Getting Up Close (Photo Of The Day March 9)

Toyota Badge (A © of the Toyota Motor Company)

Some subjects can be tough to shoot without the right light, and vehicles are one of those subjects. Due to the glossy nature of the paint used on most modern cars and trucks shooting them in bright lighting conditions is not ideal. I've read that some vehicle photographers shoot after dusk to reduce reflections and get the light that they want. My focus while shooting a car this last weekend wasn't to focus on the car itself, but some aspects of it. I was testing out the Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 60mm F2.8G, so I was looking for interesting shapes for subjects.

Having a macro lens helps you to look at the world in a new way, because you can focus extremely close to your subject. That is what brought me making the image that is in today's post. I had some decent light to work with on Saturday when I was shooting this image, although the high ISO image quality of the D700 sure helped because I was shooting at ISO800 or higher most of the afternoon. Partly cloudy skies provided the gentle light that I took the image with. I suppose I could have shot at lower ISO levels with a tripod, which I did have with me, but sometimes it is nice not to be tied down to something when you are attempting to shoot from multiply angles.

I'll say right up front that I'm extremely impressed with the quality of the AF-S 60mm F2.8G, but frankly it is one of those lenses that you just kind of forget about once you start shooting with it. The images produced by the lens are razor sharp, and flare is just non-existent. The minimum focusing distance is very close (5cm) from your subject, but that is nice for some subjects, because being physically closer allows you to get perspectives you could not get with a longer macro lens with a 1:1 focusing ratio that isn't as close. There is my little tidbit of gear talk for the week.