Rick Helmke

<p>Wicked pretty is an understatement Gene. Thanks. Only problem is, now I'm back to wanting a manual rangefinder again.<br>

Rick H.</p>

<p>Is there anything that doesn't get pimped these days?</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>I'm usually out photographing somewhere.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>It can be challenging. Keep the shutter speed at 1/500 or faster. Better 1/1000 but 500 will do most of the time. Let the f/stop fall where it will but don't let is close down too far. Depth of field is, IMO, best left shallow for sporting events. You don't want to have too much background in focus, it's distracting. Set your ISO to allow for that combination of fast shutter and fairly open aperture. The game is not likely to move faster than your AF can keep up. I prefer shooting sports using manual focus but I also use manual lenses. AF lenses have such short throws it can be hard to focus them manually. Just let your rig do the work unless it becomes troublesome.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>KEH is selling Nikon N65 level cameras for under $50 in near new condition. You can buy AF lenses for not much more. Another good choice is the Canon Elan 7 series, I had one for a while and liked it for street work. I'm a Nikon shooter at heart personally. You can also stick to the manual gear, the FM/FE series, and the Nikkormats are great. A little more money gets you an F, a little more gets you an F2, for me the best camera ever made. Fast manual focus lenses are similarly cheap. You can put together a pair of bodies (one is never enough) and mf lenses from say 28 through 200 mm for way less than $500.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>The F3 should function on a manual shutter speed, should wind and fire on that setting. If it doesn't I suspect it will need service. I wonder if these two cameras got dropped in water or rained on at some point.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Not a big fan of the 2-ring lens, I like the push-pull lens better. It's fast enough for football, auto racing, soccer, baseball and basketball on the D2 series and D200. I also like the image quality it offers. Good prices for them also. As for KEH, I've bought several items from them, several BGN grade, and never had a bad experience.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Unless these lenses are absolute mint and worth a pile of money to a collector, go ahead and convert them and use them. They are superb quality units and honestly I don't think newer glass is all that much better. I use both old and new regularly and prefer manual focus Nikkors almost every time. As for the FM3a, why not? I feel the same way about my F2's and F4's that you feel feel about the FM3a. Those two just fit me better. Once you find something that works for you is there any real need to keep re-inventing? As for cost of the conversions, it's a one time thing and you are set pretty much for life. Spend the money on a backup body and burning film!</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>I've done a number of large groups up to 250 people. If you can get some risers for that many people, I would do so. Get the camera as high as you safely can. Even part way up an 8 foot ladder is better than the floor. Since you have four lights, use them. I normally use reflecting umbrellas. Aim your 600 w/s lights to cover each outer third of the group and use the smaller ones to cover the middle third. If you have access to a flash meter, check your lighting all the way across in the front and in the back. I try and keep it to less than 1/2 stop spread anywhere in the frame, better under 1/3 stop. You'll need a lot of DOF for 11 deep. I'd spread them wider and try and keep to five or six deep. Try for no less than f/8 even if it means cranking on the ISO a little. Having a whole row of faces a bit soft isn't acceptable. the hardest part will be getting them toput down their drinks and pay attention for more than 30 seconds. good luck!!</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Based on what I saw in your links, D800. You may need some computer upgrades but I'm thinking the D800 is the way to go. I currenty own no DX lenses so my next one is probably going to be the same. I'll wait for the bugs to get worked out though.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Requiring you to provide your own equipment is common enough in this business though by no means universal. I've done both. More and more they seem to be insisting you provide your own computer as well as cameras, lenses, flashes. It's quite common to require tradesmen such as mechanics to provide their own tools and that can run into many thousands of dollars. Photographers are by no means the only class of gearheads. I wouldn't be put off by that alone. As for killing the value of your equipment by using it, depreciation on digital gear happens so quickly anyway I wouldn't worry too much about it.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Afternoon everyone,</p>

<p>I just spent a great couple of hours at the Huntsville, AL Museum of Art. My main reason for going was a display of Herb Ritts photography and some of the videos and commercials he directed. It's a great show, worth every minute I spent there and one I'll need to see at least a couple of more times. Granted that with the subject matter, talented photographer and some of the budgets involved there are some spectacular images but there was an extra dimension in many of these prints. It also reminded me of why B&W film is always going to be my first love. There were also some contact sheets edited by Ritts and an RZ 67 he used.<br>

Also not to be missed is a large display of B&W photography by a variety of shooters from various backgrounds. Katherine Windham Tucker was apparently very good in large format work as well as a prolific writer. Some of these go back far enough to have former Confederate soldiers and slaves as subject matter. Who knew? Several other shooters are represented and the whole display is far removed from the Ritts exhibit. Also on display is a set of restored Tiffany angel church windows found in a barn.<br>

Anyway, it's eight bucks to get in and there's enough good work on display to keep you there until they kick you out. I highly reccomend it if you are within an hour or so driving distance. Some good restaurants close by too. Enjoy.<br>

<br />Rick H. </p>

<p>The question made perfect sense to me. Part of the learning process we all go through.<br>

<br />Rick H.</p>

<p>I use mostly MF Nikkors and have been happy with them on every camera they get used on be it an F2 or D2xxx, haven't tried any D3xxx cameras. Count me in on being happy with the 85/2 and 50/1.4, solid equipment for many decades and dirt cheap now. Also have a 28/3.5, 300/4.5 and a really ancient and ratty 80-200/4.5. I've not been a fan of autofocus so I have no push to upgrade any of these old-timers and can focus them easily on the DX bodies. I've always felt that the lenses Nikon made before AF were all pro grade stuff, it was certainly priced that way but built to last and it has. Sure there were a couple of less than great performers like the 24-120 and the 43-86 was a lens all its own. Having said that, the 17-55/2.8 is as good as any lens I've ever used so they are still doing something right. Bottom line for me anyway is that any of the old glass is still good useful gear.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>The last time mine went a little crazy this way it needed fresh batteries. It displayed similar behavior as I recall.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>

<p>Too many editors and most of the public seem willing to accept mediocrity in journalism today. Stories, video and photography that would have ended up in the trash can only a decade ago are lead stories now. Incredibly poor quality video is on national news, front pages so bland it's not worth the bother. Though I've given up the photojournalism business I have friends on the staffs of several major newspapers. Morale is bad, the work they are producing is just dull. I'll concede that a truly major event captured on a phone is better than much higher quality work after the fact but the majors are accepting crap from nearly anyone now and using it. It's blamed on money but I'm have a hard time believing that. While most big cities have lost at least one major publication most of the medium size markets seem to be doing just fine. The staffers I know just don't care enough anymore to go out and find the stories worth printing. The result is that I only rarely read news publications any more, never look at their web content and spend maybe 2 hours a week total on tv news. Theres just nothing there.</p>

<p>Rick H.</p>