“What Lens Should I Buy?”

Jul 22, 2013 | Field Reports

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I often feel that I live in a cave. I was just made aware that Nikon has a list of lenses (scroll down) they recommend being shot with the D800e. The premise of the list is pretty straight forward, the lenses on this list “resolve” to such high quality/standards they make the most of the ultra pixels of the D800e. Having first hand knowledge of Nikon’s standards, that’s one helluva a list to have! It was brought to my attention because I’m told Nikon just added three lenses to this list and it just so happens to be lenses I’ve recently added to my bag. So what has this trivia got to do with anything?

It seems almost hourly I receive an email asking me, “Which lens should I buy?” This is an incredibly valid and important question that for 99.9% of the folks who ask me, I can’t answer. Lens selection is a very personal thing that should be based on personal style, abilities and application. If I don’t know that about a person, my answer to the question is about as worthless as any stranger answering that question. Well, this list helps in one way in answering this question. If you want to be sure the quality you are buying is the best for the buck, then here ya go! And there are some expensive lenses here. At the same time, there are some real sleepers like the 18-35AFS that I’ve been telling you about for months which is not expensive. I can’t recommend emphatically enough to rent (Borrowlenses.com) before you buy and if you want help which to start with, this list is a great place!

Where Does Wisdom Come From?

Jul 19, 2013 | Field Reports

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I have no doubt it’s just the quirky way my mind works, but I’ve asked this question for a long, long time. Why? Perhaps that with the answer would come many other answers, which seem to matter in life. So being on this quest, I ask lots of questions. Well, I ask questions that pertain really to just a few areas of my life since, well, I’m not sure I want some of the other answers I might find. But when it comes to critters and photography, I’m really tenacious. I want and seem to think I need those answers.

So everyday I head out with my camera on this quest for knowledge that might lead to wisdom. Now the fact I seek it from a black box that can’t talk and from critters who’s language I don’t speak in itself might lead one to rightly think, I’m nuts to start with. And that for the most part is the case which explains much from the start. Yet, I push on. And in my thirty year pursuit, what have I discovered?

Wisdom starts when we’re young, that’s time when we make so many mistakes that seemingly roll off our back. Mistakes we’d best learn from because as we get older, those same mistakes sting a whole lot more. Wisdom starts when you accept failure as part of the natural course to success. Wisdom grows with age as you look back at all of this and understand it’s part of being human and that perfection has nothing to do with wisdom. And none of this adds up to being wise!

And wisdom can be gained when we look back out our photography and see this path unfold. See, there is no perfect photo just like there is no perfect person. In the beginning we make plenty of mistakes and if we learn from them, the photo we take today is just that much better than yesterday. But it’s not perfect and more than likely, it never will be, “perfect.” Seth Godin said it well in his Polishing Perfect post: “Perfect doesn’t mean flawless. Perfect means it does exactly what I need it to do…” If you can start to not only understand this but implement it, than you have some wisdom and your photography is better than it was in the beginning. And understanding this cycle in a photographer’s life, does it bring wisdom? It brings us closer, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop asking, where does wisdom come from?

BT Journal vol16.3 iPad Version Released

Jul 16, 2013 | Field Reports

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Our latest issue of the BT Journal iPad version is finally out. As you might guess from the cover, it’s about the Grand Canyon. What you won’t guess though is the contents. It’s bigger, better, more and for the first time, the photo captions are oral. If you’re already a subscriber, click on the the BT Journal in Newstand and you’ll be told to download the new issue. If you’re not, head here or to iTunes and get your subscription today! A special thanks to Brent for not only dealing with all things iTunes to get this issue released, but bringing to the BT Journal all of dad’s crazy ideas!
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