Superfortress

 What I stumbled upon by accident was the wreakage of a B29A Superfortress, nicknamed ‘Over-Exposed’. The loss of all of its thireteen crew members in a tragic accident whilst doing a payroll and mail run from RAF Scampton to the USAF base at Burtonwood near Warrington. The accident occurred in November 1948. The plane was part of the USAF 16th Photographic reconnaissance Squadron from the 91st Reconnaissance Group. What was surprising was how much wreakage was still visible and in good condition. Always show respect and don’t steal or interfere with any of the parts. There is plenty on the web about all the aviation crash sites in the Peak District and interesting reading it makes. History shows the Peaks are a dangerous place for aviators with over 60 sites documented.

Engines

 One of the lenses that goes always into my camera bag is the Nikkor 50mm f1.8g. It’s so sharp that it’s just amazing to use and lightweight ,which makes it a great lens to stick in the bag when carrying large lenses. It’s proving to be a gem of a lens to use and it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to buy.

Grill

Windows

Under Carriage

Windows

Engine

 Engine

Respect

The Niffty Fifty

Lost among the huge array of popular zoom lenses which grace our camera bags, the 50 mm is back. The reason of course is just how good the modern zooms are. I have two myself the Nikkor 14-24mm and the 24-70mm both delivering stunning image quality  and ranked as some of the finest produced, so why add another lens when the focal lengths are already covered. The simply answers is the 1.8 aperture, using the  lens at this aperture delivers wonderful out of focus elements resulting in a razor fine focal point. This is used in portraits to produce stunning images. Its also has quite a following among many  photographers producing a very contemporary feel to there work. You can see many examples of this fine work on flickr, just type in 1.8 and you will get an idea of the images. As I am constantly reviewing my work it has given me a few ideas for the future on how I can use such a lens . Another point is just how accessible these lenses are as they don’t cost too much money considering their stunning output. Nikon just released their new version of the ‘nifty fifty’ the Nikkor 50 mm 1.8g and I couldn’t wait for its arrival on our UK shores. Featherweight and low cost compared to my zooms it has found a new home in a small corner in my camera bag. I am so looking forward to just using this lens on its own and not carrying another lens, which could be good fun and an excellent exercise in visual development. I have some stunning Nikkor optics but this lens has really got me excited, just because of its low cost and weight but also the 1.8 aperture. A  50 mm is a lens which all photographers should have in their bags and the new Nikkor 50 mm 1.8g is just perfect. By the way I know Nikon produce a 1.4 version of the 50 mm but its more money and weighs a bit more and hasn’t the new optics.

Nikkor  Afs 50mm f1.8g

 So what to do when a new lens arrives on the doorstep, well test it of course. The back garden will do just fine just to a get feel on what can do in terms of performance. The shots are not intended as a scientific type test , I don’t photograph charts just photograph what I see could make an interesting image.  Another note is that all the images have had no adjustments ( curves, levels etc) just the basic web sharpening I use as standard.

f1.8

f1.8

f11

 Care has to be taken when focusing as the depth of field is razor thin! A comparison image below showing the 50mm on the left and the 24-70 on the right. I wish a lot of lenses were this small and light.

 So the conclusion is the nifty fifty is back and in some style.  It produces stunningly sharp images throughout it’s range and coupled with its low cost and weight  the Nikkor 50mm f1.8g is a no brainer, just buy one!!