While I work on a post about the oft-overlooked aspect of becoming a professional photographer — it’s a business — I thought I would put up a more lighthearted piece.

A couple of years ago, I was introduced to the term “bastard lenses” by a pro. He dropped that term after I rattled off a descriptions of  lenses in my lineup. He was right. I had a hodgepodge of lenses acquired when I was buying film camera from people on Craigslist. The are decent lenses, at best, but as I shot more and more it became apparent that I was/am working with some pretty average glass.

Last year, I bought a Nikon 105 f/2.8 micro lens.  Wow! Talk about having your eyes, quite literally, opened to a whole new level of quality. I love this lens. Subsequently, I am on a mission to fill out my lens family with similar glass.  Accordingly, here’s my wish list.

Nikon 12-24mm f/4G IF-ED AF-S DX

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G ED-IF AF-S VR

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G

It wouldn’t be a proper wish list if I didn’t include the full-frame bodies I would love to have in my bag.

Nikon D3X

Nikon D700

I would have listed the D3 instead of the D700, but I would like to have two different-sized full frame bodies. I have the D300, which is pushing the envelop on totability, so the D700 would at least have the relative weight and feel.

I know there’s a big movement to incorporate video capabilities with the DSLR bodies. Honestly, I’m not that interested in shooting video with my DSLR, and am perfectly comfortable using my G10 to capture video. (Of course, I may eat those words at some point in the future, but this is about where I am today.)

So there it is. Know anyone feeling rather benevolent with about $16k?

bodies, gear, lenses

I can’t believe that it’s been nearly a month since my last post. I don’t know if it’s fair to invoke the old adage, “time flies when you’re having fun,” or something a little less glamorous. Nevertheless, the urge to write has been stirring in my head, and I find that it’s better to just sit down and commit to letting words flow.

Sidebar: I understand that, for many people, writing isn’t always something that flows. My son asked me the other day, “How do you come up with stuff to write about?” It actually took me back to a time when I was a kid, and I would grab 5-10 pieces of paper, fold them in half, staple the edges, and write short stories—complete with illustrations. Most of the stories were about my dreams of traveling the country (the world, even) in a fancy conversion van. Of course today, conversion vans evoke thoughts of creepy guys, or, at best, a Chris Farley SNL skit.

Anyway…finding things to write about is seldom my problem. Finding time to write and narrowing my topic to something easily consumed by others is usually my issue. Refocusing this blog to my journey to becoming a full-time photographer has helped the cause; but I must admit that I still occasionally suffer from having too many posts milling about in my dome. Hence, today’s post is a bit of a hodgepodge of things; really an attempt to catch folks up on what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks.

look3 festival of the photograph

Last fall, a friend sent me some information about an annual photography festival that’s held in Charlottesville, Virginia. It’s called Look3. I was very excited to learn about the festival. One of the approaches I’ve taken to growing in skill and knowledge of the craft of photography is be in the company/presence of other photographers. It’s particularly enriching when you can spend time around, and view the work of, world-renown photographers. The festival ran from Thursday through Saturday, and I started to mentally plan to take two days off of work and immerse myself in the festival. I was hoping that my buddy and photography partner-in-crime Dotch could fly in from Chicago so we could hang out, go to lectures and discussions, view others’ work and talk shop. Unfortunately, neither of our schedules could accommodate getting together, but I was able to spend the better part of the last day of the festival in Charlottesville. My friend, who introduced me to the festival, came down with a friend, and we took it all in. I arrived just in time for the “Masters Talks.” The program began with David Allen Harvey displaying the work of 11 finalists for Burn Magazine’s Emerging Photographer Fund. The winner was Alejandro Chaskielberg. The presentation was followed by three very interesting and inspiring discussions by Simon Broty, Yolanda Cuomo and Kristi Norgaard of Yolanda Cuomo Design and Callie Shell. After walking around to visit the photography book store, and a couple exhibits, the day concluded with an “InSight Artists” discussion with Magnum photographer, Gilles Peress. I couldn’t stay for his entire talk, but it was interesting to hear the perspective of such a seasoned photographer. I love to listen to some of the older photographers, because they’ve truly seen it all—in terms of trends and technology. Perhaps a sign that I was leaving too early, the clouds opened up and poured buckets of rain over the festival as I dashed to the car to return to Washington.

A parting shot about Look3. I really enjoyed the discussions, and the exhibits. I just wish there would have been more exhibits. Perhaps it’s my naïveté about the event, but I expected to see more works on display. The festival takes a hiatus next year, so I look forward to taking in the entire festival in 2011. Maybe I’ll an exhibitor. You never know.

dc nighttime photowalk

I did scurry to leave Charlottesville because I wanted to make it back to DC in time for a photowalk along the mall at night. While the term may say it all, if you’re not familiar with the idea of photowalking, check out photowalklist.com.

