Thanks for stopping by my big wide nature web site.  I picked that name years ago for all the panoramic images I made.  To see more of my current work click on the Flickr icon to see over 2100 images.  All my work is for sale and I am available for assignment work.  I am the official photographer for the Shilo Inn Hotels out of Portland, Oregon.

My stock photo agencies are Getty Images, Fotolia Images, Panoramic Images and StockPhoto Pro.  If you would like to purchase any of my work just click on the appropriate icon.  For your business card needs please click on the Print Business Cards icon.

Out in the field I use a Nikon D700 & D2X cameras with prime Nikon lenses. A Bogen tripod and Acratech Ultimate Ball head works for me.

Calculations
Multiply a lens' focal length by a camera's factor to get the focal length of a lens which, when used on a full-frame or 35mm film camera, gives the same angle of view as that lens does on that digital camera.

A 100mm lens on a 1.5x factor camera shows the same area of view that a 150mm lens would show on a 35mm film or full-frame camera. 

Because most digital camera sensors are smaller than film, any image you see from those cameras is created from an area smaller than film.

If a photo is made with the same lens, but a smaller sensor, it shows a smaller area.

This is why it's called a crop factor. The smaller sensor is cropping the lens' image compared to a 35mm film frame. Ditto for what you see through the viewfinder.

This is why most digital cameras have smaller viewfinders than 35mm film cameras. In case you've forgotten, go look through your old Canon AE-1 or Nikon F and you'll see a huge viewfinder unlike today's digital SLRs.

When enlarged to the same print or image size, the photo made from the smaller sensor must be enlarged more. This is done automatically. This is why some people call this a magnification factor.

To get this same crop effect, one would have to use an equivalently longer lens on a 35mm film camera.

Nothing changes about the lens; it's simply the amount of the image we use from the back of the lens.

Digital and film SLR lenses are the focal length as marked. They will see a narrower range on a digital camera, and you can estimate the focal length required on a 35mm film camera to see this same, smaller range by multiplying the focal length by a crop factor, usually about 1.5, which depends on the exact sensor size.

Sometimes compact cameras with fixed lenses will list the 35mm equivalent focal length only, since compact cameras have huge crop factors of about 6. A 6mm lens on a compact camera may see the same angle as a 36mm lens on a 35mm film camera.

What is an Ultrawide
This article applies to all lenses, but here are today's definitions while I'm at it.

Do I Need to Buy Nikon Filters?
Nikon makes a number of filters, most notably a very nice set of circular polarizers. Yes, they're expensive, but they're also very high quality. On the flip side, some photographers don't like the wider front on the polarizers (made this way to reduce the chance of vignetting), which makes it difficult to mount additional filters in front of the polarizer.

But to answer the question the heading asks: no, you don't need to buy Nikon filters just because you have Nikon equipment.

Question:
I would like to get my first graduated ND filter and experiment with it. I think I will get a Cokin P holder and a HiTech square soft edge grad ND. At this time I think I will just buy one and see how often I will need it. I am most interested in landscape shooting, and I have had experiences when I photograph people or just flowers or trees in the foreground and the mountains under an afternoon sun in the background are washed out (or the things in the foreground gets very dark in the print) My question is, for such situations, do I need a grad 2-stop or 3-stop? If I have to choose ONE grad ND, which one will be more likely needed, a 2-stop or 3-stop soft? On sunny days, what's the difference between the sky and open shade (2-stop, 3-stop or more)? What's the effect if I used 3-stop grad ND when it really should require a 2-stop grad ND?

Answer:
If you are really serious about using grad filters you should at least buy two of them, a 1 stop as well as a 2 stop. The great thing about having these 2 filters is that you can sandwich them together to give you a 3 stop filter. Don't overlap them completely together, place one slightly higher than the other to give you a softer gradation.

It is difficult to say which one you will need at any given time. If you are photographing on a bright sunny day with your subject in open shade and including a bright background you will probably do best with a 2 stop, in darker shade a 3 stop. When photographing a landscape that is in bright sunlight try using a 1 stop filter on the sky, it will slightly darken the sky and make the landscape really stand out.

