"F" is for Feast...Nikon F at The Feast of the Hunter's Moon

<p> The Feast of the Hunter's Moon is a reenactment held at Fort Ouiatenon, three miles outside of Lafayette, Indiana. It is a recreation of pioneer life in this part of the country and usually focuses on a particular range of years from the mid-1700s to the very early 1800s. This year's focus was centered around the 1770s. Fort Ouiatenon was originally built by the government of New France to prevent the British from moving westward. It was a trading destination for French fur traders from Quebec who traded with the Wea Indians who lived in this area. It became one of the most successful trading posts in the region and at one time supported as many as 3000 people. New France surrendered to the British in September 1760 and the British took over the fort in 1761. In 1763 though, the Wea, Kickapoo, and Mascouten tribes took the fort from the British. The Indians used the fort as a base from which to attack Americans moving westward, but in 1791 President George Washington ordered the fort to be destroyed, and it was burned down.<br>

The current fort is a replica built by a local physician in the 1930s, but isn't an accurate reproduction and is actually located about a mile from the actual site of the original. These days it is the main structure at the park and is a museum that houses authentic items from the original fort. The Feast of the Hunter's Moon is a huge event held at the beginning of October each year, and is attended by people from all over the Midwest. The participants are all dressed in authentic costumes, most of which are home-made, and use authentic tools, musical instruments, and weapons. It is a literal feast of color, smells, sounds, and music. Fife and Drum corps march while performing music from this time period, putting on very impressive displays. There are also equally as impressive weapons displays ranging from authentic muskets to cannons, and displays of weapons and dances by the Native American participants.<br>

I've been to The Feast several times in the past, but this time I thought that in addition to using my digital gear, I'd take my Nikon F and put it through its paces. Mine is the F with a standard prism, so I did all of my metering with my 7D. This worked well most of the time, but when the action picked up or when participants were moving quickly I sometimes forgot to adjust my settings. As a result, several of my pictures were a bit darker than what I wanted, but I considered it to be a learning experience with the F. My lens of choice was the Nikkor-S 50/1.4 which is a very sharp lens. This combo handles beautifully and is a great pleasure to use. The F feels like a very solid camera and when I use it I often think about how much of our world was captured in pictures taken by these cameras. Anyway, enough chatter...here is a picture of the camera and some shots from the 2010 Feast of the Hunter's Moon.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #1--Canoe on the Wabash. This canoe was taking part in a canoe relay race, an interesting spectacle to watch!</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #2--Camp. These folks, along with hundreds of others, lived in these tents from Wednesday through the event's conclusion on Sunday evening!</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #3--A meeting of minds. Just an example of the colorful and authentic costumes on display.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #4--Keeping watch. Another superb costume.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #5--Living Quarters.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #6--the blacksmith's apprentice. This was a detailed demonstration of how 'blacksmithing' was done 200+ years ago.</p><div></div>

<p>Shot #7--The beautiful Wabash River.</p><div></div>

<p>As usual these were shot on Fuji Superia X-Tra 400. As I said earlier, a number of them were underexposed and a couple had to be adjusted to bring out detail, specifically "The Apprentice" in this series, which accounts for the extra graininess. I really enjoy using the F and since it's loaded again, hopefully I'll have more shots from this classic to share. Thanks for looking!</p>

<p>Wow, we certainly don't have anything like this here! Love the pictures, and love that F, which always looks classy with the standard prism. I'm always amazed at how bright the viewfinders are in the old F, certainly one of the all time great cameras.<br>

With the 50mm 1.4 attached this is areal classic combo.</p>

<p>What a lovely F! Beautiful condition, and the non-metering prism looks sleek. Nice pics, too. The last two are particularly cool.</p>

<p>With B&W negatives, I find I can generally do okay just guesstimating LVs and mentally calculating exposures accordingly, but with color that's a bit trickier, especially since I favor color slide film. Right now I'm trying out a roll of Sensia (which I've never used before; I typically use Velvia) in my F2, which, fortunately, has a meter.</p>

<p>Great sharpenss with these pictures. Thanks for posting.</p>

<p>According to Tony,<br>

<em>"Wow, we certainly don't have anything like this here!"</em></p>

<p>Most educated Yanks will tell you that North America got the puritans, but Australia lucked out and got the convicts.<em><br /></em></p>

<p>Not actually true; New England got the puritans; the American South got convicts. Though it's possible Australia got the worst ones, if that makes you feel any better.</p>

<p>according to Craig:<br>

<em>"Not actually true; New England got the puritans; the American South got convicts. Though it's possible Australia got the worst ones, if that makes you feel any better."</em></p>

<p>I don't understand why this should make me feel better. My comment was intended to imply that I will take convicts over fundamentalists any time anywhere.<em> </em></p>

<p>In any case, most of the convicts probably came from debtors' prisons<em>,</em> and their only crime was being poor.<em><br /></em></p>

<p>according to Craig:<br>

<em>"Not actually true; New England got the puritans; the American South got convicts. Though it's possible Australia got the worst ones, if that makes you feel any better."</em></p>

<p>I don't understand why this should make me feel better. My comment was intended to imply that I will take convicts over fundamentalists any time anywhere.<em> </em></p>

<p>In any case, most of the convicts probably came from debtors' prisons<em>,</em> and their only crime was being poor.<em><br /></em></p>

<p>Beyoootiful camera, Andy, and superb quality from that fine lens. What a lovely setting, and such a spectacular occasion. The Fuji Superia Xtra 400 packs a bit more punch than the Fuji 200 I usually use in terms of contrast, and it suits this series very well. Thanks for a fine post. And, just to spring to the defence of those of us from down-under, give me the convicts over the puritans, any day! After all, we Kiwi's sprang from whalers and sealers and remittance men, too...</p>

<p>Great photos Andy with natural colors. The event and atmosphere look super cool. I also like the beautiful sprawling Wabash which looks majestic in your photo. Did the leaves start to change by you yet?<br>

Your Nikon F looks beautiful especially that plain desirable prism. I just got one as well with the photomic head, from KEH for $59. I also added a Micro-Nikkor 55mm f3.5 for another $27 and was quite happy with the condition of the equipment when they arrived, even though listed in bargain condition. KEH is great, most of the time.</p>

<p>Enjoyed the pictures and the camera.</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

<p>Wonderful series Andy, as you say a <strong>F</strong>east for the eyes.<br>

First thing I noticed were the sunglasses in "Meeting of the Minds" hahaha. Nice and authentic! ;) Apart from that looks like everyone made a great effort to dress up for the event.<br>

The Nikon F certainly looks like a capable shooter.</p>

<p>A week ago I had the pleasure of spending a weekend in a WW1 communication dug out as a Doughboy at the "Living/Long Live History" festival. A multi period event with re-enactors ranging from Romans to the Vietnam war. I saw a couple of folks in 18th century attire; Including some of our group who were dressed as Highway men (and 'robbed' members of the public). Good fun.</p>

Did the apprentice really build a fire in a wooden box?

<p>Excellent photo-essay, Andy. Nicely done images and great informative prose. Always good to read about cool cameras but even better when I get a glimpse into a world I hadn't seen before. </p>

<p>One of my favorite camera/lens combo. Esp. like the first pic. Thanks for the post.</p>

<p>Excellent pictures Andy! Thanks for the post. sp.</p>

<p>Andy,</p>

<p>Beautiful camera and you have done a great job in capturing this reenactment.</p>

<p>As to the sunglasses in "A Meeting of the Minds";</p>

<p>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasses</p>

<p>It does seem possible if somewhat improbable. </p>