Full Moon

There was a fool moon last night. This shot was taken with the D200 + AF Nikkor 80-200mm 1:2.8 D + 1.4x teleplus pro 300 = 420 mm. Not so bad, but I wish I could have taken a similar shot with a longer focal lenght though...

Oi...Gray Owl...

While I spent some days off in my hometown for Easter, I was able to take a few pictures at the zoo (free of charge but nonetheless entertaining). During these four days, the weather conditions were awful, but I was fortunate to capture the portrait of this gray owl. Beautiful to see how such an animal can turn its head at about 180 degrees (on both sides).

I am actually quite proud of the shot since the post-processing was minimal and no cropping was applied (the picture has been only resized). The picture was taken with the D200 mounted with the AF 80-200mm f/2.8D ED, superb even at ISO 800. If you have some times to spend in Lille, feel free to stop by at this small city zoo. There are many interesting species to look at. Enjoy!

New Photographs...

I just added four photographs, which were taken in Amsterdam yesterday. Two of them were added to the 'Animals' section ('Perruche Verte' and 'The Nest'), whereas the others were added to the 'Free Study' gallery ('Reflection' and 'Amsterdam'). Although I have rather mixed feelings about Amsterdam, I really enjoyed taking pictures in the Vondelpark; it was quite a peaceful place (at least yesterday). I would highly recommend to visit this park even if you are passing through Amsterdam. Otherwise the city itself is certainly interesting to visit a day or two...

Another Review for the D300...

This time, another review by Thom Hogan with some wise comments and critics...

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Phil Askey's review of the Nikon D300...

It is now available online. Enjoy! 'There's simply no better semi-professional digital SLR on the market.' (Phil Askey)

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Before & After...

This is an example of before (left) and after (right) shots. The 'before' picture was shot in Utrecht. Shooting pictures involves good choice of exposure, good lighting, interesting subject and nice composition. Does a good picture require significant post-processing? There is certainly no easy answer, although I attempt to minimize the differences between the original and modified photographs when possible. Some people do follow this strategy, and some others do not. Above is an example of what I look for when I take a photograph. Details found in the shadowed / highlighted parts of the photograph are accentuated after post-processing. Saturation and contrast have been also enhanced, as well as the amount of shapening. Nothing more...

Details: The 'before' picture was shot in Utrecht (The Netherlands) with a Nikon D200 (ISO 100) + Tokina 12-24 mm (at 12 mm, equivalent to 18 mm in full-frame) in the raw format. The 'after' picture was post-processed via digital photography softwares.

B comme Budapest

Yeah! Mel and I will visit Budapest for 5 days in April (such a nice present from her). From what I have seen, the architecture in Budapest looks gorgeous! I have never visited any former communist countries before, and that will be certainly interesting to visit one of them. I will pack my whole equipment and hopefully, I will have some great opportunities to take some nice shots. Though, I need to read more about the city itself... Great food, great architecture, great weather (hopefully!) and great times...More later