Yes. There’s a good reason why Nikon kept the majority of their lenses at 52mm. It meant you only needed one set of filters. You could go from the 20mm f/3.5 right through to the 200mm f/4 (some of the super telephotos had 52mm drop-ins) without changing size. Even the 50mm f/1.2 managed to keep the 52mm diameter! Whilst this may not seem as pertinent in the digital age or fixed by the use of step-up rings, I disagree. Good filters are just as important today. With in-camera effects and post processing replacing many of them, there’s still no substitute for the likes of a warming polarizer, an 81A, an ND8, a graduated ND (at least 0.6) and of course a clear UV for protection. In fact I’d never travel without my grad ND and have recently found myself looking at lenses based purely on whether or not their filter size is 52 or 77mm (the professional size). I recently passed up the new Nikon 50mm 1.4G for the older D type because Nikon decided on a non-standard 58mm ring.

More on Graduated ND Filters.

Galen Rowell’s Vision (The Art of Adventure Photography) is a full 288 pages of fantastic essays and pictures on immersing yourself in your surroundings with the single goal of capturing definitive moments in time. Its also contains plenty of technical fundamentals on film types and lighting as well as the remarkable differences between the way Nikon F3 communicates to its user as opposed to the intuition of the F4. A must read for those wishing to advance their art.

Mountain Light – Galen’s Website

Having been a while since my last roll of film, this latest set concentrates on the warm glow of both sunrise and sunset. Needless to say a few early mornings in the wind and cold were endured.

This week the counter went past 10,000 hits for this little website. It counts every time you access a page, so thank you to all those whom have visited and hopefully gained something in doing so. Feel free to pass on your comments and don’t forget if you want to shoot some film in the Newcastle area, just speak up!

Back from a weekend wandering around Melbourne! Its a great place for street photography or simply just indulging in the fantastic food that every little corner cafe seems to offer. Though, I did come to realise the importance of saving weight and traveling light. Let me explain… As I had rolls of film in both my F5 and P645NII, I had somehow thought that it was a good idea to take both. It gave me options of both black and white as well as colour film but this was soon forgotten after walking a few blocks. I put up with it but my full creativity was certainly curtailed. Traveling light and being flexible is always the key. On a side note, I did get my hands on Fuji’s new X-Pro1. I wouldn’t trade film for it but this retro looking digital rangefinder is well ahead of the competition and something that has been worth the wait. Pictures to follow soon!

Here’s my 5 steps to taking better pictures or at the very least a simple iterative checklist that you should go through before each shot. Conveniently listed in order of importance.

Composition – The all important bit (rule of thirds and focal length etc).
Lighting – Patience or perseverance, both may be necessary!
Aperture – Image quality, DOF and falloff.
Speed – Film speed, usually fixed or digital ISO.
Shutter – The final bit in the three piece exposure puzzle.

A simple 15 second exposure that just works, that is if minimalist is your thing!

The last couple of weeks of ‘winter like’ weather during the peak of summer has given me a lot to think about (as well as confirm previous thoughts) when committing yourself to capturing a scene in the right light. With rain and no sign of blue skies each day I had almost given up on using the half-dozen frames I still had in the camera. But each day I went outside at sunset to see how the light was interacting. More than once it surprised me with some fantastic colours which resulted in the hasty decision to grab my camera and tripod and drive down to the local lake. However, because I didn’t pre-commit to be in the right place at the right time I returned empty handed on all occasions as I was too late. Determined to get some results I set the alarm for some inconceivably early time so that I could be in place down at the beach as the sun rose. Success! Whilst not the most stunning display of colour ever witnessed, I was there waiting and ready.

Rochester, New York – After 132 years Kodak has today filed for bankruptcy. From its original Brownie cameras and invention of Kodachrome to its only recently declassified high altitude and space based imaging systems designed for the US Department of Defense, Kodak had always been at the front of the photoghraphic industry. Whilst it was the first to invent the digital camera way back in 1976, Kodak never really capitalised when digital formally hit the streets in 1999 and has certainly suffered in the last few years. Kodak Press Release.