Transitioning to a new camera system often means bidding farewell to trusted gear. As I delve deeper into the world of Nikon’s Z9 system and its accompanying Z lenses, I’ve come to realize the remarkable evolution that has taken place in lens technology. This shift has led me to part ways with some cherished DSLR lenses that have faithfully served me through countless photographic journeys.

The decision to sell my beloved lenses was a challenging one. Each of them holds a special place in my collection, embodying the craftsmanship and quality I’ve come to expect from reliable tools of the trade. Yet, the advancements in Nikon’s mirrorless offerings have been revolutionary.

The recent lineup of lenses designed explicitly for the Nikon Z series has left me in awe. The leap in quality, focusing speed, and reduced weight is unparalleled compared to the stalwart DSLR lenses that accompanied me on numerous shoots. The convenience and superior performance of the Z lenses have proven to be a game-changer, encouraging me to streamline my gear for enhanced efficiency and uncompromised excellence.

Among the lenses bidding farewell, the Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM with the TC-1401 & TC-2001 attachments stands tall as a pinnacle of excellence. Its exceptional performance and versatility have captured moments that would have been otherwise impossible. The Sigma EX DG APO OS HSM 70-200mm F/2.8, a paragon of precision and reliability, has been a steadfast companion, delivering impeccable results repeatedly. Even the Samyang 14mm F2.8 Wide Angle Lens with an AE Chip for Nikon, in its mint condition, has been an indispensable tool for capturing expansive landscapes.

While parting with these lenses feels bittersweet, it’s an acknowledgment of the exciting advancements that Nikon has made in the realm of mirrorless photography. However, I find myself reminiscing about the days when visiting the local camera store meant engaging in the ritual of trading old gear for the latest upgrades. There’s a charm in that tactile exchange that’s worth cherishing.

For those interested, these lenses, meticulously maintained and in excellent or mint condition, now seek new homes on eBay. They’ve been cherished and respected and contributed immensely to my photographic journey. As I turn the page to embrace the cutting-edge capabilities of the Nikon Z9 system, I do so with gratitude for the moments these lenses helped me immortalize.

The evolution of technology often demands letting go of the old to embrace the new. In this transitional phase, I bid a fond farewell to these exceptional lenses, confident they’ll continue to inspire and empower others in their photographic endeavors, just as they did for me.

The photo above is of a finger, and the background has changed to a robot to use as an illustration with the help of generative fill in PhotoShop.

Photography, as an art and a profession, has never been static. The field has constantly evolved from its earliest days of cumbersome equipment to the era of smartphones and AI-powered image creation. Technological advancements have continually reshaped how images are captured, shared, and appreciated, significantly impacting the professional photography landscape.

One of the most notable shifts began with the advent of tools like light meters, autofocus, and various metering systems. These innovations simplified the technical aspects of photography, enabling more people to engage in capturing images. However, the monumental leap into digital capture revolutionized the industry. Suddenly, the guesswork of film was replaced by immediate results, altering the very essence of the photographic process.

The arrival of Artificial Intelligence elevated this transformation to new heights. AI now enables the creation of images that transcend reality, blurring the lines between photography and art. Yet, despite the sophistication of AI, its effectiveness hinges on human direction and input. Merely commanding it to produce a “great photo” falls short; specific prompts are necessary to translate ideas into visual realities.

Undoubtedly, the question arises: Is AI encroaching upon the domain of professional photographers? The answer is a nuanced one. While technology certainly streamlines the process, the creative prowess of individuals truly unlocks its potential. The synergy between human creativity and technological tools amplifies the impact of both.

Digital capture and mirrorless cameras democratized photography, making it more accessible. Smartphones, serving multifunctional purposes, further altered the landscape by ensuring a camera was always at hand. Consequently, the role of professional photographers evolved. They were no longer hired solely for image capture; instead, they were sought after for their ability to transcend mere documentation, offering something unique and profound.

A timeless truth lies at the heart of this evolving industry: Great photography stems from great ideas. Even when not creating the scenes they capture, photojournalists must possess a keen eye for stories and conflicts that resonate. They must understand their audience and effectively communicate the significance of their work.

A dichotomy exists within the profession – the creative visionaries and the master technicians. While AI may potentially threaten the latter, those harnessing its capabilities with creative insight will likely thrive. The future belongs to those who can merge the secret sauce of creativity with a deep understanding of technology and audience engagement.

