I decided recently that I have not given adequate attention to the possibilities offered by selective focus. The main components of that technique to restrict depth of focus are lens focal length and aperture. With that in mind I mounted the Nikkor-P Auto f:2.5/105mm on my Nikon F loaded with a roll of Arista Ultra Edu 100. I shot most of the roll at 1/1000 which allowed a wide aperture even in the bright New Mexico sunlight.
I cannot recall ever feeling the need to use very high shutter speeds for the purpose of stopping motion blur. What this experience has shown me, however, is that 1/1000 or higher along with the associated wide apertures can offer much better control over the separation of foreground and background and better emphasis of the primary compositional interest. Of course it is also important to pay attention to the capacity of the lens being used to perform at wide apertures.
8 comments:
Great images, Mike. It’s also something I’ve not played around with enough. This is something I intend to put right in due course. I have an old CZY 135mm sonnar who’s aperture is stuck open at present. While it’s like this I’m hoping to take a similar approach to yourself and see what comes of it. I know the lens is capable of giving a decent result as-is, as I briefly played around with it on my Canon 6D a while back and the outcome was really good.
Btw I should have mentioned that my next use of it will be on film, with it probably mounted on my old Spotmatic.
I've always felt no camera system was complete unless it included a 135mm. I have a Mamiya Sekor 2.8/135 that has done a lot of work for me with my Spotmatic.
Some wonderful shots here Mike and a great photo project. I have been toying around with the idea of getting the 105/2.5 or perhaps the 85/2 Nikkor. I had the 85/2 in the past and really loved it. The 105/2.5 is a legendary Nikon lens.
The 105 lens may be my all time favorite. I got it incedently to buying a Nikon F2 in a thrift store.
Your exposures are, as usual, spot on. I love making and looking at shallow-depth-of-field work like this.
I was given a 135mm AI Nikkor last week that I need to try soon. It came with 3x and 4x closeup attachments that screw into the filter threads. Fun to be had.
Fine work Mike. Your 105mm Nikkor is a sonnar design that owes it's roots to the 8.5cm f 2.0 rangefinder lens for the s series cameras. One of the signature looks of sonnar lenses is the great out of focus backgrounds. Smooth out of focus without being distracting. That lens does a great job of that and you seem to be using it to your advantage. The 135mm "Q" Nikkor is also a sonnar design lens and will do similar things. You have a nice blog here keep on keeping on.
I used the 105mm for a long time for portraits. I'm seeing now that can do a lot more than that if given the chance.
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