Nikon Owner Magazine article - felixkunze.com

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08 FK The 13mm f/5.6 Nikkor lens photographed by Tony Hurst Gray used the moment to joke “You just took £500 off its value”. I hesitated, I knew he was joking, but something in his mood betrayed the fact that the joke was based partly in truth. Shoot finished, I started poking around online to see what all the fuss was about. It took mere seconds for me to realize the basis of his hesitance. The ‘joke’ was based more in truth than humour. The lens, often called Nikon’s Holy Grail, is a beast. It should not be handled with such wanton indifference. It should not be harmed by a feather, much less a light meter. It is one of the great engineering marvels of the modern era. It is the Nikon 13mm f/5.6. It is the desire of collectors and photographers around the world. But why? 8 nikonownermagazine.com To really answer this question, allow me to digress by telling you the story of my shoot with it. After my first encounter with it, I bumped into Gray again at an event – we casually discussed what ideas I had which could really show off the lens. I suggested a trip to the Scottish Highlands. They are my favorite place on earth and a 13mm lens would surely lend itself beautifully to the sweeping vistas? It seems my suggestion of Scotland only inspired visions of the lens tumbling down mountains, into bogs and subject to attack by highland cows. Needless to say, this proposal was unfruitful. Then one day in October, a friend on twitter suggested I start chatting with decorated Olympian Pete Reed. As well as his illustrious career in the Royal Navy, Pete is a double Olympic Gold Medalist in the Coxless Four (Rowing) from Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He also has the world’s largest recorded lung capacity at 11.68 litres. Pete and I got talking about cameras and his love of photography. As the chats strayed into his experiences at the Olympics and about rowing, I realized I had found the perfect subject for a shoot with the 13mm - rowing. Lots of long objects that could really show off the capabilities of shooting wide in the real world. I’m not one for taking sterile technical photos to test lenses. I’ll leave that up to those who really know. But for my nontechnical tests, rowing would be perfect. I got Pete’s agreement within minutes and
swiftly pitched the idea to Gray. After some deliberation and quiet, hurried negotiation on Nikon Owner’s side to arrange insurance, a shoot was arranged. I brought in the equipment, stylist, hair/make-up and my assistants; Nikon Owner would supply the lens. We were also able to secure the cooperation not only of the prestigious Leander Club at Henley-on-Thames, as well as Gant UK for clothing, but also of Lastolite UK who kindly provided some equipment I would need for such a challenging and exciting location shoot. The Leander Club is one of the world’s oldest rowing clubs, an institution, a hugely influential piece of British, International and Olympic history. Nestled by the finish line of the Henley Royal Regatta, it also occupies a prime spot next to the only straight stretch of the Thames anywhere. This is quite aside from the sheer beauty of the place. ThE shooT We arrive before sunrise on a cold November day and are greeted by Leander’s fantastic press officer and my whole team, joined by Mark Gibson from Nikon Owner to deliver the lens and shoot a video of the occasion. Everyone stumbles around inside the Club until coffee starts to get us going full pelt into shoot preps. Outfits are picked out, medals are lusted after, hair is cut, coffee PETE REED: GOLD ON THE WATER As well as his illustrious career in the Royal Navy, Pete is a double Olympic Gold Medalist in the Coxless Four (Rowing) from Beijing 2008 and London 2012. He also has the world’s largest recorded lung capacity at 11.68 litres. is consumed. My assistants and I rush around to set up the first shot of the day, ever aware of the cold and dark. With the advent of dawn, the mood changes. We go from being cold, wet and tired to awed, cold and inspired. Henley offers its full beauty; the river seems alive with the energy of a new day; the fresh frost glistens on its shores. The first rowers are looking wearily at the water, aware of the cold water waiting to make them pay for any mistake in balance. We mull over the idea of me joining Pete inside the rowing boat. A sculling boat is narrow and at the slightest loss of balance the boat will overturn and ditch us in. If I fall in, no big deal, if my D800 falls in, that’s a problem. If the 13mm falls in, it could be the end of my career. So no, we won’t do that. ‘But Pete’, I plead ‘Please let’s shoot you in a scull on the water’. Again, hesitation, but eventually he caves and says he’ll try. Pete is part of the Coxless Four; his team races in a quad formation and depend upon their team-mates to stay dry. In a single scull, Pete has nikonownermagazine.com 9 09
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Nikon Owner Magazine article - felixkunze.com

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