Macro ne plus ultra

Saturday, 26 September, 2009 @ 1:25 PM

Yet another lens has joined the stable, and what a lens! This beauty is an AF Micro-Nikkor 200mm f/4D.

It would be reasonable to ask why, with 3 macro lenses already in the collection (55mm, 105mm VR and 85mm PC), I need another one? Well, it's all about the working distance. Both the 105mm and the 200mm are capable of reaching 1:1 (meaning the image on the sensor is the same size as the object being photographed), however at this reproduction ratio, the front of the 105mm lens is just 154mm from your subject, while the 200mm sits you back at a comfortable 260mm. This extra working distance makes a big difference when stalking either shy (dragonflies, butterflies etc.) or potentially dangerous (snakes, spiders, stinging insects etc.) subjects.

The 200 is a hefty and slow-focussing beast, but it produces gratifyingly sharp and detailed images. One drawback is that I am going to have to invest in a sturdier tripod head, as my need for a stable camera platform is becoming increasingly demanding.

Ivan, five years on

Saturday, 12 September, 2009 @ 6:00 PM

"Nature reserves the right to inflict upon her children the most terrifying jests." ~Thornton Wilder

Today marks 5 years since Hurricane Ivan passed over Grand Cayman on September 12, 2004, causing massive damage to property and the Island's economy, not to mention a major disruption to the lives of most residents, mysef included.

With the exception of a number of abandoned, roofless houses dotting the island, there is little physical sign of the storm remaining today, however I think I can speak for everyone who went through it when I say that Ivan will not be soon forgotten. During hurricane season, there is a now a palpable tension in Cayman's air. People pay close attention to weather reports, and talk expertly of Tropical Waves, Synoptic Tracking and Geodetic Datum. Fortunately, this year has been a non-event from a storm point of view. Although I admit to remembering a degree of exhiliration at the sheer power of nature being displayed outside, enduring Ivan was a humbling and frightening experience and my preference would be to not go through a similar (mis)-adventure again.

Depending on the metric used, Ivan is the second, sixth or tenth most powerful Atlantic hurricane on record. It spent time as a category 5 storm, with sustained winds of 270km/h, and at its peak it covered an area three times the size of New Zealand. It is credited with causing the largest ocean wave ever, possibly as high as 40m. Surf's up!

On ya Sheels!

Saturday, 22 August, 2009 @ 5:45 PM

While on the topic of love, it's a little belated, but big congratulations to my good buddy Sheelagh and her beau Pete for getting hitched in Doolin (Ireland) in May. Wish I could have been there, but regardless, it was great to catch up with you both in Miami.

Lonesome no more

Saturday, 22 August, 2009 @ 4:30 PM

Great news!! It seems as if Lonesome George, the last surviving member of the Pinta Island subspecies of Galapagos Giant Tortoise may be on his way to becoming a father. Go George!!

During my 2006 Pacific crossing aboard Valdolese we spent two weeks in the Galapagos, however, due to Ecuadorian government restrictions the only island we were able to visit was Isla Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has its own subspecies of Giant Tortoise, and it is also the home of the Charles Darwin Research Station, which has populations of most of the other surviving subspecies. We were privileged to spend a couple of unforgettable days with these majestic creatures.

Cool stuff

Saturday, 22 August, 2009 @ 1:10 PM

I've been travelling up to Miami on a fairly regular basis, and although certainly not the focus of my trips, one of the attractions of visiting there is the shopping. Everything is cheaper in Miami and available in greater variety, and Cayman has a reasonably generous duty-free allowance for returning residents. So I've been slowly filling out my wardrobe, my library, and accumulating some of the little knick knacks that make life more comfortable.

On my last trip I picked up a pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes. These are uniquely designed "foot gloves", with separate pockets for each toe. This design (so the marketing materials tell us) ensures a more natural gait – similar to going barefoot – which has benefits for foot and calf health and muscular development. Wearing them does feel a little weird at first, with the toes having unexpected freedom to move independently, but after a few hours they become very natural and comfortable. They're definitely a conversation-starter as well, generating comments wherever I wear them out.

Another nice piece of kit I picked up (actually given me as a gift. Thank you Thinny!), is an Apple iPhone. Although it's only a first generation iPhone (Apple has since released the 3G and 3Gs updates) it is far and away the coolest phone I've ever used, and in fact, probably the coolest gadget I've ever used. The reality is that it's closer to being a tiny computer that you keep in your pocket than just a mere cellphone. Out of the box it has the ability to surf the internet, send and receive emails, act as an ipod (playback both music and video files), take and organise photos with its camera and navigate with Google Maps. However that is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are thousands of additional applications that can be downloaded to expand its capabilities dramatically. All in all, an amazing little device.

As none of the telecoms companies in Cayman yet carry the iPhone, I've been forced to jailbreak and unlock mine to work with my Cable & Wireless cellular service. A fairly straightforward procedure using software tools freely available on the internet.

Yes, another totally unrelated photograph. Got to get through my backlog somehow!

My favourites

Monday, 3 August, 2009 @ 9:30 PM

For a selection of some mind-blowing photography, take a look at the page of my favourite images on photo.net (warning: Contains some artistic nudity).

Optical reduction therapy

Sunday, 2 August, 2009 @ 4:50 PM

Over the last couple of years I've assembled an interesting, but somewhat willy-nilly collection of Nikon F-mount lenses. Unfortunately these desirable lumps of metal and glass (and recently, plastic) are both expensive (to varying degrees) and unwieldy (also to varying degrees), and thus in the last few months I've been making a concerted effort to trim down those bits of the stockpile that either haven't been getting regular use, double up on capabilities with other lenses, or didn't meet my (admittedly nit-picky) expectations for image quality.

A while back I sold off my original 18-70mm kit lens, and more recently I've disposed of the Sigma 400mm f5.6, the Nikon 35-70 f2.8 and the Nikon 18-200mm. Also currently on the market are the 50mm f1.4D and an 80-200mm f2.8. Some of these I was a little reluctant to see go, but there's no point being sentimental about these things. What I'm left with now is a pared-down but very useful bag of pro-level lenses, joined by a handful of eccentricities that I'm just too attached to to dispose of. Doubtless this new roster won't remain static for very long.

What's the Jolly Roger got to do with selling lenses? Nothing at all. But she's a lovely boat (a 2/3 replica of Christopher Columbus' Nina), and I needed somewhere to put the photo.

One small step...

Thursday, 16 July, 2009 @ 7:55 AM

Ken Rockwell has some great coverage of the coming 40th anniversary of one of the seminal events of my lifetime, and indeed of all human achievement – the Apollo 11 mission of 1969 that culminated with Neil Armstrong, followed by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, being the first humans to set foot on the moon.

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