Howdy and welcome to the Moose Podcast! Thanks for listening! If you would be so kind and Tweet and/or Facebook these podcasts, that would be huge! Want to hear about a particular topic, send in the suggestion … send them to Moose Podcast. THANKS! (emails sent to this address will get no direct response).
I know I’m an old fart, but I’m truly amazed how many sterile, unprofessional emails I receive from photographers wanting a job. There are a number of things about these emails that concern me greatly, but these are the top three. First, they come with NO photographs, none, just some words (and most of them from some web form letter). Next, they all want to be my assistant, going out and taking my wildlife photos for me, freeing me up for other things. Lastly, they seem to all state they would be a great addition to our staff. mumble, mumble, mumble!
What do these emails tell me about the person sending them? First, they don’t really know what they are seeking. Second, have very little clue about the industry and lastly, they’ve done no homework! There is NO DOUBT that this industry, how the business operates, is kept a mystery. Some of that is self-defense, some of that is most don’t read and think and lastly, it’s part of the “test” to see if a photographer is worthy. If you think just making a photograph is a challenge, knowing which f/stop to select, you should add to that making a living from that craft! Being an assistant is in large part how you break into the industry as a long-term contributor to it. Sure, there are some who didn’t work their way up from the bottom who have made it, but they are very few and even fewer doing it 20 or 30 years later. In my particular case, we don’t have a “staff,” but do have a family, our sons Brent & Jake (pictured here) who are very much part of our business but are not my assistants. While there are exceptions but most wildlife photographers like myself are loaners in the field. But the biggest problem is, photography is all about photographs! These other things are often overlooked when a potential employer is blown away by PHOTOGRAPHS! As I have always said, anybody can make it in the business! But to make that happen, one must, must educate themselves about this business and just sending out an email doesn’t show that knowledge, if all it says is, “I want a job.”
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And how do I pack the MP-1v2 with my gear, here ya go!
The announcement of the new Nikkor 180-400VR and its price tag has brought up the basic comment, “The price of gear is going crazy!” Having started this photo gear thing when Nikon USA was EPOI decades ago and then through all years with official price increases, change of the value of the dollar and the change in technology, I’ve seen the price simply go in one direction, up. And even with all of that history, I have to admit that when I saw the price of the new lens, I too gulped! And that comes from someone who bought the 800mm BEFORE its price dropped! There is nothing I can do about the price, but I can relate how I look at this whole thing when it comes to buying new gear with some thoughts that might help. I’m going to use the 19mm T/S that came out a year ago as part of my example. I break the acquisition of new gear into three categories:
A Need
A Want
A Status
A Need: Is it a tool that WILL solve a problem in my photography which translates often too, make money? A Want: It is simply a tool that might solve a problem but has no foreseeable ability to make any money, even recoup its price. A Status: It’s a tool that will simply enhance my status while making me poorer at the same time.
While these might seem obvious, you’d be surprised how rationalization in spending money on camera gear doesn’t reach this stage for many. Taking the 19mm as the example, I rented one a year ago to give it a thorough run in the field. I went that far in looking at the 19T/S because I could see “some” uses for it. It is a great lens but after shooting with it, I found we didn’t need it fulltime in the locker. So, no Need. Now I went down to the Want category, ya I wanted it. A sexy lens that delivers amazing quality. Then to the last, Status. This lens has NO status, it’s so esoteric that having it would mean nothing but to my accountant who would give me a dirty scowl when I answered his Need question.
I didn’t buy the 19mm T/S but I have rented it a couple of times. The reason is two-fold, the first is that for every dollar you spend in business you have to earn five (basic business asset acquirement formula). With that knowledge, renting is a price I can pass along so none of my capital is consumed. Now if I were to add the 800mm as an example, you might wonder how that price x 5 could be rationalized at the time of purchase? That comes under the Need, and that has to do with knowing your business, present, and future. And that’s where a number of photographers have issues because, well, they aren’t in business. Then move on to Want and Status, it was a slam dunk. If you’re wondering, yes the purchase of the 800mm has not only earned its original price but has blown past that basic business asset acquirement formula.
Bringing this back to the new 180-400VR, here’s how I’m thinking and how I got there. I first contacted a dear friend, a very successful photographer who I thought would naturally upgrade. After hearing his thoughts and talking it over, I went into my Gallery Files (photographs that go out to clients) in Bridge, filtered them by the number of photographs there taken with the 200-400VRII (a lens I own) and took that number and divided it into the total number of photographs to see how much I actually used the 200-400VRII to produce my image inventory. The bottom line, I used the 200-400 A LOT the first four years of owning it and not so much in the last three. Going through my three criteria, at this point, I don’t Need the 180-400. Will I test it out? Oh heck ya, I can’t help myself. But when the rubber hits the road, this is how I think through the price of gear.
Nikon just made it official, the new 180-400VRII with built-in 1.4x. The replacement for the 200-400VRII boasts a lot of new features including the first built-in teleconverter for a Nikkor lens. Weighing 5oz more than the 200-400VRII, with the 1.4x in use, the maximum aperture changes from f/4 to f/5.6. Full specs can be found here.
Howdy and welcome to the Moose Podcast! Thanks for listening! If you would be so kind and Tweet and/or Facebook these podcasts, that would be huge! Want to hear about a particular topic, send in the suggestion … send them to Moose Podcast. THANKS! (emails sent to this address will get no direct response).
