My Photography Gear 3 - NIKON AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G DX

This week i would like to introduce you to another tool which I really recommend to every Nikon DX user.  This is my AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G DX.  This is a great lens. Its introductory price is quite at reach and thanks to the newly introduced silent wave motor it automatically focuses on Nikon's entry-level D3000 and D3100 bodies. It's also less than half the price of the few other DX format standard primes currently on the market (such as Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro and Sigma 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM).  With the production of this lens Nikon has managed to produce the first genuinely inexpensive fast standard prime.

Some specifications one ought to know:

• 35mm focal length; fast F1.8 maximum aperture
• Silent Wave Motor allows autofocusing on all Nikon DSLRs
• Full-time manual focus override
• For DX format cameras

The lens's performance is impressive. It produces finely detailed images at all apertures, focuses quickly and accurately.  Its dimensions are small and its weight is light. In particular, it's much sharper than typical DX standard zooms such as the Nikon AF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 DX VR or Nikon AF-S 18-200mm F3.5-5.6 DX VR. The fast maximum aperture allows pictures to be taken hand-held in low light levels, while maintaining relatively fast shutter speeds.

Furthermore, I believe that it would be very pretentious to complain about minor flaws in a so inexpensive lens, which gives otherwise such fine results. Nikon did a great deal in addressing the lack of inexpensive fast primes for DX format DSLRs.

As it is, the 35mm F1.8G DX features a great combination of high image quality, large maximum aperture and low price.  This is surely that kind of lens which deserves to be in a Nikon shooter's backpack.

hilaryspiteri.com - REVAMPED

Dear friends, as you may have noticed, the website, hilaryspiteri.com, was recently revamped by the team.  It includes all the artistic, design and photographic activity carried out by Hilary Spiteri.  The home page, introduces the web browsers to the artist’s current activity together with a short promo, which can be easily viewed.  Following, the section hilaryspiteri.com/biography offers a concise but in-depth biographical note.  This section will help visitors to familiarise themselves with the artist.

 

Also, it offers a portfolio of artistic works and photography in two seperate sections being hilaryspiteri.com/art and hilaryspiteri.com/photography.  Both portfolios feature a selection of works which represent the artist most.  Another section of the website, hilaryspiteri.com/publications, presents a series of publications which are available for sale on the local market.  More is to come in this section, as the team proudly announces the launching of a new publication by Hilary Spiteri to feature in the coming months.

Finally, apart from other information were one can easily get in touch with our team, the website also is a portal to other social websites such as Facebook, Flickr and Blogger, were the team is constantly present posting new material and stuff related to hilaryspiteri.com and its activity.

Photographing a Crisis - Lorenzo di Pietro

On Saturday 17th June, the Malta Institute of Professional Photographers (MIPP) commemorated its 15th anniversary by organising a seminar entitled “Photographing a Crisis”.  The guest speaker was Lorenzo di Pietro, a journalist who in 2010 spent almost a month in the African continent where he traced and documented the tragic trafficing of human beings and the crossing of the so called illegal immigrants from Africa towards the European continent.

A brief insight into the activity conducted by Lorenzo Di Pietro:

Lorenzo di Pietro works as a photo and investigative journalist.  He deals with matters concerning politics, immigration and foreign affairs. Di Pietro collaborates with several important Italian agencies such as Rai, Corriere della Sera online, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Il Punto and Terra.

During the seminar di Pietro shared his travel experience and demonstrated a hefty portfolio of pictures and video clips documenting his sojourn in Africa.  The journalist stressed a very important concept that perhaps some photographers who are keen to capture a candid image did not bear that much.  In fact, he made it clear that his images where not to present an aesthetically pleasing experience.  On the other hand he demonstrated that his photographic documentation was to testify his passage in the African continent.  Furthermore, di Pietro clarified that majorly he was using point and shoot cameras which made it possible documenting facts in disguise without ending up being caught by the austere African authorities.

The images presented by di Pietro offered a thorough insight of what is life in Africa and the poor and devastating way people live such as in places like Niamey and Zinder.  The images presented and insight of the domestic life and the intimate domestic environment.  In fact, as he explained, these images were only made possible through the friendship built on trust between the inhabitants and the journalist.   Di Pietro explained that the gaining of trust plays a very important role in African communities.  Trusts rewarded him a free passport to document and illustrate their present state of living.

