Full Moon Tonight

Handheld shot of the moon, AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IF-ED.

Taken just moments ago. It seems to be a good test of any telephoto lens to attempt this. This was taken with the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED at 1/400s, f/8, ISO 200, handheld. At the long end, it’s 450mm on the D90. Thank goodness for VR, not that shooting at 1/400 sec. is that challenging. The moon is so bright that you can shoot this fast with a low ISO and relatively small aperture to capture all the detail.

Here’s a tight crop...

Full Moon taken with Nikon D90 with Nikon 70-300mm f/3.5-5.6 Zoom
1/400s, f/8, ISO 200, 450mm

I didn’t think it fair to post this as the actual image. It’s been cropped, resampled to the original pixel dimensions, and sharpened. It doesn’t make a bad photo.

This is a true test of the sensor’s resolving capability. There would be more detail if this were captured on film, but the focal length would have been 300mm, instead of 450mm, so it might be a wash. If I captured this with an FX camera, say the D700, the reduced focal length might also have killed the sensor resolution, which is the same as the D90 in DX format.

Here’s a photo of an almost full moon taken back in December 2009 with My Nikon Coolpix P5100 and Opteka 3.3x teleconverter, and enlarged and sharpened by the same amount:

Almost Full Moon Taken with Nikon Coolpix P5100 with Opteka 3.3x Teleconverter
1/100s, f/5.3, ISO 64, 406mm

Obviously the D90 image is superior, but I’m pretty impressed by the P5100, especially considering its tiny sensor (by comparison to the D90) and reduced focal length.

Since both of these images were not taken under the same circumstances, if it’s clear tonight I think I’ll attempt to take another photo with the P5100 at ISO 200.

Macro on the Cheap, Part II

Reversing a wide-angle lens with a reverse mount adapter is a pretty neat and inexpensive way of creating a manual focus, manual exposure macro setup without buying more lenses. The flip side to that is creating an auto-focus, auto exposure macro setup which is more convenient, albeit at the expense of speed.

Typically this is done by reversing a 50mm lens and attaching it to an existing auto exposure and/or auto focus lens. As with mounting the lens directly to the camera body in reverse, the wider the angle, the greater the magnification. However, this technique is prone to vignetting which may increase as the angle gets wider.

What we need to do this is known as a reverse coupler, a simple device with two male filter threads which allows you to attach two lenses front to front. The reversed lens behaves just like a closeup lens that screws onto your filter threads. A multi-element, multi-coated, high-diopter, closeup lens.

It works like this; if you add a magnifying (convex) lens in front of your main lens, it shortens the minimum focusing distance so that in order to achieve focus, you need to move closer to the subject. When you do, the subject is magnified in the process. Since a normal lens gathers light from the scene and reduces it to fit onto the camera’s film frame (or sensor) flipping it around has the opposite effect…it becomes a magnifier!

To figure out the diopter value, divide 1000 by the lens’ focal length. So, a 50mm lens would have a diopter of 20. Compare that to a stack of three typical closeup lenses which would give you a total diopter of 8, and degrade image quality with significant chromatic and spherical aberration.

Since this technique often produces vignetting effects, you might want to test your intended “diopter” lens first by “freelensing”; hold the reversed lens up to your main lens with the aperture wide open to see if the image circle is reduced significantly. Setting the “diopter” lens to its shortest focus distance will enlarge the image circle, but reduce the working distance. Also, make sure all filters are removed from the facing filter threads to reduce the lens-to-lens distance as much as possible.

The Nikon BR-6 Auto Diaphragm Ring helps here as well. Even though you won’t be using the aperture of the “diopter” lens, you can use the BR-6 to set it to its widest position, and add a filter to protect the rear element.

Holga, The Lomography “System” Camera

Here’s my growing Holga outfit so far...

Clockwise from center: Holga 120FN, 6x4.5cm mask, 6x6cm mask, 35mm mask,
35mm back, filter adapter, cable release adapter, 46-52mm step-up ring

Being the camera geek that I am, I couldn’t resist putting together a system for the Holga, just as I did for the Nikon Coolpix P5100. With this setup, I can shoot two different formats of 120 film, and two different formats of 35mm film.

