Shadow Birds

In addition to the unattractive but technically interesting photos of geese on the kaleidoscope water, I got some cool shots of silhouetted birds. My favourites are posted on Images Across The Earth.

The in-flight shots were technically tricky because the light was fading rapidly, the birds were some distance away, and they were moving fast.

Compare the detail below with the second shot in the gallery, which was taken twenty minutes earlier.

F 11 .. 200 mm .. 1/60 sec
(detail)

Technical specs for the gallery shot: F 13 .. 135 mm .. 1/200 sec (detail). The increased shutter speed and different angle captured individual feathers in motion rather than a full-wing blur.

I also got some interesting shots of birds on the water. At a glance the first gallery shot looks as though it is a single bird with its shadow/reflected in the water, but in fact there are two birds:

F 5.6 .. 200 mm .. 1/60 sec
(detail)

Technical specs for the gallery shot: F 5.6 .. 200 mm .. 1/80 sec (detail). The two shots were taken in rapid succession.

Finally, a detail that shows off more of the 18 - 200 lens' capabilities:

F 7.1 .. 170 mm .. 1/60 sec
(detail)

Click the image to see the full-size version. The camera did a fantastic job of capturing the reflected light and texture of the water. Note the concentric ripples around the righthand bird, overlaid on the river's natural weave. This is a full-width version of the original shot, simply cropped to remove the less interesting foreground/background that was out of field.

Nighttime Harvard Square

Out again with the new lens yesterday evening (again a little late, but that just creates great test conditions).

Of note: these shots focused on "the garage" sign, and were handheld after dark. For the two landscape-oriented photos there's a distinct difference in crispness in the lettering at the centre of the shot, while the non-central elements appear similar. In the first shot slight blur is due to vibration; in the second it is depth of field/bokeh.

In the portrait-oriented shot it's worth noting the detail of the reflection at the lower left and the legibility of the unilluminated street signs. This used a relatively slow shutter speed, so moving traffic and pedestrians are slightly blurred. VR did a great job again.

F 9 .. 28 mm .. 1/3 sec
original jpg

F 5.6 .. 28 mm .. 1/8 sec

original jpg

F 10 .. 36 mm .. 1/4 sec
original jpg

Ghost Flowers

Just before heading in I caught sight of some sunflowers in lamplight. These ghost flowers were the result:

F 5.6 .. 200 mm .. 1.6 sec

Low Light Photography

Yesterday evening I went out a little too late... which meant that I didn't get great art shots, but I did have the chance to try out the Nikkor's vibration reduction (VR) technology, as well as to make some 'artsy' shots.

All of these were hand-held with VR (vibration reduction) on. Aperture priority unless otherwise noted.

Of note: Vibration Reduction ROCKS!

Context for these shots: Danehy Park, Cambridge MA, shortly after sunset.

F 5 .. 18 mm .. 1/100 sec

A couple of teenage girls were rolling down the hill:

F 5.6 .. 135 mm .. 1/13 sec
original jpg

On the field at the bottom of the hill some boys were kicking a soccer ball around:

F 5.6 ..170 mm .. 1/13 sec
original jpg

F 8 .. 29 mm .. 2/5 sec
original jpg

F 13 .. 29 mm .. 2/5 sec
original jpg