Tag Archives: Nikon D700

My first winter snow with the Nikon D700

I’ve been using my Nikon D40 a lot for hiking and to take the Nikon D700 out for a winter day was refreshing. The handling of the Nikon D700 felt professional and snappy. Armed with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D lens, the weight is manageable on a 3 mile hike.

There is a family of beavers that live on the lake. Where their den is I don’t know. But they are busy beavers!

This old swing bridge is reaching the end of the line in safety. It takes a beating with the tourist jumping up and down on it. The bridge creaks and the space between the boards reveal the icy water below.

The paddle boats take a break after a hot summer. Moored in ice alone. The summer geese having flown south.

Street photography with the Nikon D700.

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Mostly sitting on a bench around 4:00 pm by myself on a Saturday. I think Americans (North) are bored with life. Or maybe i am old and bored and life kind of sucks with getting old. What, I’m old? How in the hell did that happen? Life goes by really fast and if you are young reading this, then go for your dreams or at least do something interesting for a living.

So on the passenger-side of the car (below), an older overweight lady was sitting half in and half out of the back seat of the car, with the door open. She had a big smile on her face. I said,”I like your car.” She pointed to her son and said, “that’s his car and he likes it.” I took a picture. He flicked a butt into the street and did a u-turn with a new sense of pride. It’s a beat-up classic that is still running! Will a Tesla ever be a classic or just a relic stripped of its resources in a junk yard under discarded solar panels?

It must be magic, or it’s the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 NIKKOR-S Auto.

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If you take the Nikon D700 and attach the Nikon 50mm f/1.4
NIKKOR-S Auto (Non-AI). What do you get? Magic! Personally, I think the lens looks beautiful. Very high quality build. It weighs about 306 grams.

But how do you attach a Non-AI lens to the Nikon D700? Well, you hack the aperture ring with a file. Just sweat and a fine file. It’s a nail-biting process for an amateur. But if you take your time you will end up with a magical lens! Search the web for instructions! It’s been a long time since I did the conversion. Doing the conversion with a file took about 3 hours. John White can convert them professionally here https://sites.google.com/view/aiconversions/home

If you can nail the focus of this lens, it’s super sharp. The focus ring is pretty stiff on my personal lens. Out of the box, the colors are very pleasing for the Nikon 50mm f/1/4 Nikkor-S Auto. I believe I paid less than 60 dollars for this lens a few years ago.

What do you call a fisherman that leaves their trash behind?

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I asked that question to a man fishing off a bridge. He said, “trash is what they are.” Sounds like a good answer to me. I went on a short hike and came across a lovely fishing spot littered with Modelo beer cans, plastic bait containers and a fishing bobber stuck in a tree overhead. Did a quick clean up and spilled beer on my pants.

The responsible fisherman’s setup below.

Some sort of pollution floating on the pond. Cumberland mountain state park pond is not looking healthy these days. Definitely overcrowded and the golf course water runoff is causing an algae problem.

Roosters and chickens were looking for bugs on my drive home.

The local squirrel playing invisible.

The broken Nikon 105mm f/2.8 FX AF MICRO-NIKKOR

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Well, I say broken, as in just the manual focus works now. I busted my ass one winter day and the Nikon 105mm f/2.8 micro went down with me. It hit the frozen wooden bridge and took a few bounces. I just watched in slow motion and felt the pain on my right side as I kissed the bridge in unison. Shook it off and inspected the gear. Few dents here and there. Still worked. Then slowly the autofocus went out a couple of months later. But they say real macro is done with manual focus! So I guess I’m still in business?

The lens was well-used when I bought it, but it took great pictures. Heavy. But sharp as a tack!

The only hope of getting good macro photos with the lens is using a tripod. Since I’ve got bad shakes from coffee abuse and other substances. I took some shots of a cherry tree that had finally bloomed after years of being dormant for some reason. It’s currently attached to the Nikon D700.

Now my main focus was on ladybugs. I’ve since discovered ladybugs are not easy to focus on when they are hungry for pollen. The little critters ignore my commands to hold still for the money shot. But they sure are fun to watch!

I’m starting to collect B+W Filters! Top quality!!!

The Nikon 105mm f/2.8 micro still looks pretty good.