what do you see like: 2012

My gut says any decent cheapish 50mm, which is 'normal' to 35mm film and so things will look as they do to your eye (though heavily cropped relative to your field of vision) - - - kind of low-level photo-class stuff, and you seem to know your stuff, so apologies if you already know this! But if you're just trying to get comfortable in manual-focus-land I feel like that's kind of the traditional way to get rolling?

no i am totally clueless about this stuff so i appreciate any advice i can get w/ you guys, especially cause you see how i like to shoot with auto/point and shoot cameras

Ok, first thing to check is this:
http://www.nikonians.org/nikon/slr-lens.html

The Nikon F-mount has been around since 1959 but not *every* Nikon lens works fully on every generation of bodies (obv, auto-focus and digital has really confused the issue, and you don't have to worry about that). No pre-AI or G-series lenses for you, by the look of it.

As the good Doctor says, cheap 50 to start... like this Nikkor AI-S 50/1.8:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Nikkor-50mm-1-1-8-ais-Lens-/160928678499?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item257818c263

This wide one looks good...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nikon-Nikkor-24mm-2-8-AIS-Great-shape-/290820433700?pt=Camera_Lenses&hash=item43b63fa724

but is there something that i should look at that will let me explore the world of manual focus better?

― ❏❐❑❒ (gr8080), Wednesday, November 28, 2012 9:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah a cheap 50mm 1.8 will do ya

http://www.keh.com/Camera/format-35mm/system-Nikon-Manual-Focus/category-Fixed-Focal-Length-Lenses?s=1&bcode=NK&ccode=6&cc=81136&r=WG&f

nikon lenses are kinda expensive tho for some reason???

feel like if u wanna do this for cheap maybe pick up an olympus or konica or pentax or some other system where the lenses aren't all expensive because people are still buying them to put on their modern nikon digital bodies

Yeah, that sounds like sound advice to me. Old Nikon lenses do seem to hold on to their value for a surprisingly long time. Cosign also on a 50mm prime being a good first SLR lens - the field of view just feels 'right' to me for a walkaround lens.

I think Doctor Casino's building pictures upthread must have inspired this shot I took yesterday:

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg622/bizarrogazzara/Rossfbarker_2012-11-28.jpg

haha, awesome!

and look, there's a hole in that structure

thanks everyone for the advice on lenses. i am v v stoked.

btw i posted briefly about this on the famous ppl thread, but i went to a lecture/dialogue w/ daido moriyama last nite. when someone asked what his best advice is for young photographers is, he said something about how there is so much potential in photography and you should never give up on it, then he said "quantity is quality"

i stood in line to meet him and gave him a few copies of my zines and had a brief conversation with him (translated by his handlers), he gave me some very cool words of encouragement for being a self-publisher. totally awesome experience.

aw man that is super cool!

did not purchase a $140 copy of his book Hawaii 2004-2007

:-(

Nice story! It's groovy when people you admire turn out to be totally down to earth and nice and encouraging.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/8229374329_7f026c5787_c.jpg

not gonna let myself post too much photo-wise for the next bit, got papers coming up due soon, but I couldn't resist just putting one up while my tea was sinking in this morning.

(i really am loving my new home city if y'all couldn't tell)

i like that one

Thanks!

Yeah, that's great. I'm a sucker for leading lines and lots of repeating shapes. Great light, too. Where are these taken?

That last one is in New York - 28th street, between 7th & 8th, from the back side of the Fashion Institute of Technology. I just love how the vacant lot turns what was just one of many buildings along the street into some kind of ceremonial palace with the avenue of multi-story car-parking leading processionally up to it.

Yeah, it's a really striking image. I like the silhouettes of foliage in the top corners of the frame, too.

Thanks again. Yeah, I sometimes waffle on bits of foreground tree like that, there's definitely a lot of times where I realize once I hit Lightroom that I have a version with tree and a version sans tree. I think they help to kind of lock in a foreground/"frame" although on the other hand they do cover up part of the magnificent building, maybe obscuring something interesting (like the interesting ABB of castellation, water tank, water tank)...but ehhh, I like the feel.

http://i.imgur.com/LlDI2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EQTHU.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/se4O8.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/UxfFB.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/FyVOD.jpg

Really dig 4th and 5th one, show photos can be so generic but I love these faceless silhouetted drones in the haze.

thanks dude- those are two different shows at the same venue-- just realized both bands have "future" in their names: Odd Future and Future Islands, haw

Really like #4 there. Love the way the stage lights are picking out the outlines of people in the crowd, and the way the focus picks out the outline of the head and ears of the guy in the centre of the frame.

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg622/bizarrogazzara/42e453b43628f03eca8199731d1a4bc3.jpeg
http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg622/bizarrogazzara/7dd8d49bd84cb350d96075b4096af3ff.jpeg

really love those dividing lines, like an artificial [or real!] horizon

oooh i love the second one -- i expect to see a little troll person in a red hooded cape sneak across the hallway

Yeah, those make a great pair! Top one is great, wonderful tonal range and I love how the reflection transforms this pretty ordinary low-slung building into something momentarily monumental.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8200528805_47cfd2f451_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8208/8241694137_88bbd15707_b.jpg

really feeling the nighttime shooting atm. which is handy as it's dark all the time.

Is that Blackfriars, Ledge?

Blackfriars via Gilliam's Brazil, yah.

love the colors in the top one! the little burst of yellow especially.

i am such a tourist on this thread, i'm sorry. i just like looking at pictures. i'm not so great at producing them.

no need to apologize

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8057/8219483320_b74053dc01_b.jpg

^^ this is a dope pic gr80

DO YOU SEE??

lol thank you though

btw I updated my website for the first time in about 2.5 years over the weekend, mostly inspired by you/further good use of dr.-ordered bed rest.

tried to make my galleries a little more ~curated~ and ~representative of my work~

bizzaro i love your 1st one w/ the reflection

DO YOU SEE??

lol this is so the problem with taking photos of garbage but yeah that picture is really awesome

haha I didn't even go for that reading I just dug how neon elektrik the flag looked

this could be an album cover

it is my friend's facebook cover lol

thought i was seeing a dope photo that had greens around an american flag with upside down lungs in it

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hibsMyJTEJw/UMI9iqSGOEI/AAAAAAAAAFo/au00gtqeirk/s700/23.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-W29B1u1I0YA/ULBPouMrfpI/AAAAAAAAB4k/0g2a8NnMZO0/s700/1356.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vpX4_iqHLlI/UMI9i0H9QbI/AAAAAAAAAFs/Uwnen2_u0vI/s700/3.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8074/8255418787_c6161a2cde_z.jpg

love the tone on those photos schlump, especially the second one - has really good 'weight' if that makes sense

v cool light displays, michael

winter in west texas

http://i.minus.com/ijLt5ol25HQNo.jpg

not convinced that horizon is horizontal tbh

http://i.minus.com/iMUBHxq0P1ykS.jpg

both with hueless, A+ b/w iphone app