larry_norris2

<p>I would venture to say there have been as many or more "Velvet Elvis" sold as "Moonrise Hernandez".</p>

<p>I just returned this morning from a visit to see the elk at Cataloochee. Because I spend my summers 15 miles from Cataloochee I usually have my 600 in the car. I did use it this morning on some turkeys on the other side of a field but I also took photos of a bull elk out the car window with an 18-200 that was less than 15 feet away.<br>

Because of the hassle you can probably leave the 600 home and fill up several cards with other lens. An 80-200 2.8 with a 1.4 and a macro diopter and a polarizer and a tripod should cover 80% of what you need/want. FYI they are still putting collars and ear tags on the elk so it's tough to get a "wild" shot.<br>

Larry</p>

<p>One of the outstanding examples of making each shot count was run in the Nov. 1997 Nat. Geo, It is called "North Woods Journal" by Jim Brandenburg in which he takes one shot a day for the 90 days of winter. Some good nature photography.<br>

Brandenburg later published a book called "Looking for Summer" in which he tried the same approach and that I feel is nowhere near the quality of work of the winter photos. If you can dig these up take a look and see what you think.</p>

<p>I have been watching this series with amazement at the amount of work that went into the program. Having been to a number of the Parks, I know that the photos don't always come together the first trip with the light, clouds and the animals in the right place at the right time. I spend my summers less than 10 miles from GSMNP and visit it many times to get the right set of circumstances for the photo I'm after.<br>

The history of the formation of the Parks has also been very interesting and shows what a debt of gratitude we owe to the people who made great expenditures of time, political capital and MONEY to enable the U.S. to have the Parks that we have today. The series also points out the power of a photo over 1000 words.</p>

<p>Although I love competiton and have won a few awards from the local clubs to the state of Florida, my biggest achievement has been in another direction.<br>

Several years ago I had the idea of bringing young people into photography. I had started with my granddaughter by giving her disposable cameras at the age of 3. I went to the local club with the idea of buying disposable cameras and giving them to a 3rd or 4th grade class at the local school along with some instructions and a loose assignment. After several weeks we collected the cameras and had the film developed and brought back the prints. They then each chose their 6 favorite photos out of the 27 and the club had them mounted and displayed at our annual show. Children and parents were invited to the opening reception to view some of their unique prespectives. Cameras and development of the film were all donated so the club has been able to do this for 4 years to date.</p>

I can't believe that no one has mentioned that John Waters "classic" about the young kid from Baltimore that has the title of "Pecker"

My vote goes to the Kodak Retina IIIC that I bought at a yard sale for $15. I was not familiar with the camera when I bought it but found the workmanship on it outstanding. It's not a SLR but one that is not duplicated in todays cameras.

Dan;

 

In reading thru the data on the teleconverter that you sent the link to, I don't see the 600mm 5.6 being listed as a compatable lens. Am I missing something?

I have the Nikon 600mm 5.6 which I have used on Nikon N90s, Nikon FA and Nikon D200. I have also used it with a !.4 converter, a 2.0 converter and the 1.4 and 2.0 converters stacked and as of yet it has never given any indication that it is autofocusing. It will tell you through the viewfinder on some cameras when YOU have the lens in focus but unless you can get a car to run without a motor, you're not going to get this lens to autofocus. If it is possible I certainly would like to find out how because it's getting harder all the time to get a sharp focus with my 70 year old eyes. The lens will take some outstanding photos in manual focus.

 

Larry Norris

I have done some playing around with a light table that has a black cover with a 1.75x1.75 opening and guides to place the slide. The photos of the slide are taken with a D200 with a macro lens mounted on a tripod and that has a electronic shutter release. Once you have everything aligned--and are careful--you can output at a pretty good pace. There is even a slight adjustment possible on slide sharpness. Most people have the parts necessary to give it a try.

