Edo Period Japanese female

Depth of field is a wonderful photo effect when you can control it. Unfortunately, without the right camera, lens, and conditions it isn’t always possible to blur the background or at least not as much as you’d like.

When the photo below came up as my random background I thought, “what a great subject ruined by the tourists in the background.” So I did about five minutes of research, spent another two minutes in Photoshop, and came away with my very first Photoshop tweak, above, using a depth of field effect. Although it’s not perfectly executed (another 10 minutes and I could have come away with something much better), I’m happy with how quickly I was able to blur the “tourist problem” in this photo.

Before Photoshop depth-of-field application

Posted on January 4th, 2012 under Japan. Tags: edo wonderland, nikko, people, photography, photoshop. Comments: 1

Taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon, indoors, low light, no flash, hand held, f/2.8, 1/80 second, ISO 3200, 200mm

Due to my recent purchase of a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II Lens, I’m selling my Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon. This page is to show some example photos taken with my D7000 and this Sigma lens. For higher resolution click on any of the photos.

Taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon, overcast day, no flash, hand held, f/2.8, 1/1000 second, ISO 3200, 200mm

The photo above shows the excellent sharpness and bokeh of this lens even on a cloudy day without a tripod. The light in the lower right is not lens flare. There was a light on in the house in the background.

Taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon, indoors, low light, no flash, hand held, f/2.8, 1/40 second, ISO 800, 135mm

Even indoors, with no flash, lower ISO, and a slower shutter speed the images are sharp and the bokeh is good.

Taken with Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon, indoors, with flash, hand held, f/2.8, 1/250 second, ISO 800, 200mm

A sample with on-camera flash can be seen above. All of these are at f/2.8. Bump the aperture to 6 or 7 for even sharper photos.

For some sports photos taken with this lens, click here for indoors and here for outdoors.

Finally, here are some photos of the Sigma lens that took the above photos (and the lens caps that come with).

The glass is scratch free and fungus free. There is very minor wear on the metal portions of the body and tripod mount, but the barrel is like new and smooth to turn.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon

This lens was made in Japan.

Posted on January 1st, 2012 under Other. Tags: photography. Comments Off on Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX HSM Lens for Nikon

Danish concert goers at Roskilde 2011

For the fourth year in a row I entered the annual Travel Essentials Photo Contest. In 2008 I came in 18th place, 2009 was 7th place, and 2010 landed me in the money with 3rd place. I didn’t place as high this year, but, for the first time, both of my entries made the cut.

For the 2011 winning photos click here.

Posted on September 16th, 2011 under Denmark, Other. Tags: photography, pictures, roskilde festival, Travel. Comments Off on Travel Essentials Photo Contest Winners 2011

Recently I’ve been following a number of camera blogs including Scott Bourne’s photofocus. Yesterday he had a post entitled What Camera Should I Buy? which is pretty well written. However, I found his list of recommendations to be a bit strange. I would have posted my take as a comment on his blog, but since comments are closed over there I guess I will give them here.

How can the Canon EOS Rebel T3i and the Nikon D7000 both be considered “budget DSLRs” when the latter costs twice as much as the Canon? Why is the Nikon 3100 considered a “Super Budget DSLR” when it is about the same price as the Canon EOS Rebel T3i? Finally, why would anyone want the Nikon D300s anymore (or for that matter a Nikon D3S which costs five times more) when the D7000 is cheaper and better (than the D300s and about the same as the D3S except in weight and cost)?

Posted on August 21st, 2011 under Other. Tags: photography. Comments: 3

At B&H you can get a camera and lens similar to mine for much less than I paid (until June 25). They are currently offering the Nikon D5100 with 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR AF-S DX II Zoom Lens for under $1,400 after rebate. If that is still a stretch for your budget then you can also go for the same camera with an 18-55mm VR lens for under $850.

Posted on June 6th, 2011 under Other. Tags: photography. Comments Off on Nikon offering rebates on DSLR cameras