I’m back after an amazing trip in the North Eastern part of the States, where I discovered New England. I used my wide-angle lens to shoot the stunning landscapes in and around Fryeburg (ME), Provincetown (MA) and Kennebunkport (ME).

A few improvements on the blog side of things: The Flickr RSS feed is now horizontal on the top of the page. The search engine has moved to the far-right column.

Nikon Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D AF

Finally! I’d been tracking down a good deal on the Nikon Nikkor 20mm f/2.8D AF for over a month by now. My treasure hunt ended on eBay, where I bought it at half the store price. I’m saying “finally!” because I’ve been so frustrated by the 85mm. I can’t take a single landscape shot with it – especially since it’s the equivalent of a 127mm on my D90! So I’ve really been looking forward to the 20mm. It’s the widest angle lens available among the Nikon primes, aside from fisheyes. I had the opportunity to test it over Labor Day weekend and it was love at first click. Stephen Antonelli lent me his and I took a few shots. I really love this one.

If I go back to the wishlist on my previous post on the 85mm, I’m only missing the 50 and the 105 now. I should be getting the 50 soon. I can wait on the 105 though.

I’m pretty happy with the photo I took for this post and when I compare it to the one of the 85mm, I realize there’s been some progress. Notice the very basic photo studio that was improvised for the occasion. I even used a tissue to soften the light from my SB-600.

On this last visit to Maryland we decided to stop and see our friend Thierry who is a hairstylist in the charming little town of Frederick. While he cut Monique’s hair, I thought I’d make the most of it and take a few shots with my still brand new 85mm. I then converted the photos into black and white using Lightroom.

Zazie and Samy Naceri for OCB

After careful consideration, I’ve come to a final decision and I’m adding a French version to my blog. The main reason for this change is that I feel much more comfortable writing in the language of the great Moliere (French!!). From now on, I’ll write articles in French and Monique will translate them into English. The articles that are already online will not be translated back into French.

Now I have to tackle the translation of the About and Resume pages, which should take some time. I’ll keep on posting on my progress in photography (or anything else) in the meantime.

I’ve also modified the footer of the page to insert my email address – please don’t hesitate to use it to contact me.

I did a quick outdoor photo shoot during Labor Day week end. The setup was really basic : One light (an outdoor spotlight) in the back top right corner and the umbrella in the front left at a 45 degree angle. All the pictures were taken with the Nikkor 85mm at f1/.8. Some of the pictures were out of focus. The only explanation I can think of is that there may have been fog on the lens due to the humidity in the air.

As usual, I post color-corrected the photos using Adobe Lightroom:

Adobe Lightroom

Apple finally released an update for Java. I just installed it on my G5 and it fixed the Final Cut Server client’s launch problem (Final Cut Server Apple’s thread).

Click here to download the update

Nikon Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF

I bought a new lens : a Nikkor 85mm f/1.8D AF. 1.8 aperture will give my pictures nice bokeh and 85mm will give me enough distance to take headshots without being intrusive. I’m going to make it my primary portrait lens.

It took me a while to admit to it but there’s a real difference between a zoom lens (what I was using) and a prime lens (the 85mm) – after trying it I was amazed at how much sharper the image was. The autofocus impressed me even more – it works at lightning speeds! Most modern lenses are equipped with an internal motorized autofocus, which doesn’t make them any faster. The versatility of a zoom lens makes it average at any focal length. I know this isn’t a revelation but: the perfect lens doesn’t exist.

I’m starting to think I won’t ever go back to zoom lenses. I’ll just stick to prime. I am now selling my Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 HSM Macro.

Here’s my wishlist:

• AF NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8D
• AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4D
• AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D (checked)
• AF NIKKOR 105mm f/2.8D Micro

Maybe the list will change in time. I’ll keep you posted.

I was really looking forward to a photo shoot with Megan and Nancy’s baby Leo but I should have known better. At 9 months, babies don’t listen to you and I have a sneaking suspicion that they all have attention deficit disorder.

I kept the flash on top of my camera for most of the time because I had to move around and be fast. I also had to remain in TTL mode because there was no time for me to manually control light (maybe in a couple of years, with more experience …). Towards the end of the shoot, I set up the flash with an umbrella (the pictures of the baby on the couch).

Leo is such an expressive child  and it was so rewarding to catch the funny faces he was making. With all the portraits I’ve been taking over the past few days,  I’ve been thinking about getting a new lens : a Nikon 85mm f/1.8 would be perfect.

Monique made this great dish for dessert and it was so beautiful that I grabbed my camera and flash for a quick shoot. I didn’t really set anything up, I just put the two cups close to the window to get good ambient light. I used my Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 HSM Macro (my only lens).

Finally a free MAC software for Nikon to do tethering. It’s fast, easy to use and has all the features you need. Please visit Stefan Hafeneger’s website to download Sofortbild. It works with Nikon D3x, D3, D700, D300, D200, D90, D80, D60, D40x or D40.