strange reflection

Various Singapore 83, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a strange picture.... It has been yesterday in Singapore after a tropical shower. There was water on the street, the sun became visible through the clouds (around 12:00) and I saw this looking at my feet in the water. Impossible to focus correctly on that one, and this gives that kind of blur effect. I like the result. Comments welcome (like on any other picture by the way)

Floating

Various Singapore 18, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is an unforeseen effect, I was in a restaurant and I had my D40x in my bag with the 105VR micro lens (macro according to Nikon), I just used the pop up flash, large aperture to get a shallow dof, focus in the middle... and here we are. It looks like the fruit is floating in the air. I first thought I would throw the picture away, but after looking, I started to like the effect... no post processing done on this one.

Fisheye shot

Turkey 28, originally uploaded by gugs.

Sometimes I just like playing with a fisheye... here a picture of a restaurant in a resort where I have been a few days ago... I like the strange perspective it gives. Lens is a Nikkor 10.5mm.

Water on a metal plate

Turkey 02, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a strange picture I liked. I took my 105VR lens on the D200 to take a picture of condensation on a very cold metal plate. I held the camera diagonally to get the diagonal sharp and nothing else. I have been surprise by the overall effect at that level of magnification. In fact fact it looks a bit like metal drops...

Darkness

various Turkey 03, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a strange test I did... a palm tree shot at night in almost total darkness. I used the SB-800 flash on the D200 camera, capable of focusing without natural light... the result looks like a ghost. I was amazed by the accurate focus. Colors are of course off but what do you expect ? I didn't try to correct since I liked the effect.

Macro fruit

various 08, originally uploaded by gugs.

Ultra shallow DOF using a macro lens (105VR), handheld, with the pop-up flash on the D40x, my simple travel camera, focus in the middle.

Candles

Candles, originally uploaded by gugs.

sometimes I take pictures because I just like the mood, the colors... this is such an example... simple diagonal composition, white balance on auto, giving very warm tones.

Pelican

US 2007 1, originally uploaded by gugs.

Shot in Santa Cruz in July. The weather was terrible. 70-200VR on the D200. The AF system didn't have too many difficulties to track the bird...

Flower in the dark

DSC_0048, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a test picture with the D40x. I shot this almost in the dark, using the on board flash, with the 105VR macro lens (becoming one of my favorite lenses)... the flower just seems to be floating in the air thanks to the use of flash and the shallow depth of field. A few relevant parameters: ISO100 and f11.

D40x

D40x 3, originally uploaded by gugs.

my new allround camera... I just decided to go for the D40x, a camera with a lot of limitations, but excellent picture quality. Here pictured with 2 of my favorite lenses, the 105VR and the 70-200VR.

Pros:
- small package
- excellent picture quality at a reasonable price
- very intuitive user interface
- simplicity
- excellent on board flash performance
- 10MP
- good ISO performance
- excellent LCD display
- very good viewfinder
Cons:
- limited ISO steps
- no CLS (wireless flash system support)
- only one thumbwheel
- a few critical functions only via menus (BUT function button available)
- no grid display in viewfinder
- no optional grip
- batteries incompatible with other cameras (D50, D70, D80, D200, D300)
- incompatible with AF lenses without a built-in motor (only AF-S and HSM lenses will work. This is a HUGE limitation.