Extreme Kayaking

Today is Memorial Day. My daughter and I went to Great Falls Park in Virginia to attend a parkour event. That didn't work out, due to miscommunication about the location. But, we did get to watch some amazing kayakers, attacking the steep falls at the park. Here's a series I shot with the Nikon Df and 70-300 f4.5-5.6 VR lens.

 

 

After this shot, the kayaker literally disappeared behind the rocks. Amazing to watch.

 

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In Honor of our World War II Veterans - DC Mall Flyover

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a media event for the World War II Memorial Flyover, an event where dozens of war era aircraft flew in various formations over the National Mall in Washington, DC.

 

(Click Here) to read about the event, which took place on Friday, May 8, 2015.

 

On the day before the event, my associate, Rob, and I got to go to a local regional airport and witness the take-off of several of the airplanes that would take part in the event.

 

I brought along my Nikon D700, 35-70mm f2.8, and 70-300 f4.5-5.6 AF-S G lenses. All of the images below were made with the 70-300.

 

The event began with a short press conference, and then we were allowed out on the tarmac. Preparations for the day's flights were underway.

B-29 Superfortress, by Reed A. George

B-17 Crewmembers, by Reed A. George

 

 

Then, the engines started to crank.

Cranking up, B-17, by Reed A. George

 

We were warned about the noise, oil, and propwash (wind) that would result when this happened, and the B-17 didn't fail to deliver. It was quite a thrill to be so close to these aircraft.

 

B-29 Cranks Up, by Reed A. George

 

As the planes taxied for takeoff, we got some close up views of them in motion.

 

B-24 Liberator on Taxi, by Reed A. George

 

Here's my favorite shot from the day:

Between the Props, by Reed A. George

 

I used a gradual neutral density (ND) filter on my 70-300, to prevent the pure white skies from overexposure. It's a subtle effect, but I think it helped. Sure would have been nice to have a cloud or two.

 

Once all of the aircraft were lined up for takeoff, the staff lifted the barrier tape and let those of us with media passes out closer to the runway. At this point, having captured decent sharp images of all of the airplanes on the ground, I started thinking about what made this event unique. It wasn't the aircraft alone. I had photographed some of the crew, which I cannot see on a normal trip to my local Air & Space Museum (yes, I know I'm lucky, not everyone has the Udvar-Hazy Museum ten miles from their home). The real unique point, though, was to see these old beasts in flight. Asking Rob to be sure and capture sharp images of them taking off, I decided to try some panning, in an attempt to show the motion in my images.

 

I consider myself to be pretty good at panning, matching the angular speed of my moving camera to that of the object I'm tracking. Doing that with these big aircraft turned out to be really challenging. I set the 70-300's VR to "Active," which is supposed to be designed for panning. Every shot came out blurry. Not just most, all of them. Finally, turning VR off completely, I was able to capture one decent panning shot of the B-29. Here it is.

Superfortress Takes Off, by Reed A. George

 

So, I worked hard for it, but feel that I captured most of the feeling of the event that I was after. What an incredible opportunity.

 

I hope that many of our remaining World War II veterans were able to see or watch the live feed of this event. It's really something to see these 70 year old airplanes still in prime running (flying) condition.

 

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Practicing my Telephoto Technique - Nikon 70-300mm AF-S VR and the Ducklings

I am anxiously awaiting delivery of a used Nikkor 200-400mm f4 zoom lens that a friend and I have decided to co-own. It's an expensive lens, so this made it possible for both of us to have access to it.

 

Most of my lenses, especially telephotos, are older technology. Starting with the Ai-P 500mm f4, which is my longest lens, it's manual focus. It's a true beauty, and makes wonderful photos, but clearly doesn't have the latest AF-S focusing. Then there's my 300mm f4 AF-I, which does have autofocus, but not the blazing fast AF-S.

 

In fact, the only long lens I have with AF-S is the 70-400mm f4.5-5.6 G VR zoom lens. So, I decided to take that lens out for a quick shoot before work yesterday, to practice my focusing technique. Based on the video by Steve Perry that I posted yesterday, I set up my D700 for back button focusing and gave it a try.

 

Not an action shot, but here's the best shot I made in that fifteen or twenty minutes of shooting yesterday.

 

Spring Ducklings, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 G AF-S Lens

iso 800, f8, 1/500 sec

 

I wanted to test out the back button method, in which you leave your camera set to continuous AF, and use the button on the rear of the camera to decide when to freeze the focus, if at all. When photographing action (e.g. birds in flight), you just keep the button pressed, and the camera will focus through the entire shooting sequence. For static objects (e.g. these ducklings), you get the focus point you want, then release the rear button, locking the focus at that point. This worked very well for me here.

 

This 70-300mm lens is very good. It's not as sharp as I expect the 200-400mm to be, which should be obvious when you compare the specs and prices. But, I think it did a pretty good job for me in this case. And, it's very light and fast.

 

I can't wait to see what the 200-400 can do!

 

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Playing With An Old Image - Pigeonholed

It's fun to go back and see what you were shooting several years ago, and with what gear.

 

Here's a shot I made ten years ago with my Nikon D70 (my first DSLR) and Nikkor 70-300mm ED lens:

 

Pigeonholed, by Reed A. George, 2004

 

I decided to play around with it a little in Snapseed on my iPad. Here's what I came up with:

 

Pigeonholed, Ten Years After

 

I understand that many will prefer the straight, original shot. For me, it depends on my mood. Tonight, I like the dark, slightly ominous version.

 

That old D70 was really a decent camera. Nothing to compare to my new Nikon Df, but still quite a camera. And the 70-300 ED lens was a pretty good zoom, too. Now I have replaced it with the VR version, which is even better.

 

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Memorial Day Triathlon

My wife did a sprint triathlon on Memorial Day Weekend. Held in Warrenton, Virginia, this event was for a veterans benefit organization. The sprint triathlon included a 300m swim, 12.4 mile biking segment, and 5k (3.125 mile) run.

 

(Click Here) to read about the event.

 

I set out to cover the event for my wife in three shots: Swim, Bike, Run. I ended up dropping in a couple of other shots I happen to like.

 

Swim, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 70-300 4.5-5.6 AF-S VR Zoom at 300mm

iso 400, f5.6, 1/500 sec

 

 

Bike, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.0 Zoom at 56mm

iso 200, f9.5, 1/250 sec, fill flash (on camera flash)

 

 

I had some much sharper images of her on the bike, but I like the feeling of motion in this one.

 

Run, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 70-300 4.5-5.6 AF-S VR Zoom at 165mm

iso 200, f8, 1/75 sec

 

I love this shot below of her running to the transition point between swimming and biking.

 

Transition, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.0 Zoom at 52mm

iso 400, f5.6, 1/500 sec

 

And the obligatory celebration at the finish line:

 

Made It!, by Reed A. George

Nikon D700, Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.0 Zoom at 70mm

iso 200, f13, 1/250 sec

 

I'm proud of her for making it to the finish line. It's a real achievement.

 

I don't usually shoot zoom lenses, but they were perfect for this event. I'm not altogether satisfied with the sharpness of the 24-85mm zoom. I adjusted the fine focus parameter for this lens on my D700, but I'm not sure that I found the best overall set point. I think I need to re-examine that. I know that the lens is capable of sharp images, but I think it probably varies according to the focal length and distance. Something to work on. In any case, the 70-300 VR is a really nice lens, and not changing primes was quite convenient. As I often say, different horses for different courses. Take whatever equipment works for you in a given situation.

 

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