Nikon

College football returned to Norfolk on September 5 as Old Dominion hosted crosstown opponent Norfolk State at S.B. Ballard Stadium. A crowd of 21,944 filled the stadium for the 6 p.m. kickoff, giving the season opener the energy of a city game rather than a typical early-season matchup. The tailgates on Kaufman Mall, the bands, the Black Hawk flyover and two local fan bases packed into the same stadium made the entire afternoon feel bigger than the final score.

Old Dominion’s first conference home game of the season took place October 4, 2025 at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk as they hosted the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. It was a 6pm kickoff and it was a beautiful evening for football with temperatures in the low 70’s at kickoff. I was bringing along my Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8 along with my Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 VR S and Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S lenses.

Old Dominion’s home season kicked off September 6 at S.B. Ballard Stadium in Norfolk as they hosted the North Carolina Central Eagles. It was a 6pm kickoff but it was still a very warm evening to start as the day’s high temperature was 95°F. I was bringing along my Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8 along with my Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 and Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lenses.

Old Dominion was coming off a 27-14 loss to the Indiana Hoosiers and were looking for their first win. Trequan Jones of Old Dominion had a monster game gaining 163 yards on only 5 carries. Three of the carries went for touchdowns including runs of 93 yards and 39 yards. Complete coverage of the game can be found here.

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.

The 2025 football season kicked off at Norfolk State last Thursday night as Norfolk State hosted Towson University. It was a 7pm kickoff so I parked at MacArthur Center and hopped on the Tide to take me over to Norfolk State. I was bringing along my Nikon Z9 and Nikon Z8 along with my Nikkor 400mm f/4.5 and Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lenses.

Michael Vick’s debut as Norfolk State’s head coach drew plenty of attention in Norfolk on August 28, 2025, but Towson spoiled the occasion with a decisive 27–7 victory. Freshman quarterback Andrew Indorf stole the spotlight, completing 14 of 26 passes for 187 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start.

I had the opportunity to shoot a Saturday night Sun Belt matchup basketball game in Norfolk between the Old Dominion Monarchs and the Georgia State Panthers. The Monarchs came out strong in front of their home crowd at Chartway Arena, playing with energy and intensity on both ends of the court. Georgia State made a push in the second half, but ODU held firm down the stretch to secure a 73–66 victory.

JMU traveled from Harrisonburg to take on their in-state rival ODU in Norfolk for a 4pm kickoff. It was another beautiful day for football and the stadium was packed.

I brought my Nikon Z9 body with my Nikkor 400mm f/2.8G lens and my Nikon Z8 body with the Nikkor Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens. But just before ODU took the field, I realized the 400mm wasn’t going to stay on the monopod. The screw holes in the footer collar were stripped. This was the same issue I had at the Norfolk State game a couple weeks earlier, but I thought I had fixed it.

CNU hosted William Paterson in a New Jersey Athletic Conference D3 football game on a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Newport News, VA. This was my first D3 football game of the season and I found it to be just as fun to watch as FBS and FCS football games. In fact, I think I liked it more. No media timeouts! I didn’t even have time to take my phone out of my pocket to check scores after a touchdown because they were already lining up for the kickoff.

It was homecoming at Norfolk State this past Saturday as they hosted their MEAC rival Howard University. It was a 2pm kickoff so I showed up around 12pm and drove around campus looking for a parking spot. After realizing it was going to be hard to find, I changed my mind and drove over to Macarthur Mall to park there and then ride the Tide back to Norfolk State. There was a 10 minute walk from the train stop to the stadium and I was carrying my Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 G lens, all 10 pounds of it, along with my Z9, Z8, and one other camera I’ll talk about in a future post.

I finally got to shoot a day football game this year! Every game I’ve shot up until this one had been a night game or early evening game. This game between Texas State and ODU was being played at 3:30pm in Norfolk. And the sun was out!

Texas State rolled into Norfolk with a 4-2 record and were 10 point favorites against the 2-4 Monarchs. ODU jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half and would hold on to win 24-14. ODU has now won 3 of its last 4 games even though the offense is still struggling.

I got to shoot my second ODU football game in a row on Saturday. This time, I was prepared. I would be shooting my Nikon Z9 with the 400mm f/2.8G lens. And I would be using my Nikon Z8 with the amazing Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena. This time it was against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Virginia Tech has had a rough time in Norfolk, losing each of the last two times they’ve played here. Virginia Tech has been notorious for getting their seasons off to slow starts under the current coaching regime, while ODU is struggling to find any semblance of an offense.

I had the opportunity to shoot Saturday night’s matchup between East Carolina University and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, and let’s just say it didn’t go as planned. I came ready with my Nikon Z9 paired with my Nikon 400mm f/2.8G ED AF lens, along with my brand-new Nikon Z8 paired with the Nikon 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens for more close-up work. But, in all my excitement, I forgot the most critical piece of equipment—my Nikon FTZ II mount adapter. Without it, I couldn’t connect the 400mm lens to my Z9! So, I had to shoot the entire game with just the Z8 and 135mm lens.

I went down to Greenville, NC (or as the locals call it, G-Vegas) to shoot the football game between Norfolk State and East Carolina. Opening game of the year for the Pirates. The Spartans had lost a close one the week before against Florida A&M in the MEAC/SWAC Challenge in Atlanta.

It was a pretty warm day with highs close to 90°F at kickoff. I entered the gates around 4:45pm for the 6pm kickoff. I wanted to get some shots of the players warming up.

I drove down to the Virginia Beach oceanfront on Saturday morning to catch some of the surfing action taking place at the 62nd annual Coastal Edge East Coast Surfing Championships. I arrived around 7:30am and got a good parking spot. I decided to walk around with my Nikon F6 at first and capture some images on film. I’m still working on that roll, so stay tuned for a post about it.

As my film journey progresses, I absolutely love the simplicity of shooting with my Nikon FM2n and Yashica Electro 35 GSN. But I have been thinking about getting into medium format at some point. I’ve really had my eye on finding another Yashica. Especially the Mat 124G. But then I was watching Youtube and and I saw Kai’s video on using the Nikon F6.

Watching his video got me thinking. I have the Nikon FM2n. The perfect, most simplistic 35mm SLR made by Nikon. It doesn’t even need a battery to function. But what if I paired it up with the most advanced 35mm SLR Nikon ever made? That would be an awesome complement to the FM2n.