Generally, when photographing at sunrise or sunset if you use a 3 stop grad filter you should have complete balance between the sky and the foreground. Sometimes you may want this or you may want to keep the sky a little brighter than the foreground, then use a 2 stop.

There is One Correct Exposure (NOT)
I often hear out in the field, "so what exposure are you using?" I always answer factually, but usually add "are you sure you have enough information to be useful?" You can, I suppose, meter using an 18 percent gray card and get an average exposure that someone might label as "correct," but I've found that it rarely works that way in real life.

I expose slide film differently than print film, for example, because overexposing highlights on slide film results in lack of detail in the very areas our eyes are drawn to, while overexposing print film generally produces better shadow detail. I expose Velvia slightly different than I do Provia, because shadows drop off very quickly to black with Velvia and don't with Provia. We're getting close to the answer: I'm clearly picking exposures based upon what I want the results to show.

The truth is that most scenes we attempt to photograph have light ranges that exceed the ability of film (or digital sensors) to record. Thus, you're stuck with picking a compromise, and that compromise should be determined by what you know about your working material and what you're trying to show. Blown out highlights are okay when they're long streaks from a waterfall, but usually terrible when they're reflections off a windshield (at least in my opinion). Undetailed black is perfect for silhouettes, while any grayness tends to lesson their impact (again, in my opinion). Generally speaking, I find that composition often has as much impact on exposure as does a meter reading.

Dirt was a huge problem when DSLRs were introduced in 1999.

Thank goodness camera makers are now aware of the problem, and sensor dirt is no longer a problem with modern DSLRs. (Modern means introduced in the past 12 months or so.)

l played with my first Nikon D1X in 2001. In the first few minutes of playing with it, I was able to see dirt in the images, weird for anything coming from Japan.

We called Nikon, who thought something awful must have happened, and they sent us a replacement. It had the same problem, of course!

How to Test for and See Dirt

Set your camera to A (aperture-priority) exposure mode, select f/22, set your exposure compensation to +1 stop, point the camera at the sky or an out-of-focus blank wall, and shoot. Look at the photo. You'll see any dirt that's going to be visible.

You can look at the image on the large screen of your computer, and you also can see it on your camera's zoomed-in LCD.

Since this is a worst-case test, you'll see everything. Actual photos made at reasonable apertures won't show anywhere near as much, and usually won't show any.

Funnier still are people who want to sell you special devices to see dirt. If dirt wasn't visible without a scope, it wouldn't be a problem, duh! You look for dirt in your images, not by looking at your sensor. If you were silly enough to use these things, you potentially make any problems worse by removing lenses and poking these devices into your camera.

What Makes Dirt Visible

Dirt is visible on blank areas like the sky. It blends into busy areas like a tree.

Dirt is seen as shadows cast by dirt onto the sensor. Dirt lies not exactly on the sensor, but on a filter a little bit in front of the sensor.

Therefore dirt is most visible at small apertures, which cast sharper shadows onto the sensor.

Dirt is most visible at f/22, much less visible at f/8, and goes away at f/1.4. If you are shooting and see a dirt problem, open up a few stops and it will go away until you can clean your sensor.

How Camera Makers Solved the Dirt Problem

Easy: Camera makers learned to increase the spacing between the protective filters and the sensor itself.

What looks like the sensor is actually a sandwich with several components, with the sensor at the bottom.

By moving the anti-alias and infra-red cut filters further away from the actual sensor, they throw any dirt further out of focus so it no longer is a problem.

Some makers also add devices to jiggle the sensor to dislodge dirt.

Back in 2001 camera designers worked in special clean rooms, and didn't ask themselves what happened when sensors inevitably got dirty. They made very thin sandwiches of the sensors and filters, and you could see all the dirt even at moderate apertures.

I had problems on my D1H. My D40, D70, D80, D200 and Canon 5D and Rebel XTi are fine.

How to Avoid Dirt

Avoid small apertures. I never shoot smaller than f/11 on digital, because dirt is emphasized and sharpness is lost due to diffraction.

