The Countryside

So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Nikon D2Xs with a Nikkor AF-S DX 18-200mm lens. A moment for reflection on the Nikon D2Xs which I bought secondhand in 2011 about five years after its introduction. It had 40,000 shutter actuations then; now it has 70,000 and a good many battle scars. Ken Rockwell of the much maligned but very useful US photo equipment website remarked of the D2Xs, 'If you earn your living with your camera you'll want one of these. If you want a camera to take with you for fun, relaxation and vacation this isn't it: it's a huge, hulking beast of a pro camera.' I guess he's right but I have loved this camera from the off and am unperturbed by its weight and age. It's something of a paradox, but it's a lot simpler to use than 'entry level' digital cameras where a degree in computer science is advantageous, together with a patient temperament for inevitable cruises down the rivers of menus navigating for some way of changing a setting which on a D2Xs is possible via a knob or wheel.

Nikon D2Xs + Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 AF-D lens. 100 ISO; 1/200th; f/9.

Nikon D50 + AF Nikkor 180mm f/2.8 IF-ED lens.

The Queen Field is in the parish of Sutton Benger, North Wiltshire. It abuts the River Avon and is large and productive. 'John Deere' refers to the make of tractor engaged on the work, not the person driving it, unless there is a fantastic coincidence. This is a significant crop (from the original photograph - not the field) and I was asking more of the 70-300mm f/4-5.6 (wide open, full stretch) than I had any right to seek. Underneath the Queen Field lie valuable sharp sand and gravel deposits laid in Pleistocene times (within approximately the last two million years). The whole locality is characterised by this geology: the Church of All Saints, Christian Malford (from where this picture was taken) is built on 13th century foundations on a bed of clay - but underneath the clay is sand, which drains it so efficiently that it is forever contracting and expanding, and making the church perform an architectural dance. How long will it be before the philistines with their fat wallets are permitted to excavate the Queen Field amid noise and dust and turn it into a lake, or worse, a rubbish tip? Enjoy the view while you can.

The land rises sharply here as the geology changes from the Avon Vale. The Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal, currently under restoration, hugs the foot of the escarpment. Further up is Melsome Wood, a dense deciduous plantation of ancient origin. The local farming is mixed; Thornend does beef, I have observed, and nearby the strong smell of rape will be encountered as the weather warms up. Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 70-210mm F/2.8 LD SP lens.

The purpose of a day out might be simply to avoid a day in.

The D2X and D2Xs were Nikon's last professional grade DSLR cameras using the APS-C format, which Nikon badged 'DX'. They were in production between 2004 and 2007 with the final year being the 's' variant, although the update changed little. They were essentially the same and you can get one now for about £250 (2022). I got mine secondhand in 2011 and it is the one camera I am never going to sell or give away. Sometimes you just get lucky and find the product that seems a perfect fit. Set at 100 ISO results can be sublime. Beyond 400 ISO they can be - and often are - dreadful. This is a camera for which you need decent light and fast lenses. Nikon D2Xs and Tamron 35mm f/1.8 lens. 100 ISO. F/1.8. 1/500th.