Photography

I’m a photography buff and as such, I am available to shoot events, parties, or whatever. It’s really a lot of fun for me – most of this blog is dedicated to photography from trips, around the house, around NJ, and so on.I’d describe it as more of a passion – there is something satisfying about taking a nicely composed, focused picture. Kinda like hitting a 7 iron from 160 to a yard from the cup (or better, in). I describe photography in similar terms to golf (I was at my best a 7 handicap, but have fallen back a bit): every time you tee it up for a round, I think all golfers wonder if the shots will be there. IE, the last time maybe you sank 10 putts outside 5 feet, or hit almost all the fairways. “I’ll never be able to do that again!” Yet, somehow, it happens again and again but in different combinations. The good shots always seem to show up (even when you struggle to break 90). Photography is the same. You’ll never be able to reproduce the conditions that let you capture that perfect image – every shoot presents it’s own challenges. Yet, you can always manage to get something to be proud of. Anyway, enough of my explanation… (By the way, one of my favorite sites for photo information, kenrockwell.com, has a similar comparison between photography and golf. I guess we have a lot in common, but no, I’m not stealing his concept – just agreeing.)

Equipment

I have a brand preference to Nikon. I have a large investment in Sigma lenses simply because of the lower cost of entry – though I aspire to collect Nikon glass only.Here is my current inventory:

• Nikon D7000 – My new go-to camera
• Nikon D5000
• Nikon D200 – Quick blasts make it awesome for HDR
• Nikon D70 – It’s seen the world and taken quite a few shots. Both Physically and Photographically (I know, not a real word). Now it has been retired to my nephew Tyler.
• Canon S90 – This is my first break from Nikon.  Ever.  So it must be good.  Manual controls and high ISO performance makes this the perfect point & shoot.  When my D5000 broke on me on a recent trip to France the P90 stepped in like a pro!
• Nikon P5000 Point and Shoot – This is a great little camera. It has all the manual modes that the DSLR’s have, yet still is easy to use and fits in your pocket. At $350, it’s a great all-purpose camera to tote around. I always have it in my bag.
• Nikon N70 Film Camera – Haven’t turned it on since 2003. Sad, but the D70 really put this camera into retirement.
• Sigma 30mm f1.4 – Soft at f1.4, but a great prime lens. Read my review of the Sigma 30mm f1.4!
• Sigma 10-20 F4-5.6 – A great wide angle zoom for DSLR’s. Recommended.
• Sigma 70-200 F2.8 – This portrait and low-telephoto is great in low light. Good for events where you don’t want to always rely on flash.
• Sigma 135-400 – I got this for one trip to the zoo and then attempted to sell it. What I’d prefer is something with a wider aperture, but, that would cost a lot. So I decided to keep this. Though, I think the Nikon 70-200 VR with a 1.4 or 2x teleconverter would be even better. But that would cost almost $2000.
• Nikon 18-200 F3.5-5.6 – Amazing.  No need to change lenses, perfect for travel.
• Nikon Sb-400 Speedlight – small, portable, easy and fits onto my p5000.
• Nikon Sb-800 Speedlight – Awesome. It’s really great to be able to use the 70 or 200 as a commander and then place the flash wherever. Try it, its included and most people don’t even know it.
• Amvona Tripods (great deals) – It was like 50 bucks and its solid. Though it smells weird. Oh well.
• Video: I have a HDR-HC3 High Def camera. Figured I’d throw that in as my education was in broadcasting. This is our second one as the first was stolen in Corning, NY at the Corning Museum of Glass…!

I manage my current workflow by shooting photos in the camera’s RAW format (when it exists). I then process in Adobe Lightroom and export into JPG, where I’ll then use Picasa to manage, upload, catalog. It sounds like a lot but it really does work out.I recommend the following sites for anything relating to Nikon cameras or photography in general – these guys really know their stuff:

• KenRockwell.com
• Nikonians.org
• DigitalWeddingForum.com
• PlanetNeil.com – This guy is local to me in NJ, apparently. No, we’ve never met. But he knows his stuff and his recommended Nikon settings are valuable info.

If you are interested in viewing more of my work, check these areas out:

• Flickr: I don’t find Flickr to be as robust and fast as the Picasa galleries, but I do put up my best work there so I have an active gallery.
• NJHDR.com: My blog of High Dynamic Range images taken around NJ (and some other places too, I guess).

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