Dundee Hills

NEW CAMERA, NEW INSPIRATION

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While in West Virginia for my sister-in-law's wedding I came to the conclusion that my current (at the time) camera simply would not work for event work. We were in a dark hall, with some significant back lighting, and the Fuji cameras had a hell of a time focusing.

It pains me to say it, because I love the Fujifilm cameras for their weight, ease of use, and tactile controls, but they are not ready for serious event work. With that said, we came home a couple of days ago, and I found myself ordering a new Nikon D750 with the following lenses:

  • Nikon 70-200 f/2.8G ED VR II AF-S Nikkor Zoom Lens
  • Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 ED AF-S NIkkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens
  • Nikon 105mm f/2.8G IF-ED AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor Lens
  • Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S Nikkor FX Lens

Unlike the Fujifilm primes these things are build like tanks, and as a consequence they weigh like tanks. I can't say I'm thrilled to switch back to Nikon, but you should never have to fight your camera tooth and nail to get it to focus in light that DSLRs have been able to for a decade or more.

Nonetheless, the camera and lenses arrived yesterday, and it was time to walk around my property in Dundee, Oregon (close to Newberg, Oregon) and find something interesting to photograph. The Nikon system is nothing like the Fujifilm system, for good and bad, thus muscle memory has not developed yet.

My daughter is an easy subject, so you'll see a couple of her here, and a helicopter buzzed our house so it was nice to see that the Nikon D750 was capable of focusing in fractions of seconds with significant back light. 

These were shot with the first three lenses mentioned above. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them. 

DUNDEE HILLS LEGACY: MARESH

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From my backyard I can see the big, red barn.

The old structure has been there a long time obviously, and with it comes the history of not only Maresh Vineyards, but also a history of the area. Just the vines themselves, still sleeping since early winter, have character and charisma. The only color emitting from the ancient looking stumps is lichen and moss, but hidden inside the roots, is a legacy—years of supplying some of the finest winemakers in the world with fruit that is converted to world class Pinot Noir.

I waited towards the end of the day to take these photographs in the best possible light, but as I arrived the sun hid behind dark, gray storm clouds for the remainder of the evening.

And so these photographs will not dazzle you with a sunburst or an explosion of color, but they undoubtedly represent a typical early spring evening in the Dundee Hills.