Not pictured here is the additional 6x6cm mask that I plan on modifying to create a 35mm panoramic sprocket hole adapter. I figure, if I’m going to load this thing with 35mm film, it should be to achieve a unique effect. Otherwise, I could just use my newly acquired Lavec LT-002.

The 46-52mm step-up ring is a handy way to add filters to the Holga. Although there are no filter threads per se on the Holga, the rim around the periphery of the lens is just the right size to allow a 46mm filter to be threaded on. You simply line up the filter as evenly as possible, apply a little pressure, and rotate about one-eighth of a turn. The filter will be firmly attached. Don’t try to thread it on all the way however, as this will likely break the rim off the lens. Over time, the rim will wear and you’ll be able to thread it on a little deeper, so the connection will just get better and better.

Taking this one step further, the 46-52mm step-up ring will allow me to use all my existing 52mm and 67mm filters, not to mention my Cokin filters.

One solid reason for the ability to use filters with the Holga is to employ neutral density filters. This way, you can load the camera with fast film for low-light situations, and use the neutral density filter to control exposure under brighter conditions.

The Holga filter adapter is a handy way to not only use the available Holga filters, but to make your own, which is one of the things that originally drew me to the Cokin filter system. Find some clear film from product packaging, trim it to a rectangle 1-15/16" x 2-1/4", and voilà! Instant filter base. Scratch it, sand it, mask out the center, color it with marker, anything you want.

I’m also considering the Holga .5x wide-angle converter lens. Although 60mm is nice and wide for 120 film, and should work well with the 35mm panoramic format, it’s a bit long for the straight 35mm adapter. I don’t know though; it’s going to set me back a whole $14.95.

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You can learn more about modifying your Holga at Holgamods.

The Last Days of Summer

It’s been eight months since I started this blog, and I must say I’ve enjoyed sharing my experiences with the rest of the photographic world. Being a teacher as well as a photographer, I find it’s been a useful venue for helping those who want to become better photographers, which includes myself. One of my mantras has always been, “I teach in order to learn, and learn in order to teach; the two go hand in hand”.

So, I’ve decided to take the leap, and spruce up the design of “Against the Grain” with Blogger’s pretty cool design templates, and add content pages that are not timeline specific. As one who has spent a fair amount of time designing for web media, I find using Blogger quite liberating; I can concentrate on the content, without getting all caught up in the design. I just have to learn to work with Blogger’s rather primitive HTML editor.

Looking ahead, the fall colors should provide many photographic opportunities, especially for my new Didymium filter, which seems destined for such use by design. I’m looking forward to experimenting with it so I can give it the write-up it deserves.

Time is running out for Infrared work, which seems less spectacular once the foliage leaves us. It should be interesting to see if fall foliage, with all its reds, oranges and yellows, registers any differently. After all, it’s not about the color green, but how the leaves reflect infrared light, and perhaps autumn leaves do it a little differently.

I’ve come pretty far, and yet there’s so much further to go. When compact discs first came out, I was motivated to acquire all those albums I had held off buying until they were available in a more permanent format. So it is with photography. Each new purchase seems like it has more value, now that photography is in the digital domain. So, I’m working hard to catch up on all those accessories I’ve always wanted.

Photography is as alive as ever, even more so now that it’s digital. Working in the Times Square area of New York, you see a lot of people with all types of cameras, taking all types of pictures. Everyone has a different MO, and there’s a camera for just about every one. With so many people taking and sharing photos, and an infinite amount of subject matter, it seems I have my work cut out for me.

Move Over, Holga; a New Hobby is Born

Lavec LT-002 35mm Plastic “Toy” Camera

During Sunday’s outing in Cold Spring Harbor, I purchased this little gem for five dollars. There it was, sitting on a shelf with more sophisticated but forgotten cameras, digital and film alike. None of them appealed to me, not even the historically significant Kodak Disc camera, the “Edsel” of Instamatics. None of them except this one.

It features four aperture settings, a frame counter, a hot shoe and came in a zippered vinyl case. The back opens just like the typical 35mm camera, by pulling up on the rewind crank. Internally it sports a curved film plane and pressure plate. The construction is quite robust, and yet retains that wonderful, creaky plasticky feel of a holga.

