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We are now integrated with our website, photoduniya.com. We have moved over to http://www.photoduniya.com/photography-blog/. Although we shall keep this blog up and running, most of the future posts will be on the Photoduniya Blog.

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Nikon had announced the launch of the Telephoto VR lenses late last year. The Nikon 600 mm f/4 AF-VR (estimated street price USD 9,500) and the Nikon 500 mm f/4 AF-VR (estimated street price USD 7,900) were announced late last year by Nikon and are yet to hit the market. It had always been a question as to whether one needs a VR with these long lenses for an additional price of between USD 500 to USD 700 and an increased weight of the lens. But looking into the way Nikon is trying to get into the Canon sports market, probably the thought is that many of these “nature” & “field” lenses would now be used in the sports arena easily.

Having said that, the 2 other lenses that automatically come into the discussion are the Nikon 400 mm f/2.8 AF (street price of USD 7,000) and the Sigma 500 mm f/4.5 AF (street price of USD 4,200). Nikon would definitely discontinue the non-VR versions of all the lenses that are already made with VR. The Nikon 500 mm f/4 (non-VR) had been a favorite of most of the nature photographers and had performed superbly for ages would be gone in a few months of time.

Personally, since I do not do sports, I have not much use of the VR in these tele lenses. That leaves the proposition for the Sigma 500 mm f/4.5 AF extremely enticing, especially if I weigh the positive price and the weight factors to the only negative brand factor. But a difference of USD 4,000 does a lot of justification for a small time photographer like me! The reviews had been excellent over years together. And apart from the Service related cribbing that many people reported as a pain point with Sigma, there have been no complaints on the quality or the operations of this lens.

The other brand lens that appears very enticing at least from the price point of view now is the Nikon 200 – 400 mm f/4 G-AFS which comes with a VR for a price of USD 5,100. I have recently sold my very favorite Nikon FM 3A and probably would not have much need of the “D” versions anyway. The Nikon F5 and the Nikon D200 works superbly with the Nikon 200 – 400 mm f/4 G-AFS VR. The zooming ability of this lens, for my needs, out-weighs the benefits of the 500 mm prime.

I have thought of the Sigmonster (Sigma 300 – 800 mm f/5.6) for over a year now. It is probably an excellent value for the money (for a price of USD 7,000) but since I have started doing a lot of streets now, I have to finally get this lens off my mind for good!

Here’s a brief of what the D3 has to offer:

• 12.1 MP CMOS sensor
• FX format (thats a full frame 36 x 24 format)
• Continuous 9 fps in FX mode and high speed 11 fps in DX crop
• Noise reduction in extreme 25,600 ISO
• 51 point auto focus with 3D focus tracking and improved Scene Recognition System

Here is the link to the detailed specifications on the Nikon’s website.

The Ferocious Few rocked and rolled as usual on the corner of Powell entertaining a huge crowd of passers by and the tourists.

Francisco Fernandez the lead guitarist, song writer and singer, comes into his own with his rock and roll, while his partner, adept with the drums and percussion, keeps with the beats equally well.

The Ferocious Few @ photoduniya.com

I did almost seven hundred shots this evening of Cici, Chelsea & Whitney, Jonathan, Ming Xiong and off course the Ferocious Few. Over a period of time I shall update the projects section on photoduniya.com.

Chelsea & Whitney were playing the violin and the guitar, charming up probably Celtic tunes for a christian charity. They formed a nice pair, not only on the instruments, but together with their youthful innocence and cheerful naivety.

More of their images will be uploaded on photoduniya.com shortly.

The Faces from San Francisco is well underway. This gentleman walked up to me to snap a few pictures of his that he could share with his family. He was vending some flowers and some local artifacts to the tourists close to China town.

I went back several times with small prints hoping to find him again and give him those copies. He had been very patient all the while I was taking the shots.

Tip: The most difficult part of a street portrait is not other than having the right background. Unless you are carry a 2.8 or faster lens, the distraction of the background is usually too high. You cannot do much about it other than changing the perspective or shooting effectively with flash. In this case, the background was muted by a glass wall. However, if you are an expert in digital photo tools like Adobe Photoshop ™ you could improve the bokeh through layer manipulations.

It’s not easy making a living in this century being a shoe shine person. Definitely not when the names like Nike, Adidas and Reebok and changed the way we slip-n-slide in and out of the sports footwear. You just cannot ask anyone walking by to stop a moment and get their shoes shined! You have to look hard, make the kind of shoe and then probably make your pitch. And thats not easy in the busy streets of San Francisco.

So when the moment comes, you cannot leave anything to chances. You get down to work and in matter of minutes it’s over. Making an honest living is tough, putting a shine onto it, is something very few people are seen to do these days.

The images are shot on Nikon D200 at 100 ASA on a monopod. A few of them will be updated on the photoduniya project Faces from San Francisco (0607-001).

Today’s image is of Mr Jonathan R. Dyer. I met him playing the Saxophone on Market Street. Slightly different in both tune and approach, Jonathan plays very smooth, sliding effortlessly from between the octaves. His hand movement symbolizes he is trying to compose and visualize the tunes flowing out of his instrument.

Jonathan R Dyer @ photoduniya.com

You could visit the artist on myspace.com/dyerhornesf or write to him at dyerhornesf@aol.com. He performs in the city and also sells his music on CDs.

Working ahead on the project San Francisco Street Artists (0507-001) featured here is the band The Ferocious Few. Its a rock and roll band featuring the founder Francisco Fernandez who also happens to be the singer and the guitarist.

The afternoon crowed seemed to enjoy every bit of the music. Apart from the charm that gleamed in the singer’s eye, the audience tapped and chimed to the tunes.

The group performs in various clubs and forums and you could reach out to them for more information on their programs. You could browse them on http://www.theferociousfew.com/ or email them at ciscokid@theferocisoufew.com.

 This is also a part of my project on San Francisco Street artists and some of the pictures have been uploaded on photoduniya in the Projects section. The pages will be updated with more such emerging and promising artists.

The pictures have been taken with the permission of Francisco Fernandez with the knowledge that they will be published on my website (photoduniya.com) and the blogs as this one. The copyright remains with Ranjay Mitra & photoduniya.com.

It’s familiar to hear the jazz music echoing in the San Francisco streets but having to hear a completely different music culture played on another was unique. And you should see the glitter in his eyes when he feels the rhythm conjuring in the bystander’s swaying motion.

Chen apologized for not being fluent in English. But then, when he knows the language of the heart and the mind, why would he need any language at all?

You could see more of “San Francisco Street Artists” in the Project section of photoduniya.com.

But business and the lure of exploitation could not keep away from this treasure spot for long. The sky walk, built by Californian businessman David Jin, was envisioned in 1996 and finally open to the public in March – April 2007. Charging $25 per visitor, this is planned to be a strong attraction for tourists. David Jin would collect the money for 25 long years (averaging a low of 100 visitors a day, this could be as much as $ 60 million dollars).

While on one hand lies the question of the Hualapai tribe using their priveledges to rent the land for income (they will own the skywalk while David Jin keeps half the money for himself), on the other side, lies the technical ability of the structure to hold on safely for so long. The 70 feet walk, hanging 4000 feet over the Colorado River on the Grand Canyon, is built by steel and glass drilled 40 feet into the porous canyon walls.

Read the article on National Geographic here. The original article read “It’s the most iconic of American landscapes, yet the Grand Canyon still has the power to surprise.” As long as the bridge is the last of such surprises, its good news. And as long as another amusement park does not invest another few millions to create roller coasters, I guess, we are happy.