Santa Rosa JC vs. Sacramento City

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

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Kimo, the Sphinx Pose

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

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Downtown Dusk, 6-7pm

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

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Downtown Dusk, 5-6 pm

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

Downtown Dusk, 4-5pm

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

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The Color of Money

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

The US Mint has been introducing new bills to make them harder to countefeit. Can you tell to which bill these eyes belong?

Watching Fish at Rubio's

Do these fish realize how lucky they are?

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

Flotilla and Flight

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

My Tamron SP AF Teleconverters give me a 280mm f/4 and 600mm f/8 for this kind of work. Once Nikon ships its new 400mm f/2.8 VR, I can then enjoy a 400/2.8, 560 f/4 and 800mm f/5.6 - all with VR - the ultimate nature lens. View the rest of the gallery here.

Aviary Senior Portrait

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

With enough light, the Nikon 300mm f/4 + Tamron SP AF 2x Teleconverter is a worthy combination. I think I caught his best side. View the rest of the gallery here.

Watchful Hawk at Shollenberger

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

Nikon 300mm f/4 + Tamron SP AF 1.4x teleconverter on a tripod with electronic cable release. Proper shooting technique and Capture NX gives great results with modestly priced lenses. View the rest of the gallery here.

Nikon at MacWorld

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

Both Nikon and Canon were prominent exhibitors at MacWorld. I took this photo of Nikon's 400mm f/2.8 lens with my 105mm f/2 DC lens with ambient light (no flash)

Nikon brought every lens in its line, so I was able to test the coveted $3,500 200mm f/2 VR and $4,000 300mm f/2.8 VR lenses. I had already put the $5,000 200-400mm VR lens through its paces in October at Keeble & Shucat in Palo Alto. Here are my conclusions.

1. Nikon's 105mm f/2 DC ($750 used) is the best value in the line (equals the 200mm f/2 VR).
2. Nikon's 300mm f/2.8 VR is probably the best lens in the line, but the 300mm f/4 ($600 used) is just one stop slower, 1/2 the weight and optically identical, when there is enough light.
3. The Tamron SP AF teleconverters (1.4x and 2x) work great with all of these lenses.
4. I will wait until Nikon updates to its 400mm f/2.8 lens, before buying my one exotic Nikon lens. Nikon should add VR and nano-crystal coating (to match its 300mm little brother) and shave a bit more weight off this behemoth.

View the rest of the gallery here.

Apple's iPhone Under Glass

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

There were only two iPhones on display at the MacWorld Expo and they were under rotating-stage, bell-shaped glass display cases. Not much Mac news this time around; the show is becoming iPod World. View the rest of the gallery here.

New Year's Day Sunset

© 2006 PhotoSensei and Paul McGavin. All rights reserved.

The top of the hill in our neighborhood offers stunning views of the green hills that surround Petaluma in the winter time. This was taken while USC was kicking Michigan's butt in the Rose Bowl. Happy New Year! View the rest of the gallery here.