What hooked me were the four color-coded aperture settings denoted by both icons and f designations, and the positive feel of the click stops of the rotating lens barrel used to set them.
The variable aperture is achieved using by “waterhouse stops”, in this case a tapered opening which slides from side to side when the lens barrel is rotated. This should make for a very interesting bokeh, which will be in the shape of a lopsided trapezoid.

So, with the acquisition of this camera, I realize that “camera collecting” is now an official hobby for me. It gives me something to look for when my wife and I go antiquing. Over the years, I’ve acquired some interesting cameras, mostly by accident. But for the first time, I actually see myself seeking out specific, collectible camera models, like this one:

The Timeless Rolleiflex 3.5 M-X Synch TLR

This is actually a camera that I sought out for many years, but not as a collectible camera, as a working camera. I was fortunate to find an example in very good, working condition. I have shot with this camera, and it takes wonderful pictures. But even if it didn’t, it would be valuable as a collectible.

Auto White Balance -NO! …well, Maybe

Having lunch today at Whistling Willy’s (formerly Henry’s on the Hudson) in Cold Spring Harbor, I have come to realize that auto white balance is not necessarily the scary monster I had previously thought.

As a rule, I advise against AWB, (no reference to the ’70s R&B group that originated from Scotland) but I have to admit there are certain unidentifiable lighting conditions under which it solves a multitude of problems. Like, in dark, strangely lit pub sitting near an open window.

Normally when I’m indoors, I automatically think “incandescent” (the little lightbulb looking icon on digital cameras). And then I think, “wait…grab your Vivicap, and do a custom white balance”. But sometimes that just takes too long and I miss the shot. So, my new approach is to not discount the use of auto white balance when shooting under circumstances where there are multiple light sources.

An added benefit of this technique is that, in the event that I move onto a new light source, the results may not be optimal, but at least they won’t be as horrendous as they are when I forget to switch from custom to daylight, as is often the case when moving from say, the interior of a museum to the courtyard outdoors.

This might also be the perfect opportunity to talk about the little gadget I mentioned above, the Seculine Vivicap. It’s a center-pinch lens cap that doubles as a light diffuser for use with the custom white balance function.

Seculine Vivicap

I can use it to take both reflected light readings (light entering the camera which is reflected by the subject) or incident light readings (light before it falls on the subject). So, if I’m using say, a wide angle prime lens indoors and find it difficult to take a reading off an 18% gray card, I just point the camera at the light source and take a reading through the cap.

Let’s face it; I don’t really need this. I could just as easily carry a piece of folded-up paper in my bag, or, in a pinch, grab a white napkin off the table. But honestly, how much more convenient could this be than by having it attached to my camera lens as I take it out of the bag? I could have spend half as much, or three to four times as much. But at five dollars more than the price of a Nikon replacement lens cap, the price was right. And, like the more expensive models, the Vivicap also uses tiny prisms to gather the light from different angles.

I also considered the ExpoImaging ExpoDisk. It’s manufactured to much higher tolerances, and has the advantage of having an 18% light transmission, so it can also be used to take exposure readings. However, I question whether 18% is enough to take an accurate white balance reading. And at four times the price, I’m not going to find the answer any time soon.

Perhaps the Vivicap is also 18%, because I’ve used it to take exposure readings, and it seems to do a pretty good job. Using the exposure lock, I can take an incident light reading by pointing the camera at the light source, or I can point the camera right at the subject to take a reflected reading. In a darkened room with bright light coming through the window, the Vivicap’s reading averaged the light so interior details were clearly vivisible, while retaining enough darkness to capture the mood. I see a 52mm Vivicap in my future, which would be a nice addition to my Coolpix P5100 outfit.

Another handy gadget is the Lastolite EZ Balance Collapsible Light Balancing Disk. This device, similar to an automobile sunshade, has a white side and an 18% gray side, and because it can also double as a bounce card to add fill light to a subject, it’s also on my wish list. But, if I happen to find a nice, neutral, cheapo auto sun shade in the meantime, it’s mine.

Canon FD-Nikon Extension Tube

It was easier than I thought it would be. With the help of some scrap metal, tin snips and a Radio Shack notching tool, I fashioned a tool to remove the corrective optic from the Fotodiox FD-Nikon Lens Mount Adapter, effectively creating a 13mm extension tube that will mount Canon lenses to Nikon bodies. The added benefit of which is that it also serves as a Canon Macro Hood/Diaphram adapter.