In response to the question as to why to use an "old E Series lens" on a D200/300 , this photo was taken with the E 75-150 on a D200, hand-held through a chain link fence. Of course it is manual focus and I'm way too close to 70 years old. End of discussion!

Johnson's Photo Imaging is good, I have used them for years

752-0550

 

In Sarasota there used to be Black Box Lab that I'm not sure if they are still in business

359-2699

 

Good Luck

To clarify my question:

A. It was not flare off the lens

B. The camera lens combo was equal to 1260mm so I could see the drops.

C. There was no dew on the fence

D. In all the cases that I have seen where the water drop acts as a lens, the subject in the drop is behind the drop and not between the drop and the camera

The other day I was photographing baby sandhill cranes through a chain link

fence. I was using a D200 with a 600mm w/a 1.4 on a tripod with the lense

shade about 2 inches from the fence. As I have previously experienced, the

photos show no evidence of the fence unless there would be a slight loss of

contrast that would have to be measured by instrumentation. However, it was a

dewy morning and when I downloaded the photos on the computer, some of the dew

drops 50-100 feet away showed the distinctive pattern of the chain link fence.

How and why?

 

Larry

The lens is not broken, at least not by what is in the photo. I have the same lens and if you look in there while changing the focus from infinity to macro, you will see that is what screws the lens for the internal focus.

How about a disposable camera? They may not get the instant gratification of a digital but they can offer a different perspective from their eye level. I started giving my grand daughter a disposable at the age of 3 and she loved it. She now has a basic understanding of framing a shot and looks forward to getting back the prints.

 

I started a program with a camera club and we are now in the 4th year of providing disposables to an art class of 3rd or 4th grade students at an elementary school. Some of the kids are really surprising.

I've had this kit for about 10 years and it works fine. However, everyone seems to be misreading the contents. It is not a warming polarizer but in my case a 812 warming filter---which warms too much most of the time.

 

Larry Norris

I have been to the Shywolf Preserve and you can get very close to all the animals. There is even a wolf or two that you can set with--but most are in wire cages. There is a Florida cougar and a black leopard but you can't set with them--at least not twice. I shot using a 400mm and the wolves were curious about the bigger lens and I got a lot of eyeball to eyeball shots. Worth a visit.

This is probably not quite what you had in mind but our local camera club has run a program thru the art class of a local elementary school. The primary purpose is to get 3rd and 4th graders interested in the basics of photography. We solicit donations of both disposalable cameras and the development of the FILM from local big box stores and give each kid a camera, some instructions and an assignment. When the kids have completed their assignment, we have the film developed and let them pick out 6 or so of their best shots which the club then mounts and exhibits at the annual members photo expo. It's hard to say who enjoys the project the most, the kids or the club members who work with the kids.

I recently considered an Arcatech ballhead but went for the Bogen quasi-gimbal instead. I'm very satisfied with the Bogen and its LOCKING PLATES, particularly after I watched a guy drop his Nikon D200 and his Tamron zoom on the ground at the Venice Rookery this morning. He thought everything was locked in place but--WRONG. Fortunately, it didn't appear to damage the lens or the camera because of the grass but I'm not sure if his heart was still in very good shape. So much for the Arcatech and plates.

Sorry, wrong number on the monopod, that is a 3216 Bogen.

I have been using a Bogen 3265 monopod with a Bogen 3232 single axis tilt head on a Nikon 600mm MF and it works good enough to take a couple of prize winners. If that doesn't work on a 100-400 I would suggest laying off of the lattes or using a tripod.

I believe the formula is that 100mm of lens focal length equals 1mm of width on a film camera

Joshua;

 

The tunnel runs pretty much North and South for all of its 3120 feet and the waterfall is definately a seasonal one.

I'm curious as to what you are designating the "Paw Paw Falls"? It has been 15 years since I biked the tow path or canoed the Potomac but I don't recall any falls other than the canal water going thru one of the locks on the C & O canal.