D600 upgrade rambling

Now that I have seen photos of the future Nikon D600, I am wanting it even more. I am now realizing that the lens I use the most is a DX Tamron 10-24 lens and it can not take full advantage of the D600 sensor.

If I decide to upgrade to a D600 I need to figure out what Ultra Wide Angle lens will give me the same field of view that I get with the DX camera.  My research shows that many Ultra Wide FX compatible lenses do not allow you to screw on a filter. So not only do I need an equivalent  viewpoint, I also need something that will support my 77mm filters.

I am still new to the FX vs DX world, so it is hard for me to figure out which lens I should consider buying (without breaking the bank).  It looks like Nikon has a very good Wide lens but I am not sure if it is wide enough or equal to the Tamron.

If you have any thoughts, I would love to hear your feedback.

Macro Fun

Spent some time using my Tamron 90mm Macro this week. A few of the best shots:

Next time I post this, I will run a sharpening on the image

Bug Macros

The yard was full of little flying creatures today so I took out the Tripod, Macro Slide and Tamron 90mm Macro lens...

Vasco Caves

On Sunday I went to a place called Vasco Caves in northern California. These caves were used by native americans going back 10,000 years.

In the 5 hour guided tour, I filled 2 Eye Fi memory cards and took about 500 pictures.  A few of them came out really well and I will post a few of my own favorites below. It is hard to get a lot of "idea" shots when you are surrounded by 30 other people on the tour, but I got lucky with a few.

I am used to shooting landscape objects at a great distance with the Tamron Ultra Wide Angle lens, but on this trip, I was up close several times and I learned a lot about the limits of the lens.  For one thing, if people are standing at the edge of the frame, they gain a lot of distortion. Very much in a fisheye style.  It really wasn't something I typically see.  I tried to adjust for this in Lightroom 4 by selecting the profile for the lens and it really did not fix the strongest of the problems, so I just didn't use the problem shots.

Typically when I do shoot, I really avoid getting people in my shots so I can focus on the landscape itself, but the caves were just so massive, the addition of people really helped bring things into scale

A few more of the more interesting shots

HDR with 3 bracketed shots

150 images from the trip can be found over on my flickr page.

Joby Tripod

I tried using my Joby tripod today along with a macro slide and Tamron Macro lens. It was nothing but a pain. It kept sinking and moving. I couldn't get the tripod head into a solid position for any shots.

Yes this was a lot of weight for the tripod, but  didn't expect it to keep sinking on me like it did.

The lens was pointed downward, which increased the weight on the head.

Marsh Creek hillside

I took this HDR image a few days ago while driving through Brentwood. I have probably past this location 20 or 30 times and had never even noticed the rocks on the hill let alone the trees.  But I had pulled into a small side road to take a photo of the nearby ranch and saw the perfect hill for a picture.

This photo was featured this week by The Digital Visual.

HDR image shot from a tripod and a Marumi Circular Polarizer. Tamron Ultra Wide angle lens. Edited and in Aperture on the Mac.

Tubes and more Tubes

View from each direction at the top of the bridge

Earlier in the winter I was out on a drive out near the delta and came across a very narrow road with these long water pipes (I assume they were water) running parallel with the road. At almost the end of the road we found a bridge just wide enough for a single car. This picture was taken from the top of that bridge.

I love the depth of field and the overall grungy feeling of the sky and fields.  Any other day and it would have just been an ordinary photo. Timing is everything I guess.

Hello World

I guess this is my first post to this new blog.

About me. I work for an East Bay software company and in my free time I am a landscape photographer with a little urban exploration thrown in.  Most of my photos are taken in in East Bay parks or on the back roads.

I currently shoot with a Nikon D5100 and mostly use a Tamron Ultra Wide Angle lens.  Photos are usually edited with Aperture on the Mac.

I have been shooting photos since high school but only really got serious about a year go with I picked up the Nikon.  I am still learning and building my skills. I once read a quote that your first 10,000 photos are crap. I am just over 5000 on this camera at the time of this writing. I will let you be the judge.

Your feedback and comments are always appreciated.