I haven’t used my Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 lens in a very long time – mostly because at one point, it developed a fEE connection error when I attached it to my Nikon Df.
But this time around, when I used my silver Nikon Df, and a quick adjustment on the lens barrel from what was once manual settings to automatic settings, the lens worked like a charm once again.
And just in time. The Saratoga Casino Hotel racetrack (it’s Saratoga Harness to me, and I’ll die on that hill) hosted their second annual “harness versus thoroughbred” race, where a jockey from the nearby thoroughbred track had to race in a sulkey against an established sandardbred driver. In this case, it was jockey Robbie Davis against harness track mainstay Brett Beckwith.
A second mixed race featured jockey Katie Davis against thoroughbred racer Michelle Crawford, both competing in a “Riders Under Saddle” race, where instead of competing from bikes, the riders actually sat on the trotters’ backs and raced them around the track.
I should note that the Davis duo won both races. And the crowd who packed the harness track loved every minute of it.
Me? I had fund photographing the entire event, and both my Nikon Df camera AND that Nikon 80-200 f/2.8 lens that I bought nearly 20 years ago operated like champions.
Don’t believe me? Check out the gallery. 😀
Chuck The Writer 