Nikkormat at Rolling Thunder 2012

<p>A motorcycle rally Rolling Thunder is held in Washington, DC during the Memorial Day weekend. What began in 1988 with 2,500 participants to seek the government's recognition and protection of Prisoners of War (POWs) and those Missing in Action (MIAs) it has now swelled. There were approximately half a million participants in this annual event. Rolling Thunder is in its 25th anniversary this year. I have tried to capture a glimpse of this event with a Nikkormat FTN with 28mm and 70-210 Vivitar Series 1 lenses. Considering the kind of event I am posting a couple of pictures more than I do usually. Hope this is in order. But nothing equals the experience of seeing this rally and hearing that awesome roar of the engines as they speed past.</p>

 

<p>The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - a black granite wall inscribed with the names of Americans killed or missing in the conflict. Wreaths, flowers, photos and letters at the edge of the wall. Some of the letters are very touching indeed.</p>

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<p>The thunder as it starts to roll down the Constitution Ave, Washington, DC. Used the 28mm lens. This is slightly cropped picture</p>

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<p>A close up of a bunch as they approach the turn.</p>

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<p>Here is a close up of a participant.It was very difficult to find a suitable spot. Also it was impossible to steadily hold a zoom lens being in the crowd.</p>

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<p>The next two are my attempts to show their speed as they roared away. As you can guess I did burn some film here. In the end I did manage some shots</p><div></div>

<p>Waving to the crowd </p>

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<p>The supporters were from all walks of life and they came in large numbers. This lady was waving at every motorcycle as they sped past her.</p>

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<p>Supporters - Friends... colleagues... may be another veteran himself... the atmosphere was simply amazing.</p><div></div>

<p>It was all perhaps summed up by these words ... NEVER FORGET</p>

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<p>This is the customery shot of the camera and lenses used. Film used is Riteaid 400 processed at CVS<br /><br />All comments much appreciated.</p>

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<p>The 70-210mm Vivitar Series 1 can be a challenge for handheld photos of moving subjects. Some photographers like the one-touch zoom/focus ring, but most of us find it difficult to master the art of adjusting the focal length without also losing focus. I like my 70-210/2.8-4, but usually prefer a two-touch zoom or tele prime for handheld use.</p>

<p>You are absolutely right Lex. It was a first time experience for me. I sort of focused and waited for the subject to come into the viewfinder.</p>

 

Great shots and good choice of subject for today. Thanks for posting.

<p>I've done plenty of race car shots with my 75-150mm E series, which is a push pull style. I just prefocus a spot and hold the lens steady as I pan through it. It's way too hard to focus WHILE panning. I have an old Nikon 80-200 f4.5 that is so loose it might be hard to use even prefocusing.</p>

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<p>Like the panning shots. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a different crowd from Sturgis.<br>

The Vivitar Series 1 70-210mm to replace another lost to fungus was one of my first eBay purchases. But that, as they say, is another story. I still like the lens but am fairly used to it, having first bought it around 1971 for use on my Nikkormat FTn. The camera, but not the meter, is still working, so I tend to shoot my other Nikon cameras more.</p>

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<p>I have been mostly using FT2s and an FT3. Last week I sent out a black FTN for service and I hope I will have some fun using it. For now I've decided not to convert it to 1.5 volts. I'll just use it with an MR-9 adapter. The one I sent out is a 'K' model. I have many other FTNs but this is the only 'K' model. I wonder how long Nikon offered the late model FTNs with this screen before changing over to the FT2. I have the same 70-210 now in Konica and Minolta mounts. It's a decent lens. By way of comparison I have the next 70-210 Series 1 in MInolta mount. That's also decent. For some reason I do not enjoy using zoom lenses on my Nikon and Nikkormat cameras. I guess I have a good number of Nikon prime lenses and I like using them. The 28/3.5 H is in my collection but the 28/3.5 AI gets used more. <br>

I think the Rite Aid film is the sane Fuji stuff sold under the Walgreens and CVS names. CVS stil have the 400 film but Walgreens doesn't seem to have any of this stuff (200 or 400) left. </p>

<p>Mike Gammill: Thank you for viewing and commenting<br /><br />John Williamson: Thank you. I followed more or less the same process. By the time I discovered this method I already went through some wasted frames. Being a regular 50mm shooter I found this lens unwieldy at these events. <br /><br />JDM von Weinberg: Thank you. This lens is a recent eBay purchase.<br /><br />Jeff Adler: Thank you. Riteaid film is the Fujifilm and I cannot get them anymore in my area. I am using some which I had stocked-up. Walmart still sells Fujifilm.</p>

 

<p>Kool fun shots. I like the panning action. Thanks for the post! That zoom may be a bit unwieldy but pull it out the next time you go shooting butterflies and bugs. It has nice close focusing capabilities.</p>

<p>Wow! Heady for it's social significance, quite apart from the fine photography. Nice panning, <strong>Sadanand</strong>, but #'s 1 and 8 would be my favourites. We have no cultural event to match this, though the Harley cult is alive and well in our country. Nice post; thanks.</p>

<p>liked the last shot, "never forget". Yeah, i was there too; must have walked 12 miles that day. Never seen soo many bikes, (mostly harley's); the ROAR often would cause my camera to vibrate! Thanks for the post!</p>