Thanks. I had a great time, no matter the rain and lens condensation.
No photo is attached because you can imagine a blank screen.
Using a Nikon D810 set at ISO 100 to attempt an interesting photo of a parking lot used by Bartram Trail hikers in Macon County, NC, I shot most with a Nikon 24-70 lens @ f11 mounted on a Gitzo 5533L tripod. The RRS BH-55 ball head gripped the RRS L-plate. An attached Leofoto DA-1 cable anchor held the Nikon MC-30A shutter release cable.
After the rain started, I sat in my truck for a few minutes, finally realizing all the gear was either impervious to water or weather sealed. I set up again, holding a small umbrella in my right hand over my head and camera. I used my left to operate the shutter release, zoom the lens, and adjust the angle.
Climbing up a small embankment above a ditch was the greatest physical challenge. It allowed my favorite shots, framing the parking lot, which now had another vehicle beside mine, with low hanging branches above the hiking trail.
After the rain stopped, I moved back across the road to capture the foreground, lot, mountains, and darkened clouds with my Nikon 16-35mm f4 lens. My newest, purchased last summer, it had been used perhaps a dozen times, most recently in two old houses for sale by the land trust for which I was volunteering today.
All I saw was a blank screen. Since the D810 is a single lens reflex, I reflected that its optical system could not have an electronic problem like the newer mirrorless cameras. Was something weird occurring because of its electrical contacts to the camera? As a journalism major whose technology stalled beyond Home Repairs Merit Badge, all I knew to do was turn off the camera; remove the lens; and reconnect it carefully.
Still a blank screen. No wait, I could see light and dark, just like the field and sky beyond the lens. It was a focus problem.
Manual focus on the lens didn’t change the view. Additionally switching to manual focus on the camera didn’t help either. Hmmm. After using Nikon lenses since 1969, did I finally have a bad lens? Would I have to turn to Ugly Hedgehoggers for help? Send it off to Melville, NY for some Covid-extended time? Was it still in the warranty period?
I tried the 24-70 again. It worked perfectly, convincing me that the lens was the culprit.
Then I saw the problem. Like the polarizing filter I'd held in the sun earlier, the rear element of the 16-35 had condensation.
That girl I met in the fourth grade has great trouble sleeping and sets the thermostat to 65F to help. My D810 and the 24-70 mounted on it had ridden the 16 miles around my neck. Nothing else did.
Once dry, the 16-35 worked perfectly.
I laughed at myself--yet another example of how, despite all that splendid gear, I am not a professional. But as usual, I had fun! I hope the photos work for the land trust, too. And maybe I'll remember to put my camera bag in the truck hours earlier. Maybe.
Nikon D810 w 24-70 since adding a used D810 last year.
In 2018, a D610 w 24-70 met my needs during a week long family vacation in the Netherlands. It was all I was willing to carry for more than 50 miles (according to FitBit). It captured enough data for a few tight crops. The two 20x30s printed on canvas are acceptable. Mainly, I see the pick on a large screen TV. I gave each kid an album of 4x6s, my favorite 250!
In 2015 on a Rhine cruise with side trips, about 95% of my 5000+ were with a D7100 and the 18-200 lens. Took so many because by the time something captured my attention, our bus had passed it. The 18-200 was too slow and so I used a 50mm 1.8 with max speed on the motor drive. Deleted most overnight, but got keepers I couldn’t have captured otherwise. A 12-24 was useful in some splendid cathedrals.
So for 2018, I anticipated the overwhelming number sights would likely fit in the 24-70 range and 2.8 would be fast enough for shots when moving on a bus or train.
If I could do 2015 over, I’d be tempted to take a 24-70 and 80-200 since security was not the issue I imagined.
Excellent photos of a most interesting place. I’d love to see more. Do you have a website or could you post Machu Picchu 2?
Often I just see something and think “That looks like a picture.”
Sometimes it may tell a story, document, or just strike my fancy. I wouldn’t put on any mental shackles.
Looking at older photos, I am occasionally surprised by how good one looks and other times, wonder why I took that! But nowadays, there’s no cost to taking more.
After an $82 repair for my $126 first 35mm camera, I bought a Nikon FTn and always wear use a neck strap. That’s because I realized my innate clumsiness was here to stay!
You’ve hit the place where I opted for a second body and never looked back. Last year I bought 2 new D7200s for our sons for about $800 and a used low mileage one for me for $600 or so. Perfect companion with my D7100.
For what it’s worth, when gear syndrome hits me or I have a clear legitimate need, I try to remember “The image is the object.”
You’ve hit the place where I opted for a second body and never looked back. Last year I bought 2 new D7200s for our sons for about $800 and a used low mileage one for me for $600 or so. Perfect companion with my D7100.
For what it’s worth, when gear syndrome hits me or I have a clear legitimate need, I try to remember “The image is the object.”