Success in this dynamic industry is not merely about mastering the tools; it’s about comprehending why an audience craves a particular idea. The leaders of tomorrow’s photography landscape will be those who skillfully blend innovation, technical prowess, and an acute understanding of human emotion and narrative.

In this ever-evolving realm, the essence of photography persists: It’s not just about capturing an image; it’s about capturing a moment, a feeling, or an idea that resonates deeply with its audience. The fusion of human ingenuity and technological advancement is the lens through which the future of professional photography will be defined.

Photography is an art form intertwined with technology, and for Nikon camera owners, capturing moments can occasionally come with unexpected hiccups. Sometimes, those elusive glitches creep in, and the instinct is to blame the camera. But what if the answer lies not just in understanding the exposure triangle—ISO, shutter speed, and aperture—but in dissecting the intricate settings the camera used when the photo was taken?

Enter the often underutilized hero: the Nikon NX software. Beyond the commonly acknowledged exposure elements, this software unravels a treasure trove of information. It doesn’t just stop at the basics; it dives into the nitty-gritty—like focus settings, where your camera locks its focus, and many other configurations.

Understanding Beyond the Basics

Sure, the exposure triangle is the cornerstone of photography fundamentals. However, focusing solely on these aspects might overlook critical details. Imagine the frustration of blaming a blurry image on the camera, only to find out later that the focus was off, not the camera itself.

With the Nikon NX software, photographers can access a comprehensive breakdown of the settings used during the shot. It’s akin to peering under the hood of your camera post-capture, dissecting each element to understand the intricate dance of settings that contributed to that specific photo.

Isolating the Culprit

Picture this: you’ve captured a breathtaking landscape, but upon review, there’s an unexpected graininess or an unwarranted softness. Instead of throwing your hands up in frustration, the Nikon NX software empowers you to play detective.

Here is all the file info for the photo above:

By scrutinizing the detailed metadata captured by the software, you can isolate the exact setting causing the issue. Was it a misguided autofocus? Or perhaps an overlooked change in ISO sensitivity? With this software, you can identify and rectify problems swiftly and accurately.

The Power of Comprehensive Analysis

Photography is more than the sum of its exposure triangle parts. It’s about the intricate interplay of settings, focus modes, and nuanced adjustments that craft the final image. The Nikon NX software offers a panoramic view of these settings, elevating your troubleshooting prowess beyond what meets the eye.

The software leaves no stone unturned, from White Balance to Picture Controls, Active D-Lighting to Metering Modes. It’s like having a backstage pass to your camera’s performance, allowing you to understand what went wrong and why.

Conclusion

Next time you encounter an unexpected glitch in your Nikon-captured masterpiece, resist the urge to pin it solely on the camera. Instead, harness the power of the Nikon NX software—a tool designed to demystify the intricate web of settings and unveil the truth behind each shot.

Remember, photography is a delicate dance between artistry and technology, and with the right tools at your disposal, troubleshooting those occasional hiccups becomes a smoother, more enlightening process. So, delve deeper, analyze meticulously, and let your Nikon camera reveal its secrets through the lens of the NX software.

Happy shooting and troubleshooting!

Thirteen years ago, I had been shooting with my new Nikon D100 for just a few years. This was my first digital capture DSLR camera.

My daughter and I drove to Americus, Georgia, to photograph the Habitat for Humanity International’s Global Village & Discovery Center for Disney’s Family Magazine.

For the past few days, I have been going through my old CDs and DVDs, looking through my work. In good light, all of my digital cameras were pretty outstanding compared to my days of shooting film.

Indoors with that first Nikon D100, I used flash more than I would have to do today. But the results were just great.

I used the Sigma 18-125mm lens on this camera, which wasn’t super sharp but did great with that camera. I loved not having to carry a lot of lenses.

I was shooting wide with the 18mm on a DX cropped sensor, so I would only have hit about 27mm if it was an FX sensor. It would be a few years before Nikon introduced the entire sensor.

I cannot say enough about  Habitat for Humanity International’s Global Village & Discovery Center for those wanting to make a great day trip. You can see how people live worldwide, and Habitat builds different houses depending on the country.

Here the kids see brick made of aluminum and concrete, which they have used in Mexico.

I think this is one of the great day trips for families to see how the rest of the world lives.

Kids and adults can see actual street scenes, homes, and other things like schoolrooms in different countries.

When I was shooting fill flash outside with that Nikon D100, I had to shoot at 1/180 so I would not see the shutter curtain.

While the cameras today are much better, I believe that no matter what the camera is, you can get some great photos if you know what you are doing.