Thanks to Twitter and Facebook, I’ve come into contact with a number of local photographers (professional and amateur). One of the things I’ve wanted to do is join some of the photowalks around the area. In fact, there was an interesting photowalk at an abandoned penitentiary in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, it was the same night so I had to pass. The call went out on Facebook to gather for a photowalk at night in DC. I love shooting the monuments at night, and thought it would be more interesting to do it in the company of other photographers. What I really enjoyed about this outing was meeting so many of the photographers I’ve met online, but never in person. It was nice to associate faces and personalities with screen names and avatars.

What’s particularly interesting, and rewarding, about participating in a photowalk is the incredible differences so many people can present when shooting the same thing. You can get a general sense of what people are shooting along the walk because you notice the subject and angles. However, you can’t always tell what the precise focus is or technique people are employing to take the shot. For instance, I love to shoot with a very narrow depth of field, so while I may have my zoom pulled back to its widest angle, my focus and depth of field may be very small. The confirmation comes when all of the participants in the photowalk, upload their images to a group page. Some photowalks end with the participants meeting up for lunch or dinner and showing each other some results on their cameras. I like the fellowship that can offer, but I must admit that I prefer to look at the images on a larger screen. (I seldom look at my own shots on my camera’s screen.) Here are the shots I selected to post to the photowalk group page on Flickr.

Please take a look at all the wonderful shots by the photographers who out that night for Night Photowalk DC.

If you haven’t done a photowalk, I encourage you visit photowalklist.com and find an outing near you. Irrespective your skill level, I think you will find a photowalk to be a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening. If nothing else, you’ll get out for a good walk and meet some new people.

a new arrow in my quiver

There’s a saying that I really like. “The best camera is the one you have with you.”

Ever since I bought my first digital SLR, I have been thinking about buying a high-quality point-and-shoot to complement and/or expand my equipment line-up. Initially, the desire was a bit selfish because my shoulder grew very weary from carrying a bag with two bodies, lenses, flash, and other gear.  To know me, means you know that I will deliberate and analyze something to death. Accordingly, it was only after I returned from the Superbowl with a pinched nerve in my shoulder that I started to give serious thought to purchasing a back-up camera for the times that I don’t want to bring my larger SLRs (which is rare). This includes social outings and short trips. I also wanted a small camera for my day-to-day shooting. I love to take pictures or random things, it was becoming increasingly tough to lug my D80 and a decent zoom lens around in my backpack.

Again, if you know me, you could have guessed that deciding on a high-quality point-and-shoot camera was agony. I went to many of my favorite sites, including DPReview, cNet and Photo.net, to get reviews and opinions by ‘experts’, pros and casual users. I started with some loyalty or affinity for Nikon. I love my Nikon SLRs (film and digital), and thought I would stay in the family. I didn’t take much time to learn that most reviewers give Canon, Lumix, and Leica the nod over Nikon for point-and-shoot cameras. Once I got beyond feeling like a traitor for possibly introducing a non-Nikon camera into my bag, I moved onto looking what what best fit my needs.

A friend of mind recently bought at Lumix LX-3. I have another friend who owns the sister to the LX-3, the Leica D-Lux 4. Both are incredible cameras, and get high ratings for features and picture quality. I talked to someone at a Nikon Capture NX2 class who had a Nikon P6000. Based on all my reading, I kept coming around to the Canon G10. Now that I’ve finally taken on post-processing, I wanted a camera that capture images in the RAW format. The more I looked, handled, and played with various models, the more I was at a loss for what I wanted. Eventually, I went to my favorite camera shop. About 90 minutes later, I walked out of the store with a Canon SX200is. Aside from not having RAW image capability, the camera seemed to have all the features I waned in a point-and-shoot. I must add that I chose this model because the inner Frugal Fanny in me kept blushing at the $400+ price tags on the other models.  However, shortly after getting home with the camera, I discovered that I body of the camera didn’t work for me. It was too slippery. Great camera, but fit and feel are important to me. (It’s, quite honestly, why I bought Nikon digital SLRs. They felt just the same in my hand and the controls were in the same place as my Nikon film SLRs.) I needed something a little more substantial. This eliminated just about every other camera, including the LX-3 and the D-Lux 4. I was left with a choice between the P6000 and the G10. In the end, it wasn’t a very difficult decision.

I must pause to acknowledge my wife, who encouraged me to get the camera I really want.  I stopped on my way to the Look3 festival and picked this up. This not-so-little point-and-shoot is full of just about as many features as an SLR. That said, there are still some features I need to learn and/or master. Regardless, I’m loving this camera. To see the daily results of my work with this camera, check out my picture-of-the-day blog on my website.

festivals, gear, photowalk, travel