New World War II Novel on Kindle

I haven’t posted much on my street photography hobby lately as I’ve been pretty well engaged in the last three months with my other hobby: writing. (My last photo walk was in August, and since then I’ve been working on two novels, the last of which I’ve just listed for sale on Amazon’s Kindle.)

This post’s not entirely unrelated to the process of making images, however, as the cover for the e-book, entitled Paths to Victory, has only recently been completed by the artist, Ander Plana http://anderpeich.deviantart.com

Soon after I outlined my idea to Ander he came back to me with an outline sketch, which pretty much nailed my description of the novel’s main scene. Two weeks later he delivered the completed cover, and I think it’s interesting to see the difference between both embryonic and completed versions (see below).

My next photo walk will probably be in early January, 2014. Meanwhile, if anyone's interested in the novel, I’m including the following links:

Paths to Victory USA, click here

Paths to Victory UK, click here

(Also available at all other Amazon international sites.)

Outline sketch

Completed Cover

My take on the new Nikon Df ...

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while, but I’ve been writing two novels (the second one nearing completion) and I haven’t been able to do much shooting.

What’s taken my eye in recent days, however, is the announcement of the new full-frame digital camera from Nikon, the Df, which will go on sale in UK on 28 November at the eye-watering price of £2,700, give or take, a RRP which includes a new 50mm lens.

(Apparently in the UK there is no option but to buy the camera with its bundled kit lens. In the US, a body-only version is available around 300 dollars cheaper than the dollar RRP for the kit, which is a shade under $3,000.)

So, what do I make of this new offering?

I sincerely believe the company have a winner here, despite the asking price.

I had a brief look at the camera from a purely non-technical viewpoint, with the onus on how it might appeal to street photographers. I think the main thing about the Df is its film camera-like looks, harking back to Nikon’s popular F series, and the fact that, although similar in size and weight to the D600/D610, it does appear more compact.

(I still shoot much of my street photography with a D40 and prefer SLRs. I came back to photography with a renewed interest in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I owned two Practikas and a Canon EF-M, before switching to Nikon in 2005 when I bought an F65.)

I like the fact that the Df has no movie mode. This, together with the Df’s film retro appearance and manually-activated controls, is likely to appeal to many photographers, including street shooters. (I think the Df might be taken for an old film camera on the street, thus appearing less threatening, and perhaps more inconspicuous ... particularly in black.)

Will I buy one?

Maybe in a year or so when the price comes down (by which time I hope a body-only version will be available in the UK).

Voigtlander Color Skopar 20mm f/3.5

This is a new addition to my lens lineup. In DX, the 20mm is actually 30mm, but this wide field of view is still ideal for street photography. It is of course a manual focus lens, but used with a stop of F8 or above, and with the distance set from ten feet to infinity, I find it an excellent performer.

(As with any wide lens, you really have to get up close for best performance when doing street work. Nonetheless, with some shots I was able to crop significantly (and the D40 is a 6 megapixel camera) without losing much detail. With the D40, and I imagine with most DSLRs, you can achieve accurate focus at any F-stop by paying attention to the ‘in focus’ light, green on the Nikon, which pinpoints the focus on your subject in the viewfinder.)

I like how the lens renders colours, too, and images converted to B&W seem to have a bit of added ‘punch.’ (The lens is also small, relatively light, and unobtrusive.)

But enough of my rambles, I’ll let you be judge:

Harpist

Minicam ...

Life's a yawn ...

In the pink

Focus of attention

Giving it the works

Those boots are made for walking ...

Separate tables

Castle walk ...

The Cap'n and his mate?

Adam Smith and Friends

David Hume

Walter Scott Monument, Balmoral Hotel and North Bridge

Walter Scott Monument

in the picture

Edinburgh International Festival, 2013

During an Edinburgh festival some years ago I was within earshot of the renowned artist and gallery owner Richard Demarco (a close friend of Sean Connery and other well-known Edinburghers), when I heard him remark to a friend: “Edinburgh’s amazing at this time of year ... the entire city is en fête.”

