Photography by Guy Van Hooveld

Nikon One by night

2012-01-15T20:11:00.001Z

nikon1night-20, originally uploaded by gugs.

A simple picture shot in my home town, hand held with the Nikon compact hybrid camera with a Nikon 35mm 1.8 AF-S used fully open (equivalent 90mm focal length). ISO 3200, no post processing, Jpeg out of camera.

New review on the wiki: the Nikon ONE system

2012-01-01T21:18:00.000Z

This camera is more than just a camera. It is a disruptive innovation (other recently introduced cameras as well, like the new Sony NEX-7), because for the first time, we have a compact size mirrorless camera, with professional level (even improved) autofocus, a 2.7 crop factor giving previously impossible possibilities to wildlife photographers. I am really curious about the future evolution but I really think this camera will be remembered in a few years from now as the deal breaker of the DSLR industry. To be followed...

http://www.techniphoto.com/wiki/index.php?title=Nikon_One

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T23:34:00.001Z

nikon1-2, originally uploaded by gugs.

A simple picture to start 2012. Shot with the Nikon J1 Hybrid camera, with a 50 1.8 AFS lens on the FT1 adapter.

Poladroid

2011-12-27T20:37:00.001Z

moma-5-pola, originally uploaded by gugs.

A Nikon D7000+28-300VR shot in Manhattan, NYC, cropped and post-processed with the Poladroid tool to give that old Polaroid look.

Horta

2011-11-07T19:28:00.002Z

horta, originally uploaded by gugs.

This picture has been taken with a Canon S95 P&S camera at the Horta House, located in Brussels, Belgium. The post processing has been done on an iPad, the picture has then been up-res'd in Photoshop. Here is the result. I found the old look a perfect fit for this kind of subject.

Osawa lens

2011-08-30T20:20:00.001+01:00

BE7_4837, originally uploaded by gugs.

A strange find in an old shop: a manual 28-80mm zoom with Nikon F-Mount, manual focus, still usable on a number of modern camera bodies like the D7000 and most professional and prosumer cameras (D3, D300...). IQ is good, but not exceptional compared to recent designs. The Osawa brand is not well known (they seem to have filed for bankruptcy in the eighties)

Cloudy pano.

2011-07-25T19:51:00.001+01:00

PeiseyPano1, originally uploaded by gugs.

Cloud effects in the Alps. A combination of seven shots using a Nikon D7000. Processed using Hugins on a MacBook Pro.

A wonderful 35mm lens

2011-07-12T22:53:00.003+01:00

BE7_4194, originally uploaded by gugs.

This lens is a hidden gem. Manufactured by Samyang, the Korean manufacturer (sold under the name Rokinon in the US), this lens is a manual focus lens delivering amazing pictures and excellent corner to corner sharpness even fully open (1.4). A remarkable performance for the price.

Chinatown

2011-05-29T22:17:00.003+01:00

nyc-63, originally uploaded by gugs.

This is a simple pic shot with a Nikon D7000 in NYC (Chinatown) and post-processed with a tool called Flare on a Macbook, to give that old photo look. I also did some cross color processing to alter the colors in this one.

Objects

2011-05-01T20:26:00.001+01:00

Objects, originally uploaded by gugs.

An interesting mood... a composition found during a family visit. I like the effect in the dark. The technicalities: Nikon D7000 DX body with the Tamron 17-50 2.8 lens, the result has been converted with Lightroom 3.4 (BW conversion and curve adjustment to enhance contrast and clarity)

Blue mountains

2011-03-12T16:15:00.001Z

australia-362, originally uploaded by gugs.

A very classical view of the "three sisters" in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney. Shot with the 28-300VR lens on the Nikon D3 camera.

Seasonal greetings

2011-01-02T21:34:00.001Z

DSC_0109, originally uploaded by gugs.

Happy new year to everybody !

A neighbor, on the local frozen lake, shot with a 70-300VR on the Nikon D7000.

Pigeons

2010-11-17T21:42:00.001Z

mf-25, originally uploaded by gugs.

A pigeons' friend in the center of Warsaw in Poland. Picture taken with a Nikkor 24-120VR (the old one) on a good old D200.

