Lunar New Year Pageant

Taken with Nikon D700 and Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 D

Thanks Ken for making me go to the Ao Dai Beauty Pageant. All these beautiful ladies need their pictures taken :)


I put myself to the test with the Zeiss 100mm, my miss rate was at least one out of four. And that includes stand still portrait shots. Once the runway started, my miss rate was one out of 10, totally unacceptable. My technique is definitely poor in this case. Zone focusing doesn't work in this case because I shoot wide open for very narrow depth of field control. Focusing must be precise, and manual focusing is very difficult. I tried out burst focusing (where you set your shutter release at full speed as you turn the focusing ring), but apparently, I need more practice. The shots on the runway were done with Nikkor 85mm, continuous autofocus, high speed shutter release, remote AF point (non-cross hair). My miss rate is better with the autofocus, but I also learned why the miss was still high. I need to acquire focus, lock it, and maintain the focus point without trying recomposing. This requires forethought and not react when it happens.
 

Taken with Nikon D700 and Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 D
Taken with Nikon D700 and Zeiss Makro-Planar 100mm

Taken with Nikon D700 and Zeiss Makro-Planar 100mm



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