His Talent is Staggering!
I’ve worked with many artists in my day, had my images used as reference by the best but none make me smile like Patrick! This “painting” from one of my Bald Eagle images is just OUTSTANDING! Check it out and more here!
Thank You for Our Freedoms
Think tank Glass Limo
The geniuses at Think Tank are at it again with their new Glass Limo. what they call “The photo industry’s slimmest profile backpack for carrying “Big Glass.” Capable of carrying a 600f4 or 500f4 with body attached, this beefy case can carry this and much more. I’ve just packed it up for its first trip but it’s not carrying any big glass. As you can see pictured above, you can pack the Glass Limo with a bunch of basic gear. With all the extra padding, you could throw this thing around without fear of damaging gear. This is a bag you must might wanna check out.
At the same time, Think Tank has updated their Cable Management Pouches. I simply can’t live without these things! Cable Management 10 V2.0, 20 V2.0 and 30 V20 feature clear window, wide opening and large capacity. Good stuff protecting and organizing our photographic gear, check ‘er out!
Mac RoundUP – Mac Round up from Moose?
Now that I’m moving more and more towards a Mac office space (ordered the new iMac for my desk for basic office stuff), I’m more in tune with Mac deals. With all the “new” stuff coming in, the “old” stuff is being blown out. Of course, a month ago, the “old” stuff was the “new” stuff. Well, you might be able to take advantage of some of the savings I just found so check it out. Price drop in the iPad3 and MacBook Pro makes these great tools just a little more affordable.
My Thoughts on the D800
shot with D800
I love the files from the D800! I just had delivered one big ass print from the D800 out of an Epson 11880 and it is spectacular! I know this, I sure don’t want my portrait taken with a D800, I don’t want to see that much detail! With that said, I still prefer the D4 and when given the choice, I will pick up the D600 over the D800. And when folks ask me, I will recommend the D4 first and D600 second and D800 last. With that said, many have pinged me and asked me, “Why don’t you like the D800?”
Scott Kelby wrote a marvelous piece, which, in many ways mirror much of what I think. First, I like the D800, I don’t dislike it. I use it rarely but when I do, it does exactly what it is meant to do, deliver beautiful big ass files. What I have against the D800 is not the camera but the mentality behind why many think they must own the camera.
shot with D800
I was with a D800e owner, helping them at the camera shooting. They had traded up from the D800 to the D800e because they wanted the extra megapixel umph! I didn’t ask why for a couple of days but I sure was curious. Then we were working some files and I watched them struggle getting them uploaded in their computer (took forever), a rather new machine that struggled to create previews and then just doing some simple steps in Photoshop. I finally asked the question I had been biting my tongue about. “What are you going to do with these images” I asked? They looked me square in the eye and said, “They are for the web.” I said really, what are you going to do with the images. “I’m serious.”
shot with D600
I’ve encountered a whole lot of D800 owners who, while they love their files are simply not having fun. Seriously, you do one thing to the file in Photoshop and you nearly have a half gigabyte file on your hands! Focus issues, DOF problems, dust spots, the list goes on and on that are magnified by that big, gorgeous file the D800 produces. You have to be a craftsman when you take the photo with the D800 that will show every goof in all its megapixel glory! This is a camera who’s smallest prints should be 24×30 (hell, that’s almost the native size of the file) yet how many who own the D800 make that size prints?
That brings up the D600, why do I like it so much? It makes gorgeous images as well even if it only has 24mp. Only! It costs less, fits the hand better, has the essential CSe4 (missing in the D800) and seems to go forever on a battery charge. The only gripe I have about the D600 is it only has a 3 frame bracketing and not 5, 7 and 9 frame. And I’m not alone. Just to see if I’m nuts or not (and I am nuts), I’ve put the D600 in a lot of D800 owner’s hands and asked them to shoot it for a day. Almost all have said they liked the camera and even more, liked the increased “speed” in dealing with files in post. I asked if they saw a difference in the image quality. Only looking at the images on their monitor, they 100% said no.
shot with D600
It’s not that I don’t like the D800, I do like it, own it and use it when the job requires it. I don’t like the mentality that more megapixels is better and that just owning it will improve one’s photography. It, like the D4 and D600 and other bodies are tools and in the hand of a craftsman will perform and produce as they should. But just like I said of the D3x for years, the D800 isn’t for everyone. I’m not after changing any body’s minds, don’t even want to convince someone who owns a D800 they made the wrong decision. I just wanted to put it out there my simple thoughts on this wonderful camera. It’s a great camera for the job it was built to do!
Don’t Forget Their Original Purpose!
Sharon & I had a great weekend with the folks over at FotoClave. We’ve presented for them many times over the years and it was fun to see old friends and make new. Though I knew of Darrel Gulin, this past weekend I had the opportunity to not only see his killer images, but get to know him. That was really cool! So on our drive back home (which takes us through Yosemite), we go through the small town of Groveland. I don’t know how many hundreds of times we’ve traveled through this great little town but we’ve never stopped. We keep saying we’re going to, we never do. Today, we made the time to stop. With D600 and 24f1.4AFS on my shoulder, I took my girl’s hand and walked through town.
We stopped in the Iron Door Saloon, the oldest bar in California to take a look. It appeared so cool and we were greeted with smiling faces, we took a seat. It’s a great place, good food, great ale and really nice folks. And the ambience inside is killer! After reading the story on the back of the menu, we started to look at the walls and reading all the history there. Then we started to look at the ceiling which had even more history. And the whole time, the camera was there. It was great to have a moment with my wife alone, just the two of us to do what we do best, watch life pass by. Had to have that photo!
And this is just one slice of the interior of Iron Door Saloon. Not that any of these photos are really blog worthy, they are just nice snaps of a simple yet grand experience. They recorded for all time a time when we stopped and smelled the roses, ale actually and just watched life float by. It’s what photography’s original intent was all about, to record what we feel are special moments in our lives. It’s easy to get caught up in the technical stuff to making a photo, the artistic stuff to make a photo, but there are times we must remember the simple life experiences the camera is great at recording when we only have to get caught up in the experiences of life.