Medium format

2010-09-12T20:18:00.001+01:00

mf-1, originally uploaded by gugs.

for the real afficionados, an old (well not that old) Medium Format Pentax camera, with all the modern technology you can dream of in a standard film camera (AF, exposure compensation, A, S, P priority modes, excellent viewfinder. Only drawback (compared to a Hasselblad for instance) is that the backs (magazines) cannot be exchanged in the middle of a film roll.

Lighthouse

2010-08-29T18:33:00.001+01:00

france 2010-149, originally uploaded by gugs.

An interesting view inside a lighthouse on the French coast. This picture has been shot with the consumer grade 24-120VR lens (first version) on the full frame Nikon D3 body.

Sun light

2010-08-11T21:45:00.001+01:00

france 2010-66, originally uploaded by gugs.

Shot on the atlantic coast in France. I liked the evening light on the wood...

180mm 2.8

2010-07-12T17:21:00.001+01:00

gear-6, originally uploaded by gugs.

A not so well known Nikon lens, a compact alternative to the 70-200 zooms with excellent image quality even fully open. That lens is not too popular because of the old AF design (no AF-S, needs a camera body with motor) and the fixed focal length. It is however among the best portrait lenses on FX format, with a creamy bokeh and nice transitions to the out of focus area. Highly recommended.

Sekonic L-358

2010-07-12T09:50:00.000+01:00

I have been using a simple flashmeter mainly for studio photography: the Gossen F Digipro. While that flashmeter perfectly satisfied my needs, I recently discovered another reasonably priced option: the Sekonic L-358, a more high end option. This flashmeter has a number of significant advantages like possibilities to record info but also, and that's a very interesting feature, the possibility to add a wireless module to drive, for instance, Pocket Wizards, making it a very useful tool for any "mini-studio" photographers using standard flashes piloted with Pocket Wizards.

For people in Europe, you can find the Sekonic over here:

And the wireless extension module over here:

Samyang fisheye

2010-07-11T10:14:00.002+01:00

DSC_6087, originally uploaded by gugs.

A very interesting alternative to the Nikon fisheye (or other brands if you are using Canon, Pentax, Minolta, Sony...). This lens is ridiculously cheap and actually delivers better pictures than the much more expensive equivalents. A more detailed review is available here:

http://www.techniphoto.com/wiki/index.php?title=8mm_fisheye_Samyang

the lens is available under different brand names, among others here:

Flash in the sun

2010-06-22T21:59:00.001+01:00

DSC_6018, originally uploaded by gugs.

An interesting effect: using a flash full power on a sunny day to "kill" the sun. This shot is outdoor under the sun. The background was dark and has been darkened a little bit more in Lightroom (3.0 Beta). Shot with the small D40x camera, and a remote SB-600 flash using an iTTL cable.

Effect with flash

2010-05-23T09:29:00.001+01:00

DSC_5994, originally uploaded by gugs.

A simple special effect with an SB-600 flash connected to a D40x camera through an iTTL cable. The flash is positioned on the left to get the colored shadow on the wall.

Florence by night

2010-05-03T23:16:00.001+01:00

firenze nikon-207, originally uploaded by gugs.

night view on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Shot with a 35 1.8 lens on the Nikon D40x, a nice small consumer grade camera, on a micro tripod.

Night photography with P&S

2010-04-30T22:25:00.002+01:00

firenze canon_-19, originally uploaded by gugs.

A hand held shot with the Canon S90 point and shoot camera, the best (as of today) for high ISO, low light photography. The cathedral in Florence, Italy by night. Amazing quality for a P&S. The noise level is quite acceptable and comparable to the quality you could get from a reflex camera just a few years ago. ISO 1600 is usable on such a P&S (like here).

Hockey

2010-04-18T10:13:00.001+01:00

hockey-gvh-2, originally uploaded by gugs.

Photographing hockey, not an easy task because of white balance issues and the ice. WB should be measured on the ice to take care of the lighting, and a +1.3 up to +1.7 EV exposure correction should be applied because the camera will underexpose to get the ice neutral grey.
A general overview shot taken with the 200-400VR zoom on the Nikon D3 camera @ISO6400.

85 1.4 AIS

2010-04-18T10:09:00.001+01:00

BE0_2532, originally uploaded by gugs.

Amazing what you can still do with a very old lens, the 85mm 1.4 AIS Nikkor, a manual portrait lens. A wonderful choice on a full frame camera body, to play with very thin depth of focus. Here shot fully open on the Nikon D3. Center weighted metering on the face, playing with the harsh contrasts. Focus on the eye.