john_schutt

I refixed the negatives. That cleared it up! THANKS for the help.

John

Hello!

I just bought some 4x5 TMax400 film to try out a camera that a

friend is loaning me. I processed one batch of film, and the

negatives came out looking O.K. I processed a second batch the same

night, and the negatives came out looking "brownish." I used D-76

and replaced it for the second batch. I did use the same stop and

fix. Does anyone have an idea what this 4x5 newbie did "wrong?"

Thanks,

John

Hello!

I bought a Nikon AI 600mm f/5.6 in January. When it came, I found

that the aperture didn't work. So, I took it to my local authorized

Nikon repair shop. They gave me an estimate and the seller gave me

a "refund" check for that amount. I called the repair shop in March

and in May. They said that parts were on backorder, but that they

were sure that they could fix the lens. Today, 7 months later, I

called the repair shop. (They had told me to wait until they

contacted me.) They told me that they could NOT fix the lens. They

said that the parts are no longer available and that the new parts

would not fit. So now I'm in an expensive pickle.

1. Does anyone know how I could get the aperture blades that I need?

2. Does anyone know of anyone who COULD repair the lens? I called

NikonUSA and they told me to send it to NY.

3. Is there some type of cross-reference to another Nikon lens that

used these blades? Maybe I could buy one to pirate the blades from

it.

I know. I know. This was an expensive stretch for me to buy this

lens, and now I'm in a pickle. Sigh. . .

THANKS! =]

John

Hello!

I live in NE Indiana and I am looking to travel to the "lower"

section of Michigan for a couple of days of shooting fall colors (mid-

October.) I am looking for suggestions on locations. I'm a "nature"

photographer, so I want to find somewhere without the "hand of man."

Can anyone give me some suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

"Consumer" film is made knowing that comsumers may have (different) Christmas shots at both ends of the same roll of film. It is made so that it has some time to "ripen" before the colors are at their best.

"Professional" film is shipped very close to the time when its color is at the ideal. Professional film us usually refrigerated to keep it at that ideal. Additionally, it is more uniform from batch to batch.

"U.S." film is film that was intended to be sold in the U.S. Professional U.S. films will be shipped and stored carefully to maintain their "professional" consistancy.

"Non-U.S." films are made for use outside the U.S. It's the same film, but perhaps it was made to be sold in Europe. Someone had it shipped to the U.S. And, it could be, for example, that it was shipped in a cargo vessel that was heated by the sun. This would change the color cast of the film. In other words, non-U.S. film has not necessarily had the same care taken in shipping it and in storing it. It could be fine, but it could have been damaged someway.

So, that's the difference. You might also want to check out the B&H web pages. They talk about this difference.

Comprehensive? There is no such thing. But, there are helps available. You have several choices.

1. There are "field guide" series in print and these have been written for the general public. They are good in that that they list many of the speces of an area, but cannot get them all. I would suggest that you start with one of these field guides. Recognize that it takes time to identify plants properly. Realize, too, that your identification may be incorrect for some plants by using one of these books. For example, the Composite family is a large one, and it's easy to get an ID incorrect. On the other hand, it's pretty easy to get most plants correct.

The "Peterson" field guide series is my favorite, but the "Golden Guide" series is good as is Newcomb's wildflower book. Some folks like the Audubon series, but they are not my favorite.

2. Often, national parks will have identification books for their specific park. Alternately, they will have a checklist of the plants (birds, etc) that have been seen in an area. A checklist is really handy to see what the experts have found. This can help you eliminate a lot of species while you are trying to identify a plant.

3. Do you REALLY want to know that you have an identification correct? Then you need to know a fair amount of botany. The professional books are ones like: Gleason, Henry A. (Henry Allan), 1882- The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, or Gray, Asa, 1810-1888. Gray's Manual of botany : a handbook of the flowering plants and ferns of the central and northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. c1950. I don't know about guides for the Western U.S.

State and regional guides also exist. For Northern Indiana, I have used: Voss, Edward G. (Edward Groesbeck), 1929- Michigan flora : a guide to the identification and occurrence of the native and naturalized seed-plants of the State. Note that this is a set of three volumes to cover the state of Michigan.

Best wishes.

