Tag: Project 52

P52 42/52 Lee Vining Creek

Posted in Camera Gear, Creeks and Streams, Inyo National Forest, Nikon DF, Photography, Project 52-2014, Slow Shutter SpeedTagged , , , , , , 10 Comments

Copyright ©2014 Deborah M Zajac  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

I’m back! I had a lovely 4 days in the Eastern Sierras with friends, Rainey, Rene, Nik, and Jonathan. We got lucky and went when the color was peaking in the spots we visited. I have quite a few images I like from the trip that I’m still rating and tagging, but here’s one image I made yesterday at Lee Vining Creek. It was so nice to see the creeks, and streams with water. All the creeks near my home are bone dry!

P52 42 of 52 Lee Vining Creek

I made this image with my new camera: The Nikon Df. I’ve been saving for it since I rented one back in February.

Nikon Df with Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 mounted

I used it for 4 full days of shooting and it performed very well in daylight, and low light. I love how light it is compared to my D700.

Right now I only have two complaints:

1) Nikon did not provide a LCD screen protector with it, so I need to get one STAT!

2) The battery drained too quickly when shooting the last morning in 26º ambient temps. I’ll have to get a 3rd battery soon.

Other than those two complaints I’m happy with the camera. I hope we have many good years together.

As of now my D300s will either be passed down or possibly sold, and my D700 will be my back-up/second camera.

Image 1) Nikon Df| Nikkor 17-35mm w/B+W 6 stop ND filter

Image 2) Nikon D700| Nikkor 180mm f/2.8D

More to come…

P52 40/52 Praying Mantis

Posted in Bugs, Insects, Project 52-2014, San Jose California Nature PhotographerTagged , , , 1 Comment

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

I haven’t seen a Praying Mantis in a couple of years so I was really stoked to see one near my front door yesterday.

This is a smart bug. He wasn’t too far from the light…hoping for moths I bet. 🙂

P52 40/52 Praying Mantis

Nikon D700| AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/18g| Hand-held| Lexar Professional Digital Film

More to come…

P52 39/52 First of the Season’s Camellias

Posted in Camellia, Flowers, LensBaby Composer Pro, Project 52-2014Tagged , , , , , 7 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

It was a week of welcome firsts. We had the first good rain we’ve seen/had in such a long time, and my Camellia bush is beginning to blossom ringing in Fall.

P52 39/52 First Fall Camellia Blossom

Nikon D700| LensBaby Composer Pro II w/Soft Focus Optic, f/2.8| ISO 320| Manual Priority| Hand-held

P52 36/52 Guarding his Territory!

Posted in Birds, California, Fine Art, Nature, Project 52-2014, WildlifeTagged , , , , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. All Rights Reserved.

Guarding his TerritoryI set up a little blind in my backyard hoping I’d be able to make a decent image of the Hummingbirds that come to the feeder. I used the cover of the sandbox as a blind by bracing it against my Camilla bush,  then I set up my tripod, camera, and comfy seat behind it then waited.

  It took about a half hour and a few over my head buzzes before the Hummingbirds felt safe enough to stop at the Feeder for a drink.
  After lunch I moved the sandbox cover to the edge of the lawn for a different angle bracing the cover on the Patio Cover’s post. I heard the Hummingbird chitting away in the Flowering Plum beside me so turned to see if I could see him and there he was sitting on a branch watching the feeder.
There’s been another male coming by and this one chases him off whenever he comes around. He sat there for long enough for me to photograph him for several minutes.
He was in the shade of many branches overhead so, while the image is sharp there is more noise than I’d like. I tried Auto ISO during this shoot to see how it would do, mainly to see if I would be able to concentrate more on shooting than having to change my ISO setting frequently to adjust for the light changes. I was also shooting a Butterfly that would occasionally come by to sip on the Lantana Bush which was in much better light than the feeder, and the tree. Auto ISO worked very well for me in these conditions.

 I used Adobe’s Camera Raw noise reduction a little bit to help remove some of the noise. 

Here’s another image of an Anna’s Hummingbird at the Feeder. He’s just about to take off after drinking some nectar.

Ready for Take OffThat sandbox cover worked a treat as a blind.

Nikon D300s| AF-S Nikkor 300mm f4 +  Nikon 14eII Teleconverter

More to come

P52 34/52 Dawn Santa Clara County

Posted in California, hikes, Landscapes, Photography, Project 52-2014Tagged , , , , , 4 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVEDP52 34 of 52 Dawn Santa Clara County

Mornings are arriving a little later, and chillier these days and with that I’m finding it a little harder to get out of the house for a hike or walk. Once I get out I am usually very happy that I did.
This morning was especially nice as we had a lot of clouds which meant there might be some color, and I got lucky and had “God Rays” too, and there was a bonus; the sign marking the trail’s boundary is gone! 

YEAH! I have spent years framing around it, cloning it out, or cropping it out. It was lovely shooting and not have to deal with it, or deal with it later in post development.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they don’t replace it, and if they do they put it somewhere that doesn’t hinder the view. 

Nikon D700| AF-S Nikkor 17-35@ 17mm| f20| 5 seconds| ISO 200| Tripod| B+W 6 stop ND filter

“All you need is Faith, Trust, and little bit of Pixie Dust.”~Tinkerbell

Posted in Fashion, Photography, Project 52-2014, Still LifeTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Copyright © 2014 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVE"All you need is Faith, Trust, and little bit of Pixie Dust." ~Tinkerbell is one of my favorite Disney characters so, when I saw this T-shirt at the Disney store I couldn’t resist purchasing it.

It’s washed and ready to wear. I’ll be pairing it with my White House/Black Market jeans, polka dot open toe-kitten heels, Dior sunglasses, and simple jewelry that I bought on a trip to London in 2006. The watch is Malachite and Mother of Pearl, the ear-rings are malachite both are made by PastTimes.

I used my new SU-800 Wireless Remote Commander to trigger my Speedlights. It’s super easy to use and can control up to 3 lights. It’s also a lot more affordable than 3 Pocket Wizards would have been.

More to come…

Nikon D700| AF-S Nikkor 50mm f1.8G| SB910|SB600 |SU-800