Camera Labs

These are some quick snap photos taken in my hometown. I was trying to see how many keepers I can achieve in 20mins with the 85mm 1.4D wide-open and evaluate the potential of the lens.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set= ... 247&type=3

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

Any criticism is welcome. Sorry about the facebook link but my flickr account is not updated since ages.

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

Great shots! I'll be looking forward to your work, that looks amazing

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Gear: Canon SX20 IS, Canon Rebel T3i, Canon EF-S 18-55mm
Wishlist: Canon 50mm f/1.8 II, Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS II
Visit me and leave me a comment in My Flickr

Gracias Piero.

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

Hi John,
I tried the link but it says it is temporarily unavailable. I will try again soon. I look forward to seeing them.
X

Well I love my version - stick a 2 or 3 stop on in bright light, don't forget that metal hood (or contrast will suffer towards the light) and shoot away at f1.8 - I've found it great for street work.

I can't see your pictures at work - FB not allowed unfortunately - party poopers

I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. Facebook might be malfunctioning... but my photos can be seen by anyone (at least in theory).
Thanks for the hood tip, Phil. I think you're an amazing photographer. Didn't quite understand this part, though: "stick a 2 or 3 stop on in bright light". What did you mean by that? Did you mean that I should use an ND filter when shooting wide open? (In case it's so, I have a ND64 on standby and a Hoya HD circular polarizer).

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

An ND64 might be too strong. I'm talking about a 2 stop or 3 stop (ND4 or ND8) ND filter, yes - it will help in bright light if you want some subject separation.

Here's an example, at f2.5 in the early morning, so a 2 stop wasn't needed in this instance:

A good polarizer eats about 1 1/2 steps of light which is ok (bothways). The D300 knows shutter speed of up to 1/8000. As an emergency, lowering the ISO can't do too much harm. I believe good lenses should benefit from the use of a good filter (seems contrast, flare, resolution matter when using such accessories).... 77mm filters with good characteristics are pretty expensive so I'm trying to manage with what I got (so no more ND's other than the one I've got).

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

Very nice pictures. I don't think the last one would have as much impact in color. That man looks cold and miserable. I like the shots.

The last one is a little oof. It was gettin' dark and I usually shot on manual exposure. I hurried with the shutter speed. The photo came out a little soft and underexposed but it sure tells the story. It was pretty cold too with a few Celsius degrees below 0. Thanks for the appreciation, X.

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Nikon D300, Nikkor 85mm 1.4 AF-D, Giottos MT9371 & MH-5001
http://www.facebook.com/radu.rica/photos_albums

There's some nice shots in that album Radu! The magical appeal of bokeh works well in most of the pictures. However, take a look at the shot of the girl texting, with the guy and the Coca Cola vending machine in the background. Had you stopped down a bit, that guy would be sharper, and that interaction between the sexes is always an interesting moment to capture.

The picture of the elderly gentlemen on the bench (La déception) is great, really like that expression.

My biggest concern with these pictures is the focal length you are working at. Looking at your signature, I get the impression that an 85mm is all you have. For street photography, that's very long, even more so when used on an APS-C camera like your D300 (works out at roughly 128mm). I shoot 50mm (on full frame) and think even that is too long most of the time. Don't get me wrong, you can take great pictures out on the street with a longer lens, but you're very limited in your freedom to capture people's surroundings, which are often essential to good pictures. Longer lens shots like these have a high risk of being classified as street portraiture or something a paparazzi would take. The latter is clearly undesirable, and you will have to realize that the former is quite different from street photography.
If you ever get the chance to pick up a wider lens (28mm or wider, perhaps a 35mm), please give it a go. I shot with a 70-200mm, then a 50mm and finally a 35mm on my old Sony A700 (also APS-C) and with every step my pictures got more interesting. Most of the pictures I take that make the cut, as we say, to an album or my print wall, are taken at shorter focal lengths. Capa said, famously, "If your pictures are not good enough, you are not close enough", and the only way you can get closer to the action is by using a wider lens.

Hope that helps! Keep shooting street!

- Bjorn

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Street and documentary photographer | Google+ | Twitter | Blog | Tumblr

Leica M9-P (my article on Camera Labs) | Leica D-Lux 5 | 50mm Summilux

I'll second what Bjorn's said - 35mm on Full Frame is now my preferred focal length for street and environmental portraits. I've had a few walkabouts with the 85mm, but would feel limited unless I carried a 50 or 35 with me as well. With the 35 I feel that I don't need to carry another lens when I'm out.

And yes, there's a big difference between 35mm on crop and full frame. My 35, when I used it with my D90, wasn't my favourite lens - moving on to a D700 and it rocks. Each to their own though.

If you're near a Nikon stockist, I'd recommend giving the 28mm f1.8G a try...

Agreed, I've found new life for my 40mm on fullframe.

I love my 35 f2 but its on crop sensor. I wish I had full frame!

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Canon 550D, Canon EFS 17-85 IS USM, Canon EF 75-300 IS USM, Canon EFS 10-22mm USM, Canon EF35mm F2.

Got some of the gear but really still no idea...