HS3

My current small studio setup is just a few monolights and such that has worked great for a number of things. As far as non-studio type photography, I used to have a great Minolta setup at the dawn of digital while I was still angrily holding on to film and my medium format cameras, but they made all my equipment obsolete when they went out of business. That included all of my glass and accessories from my film Maxxum 7. Thanks, Minolta. So I bought a Nikon D90. It seemed like a great camera for someone not shooting as much anymore, but still capable when I had a fire under my butt. Nikon better stay in business.

With a baby on the way, I’ll have a nice studio setup for staged photos, but I obviously need a great flash for other situations. All this leads me to my question – should I buy a Nikon SB-700 or another brand, such as one of the Sigma offerings for a bit less money? I’m leaning towards just getting the Nikon because it seems like the amount I’d save with a Sigma or another wouldn’t offset the benefits from things like CLS or other Nikon benefits.

Apologies for the lack of posts lately – I’ve got a pile of photos of Xerjoff 1861 and some thoughts on some others, but time has been tight lately and looks like it might stay that way for a while. I’ve got a bottle of Amouage Reflection on its way from Dubai, so hopefully we’ll get that and the 1861 up within the next few weeks.

Sorry all! Be back before too long!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately – I got married last weekend and am heading to the honeymoon tomorrow! I have a pile of things waiting to have pictures taken and reviewed that will be tended to when I get back.

See you soon!

I recently took another set of photos of the collection and compiled them into one big collage. I love to stand in front of it to pick and choose, so I thought the readers here might like to enjoy as well! Excuse the shelf with the Montales as it’s a bit messy.   I’ve really been able to snag some deals here and there (a friend at Saks gave me the Clive 1872!) and some finds such as the Armani Privés at Marshall’s for a pittance. The closet generally stays closed to keep light out and the lighting is all cold-to-the-touch LEDs that are only on long enough to pick what to wear.

Here’s my hobby:

One of these is not like the other. Wait, yes it is. As I was arranging things and moving things about this evening, I noticed that the older style bottle for Keiko Mecheri (Oliban in this case) was very similar to the bottle used by Guerlain for a number of their scents. Wait, not similar… the same. Exactly the same. So I get that a lot of smaller perfumers use pre-made bottles, but I would hardly consider Guerlain a “small perfumer.” I wouldn’t think Keiko is either. I can assume that it’s an off-the-shelf bottle that some glass company had and they both opted for, but I really would expect Guerlain to do something a bit more custom, especially considering the exorbitant price one must pay for their scents in those bottles.

What struck me as sad as I was formatting these pics was how much has been used of the bottles. Oh, bottles, why can’t you refill yourselves?