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Pictures Taken By Nikon P500
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The followings are some pictures taken by Coolpix P500 - a super zoom digital camera that was developed by Nikon to cater for the demand of outdoor and sports photographers who need a light but powerful photographic device that can magnify and capture distant subjects. Without a telephoto camera, taking such pictures as birds sitting on a branch of a tall tree or a dolphin jumping at see will not be possible. As a frequent user of Nikon P500, I find it powerful in capturing subjects that look very small in my eyes but big enough on the LCD screen of the bridge camera - thanks to its 36 x optical and 4 x digital zoom capabilities.
Picture 1. Boys in Mansinam Island
I shot two Papuan boys who were playing with white sand at Mansinam island of Manokwari regency. As a matter of fact, there were around 10 children at the beach but because I only wanted to have some close up view of these two boys, the other boys were left out of LCD screen coverage. They were covering their faces with the sand before jumping into the water. Mansinam is a small tropical island located in the Dorey bay of Manokwari city - the capital of West Papua province in the Republic of Indonesia. When I made this photograph, I was sitting on a water taxi that would take us to another nearby island called Lemon. The Vibration Reduction mode of Nikon P500 compensated the shakes created by my hands, giving me blurred free picture. When the weather is good, we will frequently see children swimming at the beach. They really enjoyed the warm of tropical waters around this tiny island.
Picture 2. Rose Apple Flower
This pink rose apple flower was made when I was traveling with two Dutch tourists (Thomas and Sandra) in the rainforest of Arfak mountains. There was a rose apple tree that was located only around 10 meters from the tourist house near Kwau village. The mountain range of Arfak is a famous tourist destination for travelers who are interested in hiking, and wildlife watching. It is also the dwelling place of various species of birds of paradise. The rose apple flowers were blooming on a twig some 6 meters above my head. To capture them, I had to activate the optical zoom of the camera to several times until flowers big enough on the LCD screen of the camera before I pressed the shutter button. When the subjects were in focus of the camera, the branches and leaves at the background looked blurred.
Picture 3. Tropical Rainforest on the slopes of Arfak mountains
To go to Arfak mountains, we need to rent a 4WD car in Manokwari. It will take more than two hours from the city to the tourist destination i.e. the Kwau village. In the middle of the trip to the area, the car will have to climb steep slopes of the mountains that are covered with green trees. In my last trip, I asked the driver of the car to stop for a while at a slope of the mountains so that I could take some nice pictures of the green vegetations that you can see on the third picture on the left of this article. These vegetations or trees play significant role in supporting our global environment. The rainforest absorbs huge amount of CO2 gases that we emit from our daily activities both at homes or on the streets. Because tropical rainforest is vital in fighting global warming, we need to preserve it. Eco-tourism is one of the alternative solutions that can help the indigenous Papuan people earn money from the natural resources that they have without excessively exploiting it.
Why I chose Nikon Coolpix P500
The reason I bought this camera was to have a telephoto photographic device whose price was affordable to my pocket. I know that there are a lot of D-SLR cameras for professional photographers such as the Nikon D3x, and the D700, or advanced camera with interchangeable lenses such as Nikon 1 J1 and Nikon 1 V1 but I am not a photographer by profession. What I really need is a camera that is small and light but powerful enough to shoot distant subjects in open nature. This consideration makes me choose the Nikon Coolpix P500.
Travelers who bring their digital camera like Nikon Coolpix P500 or D-SLR Nikon D40 in the wet climate area of West Papua have to prepare some plastic bags or sheets to protect their electronic equipment in case if the rainfalls suddenly. There are a lot of interesting subjects in the rainforest which tourists can shoot with their photographic devices but they must know when the weather is cloudy, they had better stop shooting and put their cameras inside watertight cases or bags.
If you are now looking for a camera for traveling, you should consider Nikon Coolpix P500 as your travel companion. This camera will take pictures of nature, beaches, forest, you and your friends that will become archives of your life story.
Related articles:
Photographs of Nature from the North Coast of Manokwari