As a native, who now lives in cooler WNC, I suggest taking a tour from the visitor center and history museum on MLK Boulevard. That’s the main visitor info place. The Old Town Trolly map route looks good. That’ll cover more ground more easily and help identify places you might want to revisit. Some tours allow you to get off as long as you like, boarding a subsequent vehicle.
Aside from the usual and wonderful places listed above, I suggest traveling Bull Street from city hall to at least the library. That’ll hit a lot of highlights. A favorite of mine is the Gingerbread House, built in Steamboat Gothic style by Cord Asendorf (sp?). When I talked with his son sitting on its front porch, it didn’t have a spec of paint. That would have been around 1958.
You might find it helpful to have a good map and a guidebook. If you know someone there, they could run by the visitors center for all manner of maps, guides, and brochures. Visit Savannah.com has an excellent assembly of photos and articles past all the Covid preamble stuff.
Enjoy your trip!
Needmore Road between Macon and Swain counties.
US 64 west Franklin to Murphy and on to Hanging Dog.
US 64 East from FRANKLIN to Hendersonville.
My riding around car bag has a D7100 and D7200. The latter with a 16-80 gets 90% of the use. I shoot when stopped or after I get out. An 80-200 is also in the bag. A small Gitzo tripod is in the back seat.
For my 2 cents, I suggest seeing how it works to take just one camera and lens. That’s probably what I should do, too.
Getting ready for a Rhine cruise in 2015, I thought through combinations, including a new camera. Grounding myself with the thought, “the image is the object” I took a Nikon D7100 w 18-200 lens (I know, I know) used mainly at f8 or 11. Inside 3 cathedrals, I used a 12-24. On bus rides, a 50mm 1.8. Little SB400 bounced off a few ceilings. I took about 5000 shots in 10 days. Lots of those were with continuous high speed shutter after I realized I wasn’t fast enough to identify something to shoot before the bus passed it by!
Conclusion: I am very pleased with the 500 photos in an album and enjoy seeing them on a 65” TV. Every time I run through them some interesting, previously missed detail pops out. Knowing what I know now, I’d have used the 2018 kit below.
In 2018 we spent a week in the Netherlands. Still thinking “the image is the object,” and not wanting to carry a big bag, I opted for a D610 with 24-70 f2.8. For me, it was perfect, allowing cropping when I wanted a tighter image. I used a 20mm in one cathedral. Apart from lots of public transportation, we walked just over 50 miles that week according to my FitBit.
If I could redo both trips, I’d take my new-to-me D810 with 24-70 and that old 20mm D lens. Just because of the cost differences, I’d still opt for the D7200 with 16-80 in my truck.
Finally, I’ve given away a D100 and two D200s with all but two D lenses. But, I still have two FTns, FM, and FE and assorted lenses. My plan is to offer them to our 3 kids as bookends or bookshelf decor.
My riding around car bag has a D7100 and D7200. The latter with a 16-80 gets 90% of the use. I shoot when stopped or after I get out. An 80-200 is also in the bag. A small Gitzo tripod is in the back seat.
For my 2 cents, I suggest seeing how it works to take just one camera and lens. That’s probably what I should do, too.
Getting ready for a Rhine cruise in 2015, I thought through combinations, including a new camera. Grounding myself with the thought, “the image is the object” I took a Nikon D7100 w 18-200 lens (I know, I know) used mainly at f8 or 11. Inside 3 cathedrals, I used a 12-24. On bus rides, a 50mm 1.8. Little SB400 bounced off a few ceilings. I took about 5000 shots in 10 days. Lots of those were with continuous high speed shutter after I realized I wasn’t fast enough to identify something to shoot before the bus passed it by!
Conclusion: I am very pleased with the 500 photos in an album and enjoy seeing them on a 65” TV. Every time I run through them some interesting, previously missed detail pops out. Knowing what I know now, I’d have used the 2018 kit below.
In 2018 we spent a week in the Netherlands. Still thinking “the image is the object,” and not wanting to carry a big bag, I opted for a D610 with 24-70 f2.8. For me, it was perfect, allowing cropping when I wanted a tighter image. I used a 20mm in one cathedral. Apart from lots of public transportation, we walked just over 50 miles that week according to my FitBit. And this time, I’m pleased with 250 prints in an album.
If I could redo both trips, I’d take my new-to-me D810 with 24-70 and that old 20mm D lens. Just because of the cost differences, I’d still opt for the D7200 with 16-80 in my truck.
Finally, I’ve given away a D100 and two D200s with all but two D lenses. But, I still have two FTns, FM, and FE and assorted lenses. My plan is to offer them to our 3 kids as bookends or bookshelf decor.
I made similar photos with my D7200 after deciding to try HDR, high dynamic range, the first time. I needed to use a tripod and didn’t know it. From what I read afterwards, I imagine my D810 would behave similarly. Hope your problem is that simple!
Over years in a darkish church, my most useful tools were a tripod, shutter release, ISO experiments, and sitting on the first or second row. A 2.8 lens is useful wide open if it’s limited depth of field works for the photo. About half the time I needed f5.6. Best solution was voting for the budget with significantly improved lighting!