En fête it almost certainly is. Edinburgh’s population (approximately 500,000) doubles during the three weeks of the Festival (which concludes this year on August 24). The only problem is that the streets are crowded (and I do mean crowded — walk the upper part of the Royal Mile from Tron Church to Edinburgh Castle, and you’re literally shoulder-to-shoulder with other folk — every square foot of road and pavement is taken).

The upside for the street photographer is that there are limitless picture-taking opportunities. The downside is you’re lucky to get a picture without someone walking into shot.

I’m not complaining, however, as I do like the Festival, and enjoy the atmosphere generated by visitors during this time of year.

My Festival photo walk took in the upper part of the Royal Mile (Tron Church to Bank Street), from where I descended The Mound to finish up at Mound Square/Princes Street.

(All photos taken with a Nikon D3200 and 50mm lens.):

Watch the birdie ...

Spotted ...

Send in the clowns

Portrait

The arms of the law ...

In a bit of a fankle

Leaflet, sir?

Photo gear ...

I’m currently in the process of making more changes to my gear.

When taking candids, I found the Ricoh GR not quite as responsive as I’d hoped. Sometimes the slightest movement — even at high shutter speeds — resulted in an out-of-focus picture. The truth is, I think I’ve grown dependent on the image stabilisation of its predecessor, the GRD IV. (Although it features a smaller sensor, the GRDIV almost always gives a stable, sharply-focussed shot.)

So, regrettably, the GR has been returned (and refunded).

The fact is, over the last year I’ve tried a number of cameras. I bought an Olympus XA film camera, which I like very much and still use occasionally. Immediately following this I bought a Nikon D200, which I liked but found a bit on the weighty side. This was sold and replaced with a D90.

Although lighter, I still found the D90 a shade heavy after an hour or two. This prompted me to think about a smaller camera body, which led to me trying the X100, which I disliked (see my previous post on this).

In August last year I bought the Ricoh GRD IV, a really inconspicuous street camera, the only downside of which is that the small-resolution files don’t allow much cropping. (Still, the camera is very much a keeper.)

My latest walk with the D40 and 50mm lens led me to rethink my attitude to DSLRs. I’m now of the opinion that smaller, more compact entry-level models are still viable tools for street work, as they have considerable advantages: with a shorter lens they are almost as light and inconspicuous as micro fourth-thirds cameras, the nearest alternative in image quality, and tend to be considerably cheaper. (Thinking of Olympus OM-5 and Panasonic Lumix GF here). 

I was surprised to discover, for instance, that the D40's direct descendant, the D3200, has an amazing 24.2 MP, coupled with the same Expeed 3 processing engine used by Nikon’s flagship camera — the D4. The most persuasive argument in favour of my buying the camera, however, was the purchase price ... now only £304 brand new.

My final reasoning was the fact that, coupled with a prime lens such as the 50mm, this camera is capable of matching the image quality produced by more expensive DSLRs (and the best of the micro four-thirds cameras).

So with Nikon’s D3200 (and the GRD IV as my secondary camera), I look forward to my next photo walk (planned for next week).

Bright day in Bank Street (Nikon D40, 50mm 1.8G)

Making pictures (Nikon D40, 50mm 1.8G)

Routemaster (Nikon D40, 50mm 1.8G)

Photo walk 11 July — Nikon D40 + 50mm 1.8g lens

I just acquired a 1.8g 50mm lens, which I bought as my previous 50mm — 1.8D — did not autofocus with my D40. The ‘G’ version does, as it has an internal motor.

The 2013 Edinburgh International Festival (2-26 August) is only a couple of weeks away. It brings with it the Edinburgh Fringe, which, with its varied and numerous shows, always produces a fair number of street photo opportunities (these are inevitably promoted by participating actors and performers — who can be seen touting their shows on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh’s medieval thoroughfare).

I'm looking forward to photographing some of these then. Meantime, a few shots from my recent photo walk with the D40 and 50mm 1.8G:

Tom Gilzean

Maternal curiosity?

Plugged in ...

In the picture ...

Day in the sun

Plaid Piper

Stepping up ...

Ricoh GR: first photo walk ...

Got out on Monday 1 July to give the GR a more in-depth test. As I wrote in my last post, I’ve been experimenting with the settings to find the best combination for my street shots, as some of my first shots were marred by slow shutter speeds.

