My work in print

I don't have a printer. My monitor is a 14" CRT freebie from a good friend who heard about my Viewsonic 17" that blew up (it wasn't the fault of the monitor, it served me well for about 8 years). My 14" monitor is a reliable IBM P50 though...

Anyway, what I am trying to say is this: I haven't really printed my own work.... BUT they are actually in print! They have been published in a bank newspaper, for the second time! They are pictures I took at work functions. AND, it is not a tiny picture in a corner but it covered the front page and a significant portion throughout the rest of the paper. I can't help but to be very excited about this. It even has a little corner with my picture and a little brief about me... How embarrassing! :P

Anzac Day Dawn Service, 25th April

My dear wife and I went to the ANZAC Day dawn service. This time, apart from taking part in this solemn Australian tradition, I was keen to take a picture of the Eternal Flame. I found it difficult, especially in the dark.

I didn't know what aperture and shutter speed to use and the small 1.8" LCD screen on my camera didn't help. Many of the exposures came out bad. Here are a couple that are relatively decent. Hope you like them. Please give me some tips about taking this kind of pictures - flames. I did bring my tripod with me but didn't end up using it. I barely had room to stand (amongst the tens of thousands there) let alone erect my tripod.. May be I should have taken my monopod instead.

There was a large array of cameras at the service this time. Many were carrying pro cameras. Saw several Canon 1D(s) and Nikon D3, not to mention about big lens and new N grade lens as well.. I must admit that I was very envious of all those D3 owners... just imagining all the new opportunities D3 has opened up for them because of its very good low light performance. Yes, yes, Canon fans, it is probably no quantum leap from Canon's performance, but if you have been using older Nikons like me, it is great!

One poor lady dropped her (d)SLR, not sure whether she just dropped the lens or the whole camera/lens combination. It was so dark she couldn't put it back together. There were many good people there helping her with their mobile phone light or cigarette lighter. Thank God that I had brought my torch also. Something came off the lens which was not a good sign.. I think it was the AF/MF switch. Always wear the neck/wrist strap.

PS The top image is cropped for panoramic effect.

Fly me to the moon (again)

Saw the beautiful night sky on the way home tonight. There was some clouds, many stars and the moon was clear and bright. I couldn't resist taking another picture of the moon. This time with the lens hood attached. Not sure what happened but it was sharper than my last attempt which was posted here. Hope I haven't bored you to death with this subject. I can't promise that I will never post another picture of the moon again. It is just too beautiful! OK, the setting was f/8, 1/250 sec at iso200. Picture is 1:1 cropped but otherwise straight out of the camera without any editing. Enjoy!

Earth Hour 2008

Here I post two pictures, one taken at Earth Hour on 28th of March and another on the 2nd of April when Melbourne experienced really bad storm and my house lost power until late.

Interesting thing about the first picture is that it was taken at iso1600 handheld. Nikon D70 or older Nikon dSLRs are known to have plenty of noise at high ISO, at least compared with newer Canons. However I am quite pleasantly surprised by the little noise in this picture. Perhaps I am just not really demanding or I am more captured by the mood of the picture. With the second picture, iso200 was used along with my monopod. It was taken at 1/3 second. Thank God that it was still sharp. Manual white balance was used for both pictures because automatic WB rendered the pictures too red.

My new monopod

Here is my newest toy! A Manfrotto 681B Monopod complete with 234RC head (with quick release plate) and 677SC spiked cup feet. Taken a few test shots with it and already loving it because I already can take about 2 stops faster than before. VR is still required or can be beneficial according to Nikon tech support. It will take some practice to learn to use it properly. http://www.outdooreyes.com/photo5.php3 has some good info about using monopod. Please let me know if you know of another good source. Thank you very much in advance.

I haven't decided if I would wrap the metal surface (top section of course) with (black) heat shrink yet. Yep, you read this correctly. I love heat shrink, it gives good protection for the monopod and it doesn't feel as cold also, esp on those really cold days.