Trying out the new camera gear in Flagstaff

On Wednesday afternoon I took Rico for a walk around downtown Flag while Julie took a nap with Reagan; I needed sleep, too, but really wanted to play with my new lens. I just bought Nikon's 70-200mm f 2.8 and was blown away. I played photojournalist and just captured a few shots of daily life around downtown. The lens focused super fast on these people playing hacky sack.








The afternoon lighting was perfect and the lens really captured the detail on this little dachsund, too. Black dogs don't usually photograph very well but the D300 and new lens really nailed it.






Later, while Julie got ready for dinner I walked around at dusk to see how good the D300 would perform hand-held in low light; I was blown away by these shots of the Monte Vista where we were staying. This lens was the 17-55 f2.8; over the last several months I've really seen the value in spending the money on high-end lenses. The difference in image quality as well as shooting options is unbelievable. I'm able to get shots I could never get before.






Just before I met Julie for sushi I waited at the train station for this shot; now I'm using the tripod. I wanted to wait for the Amtrak but it was an hour away and we were hungry!






Cool night shots on the way back to the hotel; all handheld.