Flash work (9 pics--lengthy)

[Tom Wilson]

I have had my D70's for over two years now and I had never spent the money on an external flash for the camera. I always have just used available light. I have a Nikon SB-28 flash that is matched to my F5, but it "doesn't work on the D70". Well, guess what I found out... It does too work, it just doesn't meter. If used in complete manual mode it works and works well. Well, not ever having been a flash user, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I decided I would give it a shot and force myself to not leave the pond today until I had figured it out. WOW-WOW-WOW is all I can say. It took about 80 photos before I got her dialed in perfectly, but once I did, the results (in my opinion) were absolutely stunning. I concentrate so much on flight shots, that as I have been going through my photo stock recently I realized that I didn't really have any nice sitting shots of ducks. That was my other goal for the day--no flight shots--just sitting ducks (forgive the pun). I was shooting at an average distance of 25-45 feet from the ducks, so I finally got the flash set to 1/2 power with a flash exposure compensation of -1/3. I absolutely love the colors it produced in the background and the reflections of colors off of the water--not to mention the nice catch light in the duck's eyes. Anyways, I will let the results of my new knowledge speak for themselves--I am really very proud of these...

[Steve Foss]

Good work, Tom. Sweet, rich color, and the flash appears to mimic direct sunlight on the birds very well.

Like you, I hadn't used the flash much for outdoor nature shooting until last year, when I experimented on sunny-day backlit birds and had great luck. Nowadays, when I'm out in the woods and the light starts fading a bit in late afternoon, I pull out the flash to keep it handy. I've seen some of the work of pro wildlife shooters where flash is featured to provide enough light to capture the scene. Even on a bright day, a little flash judiciously applied will fill in shadows and allow that color to saturate better. Of course, sometimes a person WANTS shadow.

You'll find the flash works just as well for birds in flight, although it'll probably only trigger on the first one or two frames if you're firing off multiple frames.

You can also buy an add-on piece that attaches to your flash to narrow the beam of and intensify the flash. They don't cost much, and will extend the range of the flash significantly. Very nice for subjects somewhat farther away, and worth checking out.

[The_Duckslayer]

Tom... AWESOME! Great photos.... I think that the black on the right side of the picture might even be a little sweet on you... you better be careful! Love that picture. Have a good one My friend... Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[Dbl]

Very nice photos Tom.

[Dotch]

Pics are just ducky, Tom! Oooo, I know, sorry for the bad pun...

[jonny_redhorse]

Nice Tom!....great photos!............#3's my favorite!....jonny

[WifeKidsandDog]

Wow, great shots, Tom.

I wouldn't think for one second you'd used flash, looks like beautiful early morning or late afternoon light.

Cheryl