Nikon? Victor?

[flyboycpa]

Victor, et al

I know Victor has converted to the Nikon but it seems that so many folks are using Canon nowadays.

I'm a Nikon D80 user (rank amateur). Is it even capable of anything close to the amazing shots that all you guys post on here?

If so, is it more of an issue of lens quality, correct P-A-S-M settings, or just plain-ole' voodoo magic? My pics never seem to be as crisp as all you pros.

Just curious,
Sam Swift

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Nikon? Victor?

Welcome to this little slice of cyberspace Sam,

I don't think Victor has actually converted to Nikon, he was able to borrow some of Nikon's best at RENO, because a few really good people convinced NPS (Nikon Professional Services) that they really should be at RENO and part of any event program, either for "C" or "N" involves their demo program..

How Victor, or anyone else, for that matter, manages to get the great shots is sort of like the definition of "Luck".. "when opportunity and preparation come together"

Victor shoots more frames of moving objects each year than probably any other shooter out there. He earns his keepers the hard way, by practicing and mentally preparing for each event he goes to..

I'll compare what Victor does with photography to what both Tiger and his "student" Bob Hannah told me about flying Reno.. they both live and breathe flying the course.. Particularly their planning for tough situations, both men prepared for their racing each night as they lay in bed getting sleepy.

I've talked a lot about photography with Victor and though he's never actually spoken it like above, you can tell from some of the ideas he comes up with to perfect his craft that he does think about it constantly..

Getting great shots from the extremely fast action of the sport we all love truly is a "Zen" thing and Victor simply works harder than most to achieve that level...

This is a good question, by the way, and as I try to achieve the "zen" and many times can not get there, I'm interested to see the answers from some of the other great shooters who frequent here...

[Ken from PG]

Re: Nikon? Victor?

Your D80 is a great machine, you just need to learn your equipment's capabilities and how to apply them to what you want to capture. Some things it will do well and some things it won't. Lenses are equally important as the camera itself. Post processing of digital pix is extremely important but you have to have the shot in the camera to start with, which goes back to Wayne's answer. The most important, hands down, is to be at the right place at the right time.

[flyboycpa]

Re: Nikon? Victor?

Thanks guys,

I'm just trying to get a better handle of my camera. Up to now I've kept it in Auto mode for everything (yes...I'm a loser) but I'm just now trying to figure out whether those great shots are more of a function of shutter, aperature, or what. Obviously, it's a combination of all, but I feel like I'm chasing my tail. I wanted to anchor down one area to see if I can experiment with the others.

thanks,
Sam

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: Nikon? Victor?

Outside of "being there" there are some pretty easy basics that you can use with an SLR that will yield some pretty good results..

These are some really general setting guidelines but, say you're in the pits shooting static, program mode will usually get what you want..

For action shooting I always use shutter priority. Not sure what that looks like or how you get there on your camera. But once there.. Take into consideration the subject.. If you are shooting a prop plane, you want to have some prop blur.. think about how fast the prop is turning and adjust accordingly..

For the racers, it varies widely, IF1's can be shot at nearly up to 1/500'th and still get "decent" prop blur, WAY less for Unlimiteds... 1/250th is almost the fastest you can do with those guys and get good prop blur.

You just have to play with settings, see what you're capable of.. if you're really steady, are good at trap shooting, (yes, I mean clay pigeons) can follow a moving object well and steady, you may be able to attempt to pull off some of the amazing shots that shooters like Victor get. Try it, see what you get. Try not to get into a trap of trying too hard and missing a lot of shots that might have made you happy with slight prop blur, but decent subject clarity.. by getting into the obsession of shooting with a slower speed than you are able to deal with.

Again... practice PRACTICE PRACTICE

It's what Victor does and few of us have the dedication to do which sets him, and others apart from the rest...