I agree with Nikonian. Those circles should not be there. They are one of the problems people experience when using mirror lenses. One of the reasons that mirror lenses didn't make it big in the photography field.

I would like to comment on another problem I see. Develope the habit of looking all around the frame before hitting the trigger. It will help you avoid distracting things in the background. In the head shot of the young man, I saw a huge patch of light sky on his left side. Light or white objects draw the eye and can be very distracting.

Missing this kind of thing happens because we have a brain. The brain picks out a few things about the scene or person we are photographing, it says, "Ah, yes, I know that person, or whatever" and then it dumps the rest. So we sometimes don't notice things we would rather not have in our pics. The camera, however does not have a brain so it faithfully records EVERYTHING in front of it. In my younger years I would get pics of people who looked like a moose or deer. How so? There would be a branch from a nearby tree or bush that was right behind the head and looked like antlers growing from their skull.

It takes practice, but try to get into the habit of NEVER pushing the shutter button without starting at the top left corner and going all the way around the frame with a good look before you shoot.

BTW, I love your composition in the third pic you posted.

Hey Rocco,
Thanks for the link to the ACLU article. I printed a copy to carry with me too. Very practical.
Thnx again,
nikon_jon

I would agree with the comment that cameras don't get in the way of good law enforcement, but sometimes photographers do. I worked almost 10 years as a photojournalist and saw photographers sometimes get in bad situations with police officers. Remember if you cooperate, they can make your job easier.

I have seen young graduates from college courses in photojournalism strutting around a wreck scene with the attitude that nobody can stop them. What they overlook is, all first amendments rights aside, when there is a wreck or crime scene, that particular little piece of real estate belongs to that investigating officer and you are at his mercy as to how close you can get to the scene.

Here is another factor. If it is private property, you have no assumed rights to be there. One night in the news room, we heard on the police scanner that there was a fire inside the local Walmart. The editor sends me out with my trusty Nikon. When I get there, guess what? The Walmart people will not let me through the door. It is private property, after all, and they are within their rights to bar photographers if they want to.

Here,s a tip. Do you have a good working relationship with police and other emergency officials? It surely does help. The fire dept. captain on the scene knew me and that I was working for the local paper. He told the Walmart people that he needed pics of the damage and guess what. I got in.

So if you are at a 'scene' and the ones in charge don't want you near the action, give them a break. If they see that you are cooperative they can be helpful. Over the years, I got to know most of the police, city, county and state, well enough that they would allow me onto any wreck or crime scene. But I can guarantee you that I stayed out of their way and that makes a big difference. I am sorry, but fresh out of college, you haven't had time to cultivate that relationship.

For portrait applications I like the Fuji S Pro series. There are the original S Pro 1, the S Pro 2 (I Have one of those and love the color renditions) and the series goes up to numbers 5 or 6 by now. They are a little pricey, but considered one of the best 35mm style digitals for use in a studio.

Early models were battery eaters, but most users left them in a studio on a tripod and hooked up to an AC adapter, so battery was not a serious concern. I haven't read anything about how the newer models are on battery usage. A lot of early digitals of all brands went through batteries at a pretty good clip, but most have conquered that problem.

Do a net search on Fuji's super ccd and you will learn why they are so popular for portrait photography. They take Nikon lenses, so the optics are going to be excellent. I am a complete and thorough 'Nikon snob' so when another manufacturer gets my "good" attention, it has to be something special.

I think I am going to like this site. I have been involved in photography since I was 14 yrs old, now 65. I started with a Kodak Brownie that used 620 roll film. I saved and bought my first darkroom kit and covered up my mothers kitchen windows at night and made contact prints. My first 'sort of serious' 35mm camera was a Kodak Pony 35. It had some limited controls and I loved the 35mm because of the amount of shots that could be done on a single roll of film. But then, I had to get more serious about a darkroom because 35mm contact prints are just too small to bother with.

As the years passed, I have done studio work with a Mimiya RB67, and shot weddings and sports teams with Hasselblad and Roleiflex cameras. Worked for a total of about 10 years for two daily papers in northeast Arkansas. I loved the journalistic photography best. It taught me a lot about using existing light and still getting a good shot. It was at the newspapers that I got personally acquainted with Nikons and, sorry, to all you folks who use and like other brands, I am a true 'Nikon snob'. I truly don't even want to look at anything else.

I was a film 'hold-out' and started shooting digital only about 3 years ago. Bought a Nikon D80 and love it. I have since gotten a used D70 for my wife and I like it too (so does she).

I am looking forward to being a part of this photo community.