Chesapeake

I ordered my Nikkor 800mm PF lens from Nikon on Friday night and it was delivered late Saturday evening thanks to priority delivery from Nikon Professional Services.

I went out to the Great Bridge Lock Park on Sunday morning to put it through its paces. The first thing I noticed was how light it was. It’s pretty amazing that a 800mm lens is light enough to be hand-held. It’s only September, so the winter migratory birds have not arrived yet. The Brown Pelicans that were so abundant in February were nowhere to be seen. All in all, the pickings were very slim.

Exploring with Ilford Delta 400 and the Nikon F6

For this roll, I loaded Ilford Delta 400 into my Nikon F6 and carried it across several locations in Chesapeake and Norfolk between December 28, 2024 and February 14, 2025. Delta 400 is one of my favorite black-and-white films because of its fine grain and wide tonal range, which make it a good fit for different subjects and lighting conditions.

Battlefield Park – Great Bridge

I caputured a couple of images at the Norfolk Botanical Gardens after changing film on my F6. From there I moved to Battlefield Park in Great Bridge, where the film’s tonal range really stood out. The mix of open spaces, tree lines, water and the Great Bridge bridge made for varied scenes, and Delta 400 delivered consistent results across them.

Fading Malls and Coastal Light with Kodak Portra 400

This roll of Kodak Portra 400, shot on my Nikon F6, gave me a good mix of subjects to work with—abandoned malls, lakes, bridges, and gardens. Portra 400 handled everything well, showing why it’s such a versatile film. The colors came out natural and balanced, the grain stayed fine, and the film’s wide exposure latitude made it easy to manage both tricky lighting indoors and bright conditions outdoors.

City Streets, Quiet Trails, and Wild Marshes with the Nikon FM2n

This roll carried me through a mix of urban scenes, quiet parks, and wild marshland—an excellent showcase for what black-and-white film can reveal in such different environments. Shot entirely on my Nikon FM2n with Ilford HP5+, these images reflect a season of exploration between August 1, 2024 and November 3, 2024.

HP5+ is one of my favorite black-and-white stocks. Its slightly more pronounced grain and high latitude give it a grit that feels at home in both city streets and natural landscapes. It rewards careful metering but also forgives a lot, making it a perfect companion for wandering with the FM2n.

It’s been a long while since I posted my film photography. I developed several rolls in March and I’m finally getting around to blogging about them. This roll of film was all about slowing down and letting the Nikon FM2n guide the experience. The FM2n, fully mechanical and as dependable as they come, has a way of making you think about every frame before you press the shutter. No screens, no autofocus—just pure photography.

After Winter Storm Kingston came through, I knew it could be an interesting time at the Great Bridge Locks. So once again, I headed out with my Nikon Z9 and brought along the Nikkor Z 180-600mm f/5.6-6.4 VR lens because I wanted a little more reach for the eagles, and I felt I hadn’t used it much since getting it.

There was a lot of ice on the water, along with a lot of dead speckled trout due to the recent cold snap that brought arctic temperatures to our area. It was kind of funny to watch the pelicans come down and try to get the trout that were dead below the ice.

Winter storm Kingston made a visit. Having snow just a week before, we weren’t expecting another snow storm in the Hampton Roads region. We normally get maybe one a year. But Kingston was going to be different. And it turned out to be the biggest storm we had since 2010. When it was over, we had almost 12 inches of snow.

But the crazy thing about it, this snow was gone in a couple of days. The texture of the snow was unlike what we usually see. This snow was dry and light. Almost like what you would find out west. Usually, our snow is wet and heavy. It makes a mess as it thaws and refreezes. Within 48 hours, this snowfall was mostly gone. And it wasn’t even because of the temperatures. It’s like it just evaporated.

I had such a great time the week before, that I went back to the Great Bridge Locks again. Once again, I headed out with my Nikon Z9 and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5–5.6 S lens, hoping to catch the local birdlife—and once again, the Locks didn’t disappoint.

I arrived about 45 minutes earlier than the previous week and started at the boat ramp. The Brown Pelicans were still there. Probably numbered around 100 or so. And they were busy.

I love mornings at the Great Bridge Locks, especially in the winter when the air is crisp and the wildlife is active. I headed out early with my Nikon Z9 and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5–5.6 S lens, hoping to catch some local birdlife—and the Locks didn’t disappoint.

I didn’t arrive until almost 10am, much later than I would have liked. But almost immediately, I spotted a immature Bald Eagle flying over the water. It was looking for a late breakfast, right in front of a squadron of Brown Pelicans. There’s nothing quite like locking focus on an eagle in flight—the grace, the wingspan, the power.

A Southeastern district game took place at Hickory on Tuesday night as the Hickory girls took the floor against Western Branch.

I used my Nikon Z9 body and Nikkor Z 70-200 f/2.8 S lens to shoot the action.

It was a hard fought game by both teams but Western Branch was able to come away with a close victory in the end.

You can purchase images from the game on MaxPreps or my website.