Tag Archive for: photography

I Got A Nikon Camera

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Paul Simon released There Goes Rhymin’ Simon in 1973. Kodachrome was a big hit for Paul Simon. The catch lyric: “I got a Nikon camera, I love to take a photograph, so mamma don’t take my Kodachrome away.”

Kodak required the album to note that Kodachrome is a trademark of Kodak. Nikon did not make such a request. Paul Simon’s Kodachrome was a hit in North America. In Britain, the song was not played on radio because of the trademarked Kodak name.

I have a Nikon D200 camera. And I love to take a photograph. Digital. RAW. No Kodachrome.

The D200 is an excellent camera body with sophisticated controls manifest in hardware and software. The software supports up to four customized shooting modes. The variables are extensive and so I looked for some background on the camera and recommended settings.

I should have known. There is a very active online community called Nikonians. And I downloaded a comprehensive custom settings spreadsheet from here. I have set up four modes: point and shoot, portrait, landscape, and action.

Even if you do not own a Nikon camera, the site is rich with informative articles on photography. You will need to register and the free membership gives access to the forums and articles.

Recommended. And in the spirit of photography, here is one of the better studio shots of Paul Simon.

Paul Simon

Digital Photography Workflow

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Looks like some of you struggle with a decent workflow for your digital photographs.

The book that I found really helpful for managing workflow is Tim Grey’s book: Photoshop CS2 Workflow — The Digital Photographer’s Guide.

For serious photographers only. Grey assumes that you use Adobe’s Photoshop CS2 and Camera RAW. He presents a comprehensive approach to image processing after the initial exposure. Highly recommended.

For the casual photographer? Get a Mac and use iPhoto. Workflow is very straightforward with this tool and it is hard to beat iPhoto’s ease of use.

Ring of Kerry

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Today was our last day in Ireland. We head out very early tomorrow morning. 4am. And we will have about 20 hours or so in travel time before we get home.

Regardless, a fantastic trip. We did a remarkable amount of touring in a short time. We drove the Ring of Kerry today and I was able to get some great pictures.

As many of you have asked, the camera I am using is indeed the new Nikon D200. Most of the pictures were shot with an AF-S Nikkor 18-70mm F3.5-4.5 G ED lens. The images have been captured in RAW format as well as basic JPEG.

The landscapes are fantastic here in Ireland. Simply amazing. And we enjoyed great weather. Some cloud, a little rain, but overall very pleasant.

Here are a few pictures of the Ring of Kerry:

Ring 4

Ring 1

Ring 5

Ring 2

Ring 3

The Gap of Dunloe

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Yesterday we toured the Gap of Dunloe. The walk was about eight miles in length in a wild gorge bordered by Macgillycuddy’s Reeks and the Purple and Tornies mountains. The journey through the Gap of Dunloe is spectacular. The gorges are very steep and the glacial lakes are very impressive.

Lorraine and I really had quite the workout. And, of course, I am walking along with my tripod, my camera and my backpack, stopping every few minutes to take another photograph. We only had 3 hours to get to Lord Brandon’s cottage as that was where we needed to join a boat returning to Killarney. We just made it in time.
Here are some photos of the Gap of Dunloe.

Gap 1

Gap 2

We finished up the tour by spending a couple of hours boating through the Lakes of Killarney. Our tour finished here at the Ross Castle. And, later that day, we also toured the Muckross Abbey.

Gap 5

Gap 6

Gleninchaquin

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Lorraine and I climbed Mount Everest today. Okay. Not quite Mount Everest, but the hiking trail at Gleninchaquin was quite a test of endurance. To reach the top of the mountain was time consuming and it reminded me that my cardiovascular system is in dire need of some help.

As with all of the areas that we have seen to date, the landscape was stunning. Today was the first day of rain although it did hold back until mid-afternoon. I was able to get some excellent pictures of the valley of Gleninchaquin. Here are a few of them for you to see.

Gleninchaquin 1

Gleninchaquin 2

Gleninchaquin 3

Gleninchaquin 4

Gleninchaquin 5

Muckross House

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As promised, here are some pictures of the Muckross House gardens from our tour of the Ring of Kerry in Ireland. Stunning environment.

Muckross 1

Muckross 2

Muckross 3

Muckross 4

Kenmare

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We arrived in Kenmare today. And in enough time to go on a photo shoot. I worked through a couple of hundred exposures so I’ll only highlight a couple of quick jpegs to give you a sense of the world over here.

We started off by driving along the Ring of Kerry. This is a beautiful drive through some fantastic landscapes. We stopped at Muckross House. Although I am only showing you part of the estate, the gardens were simply amazing. I may post more of those pictures over the next few days.

Muckross House

There were so many historic buildings on the journey. This one is of an old farmhouse converted into a gift shop and restaurant.

Mollie Farm

We drove up through Ladies’ View and had a chance to see the Lakes of Killarney.

Lakes of Killarney

We checked into our hotel at Sheen Falls Lodge. Our room overlooks the falls pictured below.

Sheen Falls Lodge

And, a picture of a couple of boats in Kenmare.

Kenmare Boats

Ireland Day 2.5

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A little bit of time for touring today. We had a chance to visit a couple of churches: Christ Church Cathedral, a church that was established at its current location around 1030, and St. Patricks Cathedral, a church that was founded beside a sacred well where Saint Patrick is thought to have baptized converts around AD 450.

The two top pictures are of Christ Church and the bottom two pictures are of Saint Patrick. There was something quite moving about visiting these churches and learning about their history.

Christ Church Cathedral 1

Christ Church Cathedral 2

Saint Patricks Cathedral 1

Saint Patricks Cathedral 2