Winter Sunset; Sticking With The Prime Lenses

Nikon Zf; Viltrox 20mm f/2.8 lens; 1/250th sec. @ f/16; ISO 320 (click to enlarge)

This image was made at the same time as the images in my recent post in which I wrote about my mentoring one of my granddaughters in photography.  You can read about her photographic endeavors and see one of her images here.  

This photo depicts a winter sunset over the lower James River in southeastern Virginia.  I made it from the river's shoreline in Newport News, where I used to live.  At this point the James River is about four miles wide.

Also, striving to continue with this year’s experiment of primarily using prime lenses, I made this image using a Viltrox 20mm f/2.8 lens attached to my 24mp Nikon Zf.  The Viltrox is very inexpensive ($176 US) but renders very nicely.  Looking closely at the image, I think the lens did an excellent job in sharpness and resolution especially at f/16 which the ‘experts’ repeatedly admonish us not to use due to diffraction softening the image.  Thank you but I wanted sun stars and f/16 produced them.  I’ll be my own expert, thank you very much.  Photography is about trade-offs and a bit of diffraction softening was part of the trade-off I was willing to make.  Just to note, this image was not sent through DXO PureRaw or Topaz Photo AI or other plug-in to increase sharpening.  It was edited in Lightroom Classic with basic tools.  No complaints from me, especially for $176.

One of the aspects of this image that I like is how the curved portion of the highly textured beach sweeps in from the bottom right and draws your eye to the rocks then to the pier and finally to the sun.  Also, that little bit of brightly lit water between the dark rocks and shadow under the pier is essential.  The separation makes a big difference.  To accomplish that, I held the camera high over my head to attain sufficient height.  

All in all, I am pleased with this image.  The Nikon Zf is a terrific camera and the Viltrox is a really nice lens even at twice the price!

DISCLAIMER:  I have no affiliation with any manufacturer nor do I have advertisements, click through links, etc., on this blog.  I do not get anything free, in-kind, or at a reduced cost or sent to me on loan for use.  I pay the same prices you pay and my goal is to share my photographic knowledge and experience so you can enjoy photography as much as I have over the past 53 years.  I just want to remind everyone of this periodically. 

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Thanks for looking. Enjoy!  

Dennis A. Mook  

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