On Assignment

[ f2.8 ,1/1000s @ 200mm ]
Handheld ,Nikon D70, Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 VR

Finally I have my dream lens and with no further delay today I planned to get a feel of it. With no shooting location in mind I was at the mercy of wind. Amit , Mahesh and myself checked out of the house around noon and had a lunch at "Maharaja Indian & Nepali Restaurant" around suwa region.

[ f8 ,1/30s @ 18mm ]
Handheld ,Nikon D70, Nikkor 18-70mm DX

Trying to figure our way to Route 20 we landed infront of Kamisuwa castle. It was pretty pleasant, this being my fourth time to this place , never was it so deserted, but that happened to be a blessing for me. I had a real field day. Of late I got used to trying all the text book shots, so to give a break I lowered my center of gravity and got a shot from just above the water level.

[ f5 ,1/200s @ 170mm ]
Handheld ,Nikon D70, Nikkor 70-200mm F2.8 VR

The ducks were a treat to watch, they perched on a stone in the middle of the pond and thats when I switch to my medium telephoto lens and went clicking. A couple of weeks back I swore to myself that I will not be clicking at random but only when I am done with thinking through the shot, well this rather turned counter productive, sometimes one should leave it to his senses.

[ f8.0 ,1/250s @ 90mm ]
Tripod Mount ,Nikon D70, Tamron 90mm F2.8 Macro

Finally I set my eyes on a flower, and I took the macro for a ride. I tried some low DOF with little success. Well trying to be Jack of all trades doesnt work always. Over all it made me feel better, and gave me the required boost for the long week ahead.

Mr Cool

( f/2.8, 1/1000 @ 200mm ) 100% Crop.

Last Night I was testing my new Nikkor lens and tried a shot at Mr Cool the Moon.

Camera : D70
Lens : AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G
Tripod : Yes

Macro : A Rose

I was shopping at MaxValu, when I found the flower section inundated with fresh flowers like never before, only for me to realize that Mothers day is around the corner.

[1/5 sec , f22]

There were a multitude of rose plants to choose from and I picked a bonzai rose plant if I can call it so, back home I put myself to work with my macro lens on the tripod. The end result was rather OK kind of stuff.I was struggling with the lighting. Need to figure out how to illuminate macro subjects !!

Camera : D70
Lense : Tamron SP AF 90mm F2.8 Macro 1: 1
Tripod : Yes

Utsukushigahara and Mount Asama

It is Golden Week and thereby a holiday time out here, April 29th-May 5th. Probably these are one of those wasted holidays as I plan to stay home, not without a reason the Markins Q-ball ( Head for my tripod ) shipment got stuck somewhere in the transit and I vowed to shoot only with my tripod. Finally it arrived this sunday but the weather kept me home.

Mt Asama

So today I set myself to test my new Gitzo G1227LVL and Markins M20 tripod. Took the bus to the Utsukushigahara Kogen (plateau) which is in backyard of Matsumoto city. Being a clear sunny day, the panoramic view was just awesome. I was able to clearly locate Mount Asama ( active valcano). Last year I had a plan to trek this Mountain but currently trekking out on Asama is banned as they found some signs of eruption.

Mt Asama was steaming out and it was quite visible from where I stood. I tried for a panoramic , the tripod operation was very smooth, I tried shooting with the circular polarizer filter on but had little luck. I goofed up again by not locking the exposure, the end result is artifacts while blending/sticking the images together.

Utsukushigahara sports an Open air museum. One should plan to spend atleast 2-3 hours. This being my second visit to this place I walked straight to the sculptures which I missed in my last visit. When I walked up one elevated platform, I realized the 360 degree view it offers. One can view Mt Fuji a range of all the 2500- 3000+ mts mountains.

So this marks the only outing for the Golden week this year.