Lorenzo di Pietro also showed to those present at the seminar a series of striking video clips.  Their content presented the current hard situation in the African continent.  All the video clips were captured either by using a mobile phone or a point and shoot camera.  As stated above, aesthetic quality was not the aim of the reportage.  Contrarily, the video clips brutally demonstrate the way the immigrants are left starving and with no water in the middle of the Sahara desert.  As di Pietro confirmed, these people last till about ten days until they die in the middle of nowhere because of dehydration.   Their corpses are left decomposing or most probably eaten by wild animals.


During the second part of this seminar an interactive forum lead by Sergio Muscat was presented. He was accompanied by Lorenzo di Pietro, Darrin Zammit Lupi (Times of Malta), Andrew Galea Debono (Human rights lawyer) and Maj. Ivan Consiglio (AFM).


On a personal note, I got acquainted with Lorenzo di Pietro the day after during a photo-walk organised by MIPP at Senglea.  I had the occasion to share some time (also humbly offering him a bottle of water) with the journalist, this time not under the African sun but in a much more pleasurable Maltese environment. On a personal note, discussing with Lorenzo, despite of my humble Italian language speaking, was an enriching experience. Di Pietro’s humble and professional character inspires all those who in a way or another encounter him. 

Also, thumbs up go to MIPP for inviting such a talented individual and for this wonderful experience.


Related posts:

Links:

www.lorenzodipietro.it

My Photography Gear 2 - The Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM

Dear photograhy enthusiasts, today, i would like to introduce you with another useful tool found in my photography backpack.  The Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM is one of my favourite lenses which I recently acquired.  It offers a wide angle range, ideal for landscape and architecture photography.  Wayback, photographers making use of APS-C sensor cameras lacked behind in the wide-angle field.  This lense, when introduced, deflected this barrier and made it possible for a wide range of photography enthusiasts to capture some stunning landscape and architecture shots.

The Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM is a solid, well-built lens with good operational characteristics, which provides some really excellent imaging results. The front element does not extend, which makes it possible to easily attach to it a filter, either directly or through an operator. This is very relevant, as the majority of those looking for such a lens require focal range at scenic and therefore attaching a filter becomes a must.  Optically, this lens is impressive. Chromatic aberration features slightly in this lens but let’s face it, this is a common problem with ultra-wide angle lenses. The images are consistently sharp and crisp.  Infact such quality betrays its focal range and price tag.

Here are some technical data which one ought to know:

·         A DC series lens designed exclusively for use with smaller chip APS-c or 4/3 cameras,

·         HSM (Hyper-Sonic Motor) allows for fast auto focus speeds & quiet shooting and is capable of full-time manual operation,

·         Three aspherical lens elements offer excellent correction for distortion and Three SLD (Special Low Dispersion) glass elements employed for effective compensation of colour aberration,

·         Internal Focusing System allows the convenient use of a polarizing filter for creative effects & improves the optical performance of the lens at various distances,

·         Awarded the TIPA award, best consumer lens in Europe 2006.

This is a decent lens which streches the ability of photography enthusiats to a limit of 10mm wide-angle-view at a decent price. I strongly recommend this lens!

Men at Work - Environmental Portraiture Photography

1/640 sec at f / 5.0. ISO 100

92 mm (70.0 - 200.0 mm f / 2.8)

The photograph that I am proposing today is a stunning shot which I took earlier this month. Despite of being a sunny day, it was quite hazy.  In fact the available natural light conditions offered a very subtle soft light of which I took advantage.

There was no particular setup set prior to this shot.  The people frozen in this image were not posing for the shot.  I was simply stand by round the corner to capture a moment in Malta's rural and conservative countryside.  Unfortunately, such moments reminiscent of Malta's rural past are nowadays becoming extinct.  The image says it all!  Two old men sitting next to an old fuel pump who are accompanied by a mongrel.  Both men bear the signs of the ephemeral passing of time.  Wrinkles feature boldly and the white feathery hair captures the viewers attention.  Both men are sitting tranquilly but the dog is the one which is reacting to its environment.

Compositionally, the work can be divided in two sections, mainly the upper section dominated by an umbrella and local domestic architecture, whereas the lower section is dominated by the afore mentioned individuals. The pump set on the right hand side of the composition deserves a mention.  Being itself a museum piece, one of the very first fuel pumps to feature in modern Malta, still withstanding the natural elements and the passing of time.

This black and white image is bound to remain one of my favorites.  Capturing of such an image immortalized what will in few years time be considered as past.