We lived in Knoxville for nine years and get back to visit as often as we can. Often this happens during spring break which is the last week of March.

I like going up the mountain from the Tennessee side. Within the first two miles of the Sugarlands Visitor's center are several Quiet Walkways that go to the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River. It's a nice river.

Further up (about 2 miles) is a Scenic Overlook on the left. The trees will just be starting to bud out at this time.

Further up is one of my favorite places, the Chimneys PICNIC area. I have a few nice shots of the small stream that flows through that cove hardwood forest. Last year, we were too late for hepatica. We did get pictures of trout lily, trillium, and other wildflowers. The Wildflower Pilgrimage is the last weekend in April. I always thought that the wildflowers peaked a week earlier that that.

The Campbell Overlook is probably one of the two most popular place for sunset pictures. It's on the Tennessee side of the park just below Newfound Gap.

Another sunset location is Clingman's Dome. The road is closed until April 1. You can take pictures either from the parking lot or from the dome itself. (It's "breathtaking" to climb up there.)

There are other nice places for streams. 1.) The stream along the second half of the Roaring Fork Motor nature trail. Check out the Place of a Thousand Drips. 2.) The Little River around Elkmont campground. You can park on the right just before the campground. 3.) The Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River above Treemont.

For that matter, you can't go wrong at any place at any time in the Smokys. =]

Hello.

A few posts have mentioned John Shaw. He's changed his techniques since his earlier books. In his latest book (Nature Photographer's Field Guide) he says that he now uses the 105mm micro and the 200mm micro Nikon lenses for his highest extension. They go 1:1 right off the bat. Then, he uses mostly a 2x teleconverter. That combination takes the lenses to 2:1. He says that, while quality really matters on long lenses, it doesn't do as much for micro. He uses the Tamron 2x. In addition to this, he also uses the 17.5 extension tube, the PN-11 (52.5mm) extension tube, and a 3T or 4T teleconverter. He says that you have to mount the 3T or 4T backwards to get the best image quality with the 200mm micro.

We were in the Smokys last week (3/28, 3/30, 3/31.) The mid-elevation cove-hardwood forests (i.e., Chimney's picnic area) were abloom with hepatica (end of season - some have finished), fringed phacilia, spring beauties, trout lilies, white trillium, and wood anemone. Along the middle prong of the Pigeon River (Elkmont) we saw bishops cap and foamflower. Also in the lower elevations the tuliptrees and maples were budding out and redbud is blooming. It seems that this spring is a bit earlier this year.

John

We lived in Knoxville for nine years :) and then moved away twelve years ago :( My favorite trip area was the one to Newfound Gap.

There is a "quiet walkway" on the left side of the road up to Newfound gap just a few miles above Sugarlands Visitor's Center. From there, you can walk a short distance (1/4 mi?) to one of the streams. You'll find nice water and rocks there.

As you continue the upward ascent, stop in the Chimneys PICNIC area and explore the area at the beginning of the nature trail there. I was there the end of March last year, and the hepaticas should be open then. (I would liked driving up in March to see the first signs of spring.)

Someone else noted the sunset possibilities from Newfound Gap and from Clingman's Dome. Actually, the road to Clingman's Dome does not open until April 1. I e-mailed the park earlier this year, and they confirmed this date.

Newfound Gap is a nice place for sun RISES. There is a pulloff that is less than a mile from Newfound Gap on the Tennessee side. That's the place to get sunsets with aerial perspective. Actually, it's the lowest of about three or four sunsets. The rocks in that area are covered with lichens, and would provide good pics as well.

Another place that I like is the road to the motor nature trail. I fell in love with the "place of a thousand drips" the first time that I saw an image of it. Just be very careful on the slippery rocks. The stream that follows the road has lots of photo opps.

Have fun. Say "Hi" if you see me there this spring break. :)

John

I know that you mean. I have seen it too. I have also seen it on the leaves of Dutchman's breeches in the spring. And, I have been equally frustrated in trying to capture this iridescence. It just doesn't seem to show up on the film. I am not even sure that it shows in the viewfinder. Sorry that I don't have the answer. I just want to let you know that someone else has "been there." Keep me posted if you solve this one.

Thanks, John