Group ƒ/64

In 1930, Willard Van Dyke, Ansel Adams, and Edward Weston formed the Group ƒ/64.

Group f/64 was founded by seven 20th-century San Francisco photographers who shared a standard photographic style characterized by sharply focused and carefully framed images, primarily from a Western (U.S.) viewpoint. In part, they formed in opposition to the pictorialist photographic style that had dominated much of the early 20th century. Still, they wanted to promote a new modernist aesthetic based on precisely exposed images of natural forms and found objects.

The term f/64 refers to a small aperture setting on a large-format camera, which secures an excellent depth of field, rendering a photograph evenly sharp from the foreground to the background. A small aperture sometimes implies a long exposure, and therefore, a selection of relatively slow-moving or motionless subject matter, such as landscapes and still life. Still, in the typically bright California light, this is less a factor in the subject matter chosen than the sheer size and clumsiness of the cameras, compared to the smaller cameras [35mm] increasingly used in action and reportage photography in the 1930s.

One of the magazines for which I have done work over the years is Country Magazine. They require shooting at the highest depth of field for their photos. To do this on today’s DSLR cameras, you typically shoot at ƒ/22. This would be equivalent to the ƒ/64 on an 8′”x10″ that many in Group ƒ/64 used.

The strength of shooting with sharpness throughout the photograph is that it puts the audience into the scene. This is where you use composition and lighting to draw the audience into the picture.

While your eye may initially be drawn to where the photographer directs you, using light values and composition, your vision will wander around the scene as if you were standing there yourself.

This style was in opposition to the pictorialists of the time.

Pictorialism is the name given to an international style and aesthetic movement that dominated photography during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is no standard definition of the term. Still, in general, it refers to a style in which the photographer has somehow manipulated what would otherwise be a straightforward photograph to ” create” an image rather than simply recording it. Typically, a pictorial photograph appears to lack sharp focus (some more so than others), is printed in one or more colors other than black and white (ranging from warm brown to deep blue), and may have visible brushstrokes or further manipulation of the surface. For the pictorialist, a photograph, like a painting, drawing, or engraving, was a way of projecting an emotional intent into the viewer’s realm of imagination.

In photography, bokeh refers to the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus areas of an image, created by a lens. Bokeh has been defined as “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light.” Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a visually pleasing way. In contrast, others produce unpleasant or distracting blurring—”good” and “bad” bokeh, respectively. Bokeh occurs in parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.

I would say that those who shoot primarily with a wide open aperture are more stylistically akin to the pictorialists of the last century and less like Group f/64, which was about preserving everything in the scene.

I love that my camera allows me to shoot from f/1.4 to f/57. The ƒ/57 is when I shoot with my Nikon 60mm Micro lens. Here is a shot I did that was widely published.

“ƒ/8 and be there,” Alfred Eisenstaedt responded to the question on how to be a successful photographer.

However, the earliest record of the quote “ƒ/8 and be there” is attributed to Weegee, a famous street photographer during the 1930s, ’40s, and beyond. It represents a philosophy of keeping technical decisions simple and letting your vision take you where you need to be. The quote has been the mantra of photojournalists, travel photographers, and even nature photographers.

This suggests that you need to anticipate and be technically prepared to capture “the decisive moment.”

I advise being cautious not to treat your interviews as if you have the microphone and recorder levels set and hit record, and then you’re done.

Don’t Make Your Camera a Box Camera

Kodak made a box camera where you pushed the button, and Kodak did the rest. You had no control over the Aperture, Shutter, or even ISO.

Once you subscribe to shooting all your photos like the Group ƒ/64 or those doing BOKEH photography, you have essentially taken that costly camera and turned it into a box camera.

Exercise for you to do

Take your camera and just one lens. Find a scene and then shoot the stage at every aperture setting your camera offers. Now, as you get to a wide open gap, you know that your depth-of-field becomes very shallow, so remember to change your focus so that the focal point is on something in the scene that creates interest. We call this selective technique focus.

Now spend time doing this for several different situations. It might be able to do it with scenery at first, but then move on to people. What is fun to do is to shoot where there are many people. A good example is a coffee shop.

Your challenge is not to take one good photo in each situation, but rather to capture a great picture at each f-stop.

When you master this technique, you discover you can say something different about each situation. This will be the difference between writing a concise sentence and creating a novel with just one frame.

Will you take up the challenge?

I believe great photographers are those who know when to use which aperture to capture what they want to say about the subject.