Faizan's Photo Blog

50mm prime time

2009-10-19T21:12:00.004-04:00

Ok I've been pretty busy with work and wedding photography and haven't had time to post on this blog for a while so I'm going to post a few pictures at once from the summer. The most frequently used lens of this summer for me was the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 prime which is probably the best bang for your buck. It's a great lens but you have to be careful with the shallow depth of field.

Smith Mountain Lake

2009-07-21T15:19:00.001-04:00

Taj Mahal framed by an arch

2009-07-03T00:23:00.002-04:00

This is a picture I took in 2005 of the Taj Mahal from the side framed by an arch from one of the mosques on either side of the Taj Mahal.

Is "Black" really black?

2009-07-03T00:17:00.004-04:00

Keep it alive...

2009-02-19T01:06:00.005-05:00

Among the myriad of museums that flank the National Mall, the Newseum is a must see. It's a great looking building and the exhibits are interesting if you take your time. This picture summarizes the main theme presented throughout the Newseum: Freedom. Freedom of press, of thought, of creativity, of knowledge, of truth.

Sun in your eyes

2009-02-13T18:38:00.001-05:00

In anticipation of spring...

2009-02-12T17:17:00.002-05:00

Beech Tree Shadow

2009-02-11T00:23:00.000-05:00

Before I was interested in photography, I used to sketch lots of trees. Beech trees are exceptionally beautiful for their smooth white bark and their spread of their crown. This was a particularly large beech tree for such a dense wooded area. It was almost like a large white canvas that was perfect except for "Rebecca" that someone had carved into it.

This tree has an approximate diameter of 18" and American Beech trees have a growth factor of 6, so that makes this beech tree approximately 108 years old.

Full Moon

2009-02-09T12:27:00.000-05:00

There are few things more spectacular than a full moon on a clear night. What I especially love is taking pictures and being able to see all of the craters and terrain of the moon.

To get this shot I was at a focal length of 300mm, f/stop 5.6, and exposure time was 1/4000 sec. I found the key to shooting the full moon after lots of trial and error is to keep the exposure time as low as possible. The lowest on the Nikon D90, is 1/4000 which worked perfectly, at 1/3200 the moon was losing detail and at 1/2500 it was just a bight white ball.

My next project is to rig my D90 to a telescope to hopefully get even greater shots of the moon.

Sunday Park on a Sunday

2009-02-09T01:09:00.000-05:00

Today I took advantage of the beautiful weather and ventured out with my sister to a park I've always wanted to go to. It's a nice little park on the Swift Creek Resevoir with a walking trail and boat landings.

I took my D90, Nikkor 70-300mm and 18-105mm lens with a polarized filter. Before I left, I swapped out my battery for one that I thought was completely charged. When I got to the park the camera wouldn't turn on as the battery was completely dead. Here's where I learned a little trick, I took out the battery and hit it against my leg a few times, this gave it a little juice for me to continue to take pictures. When the battery died, I just took it out and did it again.

Click here for the full album