how to take pictures in various low-light environments, whether indoors or outdoors.
Antelope Canyon, 5 second exposure @ f/10, ISO 200
Three levels of low-light
Before we go any further, let's first identify the varying levels of low-light and categorize them, so that we could refer to them in examples. Although it is very hard to categorize the amount of light, due to the fact that it is a long range of light between very bright and pitch black, just for the sake of making it easier to explain and refer to, I still decided to divide it into three categories:
- Visible: in daylight, when you happen to be in shadow areas behind buildings, under large trees or bridges.
- Low Light: after sunset, when you can still clearly see everything around you, but you can tell that it is getting dark or when you are indoors.
- Dark: at night, when you can only see the brightest objects.
How to photograph moon
If you own a DSLR or a point and shoot with an optical zoom, I'm sure that every once in a while you see a beautiful moon and you think about taking a picture of it, especially when the moon is full and beautiful. There are other times when you spot a news announcement about a Lunar Eclipse and you think about capturing the moment, but do not know how to do it right. Or you want to capture the moon together with a foreground object such as a house or a lone tree, but the picture is not coming out right because the moon is much smaller and looks like a white blob. If you had any of these situations or simply want to find out how to take a picture of the moon with a digital camera, then this guide is for you.
October snow in Colorado
It is cold outside and it has been snowing for the last three days now, almost non-stop. I went out after 9 PM today to see if I could get some interesting shots, but came back with bad shots, which I decided to post anyway :)
All images were taken without any flash, using available ambient light.
How to photograph lightning
Photographing a lightning is a dangerous hobby. What most people do not understand, is that lightnings are unpredictable and they could strike down any time, anywhere. At the same time, taking a picture of a lightning storm can be very rewarding, especially if the lightning pattern is unique or the picture is taken at an extraordinary location.
Sunset over mountains
My buddy Sergey and I did a photography tour last weekend. I took over 1500 images and this one was the last of the set, before we returned home:
Astrophotography: taking pictures of stars
By no means I'm anywhere close to being good in astrophotography. In fact, taking good pictures of stars requires expensive telescope equipment with sharp optics mounted on a sturdy tripod, plus an SLR mount to attach a camera. To achieve the best results, modified DSLR cameras with special filters are used by serious astrophotographers.
During our last trip, the night sky was very clear. And since we stayed in a campground, there wasn't any light pollution, which helped seeing the intricate details of the sky. Since I do not have any of the expensive telescope equipment, I used my DSLR with a 24-70mm lens and shot the sky wide open at f/2.8-f/3.2 between 20 to 30 seconds of exposure at ISO 1600.
I really wanted to capture the beauty of the night sky and set my camera on a tripod and shot the following photo of the Milky Way:
Milky Way #1: 24mm, 30 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 1600
Continue reading 'Astrophotography: taking pictures of stars'
January Sunset
Winter in Colorado sometimes produces very colorful sunsets with the entire gamut of colors. This one was so red that it looked like fire lit up the sky...
