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Don't know what these are, but make for an amusing shot. Looking at the belly fur in the right panel, this one would have been a little better if exposure bias was set at -0.7 instead of -0.3. Still not a bad effect, especially the one on the left...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/10, 1/400 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
Our friend appears to have taken notice of the camera...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
Giraffes must be the coolest animals on the planet. At the Houston Zoo they are now in the African Forest exhibit, which includes a place for visitors to feed them ($5 for three pieces of lettuce). We weren't able to get that in, but did manage to get some shots of these guys up close.
We were walking along the edge of the enclosure when I saw this character reaching over for a blade of grass. The photo was snapped in haste, so had to rotate and do some other things to make it presentable. By sheer luck the shadows happened to parallel the angle of its neck...something I didn't even notice until post-capture.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This was taken on our way to the giraffe exhibit...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This is the cassowary - a mean, mean bird with a beauty of its own.
Could not get away from the fence in this one. However, the camera was close enough to blur it out almost completely so long as the bird was in focus. If you look closely, there is a diagonal wire coming in from the upper-left, through the beak and on to the lower-right corner. Another comes up to intersect it just below the beak.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-400, f/10, 1/400 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
Fences, netting and bars are the bane of the zoo photographer. Many zoos have moved to more open exhibit areas, but the Houston Zoo has a ways to go yet. Due to its color and the position of its eye, this one turned out decent in spite of the fence...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-400, f/7.1, 1/200 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
One of the first pictures that persuaded me to take photography on as a hobby was captured at the New Orleans Zoo, at the time one of the best zoos in the country (don't know about post-Katrina). In fact, it was one of the first photographs that I printed and put up in my cubicle back in 2002. The subject was a group of flamingos in the distance, reflected in a large pond of water.
However, in my perfectionist leanings I was distressed to find that it was slightly over-exposed, the backs of many of the birds washed out, replacing the pink that would have been there with white. I had just purchased Photoshop Elements 2.0, but still could not salvage the picture to my satisfaction.
Thus, I was very pleased to have learned a thing or two about shutter priority and exposure compensation before encountering this flock last week at the Houston Zoo, and to have the Big Cahoona with me that can handle those parameters with ease. Sure can't claim this to be pro-level pic, but the color and detail are preserved thanks to a step-down of exposure plus shutter speed of 1/500th of a second.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/11, 1/500 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This was also taken in the enclosure...down on my knees holding my friend as steady as I could.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-800, f/4.8, 1/8 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
The incredible beauty and variety of God's creatures is astounding.
This and the following posting were taken in the large enclosure that leads up to the indoor tropical bird displays (where the previous two were captured). I thought it was going to be a bonanza of an opportunity, but discovered that it was still too dark to be totally carefree. In fact, only a handful of pictures were taken in this area due to slow shutter speeds caused by the constraints of the lens on the Big Cahoona. Flash did help in some, but I'm a long way from mastering the usage of even the built-in that is featured on the D300.
I have a friend named Ed that traded his slower glass for a nice, new 600mm job that let in a whole lot more light, and can now see why...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-800, f/5.6, 1/30 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This little guy for some reason needed a lot of tweaking. Didn't have to crop in so much, but color adjustment became an issue...desaturated all of it about 20%, then just the reds another 15.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-800, f/5.3, 1/40 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This past Saturday was perfect for going to the zoo, so took my daughter; it was a rare cool and crisp day in Houston.
Naturally I brought the Big Cahoona - my new Nikon D300s. I'm a bit more comfortable with the controls now, so shot with more confidence, without any major mistakes. Aware of the limitations of the lens, extra care was taken to check for ISO and exposure compensation whenever conditions changed.
This beauty was captured in the tropical bird house. Most of the birds were behind glass, so positioning to avoid reflections was a first concern. Sacrificing sharpness in order to fully expose coloration, the exposure compensation was set at -1/3 stop instead of -2/3, which is pretty much what I use by default now. Since the sensor in the Big Cahoona can safely handle a higher ISO, a setting of 800 was used since we were indoors. Detail was beautifully preserved in spite of the fact that this is a fairly cropped-in shot.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-800, f/5.6, 1/15 sec
Photo taken 02/12/11 by Jim Mahood
This - the last of this year's Renaissance postings - was taken on our way out. To manipulate depth of field I stood some distance from the flowers and zoomed all the way in. Shutter priority was used because the background was darker, in addition to setting exposure compensation at -2/3 step. Most times I would begrudge a bright and sunny day for taking pictures, but in this case the shadows provided a contrast that enhanced the colors of the subject...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/8, 1/400 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Aside from being cropped in just a little, this shot did not require any post-capture work. Got lucky on the bee...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
This shot, which is way cropped in, is significant in that it is the first time I've been able to capture a bee in flight. The bee itself wasn't entirely in focus, so had to give it a high dose of Unsharp Mask, then clone out the ghosting of the legs and abdomen.
To get a perspective of how much it was cropped in, the picture below is where it came from...a testament to the incredible resolution the D300 has to offer. In fact, this shot exemplifies one of the major reasons the D300 was chosen over the D700: the literature said the 300 was better for cropped-in shots, as the pixels are closer together.