I avoid changing lenses, but when I'm out doing lens tests and comparisons for you people I change lenses a lot, like five times in five minutes! If anyone is going to have a dirt problem, it's me. I rarely have to blow dirt off my sensors. Dirt's not an issue any more.

How to Fix Dirt

In Photoshop, I use the Spot Healing Brush tool. I cases where the Spot Healing Brush can't find a correct texture to replicate, the Clone Tool works better, but takes more time.

Cleaning Camera Sensors

I've never, ever touched a sensor! See cleaning camera sensors.

I spent $5 on a blower bulb (not brush) and it's all I've ever needed these past 5 years to keep all my cameras clean.

Circus-style hucksters love to sell people things they don't need. All because dealers offer high-profit cleaning kits doesn't mean you should buy them. I know a photographer who completely destroyed her new D2X by wiping it carefully with a swab that accidentally had picked up a microscopic bit of dirt.

Fireworks are simple to photograph. Fireworks are photographed by opening the camera's shutter over a period of several seconds to let the streamers "draw" lines on the film.

We open the camera shutter for a burst, and as the bright streamers fly through the sky, they draw the pretty effects you're used to seeing.

Here's how to do it:

1.) Turn off your flash.

2.) Set the lens to manual focus and set it to the ∞ mark.

3.) Put the camera on tripod. Use a cable release or remote control so you won't have to jiggle the camera.

If you don't use a tripod, the smooth streaks will become squiggles. If you want weird special effects, be my guest and wiggle the camera around to see what happens.

4.) If your camera has it, shoot on M or Manual exposure mode.

5.) Set the camera on "B" or "Bulb." When you press the shutter, the camera opens to light, and stays open until you remove your finger.

Some cameras have a "T" (time) setting, which instead stays open by itself and closes when you press the shutter a second time. This isn't as convenient. If you have neither of these, set a long manual exposure of many seconds, and start the exposure the usual way. Use your hand in front of the lens to stop it. If you have no remote control or cable release, set a long exposure and use your hand or a hat to start and stop the exposure.

Check your camera's instructions if you can't find these settings. If you can't find them, for the USA, phone Nikon at (800) NIKON-UX for digital, (800) NIKON-US for film, and (800) OK-CANON for Canon.

6.) Shoot at the lowest ISO for the best results. Turn off ISO AUTO because it will try to set a high ISO in the dark. If you have no idea what ISO is, forget about it.

7.) Try an aperture of f/5.6 at ISO 50 and ISO 100, and f/8 at ISO 200 for starters. If you don't know what an aperture is, or your camera doesn't have this adjustment, don't worry.

8.) Open the shutter before the first burst. Hold it open several seconds, until one burst completes, or hold it open longer for several bursts.

As more bursts happen, they "draw" on you film or digital, and add together to look like they all happened at once. If you only open the shutter for one burst, you get one. If you hold it open for several consecutive bursts, you'll get a photo loaded with all of them.

9.) How's it look? Too dark? Open up to f/4. Too washed-out? Stop down to f/11. Try again until you get an exposure you like, at whatever aperture you need.

10.) The brightness of the burst depends only on ISO and the aperture (f/stop). They don't vary with the amount of time the shutter is open.

11.) The brightness of the sky, but not the bursts, varies also with the length of the exposure.

12.) For a bluer sky, try the Tungsten white balance setting. For more orange, try the cloudy or shade settings (see white balance for more).

The word nature does not itself deify the world, but it still implies that the world has its own sense of being, its own power, and its own dynamic. On the other hand, the word creation is a term of faith. It expresses the belief that everything that exists is made by God. All beauty and splendor of the universe comes from God's creative hands.
In some ways, the modern emphasis on "Mother Earth" is simply a revival of the goddess cults of the ancient Middle East. However, the authors of the creation psalms have the right perspective. We can express our enjoyment of creation without worshiping it. We can love the earth because we first love its Creator. We can rejoice in the marvels of nature, the sparkling waterfall and the soaring eagle because we know they are the handiwork of God. Any efforts to "save" the earth should arise from our worship of its Creator and our knowledge that we are called to responsible stewardship because everything God created is a gift from Him.