Lacock, Wiltshire

Nikon D700 with a Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D lens. The lens doesn't distort noticeably in normal use - I did that with Lightroom for amusement. Nonetheless, this provides a better view of Venus and Adonis (after Cornelis van Haarlem) by Isaac Seeman (fl.1739 – London 1751) in the Dining Room of Lacock Abbey. Oil on canvas. Approx. 79 x 57 inches. 1746. This painting shows Venus trying to stop her lover Adonis from embarking on a hunting trip. She coquettishly raises her leg to tempt him back, as Cupid hovers above. Venus's fears were fulfilled when Adonis was slain by a boar. Where the earth was stained with his blood, anemones sprouted. The prominence of the parrot, which is painted with a surprising naturalism and which does not appear in the story, is unclear. Perhaps a well-to-do person who originally commissioned the work stipulated that their parrot had to be added to the original. At least it makes it immediately clear that this is a copy.

Press 'z' and enlarge the picture. Stare into the aperture for a few minutes. Your mind will become clear. Your worries will diminish. Have a nice day. Nikon D700 with a Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D lens.

Nikon D700 with a Nikkor 20mm f/2.8 AF-D lens.

You are an optimist or a fool if you shoot into the light without lighting the dark side in some way. Photographed with a Nikon D700 and a Nikkor O.C 35mm f/2 lens, factory converted to AI capability.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D lens. 200 ISO; f/4; 1/1250th.

Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire. In 1755 Squire John Ivory Talbot had the new hall built and some old chimneys were moved into the grounds as a garden ornament. The Squire got a mason called Benjamin Carter to carve him a sphinx to go atop his renovated Tuscan columns (formerly his chimneys). There is a myth that when there is a full moon at midnight, the sphinx jumps down from her resting place and walks across the park to drink from the river. Nikon D700 with a 20mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens.

Nikon D700 and Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 AF-G lens. Camera at 400 ISO and 1/640th. Lens at 28mm and f/3.3. The Nikon 28-80mm G lens weighs seven ounces (190g) and is a testament to what can be done with 21st century plastics technology and sticky tape. It boasts a compound aspherical element. I don’t know what that is, but it seems to work nicely. I bought this lens two-and-a-half years ago for £39 with a guarantee from a dealer. They probably go cheaper on internet auction sites despite Ken Rockwell inflating their value by revealing their optical capability. Think how much better the photograph above might have been if I'd concentrated on what I was doing and stopped the aperture down a couple of f/stops.

And full of sewage on I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on for ever.

A bronze by Anna Gillespie of a figure entwined with vines which was on display at Lacock Abbey in May, 2016 when I took this photograph using a Nikon D700 with an AF Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 lens. Anna Gillespie remarked, "The sculpture is an expression of sadness at the rift in our relationship with nature, and an affirmation of the idea that heaven is really here on earth within the beauty of the natural world."

A bronze by Anna Gillespie of a figure entwined with vines which was on display at Lacock Abbey in May, 2016 when I took this photograph using a Nikon D700 with an AF Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 lens. Anna Gillespie remarked, "The sculpture is an expression of sadness at the rift in our relationship with nature, and an affirmation of the idea that heaven is really here on earth within the beauty of the natural world."

Lacock Abbey cloisters. Nikon D700 + AF Nikkor 70-210mm f/4 lens.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G lens. This lens was introduced as the kit lens for the last generation of Nikon consumer cameras which used film. It doesn’t cost much secondhand and it’s very lightweight (and flimsy). The results are better than you have any reason to expect but I have not used it on any camera of more than 12MP and I reckon it would be found wanting on a D800, say. At f/8 it does well on a Nikon D700, but you can’t shoot everything at f/8. What surprises me about this photo of autumn leaves is that it has more quality than I expected for being made at full tele of 80mm with ISO at 2500 and aperture at f/5.6 (f/5.6 is its largest aperture when used at 80mm). The picture doesn’t pop like it might if taken with a prime lens, but - at least on a computer screen - it isn’t bad for general clarity. However, I did give it a bit of Lightroom treatment before posting it here. Maybe I’m not particularly demanding, having been once a Kodak Instamatic user. After that practically anything looks good (a Zenith EM in my case).

Nikon D700 and Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6 G lens. Camera at 800 ISO and 1/500th. Lens at f/8 and 66mm.