But it's funny how, even though there are 12 megapixels at my disposal, I'm lusting for more, wondering how much better a full-frame sensor with 48 MP would be. Someone warned me about that...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Our hawk is up in that tree somewhere - an excellent lesson on the reasons for the coloration on its underside...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/6.3, 1/160 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Took a picture of this same bird last year. Being able to predict what would happen, I positioned myself in anticipation of this shot..._________________________
Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/5.6, 1/100 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
As can be seen here and in the previous posting, great care is taken to preserve an atmosphere of medieval beauty...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/6.3, 1/160 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Now for some of the "other-than-people" shots of the Festival. This is from the courtyard upon entering the gates. I took the liberty of removing a security camera from above the lighted window, in addition to a utility pole in front of the pine trees behind the structure. The shadows were lightened 20%.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/5.6, 1/125 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
It was bright and sunny, so the biggest challenge of the day was shadows and uneven exposure. The Active D-Lighting was set on "Auto" in the Big Cahoona, which helps a little bit, but even so had to get creative in post-capture.
You just have to admire - if not envy - folks like this guy that make their living in a fantasy world. Unfortunately for some, I am told, it's not so much a fantasy as an alternate reality; when it comes time to pack it up for the season they do not want to leave...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/5.6, 1/80 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Even though the zoom in this case brought the subject fairly close, the background is awfully busy. To compensate for that the greens and yellows were reduced by a full 50%...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/8, 1/250 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
_________________________Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/7.1, 1/200 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
There were some leaves and other distracting objects on the windowsill, so they were removed from this shot. It brings great satisfaction to not only be able to lighten shadows, darken highlights, adjust color, and myriad other adjustments to make the picture look better technically, but also to literally remove objects to make it cleaner compositionally.
In the shot below, I was lucky to get the entire group of ribbons against the dark blue of the curtains...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
This is a cropped-in shot from the same show of the previous two postings. Because it is closer-in, many of the spots and stains in the curtains stood out, and had to be removed. Again, the shadows were lightened a bit to bring out the curtain color, and midtone contrast was increased to make the bubbles stand out, as they are supposed to be the focus of the picture.
Last night my wife told me of a friend that she loves to listen to, as this friend can bring out the joy in the simplest of life experiences. Is that not true also of photography? I believe so. Some of the best pictures ever taken are of candid experiences (human or animal), many of them encountered by accident. Or even an inanimate object, which is captured in its purposed place and time. Those of us who can see - and share - these moments and objects are blessed indeed.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
I was standing in the far back of the audience, zooming in all the way to get what these guys were doing. At ISO 200 the exposure time was 1/320 seconds. The curtains for this capture as well as the next few looked almost black, so lightened the shadows a bit on all of them...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
_________________________Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/9, 1/320 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
These guys made the perfect Mario Brothers. I was a little more careful this year about pictures of spectators and audience members. The performers and regulars relished having their pictures taken and would spontaneously pose any time a camera pointed in their direction. With others - and especially kids - it is necessary to exercise careful judgment...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/6.3, 1/160 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
Catching the right moments during a show was a bit easier with the Big Cahoona, thanks to its higher burst rate. Also, thanks to the high resolution sensor it is possible to crop way in and make a decent shot-within-a-shot. In fact, this is one of the reasons I chose the D300s over the D700...the pixels are closer together, therefore cropped-in shots appear sharper.
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/6.3, 1/160 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
In 2009 we went to the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville, when I used the Fujifilm 7000 and posted favorites from April 8 - May 5, 2010. Back in October we went again, this time bringing the Big Cahoona. I didn't feel that the pics would turn out as well, but was surprised at being able to keep a couple dozen good enough for posting in this blog.
I did have to throw away a vast majority, as the exposure compensation was set on the wrong side of zero and most were too bright. Once I discovered my mistake things started to look up.
I will begin by posting the myriad characters - from the "regulars" such as this guy, to some of the performers, to the spectators that dress the part - that make up the odd culture of folks that participate in the festival. This being only our second year to attend, it was still unique and fresh enough to be interesting. The bright and varied colors everywhere made for some good photography. On top of that, we brought some folks fresh from Taiwan, and it's always interesting to see how Asians react to the sights and sounds and oddities that are seen everywhere...
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Nikon D300s, AF-S DX Nikkor 18-200 mm F/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
ISO-200, f/4.5, 1/125 sec
Photo taken 10/30/10 by Jim Mahood
This and the previous two postings really are nothing more than copies of art done by someone else. This one, however, is a cut above the other two. This huge mosaic occupies a wall adjacent to a double stairwell in one of the cafeterias. Could not get a good, head-on angle, so made liberal use of the Perspective and Free Transform tools in Photoshop. Thanks to the high resolution possible with the Big Cahoona, each individual tile is clearly delineated from its neighbors when zooming way in.
This is the last posting from our vacation cruise. Now that it's all said and done, was it worth it lugging the Big Cahoona around? I would say yes and no. I learned a few things, and gained some confidence in using some of the adjustments and controls. It was certainly a good sign that the professionals on board were all using the D300. Some of the images turned out fairly well.
On the other hand, my heart sank more than a few times when a companion (my brother-in-law's brother) consistently pulled from his shirt pocket a little bitty point-and-shoot and snapped pictures that had equivalent resolution, better white balance indoors, a much faster lens, and optical zoom capabilities that rivaled the Big Cahoona. Some of his night shots of the ship taken from shore were astounding. All of this with hardly a thought about controls and keeping up with this and that. It would be possible, but I would have to spend a lot more money to buy lenses that can achieve the same results. Several times during this trip I struggled to convince myself that the potential will one day justify six times the money spent on my new friend, once I really learn how to use it.
Then I relaxed a little. After all, that was the purpose of buying the Big Cahoona in the first place! ... to conquer something that has, for me, a steep learning curve. This is a hobby, a distraction from the stresses of job and life in the big city. As such, it is all the camera I will ever need. With that I feel grateful and blessed.
As tradition goes, they had an ice sculpture on the Lido deck. These things are fascinating, and make for good photo opportunities. It was very crowded, so getting a good clean shot was difficult, but did manage to snap a few...
