Credits for Chapter Opening Images
Chapter 1: Ready for Her Chicks © 2019 Fred Crowden (freqflyerfred)
Nikkor 28–300mm f/3.5–5.6 lens at 300mm (on FTZ adapter), 1/1000 sec at f/5.6, ISO 3600
I took this photo at the Hummingbird Aviary in the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, located west of Tucson and surrounded by Saguaro National Park. I was using a birds-in-flight camera setup to capture the quick movements of the hummingbirds. My wife called me over to grab a quick shot of this mother nesting. The docents bring in nesting materials (such as poodle fur!) from home and from the desert, which are cleaned and then hung in a netted bag for the birds to use. I realized when I got home that this was the most charming shot of the day. The auto ISO gave me a great exposure and negligible noise.
Chapter 2: Grand Canyon at Sunset © 2019 Francine Dollinger (Francine)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens at 24mm, 1/13 sec at f/10, ISO 100
This is a combined stacked image from five RAW images. I just started using focus stacking and fell in love with doing it. There is nothing like a sunset at the Grand Canyon.
Chapter 3: Indecisive Princess Amirah © 2018 Donald E. Jose (donaldejose)
Nikkor Z 35mm f/1.8 S prime lens, 1/160 sec at f/1.8, ISO 640 (using LED constant lighting) Nine-year-old granddaughter Amirah was going to Disneyworld. Her grandmother purchased a number of princess outfits so Amirah could feel like a Disney princess when she was there. I photographed Amirah in many of these outfits and asked her to visually respond to different words so I could obtain different facial expressions and body poses from her. This expression and pose was her response to the word “indecisive.” I shot this image to test LED constant light shooting with the Z6’s EVF and ISO. Amirah was lit with two octagonal softboxes, and the colorful fantasy background was created by placing gels over two LED lights. It was nice to be able to work with constant lighting and an EVF (instead of with flash and an OVF) so I could balance the brightness of the four constant LED lights through the viewfinder prior to the exposure. One of the great advantages of the Z6 (and Z7) is the ability to do this, especially when fine-tuning lighting ratios on the subject and also brightness between the subject and the background.
Chapter 4: Pastel Blossom © 2019 Don L. Williams (donlwilliams1966)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens at 70mm, 1/200 sec at f/5, ISO 400
I took this image in the early morning at a local botanical garden. The blossom was just beginning to open, showing the beautiful pastel colors of green, pink, and a hint of purple. This was one of the first pictures I took with my new Z6.
Chapter 5: Mono Lake Tufas in Snow © 2019 Eric Bowles (ericbowles)
Nikkor Z 24–70 f/4 S lens at 24mm, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 100
Mono Lake is an ancient, high-elevation lake in the Eastern Sierra of California. The tufa spires of calcium carbonate were formed many years ago by the interaction of fresh water and the alkaline water of the lake. During winter, the high elevation leads to lots of snow—making it a great photo destination if you don’t mind walking through snow for half a mile. Throughout the year, this remote lake is great for photography, but the snow on the tufa spires is something special and why I was scouting it for the Nikonians ANPAT in 2020. I used base ISO 100 to maximize dynamic range of the bright scene. The EVF of the Z6 made it easy to check the histogram and virtual horizon to confirm the exposure and make sure the camera was level before making the image.
Chapter 6: JS, the Cosplay Pirate © 2019 Wen Wu (wwp512)
AF Nikkor 80–200mm f/2.8D ED (on FTZ adapter) at 145mm, 1/2000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 320
I participated in a local “street-meet” event. This creative cosplayer got into the duck pond with his homemade raft. It soon sank and people were not getting the pictures they anticipated. I, however, waited a few moments longer and captured this image as he maintained his character and stared into my lens. Of interest is the realization that my 1980s zoom lens will not autofocus with the Z6 (first time out with this combo). The EVF plus manual focus assist came to the rescue and I was able to continue my shoot with this legendary F-mounted lens.
Chapter 7: Tenmuki in Xidi Village © 2019 Wen Wu (wwp512)
Nikkor 85mm f/1.8 lens (on FTZ adapter), 1/500 sec at f/2.8, ISO 140
I was walking the Ancient Xidi Village in China, looking for one of those alley shots. A local gentleman saw me with my Z6 and started a conversation. He ended up showing me his favorite location. I had my daughter walk to me, adding human interest. The light rain added the mood and the reflection on the ground.
Chapter 8: Societies Masterclass Model Shoot © 2019 Garrett Hayes (Garrett Hayes)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens at 58mm, 1/200 sec at f/9, ISO 100
I was in London in January 2019 attending the Societies Photographic Convention at the Novotel Hotel. The event was a portrait-lighting master class with Panikos Hajistilly and we were given freedom to direct and photograph the models ourselves.
Chapter 9: Miniature Orchid © 2019 Robert Rogers (a4str)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens at 70mm, 0.2 sec at f/8, ISO 100
It was a dreary, cold, snowy, April day in Wisconsin and I desperately wanted to make an image with my new Nikon Z6—preferably something that would cheer me up. I spied my wife’s miniature orchid on the plant stand and an idea for an image formed. I set the potted orchid on a table two feet in front of a white Bristol board. I placed two floor lamps with daylight bulbs on either side of the orchid to give even light on the orchid with no shadows on the white background. The Z6 was on a tripod. My aim was to create an image that had a soft, somewhat ethereal look. I edited the raw image in Capture One with slight modifications to color, but no increase in sharpness and a slight decrease in clarity. The resulting image picked my spirits up and reminded me that spring was just around the corner.
Chapter 10: Tic Tacs in a Bottle © 2019 Dave Gould (davegould68)
AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G ED VR lens (on FTZ adapter), 1/200 sec at f/8, ISO 100
I am restricted to home these days, so a little table-top photography helps to pass the time, and I find it quite challenging. My granddaughter contributed a couple of boxes of Tic Tacs to use in a bottle that normally stores olive oil. I used BBF with the AF-S Mode and Pin-point Focusing here. The camera was mounted on a Manfrotto Tripod with an X-PRO head. I was using an SB-800 (in commander mode, with off-camera cord) and two SB-910 speedlights with gels. Post-processing in Nikon NX-D and Photoshop CC with a little NIK thrown in for good measure.
Chapter 11: Waterfall in the Wilderness © 2019 John Miner (D850fan)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens at 24mm, 30 sec at f/11, ISO 100 (ND6 filter)
I took this image in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Southwest Washington, with me and my tripod standing in six inches of very cold water, early on an overcast June morning. The forests of the Pacific Northwest are filled with waterfalls and I like nothing better than hiking with my Nikon Z6 to photograph these beautiful places.
Chapter 12: Backyard Passerby © 2019 Peter Mandzuk (Petzuk)
Nikkor 28–300 f/3.5–5.6 lens at 300mm (on FTZ adapter), 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
This image was taken in my backyard just before sunset. The fox was trying to catch a small, unseen critter. The fox repeatedly jumped and burrowed its nose into the snow while unsuccessfully trying to catch it. This gave me the time to get my camera equipment together. The critter eventually scurried between the fox’s legs and into the brush.
Rear Cover © 2019 Jacques Grilli (grillij)
Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S at 70mm, 1/750 sec at f/8, ISO 100
I took this picture on May 5, 2019, in Morin Heights, Quebec, in the early morning. The sun was still low, facing the horse, while the horse was running freely, almost showing off for the photographer. This shot shows the quality of the Z6 combination with the new Nikkor Z 24–70mm f/4 S lens.