Two from yesterday

Always the opportunist, having my camera gives me good luck as moments just seem to happen.

As I drove to work, I noticed a lot of cyclers traveling on Trunk 10, there seems to be an annual tour of the province each summer; they picked a tough day with high humidity, but they got an early start. Many naturally congregated to this cafe which is next to where MIG's office is located.

I had to drive down the LaHave along the old Highway 3, the chairs along the water's edge was too easy.

Both were taken with the D40 and 16-85mm VR.

Misty August morning

Seems the weather this month will be dramatically better than the previous two, we have had four good days in a row. Whenever you have a hot day followed by a cool night, fog is the result. I decided to take Route 208 and go around through Highway 325, I was rewarded with wonderful light.

It seems high-contrast shooting will show more dust/dirt on the sensor, how does it get on there? Thank goodness for the touch-up brush.

D40 and mostly with the AF-S 70-300mm VR.

Nikon Coolpix 8400 - too good a compact to put into retirement

I rarely use my Coolpix 8400, it was the camera that began my conversion to Nikon. I won this as an eBay auction about two years ago, paid about $500 CDN for the camera; it had only 700 shutter actuations, it was virtually new and the seller had the orignal box and accesories. About 6500 files later, I still can't put it away despite the fact I now own two Nikon DSLR's and various accessories.

I'd have no issues using the CP8400 for a back-up if my 16-85mm VR gave up the ghost at an important event, the image quality is wonderful and having the equivalent of 24mm is inherently useful. Now that I have Capture NX2 on my laptop, I usually shoot RAW and have even greater flexibility.

With results like this, I might just use it more often.........

A few from Ross Farm

I had a rare Monday off, and I had been wanting to visit Ross Farm for some time. Although it was dreadfully humid and unusually quiet for a summer day, I did manage to pull of some decent stuff .

D80 and Sigma 50-150mm.

South Shore Exhibition a.k.a The Big Ex

Seems like the summer events just keep running into each other, the South Shore Ex always attracts a large crowd. Today was one of those bracelet days where you can partake of all the rides you want for a set price. I was able to get some satisfying images before the bright sun took over, I simply stop taking photos when that happens.

I was as much interested to see how my framed photos did at the craft building as much as what was happening at the event, itself, happily, all went well for my short 2-hour or so visit - my photos got some awards, to boot.

All images were taken with the D40 and Sigma 50-150mm, no flash.

Wooden Boat Festival

We are into our busy summer local events in Lunenburg County, one of the staples is the Wooden Boat Festival in Mahone Bay (I think they now call it "Classic Wooden Boat Festival" for political correctness) Whatever, it can provide loads of photo opportunirties for someone like me who enjoys photojournalism-style imaging.

For practicality, I often carry both Nikon DSLR's at such events, preferring not to be changing lenses due to the real possibility of sensor debris issues, it's better to simply switch cameras. I must look like a professional, many of the tourists label me as such. It can be a bit ungainly especially with an SB-600 on board one of the bodies.

Such venues are wonderful to make new acquaintances, I have noticed shooters are of one flavour or another - Canon or Nikon - I usually approach a stranger toting such equipment and quickly become part of the family=)