All Star Game Take 2!

The above photo is one of my favorites from the All Star game. We had our seats right behind the National League dugout and this is a shot of the players watching the first inning on-fold. They were as excited as the fans were and spent almost the entire first inning hanging out on the dug out fence. Surprisingly - Alphonso Soriano isn't in this photo since he spent most of the game hanging onto the fence talking to Wood.
The bottom of the first inning Derek Jeter decided to steal second and was successful. It ended up scoreless but it was still a great steal.
The National league took the lead 2 - 0 until this swing by JD Drew which tied up the game. I may not be a Red Sox fan but JD Drew had a terrific game at the plate and was the reason that the American League won this game.
Mariano Rivera came into the game and had a nifty strike 'em out throw him on the first batter he faced when Navarro threw out the man trying to steal second after Mariano struck out the batter.

What a great game. I ended up taking the wrong lens with me to the game - (do you ever have the right lens when you go somewhere?) but I got it to work pretty well in most situations. I could still run the photos through a noise filter but a lesson here is to make what you have work for you and know your equipment's limitations. All these shots were done with a Nikon D300 camera with an 18 - 200mm VR lens. I had meant to bring my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens but my mistake. I still managed to do decently well with most of the action shots at 1/400th for a shutter speed.

St. Patrick's Day Moon

I certainly seem to have a fascination with the moon these days. It is becoming fuller each day and was out quite early tonight, or should I say late this afternoon. On a lark I took this as I got home and it came out much better than I expected. I was surprised at all the detail that I managed considering that I had to crop this shot as it was done at 300mm hand held. Just goes to show you what a D300 with a nice VR lens can do.

D300, 70-300mm VR, 300mm, f/8.0, 1/250s, ISO 200

Gotta love great service

I bought my Nikon D300 a little more than a month ago. I noticed a problem after I had been using it for a little bit. I had originally thought it was a problem with my lens and then figured out it was the camera itself. I went back through my pictures and discovered that the problem had been there all along.

So I called Nikon which said they would take care of it but they suggested that I speak to the store where I got it from first. I didn't think I had a chance since I had taken more than the usual 14 days to return an item.

Imagine my surprise when I explained to the store the problem and they said they would be happy to either exchange or return it. That is excellent customer service and why I keep going back to B&H Photo and telling my friends about it. I highly recommend them for your photo and camera purchases. If you are ever in New York City it is well worth the trip to the store. They are amazingly polite (in this day and age no less), knowledgeable, patient, and they let you try things in the store. Take your camera with you if you are looking for a lens since you can get a feel for it right there.

There are very few places that provide great customer service and when you find one stick with it. These are the stores worth going to again and again. I wish other places would learn this lesson - sometimes it is not just the best price but a great experience that counts.