Some Ultrawide (12mm) Film Shots of Parkour

I recently shared a slideshow of parkour images, made with the Nikon Df. (Click Here) to see that post.

 

Today, I'll post some images I made at the same event, but these were all shot on the Zeiss SW film camera, with the Voigtlander 12mm f5.6 (LTM) ultra wide angle lens. These were all shot on Ilford HP5+ black and white film. I processed them myself.

 

I loved shooting parkour with this oddball lens. I have also done some fisheye shooting with parkour. (Click Here) to see that. In both cases, the wide angle of view is great for including a lot of the context for the sport. But, it also means that I have to get very close. So close, in fact, that there's a risk of interfering with the practitioner's concentration. That did happen once; thankfully, he thought it was funny. The last thing I want to do is interfere.

 

I think what I'm learning about shooting parkour is that variety is key. These wide angle shots tell a lot about the setting, but have relatively little detail of what the person is putting into the effort.

 

Approaching this with the standard photojournalistic search for a combination of wide, normal, and close up detail shots seems to be in order. I'm about to get a great opportunity to pull together a group of parkour practitioners, specifically to photograph them. My plan will be to get that variety, and to experiment with some ideas with flash, showing motion, etc. I've got some thinking to do.

 

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Springtime is for Photography

Springtime is for Photography, Pinhole Included

Nikon Df, f/180 Pinhole Body Cap

 

I'm so happy that it's springtime again. Makes me want to be outside shooting every day.

 

Hope you're using the nice weather to get out and make some art.

 

For my friends in the Southern Hemisphere, don't worry. It's all just cycles; your time is coming as sure as winter will be back here before we know it.

 

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Some Wildlife From my Kayak - Nikon Df and Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-IF Lens

I have an older Nikkor internal focus 300mm f4 lens. I have been tempted to upgrade it to the AF-S version, but mine is so good, I just haven't seen a reason to do it.

 

Yesterday, I loaded my Nikon D700 and 500mm f4 Ai-P (manual focus) lens and matching gargantuan Gitzo tripod that I picked up very used and very cheap, along with my Nikon Df and 300mm f4 and Tamron AF 1.4X tele-extender into my kayak and paddled out. I ended up never using anything but the Df and 300mm. Instead of setting up my tripod near my favorite osprey nest (even though the birds are on the nest), I decided to paddle further up the creek and explore.

 

Stopping to rest in the shadow of a steep bank, not five minutes later I saw a swirl in the water, followed by a head coming to the surface. Thinking that it was likely a beaver, I started shooting. The sound of the camera clearly alarmed the animal, who quickly went under water, then returned to the surface looking straight at me. It was a river otter! The first one I've ever seen in the wild. He actually raised high out of the water to get a good look at me. I was ready, with my Df set to lock exposure with the rear button, meter set to spot metering, and auto-focus ready to go. Here's one of the shots I got.

 

 

River Otter, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor 300mm f4 AF-IF Lens

iso 1100, f8, 1/1000 sec.

Another otter passed through very quickly a minute later.

I had the camera in auto-ISO mode, and exposure in M. So, I had a fast shutter speed and optimal f-stop already set. The camera chose the ISO. With the Nikon Df, I could shoot with confidence, without worrying about digital noise from the relatively high ISO setting.

 

I've printed this image at about 10"x15" and it looks just great.

 

I've got some more images from the morning kayak trip, and will share them in later posts.

 

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Autumn Walk at Shenandoah National Park

My family and I took a walk at White Oak Canyon in the Shenandoah National Park. Rather than take the typical drive along Skyline Drive, which can tend to be drier and browner, we hiked along the creek.
 

October in Shenandoah National Park, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f5.6, 1/160 sec.

 
Since it took nearly two hours to drive out, we didn't catch great early morning light. It was still pretty good when we started the hike a little before 10:00 am, but most of the hike was in direct overhead sunlight.
 
 

All the Golds, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f5, 1/200 sec.

And Some Reds, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f4, 1/100 sec.

 
 
These conditions - bright blues skies and deep forest shadows - really pushed the dynamic range of the Lumix G3.

Looking Downstream, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Pana-Leica Summilux 25mm f1.4

iso 200, f11, 1/40 sec.

 
Dynamic range is one of the aspects of Lumix sensor design that is promised to improve, most specifically with the DMC-G5 (even though it reportedly doesn't gain much in high iso performance), and more so in the newly-announced DMC-GH3.

I made an attempt at high dynamic range (HDR) imaging in one case of excessive contrast. I must say that I'm not satisfied with the result, but have some trouble putting my finger on why. Here it is:

Pool in HDR, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3, Lumix 14mm f2.5

iso 200, f16, 5 Image HDR

 
Maybe there's just too much drawing the eye around in this shot? Is it cluttered with detail? What caught my eye was the band of fallen leaves in the foreground, and the reflection behind. Maybe I should have focused on just that, rather than trying to take in the whole scene?
 
Anyway, it was a very nice day in the forest. We caught the fall colors quite nicely.
 
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