Cold!

The temperature did not get out of the thirties yesterday. The skies were a dismal gray. Hardly photography weather for most people. For me, it was almost perfect. (I was sort of hoping for ice, though.)

There were a few others on the trail, hardy souls, willing to brave the chilly mist. It cuts to the bone, but my Celtic blood seems to enjoy it. Dress appropriately, no kilts. If you’re moving you can get by with a little less. If you stop for awhile to photograph then you chill more quickly.

Cameras have operating temperatures too, and they are sensitive to humidity. How did those Nikon F’s and Leicas make it through the jungles of Vietnam where film would stick together because of humidity?

I like my Nikon D5600. It is lighter, but it is not as robust as my D7500. I use Live-view a lot and the D5600 Live-view is activated and deactivated by a small lever on the top deck. That is more convenient than the button on the back side of the D7500. The D5600 screen folds out and rotates, too. I like that a lot for composing images.

The D5600 is not made for extremes in weather: 0 °C to 40 °C (+32 °F to 104 °F) Humidity: 85% or less (no condensation). Having said that, it is more about the batteries and electronics. They will work just fine in colder and hotter temperatures, but you might have to tuck them inside your jacket.

The D7500 has the same temperature and humidity range as the D5600, as does the $6499.95 Nikon “Flagship” D6. Whaaa?.

My 7500 has weather sealing. It has a metal chassis. The D5600, has weather sealing too: Me. I seal it and protect it. Otherwise it does not. It is mostly “plastic” with metal at key locations in the body.

I have needed weather sealing at times, and I found out how tough a D7500 is once in the mountains. It was raining and the camera slipped, did a somersault, and crashed on top of a rock, pentaprism down, from about four feet. The fall took a small chunk of plastic from the pentaprism housing, and the fall broke the LCD, but otherwise the camera worked. Nikons are tough.

Will the mirrorless Z model Nikons be as tough? My guess is they will probably be more robust and resilient without the pentaprism and mirror mechanism. What about shutter cycles? Why wouldn’t a mirrorless camera body give us many more shutter cycles than a DSLR? I still own a Nikon EM working perfectly (1980 to present). There is no reason other than planned obsolescence and Moore’s Law that should send a Z body to recycling.

If you or Nikon USA want to donate a new Z body and lens, I will be happy to do an “angry gorilla toughness” test.

But on this day I wanted light and convenient. I put the kit lens (18-55 f3.5-f5.6 G) on the D5600. I put an extra battery and a Nikon 4T screw-on, closeup lens in my pocket. A small light no-name tripod I got online completed my gear.

Stocking cap, Georgia Tech hoodie, fleece lined bomber jacket, gloves with nubby rubber grippers on the fingers, wool socks, Merrell Moab 2 hiking shoes completed my fashion statement. Fashion should be a statement and not a question. I probably gravitate more toward a question mark than a period. I looked like a criminal but that is okay, because I am old and people expect no less from folks my age. Looking creepy is kind of my style.

When the skies are totally gray, I aim the camera down. The reduced light is good for that cotton-like effect on flowing water. Details appear that bright sunlight and the accompanying contrast hide. The downside is many times the gray light leads to gray photographs. It was like that this time. I only had a couple keepers and they required a bit if localized editing to improve the tones. Brown and gray. I could have made them all sepia tone, and they would have passed for color images.

Here ya go. Not a great day for trophies, but interesting to me none the less.

Sweetwater Creek on a Cold Gray Day

Enjoy photography even when you might prefer to wrap in a blanket on the couch. I think I shall do that right now.

Selah

#NaturePhotography #philosophy #Georgia #Photography #Walking #ZoneSystemPhotography #Nikon