I also said in the last post that I had set the ISO at auto-high, with a max of 1600. With the F-setting at 2.8, I thought this would give me a fast enough shutter speed for the pictures to be sharp.

I failed to realise that, even with the ISO set on auto-high, the GR will always use the lowest ISO when metering the shot. This means that in good light ISO will revert to the lowest setting — 100. Most shots taken at this ISO with an aperture of 2.8 will use a shutter speed of 1/500 - 1/750.

You might think this would be adequate enough to ensure an perfectly sharp picture. Alas, it ain’t necessarily so. You see, I invariably take most of my shots at a slow walk. If the subject is also on the move — i.e, walking towards me — a shutter speed of 1/750 is often not fast enough.

As a result, at F2.8, I now alter the ISO setting to between 200 and 400. This should make sure the shutter speed is around 1/1000 or above.

I’m glad to say most of the ‘keepers’ on my recent photo walk are fairly sharp, but there were one or two instances where the shot would have been better if a faster shutter speed had been used.

By the way, I’m very impressed with the GR’s IQ — in several shots I was able to crop a fair bit without any noticeable effect on picture quality. The following pictures allow you to judge for yourself:

Whip hand

The graduate

Walter Scott Monument

Cityscape

Best foot forward

Keeping an eye out ...

Canine contretemps ...

Ricoh GR, brief first thoughts and some images ...

Received my new Ricoh GR on 18 June and am still learning the best settings for street photography. (The two pictures below inside the shopping mall were taken at F4.5, ISO 100, with a shutter speed of 125. 125 is a bit on the slow side for my liking for interior shots, and as a result the pictures not as sharp as I’d like them to be. The exterior shot (car) was taken at F.4.5, ISO 160 at 160.)

I’m experimenting with the settings for best results with future images, and have now set auto-high with maximum of 1600 ISO. (I’ll start with F2.8 and decrease aperture as necessary to maintain adequate shutter speed.) Incidentally, I’ve set the snap focus to 2.5 metres, but so far have found the autofocus to be fast enough not to require use of full-snap mode.

Aperture priority, colour Vivid, converted to B&W in Aperture for monochrome pictures.

(More thoughts and images from my next photo walk, which I plan later this week.)

Style guys

Window shopping ...

Car park, Cameron Toll Shopping Centre

Downsizing ...

My most recent photo walk, Wednesday 5 June, was something of a revelation. After 30-odd years shooting with SLRs (and preferring the SLR way of framing via the viewfinder), I discovered I’m now more at home street shooting with my Ricoh GRD. (I suspect the reason for this is that I’ve developed a method of shooting with the Ricoh whereby I hold the camera slightly to one side at the hip and compose the shot. I think this looks to subject/s as if I’m checking a previously-taken shot.)

Using an SLR for street photography, however, is more up-front and in your face. If you put the camera to your eye (the most obvious way to shoot with this type of camera), your subject can be aware of your intentions. To counteract this, I’ve been shooting either from the hip or, with the D90, pretending to check the top LCD screen while aiming the lens and taking the photograph.

I’ve found, however, using this method with the SLR is a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to focussing. The Ricoh overcomes this with its snap-focus function, which I must say I’ve found invaluable.

Good as the Ricoh is, though, its small 1/1.7 sensor just can’t deliver the same image quality as a APC-sized sensor — or such was the case until recently, when Pentax Ricoh brought out the fifth incarnation of its GRD line ... new GR. The 16 mp APC-sensor in the GR offers the same resolution as my D90 ... in a camera which is only fractionally bigger than the GRD 1V!

As taking street pictures is now my main photographic interest, I made a decision to buy the new Ricoh GR, which I’ve pre-ordered this week. To help pay for it, I’m off-loading my D90 (no easy decision). It was, however, prompted by reality: I’ve only used it twice in the last year while, on the other hand, I use the Ricoh almost on every shoot. (I’m not giving up SLR photography altogether, however, I still have my trusty D40 and F65 film camera.)

My thoughts on the Ricoh GR (and some sample pictures) in a future post. Meanwhile, some pictures from my most recent photo outing with the D90 and 24mm lens ...

A case for a wee rest ...

Patient Pooch

Middle of the road ...

Coffee time ...

Double parked