BT Journal All Biz Issue is Out!

Oct 9, 2014 | Field Reports

The latest issue of the BT Journal was released last week and the love notes are flying in! The Journal is all about making money from your photography. You want to learn more, get out your iPad or Android and get it!

D750 & 20f1.8AFS are in Hand!

Oct 1, 2014 | Field Reports

A bunch of folks have been asking and it’s true, I have both the new D750 and 20f1.8AFS. All are asking, “Do I like them?” And the answer is, heck ya! But that doesn’t mean anything folks, not a darn thing. I’ve shot with them both but pictures of my big toes and the living room wall don’t say much. I can say I really like the feel of both body and lens in my hand. I really like the D750 swing out monitor, expanded and unique Movie Settings in the menus. I like the ease of the Wifi operation of the D750 and the iPhone. The buffer in the D750 is minimal and it’s not got a high eyepoint viewfinder. The image quality so far in my limited shooting looks sweet and the video even more so. And the 20f1.8, I think it’s like the 18-35AFS, light, razor sharp especially at f/1.8 and at a great price! But these are just impressions from the first few days playing.

But here’s the deal, they will be perfect, just perfect for some of you and just the worst for others. And that’s the way it’s supposed to be. No matter what I fine, it might not apply to you. As I’ve written many times, these are tools and to each artist, certain tools bring their art to life and those are the ones to own. And others simply don’t. My high school photo teacher was a real smart man. After a snide comment in class going something like, “Well if I shot with that Nikon F, I’d have great photos too!” Mr Traub handed that kid the Nikon F and he took the beat up K1000 and they went and shot. You know the outcome, all photographers do even though these same stupid comments are made today. I’m on the road heading to the Grand Canyon and I will be shooting principally with the D750 and the 20f1.8 to see if they should be added to my camera bag. If they solve problems that my current gear doesn’t, then buy them I will. And if they don’t, which only means, they are not right for my photography not that they aren’t any good, then I will send them back. And once I have real images from real shoots, I’ll post them and give you some of my thoughts. But you will have to decide for yourself if they are right for you or not.

Going Back Old School

Sep 30, 2014 | Field Reports

Our good friends asked if I would mind taking photos for Woodrow’s senior year. We were happy to do it and I found it good to go back to the old school days of portraits. Now understand, I’ve got to think this stuff through, it doesn’t come naturally to me. And just to keep things interesting, they picked all the locations. I had no clue where we were going, no preplanning. So for two hours on Saturday we had a good ol time making some images. This first location they liked was this tunnel of trees. Shooting with the Df / 80-400VR3, I brought the Profoto B1 in close with a Beauty Dish attached. Shooting with the new TTL Remote for the Profoto made the exposure a snap! Shooting with the 80-400, I could incorporate the “tunnel” while at the same time move the Profoto/Beauty Dish in real close, as in five feet away from them. The photography part was easy, getting brother and sister to look at the camera and not their parents, that was the challenge.

The next locale was at the front of the high school. I have to admit, with the clock ticking I was at first a bit stumped how to make something special from this locale. The arch, school name and stairs were all elements they wanted in the photo. I switched to the 18-35 and set up the camera on a tripod so the symmetry was set. Then I put the Profoto B1 with the Magnum Refl (with 10 degree grid) on a 10′ pole. With the weight and aiming, I held the pole up and over Woodrow and then my lovely bride pushed the shutter release when I said now. I have to be totally honest, you’d think we did this all the time because it turned out perfectly real easily. Lucky! The Profoto TTL makes the exposure simple, which helped.

The last set up was on the football field. As you can see, they didn’t want the typical football photo. No pads, no helmet and not even a football. They wanted the goal poles, that’s all. So I switched to the 24f1.4, put the 1×4 softbox on the Profoto B1 on a stand three feet off the ground and sat underneath it. I had a TON of power lines to remove but the sky was pretty cool. The most important thing is the family had fun and loves their photos. Helping anybody preserve memories is a worthy task of all photographers and we’re so glad we had the opportunity. It’s always good to knock the dust off some old brain cells and go back to some old school shooting with some modern tools.

Then There is That Moment

Sep 29, 2014 | Field Reports

The storm parts for a second, the light strikes across the sapsucker and the Aspen for just a moment. The D4s cracks off and the shot is made. The morning has been a success, that one special moment preserved. Perfect

Wilderness Film Permits – The Fine Print?

Sep 25, 2014 | Field Reports

This was just brought to my attention because this piece in the Washington Post was then posted on the Shutterbug and NPPA site. I’ve seen these headlines a lot over the decades so I clicked on the link to the Federal Register to read for myself where it states:

This language is taken right from Proposed Directive:

“The current language has been in place for 48 months. This proposal would make permanent guidelines for the acceptance and denial for still photography and commercial filming permits in congressionally designated wilderness areas.”

This is not new, been in place for 48 months, that’s four years now. I am not a lawyer and I could be totally wrong, but the language in this Proposed Directive is about the same as what you read when you apply for a permit in a National Park to conduct a photographic workshop / commercial shoot on those public lands. The difference here is the price is much higher. I strongly urge you to click on the Federal Registry link, read the fine print for yourself and decide if you should comment on this proposal. I did make a comment asking that Commercial Still photography be clearly defined as such and not in the vague language it is now. Read the fine print, it appears this only applies to commercial shoots, not the US public enjoying THEIR lands with a camera.