By the window IV:

The annual one-year-older photo.

This time shot on (steps back in amazement) digital! For a while I’ve not got on with digital at all - my D200 felt awkward, I couldn’t be doing with all the silly read-outs and displays, when all I wanted was the austere simplicity of a chunk of analogue with a winder, a shutter, an aperture, a hand held light meter and a delicious ribbon of film coursing through its metal heart.

It seemed a bit wasteful to have the D200 just sitting spinsterish in a cupboard, so in an attempt to save my marriage of convenience, I bought a Nikkor 50mm/1.4 lens. Nothing fancy; just a normal lens (albeit a very fast one).

I was blown away. Everything looks fantastic through this lens, particularly skin tones. It’s essential for indoor handheld shots without flash, and the creamy, shallow depth of field makes portraits snap, crackle and pop out of the frame.

In addition it makes my camera half the weight of when I had the knee-trembling 18-200 zoom, so I can carry it around without developing a hunchback. And…it plays nicely with my Nikon F4 film 35mm!

So…digital, I’m ready to give you another go