Nikon 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR – Encounters with Reality

The Forest

Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 18 mm, f/6.3, ISO 400, 1/160 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2 (2013, Castres, France)

Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile d’Albi

Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 18 mm, f/3.5, ISO 800, 1/30 sec, -1.67 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 (2013, Albi, France)

Pharaoh

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 45 mm, f/5.3, ISO 1600, 1/25 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2012, New York)

Amsterdam crowd

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 55 mm, f/13, ISO 200, 1/80 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2 (2012, Amsterdam)

Walking by the seaside

The old ‘kit’ lens still performing well. Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 35 mm, f/5, ISO 200, 1/2000 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2016, Egmond aan Zee)

Seaside Walk

I’m trying to reinvent my photography. I mounted the Nikon kit lens on my D5100. I like the lens because it is light and easy to zoom. I shoot in RAW. To keep as close as possible to the analog photography of the past, I only worked on the light aspect of the ‘flat’ RAW. Contrast, Shadows, etc. But I did not use any sharpening or any noise reduction. I used the RAW (or DNG, ‘Digital NeGative’) as if it was an analog negative. In analog photography you can not ‘sharpen’ the print. And I guess you can not perform ‘noise/grain reduction’. So, no sharpening, no noise reduction. The noise of the sensor is retained and works a bit like the grain of film. I know noise and grain a somewhat different, but if you let the noise just be, and refrain from sharpening the picture, you get a nice soft image, which does resemble the analog film feel. Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 55 mm, f/5.6, ISO 200, 1/4000 sec, 0.00 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and DxO FilmPack 5 (2016, Egmond aan Zee)

Emma in the USA

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 22 mm, f/22, ISO 100, 1/50 sec, -0.33 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and DxO FilmPack 5 (2012, New York)

Holy Trinity

Inside the Musée Goya (Musée d’art hispanique) in Castres (Fr.). Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR | Camera settings: 18 mm, f/3.8, ISO 1000, 1/13 sec, -0.33 eV | RAW processed with Lightroom 5 (2013, Castres, France)

The ‘kit lens’ Dog

Back to the basics. Refitted the ‘kit lens’. Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. Camera settings: 55 mm, f/5.6, ISO 100, 1/100 sec, 0.0 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2016)

Walk in Chinatown

Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. Camera settings 40 mm, f/5.3, ISO 200, 1/250 sec, 0.00 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5, Silver Efex Pro 2 and TrueGrain (2012, New York)

5th Avenue

Shot from hand with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. Camera settings 18 mm, f/11, ISO 100, 1/2 sec, -0,67 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and DxO FilmPack 5 (2012, New York)

Utrecht Central Station 20:00

Shot with Nikon D5100 + AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR. Camera settings: 55 mm, f/9, ISO 400, 1/40 sec, -0.33 eV. RAW processed with Lightroom 5 and TrueGrain + Kodak 400 TMAX film (2012, Utrecht)

The analog treatment

Sarah. Shot with a Nikon FM10 + 50mm f/1.4 Ai-S lens and Kodak 400 TMAX film. Negative placed on a light table (Kaiser Slimlite LED Light Box) scanned with a Nikon D5100 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR + Hoya Close-up +4 HMC 52 mm filter. Further processed with Lightroom 5.

Charlie shot with Film

Shot with a Nikon FM10 + 50mm f/1.4 Ai-S lens and Fujifilm Superia 200 film. Negative placed on a light table (Kaiser Slimlite LED Light Box) scanned with a Nikon D5100 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR + Hoya Close-up +4 HMC 52 mm filter. Further processed with Lightroom 5, sharpening, color correction and flattening the noise. Run through DxO Filmpack 5 with Fujifilm Superia 200 film (so we get Superia 200 squared:)

TrueGrain

I just bought TrueGrain. The website is saying the following about the product: TrueGrain is a pro-grade tool for accurately recapturing the aesthetics of black and white film with digital photography. My first go with the software below.

Flat RAW

Simple black & white conversion with Lightroom 5

Processed by TrueGrain with Kodak Professional TRI-X 400 + Film Size 56mm x 75mm

Processed by TrueGrain with Ilford HP5 Plus + Film Size 36mm x 24mm

Shot with Nikon D5100 AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR, 26 mm, f/4.5, ISO 800, 1/15 sec, -0.33 eV (2012)

Charlie shot with Film (Fujifilm Superia 200)

Another example of my first serious experiments to shoot with film. Charlie. As processed from color negative through Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2 to the final black & white end product.

The Fujifilm Superia 200 negative

Made into positive with the help of Lightroom 5

Crop and further enhance in Lightroom 5

Black & White processing with Silver Efex Pro 2

Charlie shot with Film. The end result

The chemical forrest (shot with film)

One of my first serious experiments to shoot with film. Shot with a Nikon FM10 + (cheap) 35-80 mm lens and Fuji Superia 200 film. Negative placed on a light table (Kaiser Slimlite LED Light Box) scanned with a Nikon D5100 + 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR + Hoya Close-up +4 HMC 52 mm filter. Further processed with Lightroom 5 and Silver Efex Pro 2.

Tag: Nikon 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6G VR