From a Distance

Photographed in Avebury, Wiltshire, using a Nikon D2Xs with a Nikon TC-16A teleconverter and a Nikkor-H Auto 300mm f/4.5 lens from around 1971. The TC-16A is compatible with only a small number of cameras and although Nikon doesn’t officially recognise the D2X as one of them, it nevertheless operates successfully. The Nikkor-H has been factory AI converted, making a functional set of instruments never really envisaged to harmonise. The TC-16A adds 1.6x to the lens it is mated with, so in this case the focal length was 480mm. You really need a fast shutter speed and a bit of stabilisation using a rig this long. I put it on a monopod and the shutter speed was 1/1500th. Mostly you’re forced into using maximum aperture and ISO even in decent light. The results can be mediocre, but now and again you get a sensation of unusual packed perspective. Of course, perspective depends on where you stand, not which lens you use, but you might never choose a tiny area of a picture to enlarge and get this view.