I like all holidays, but I think Thanksgiving may be my favorite. I like turkey, football, and family. This time last year I was trying to explain aperture and shutter-speed to my cousin in references to depth of field. This year I saw lots and lots of family and even went to a wedding (covered by 3 photographers I may add).

This time I brought along some lighting with me (nothing fancy), and I was telling my cousin about off camera flash. By telling, I really mean telling, as it was unsolicited conversation; but thankfully my family puts up with my foibles. My uncle bill observed that my lighting setup was going to distribute an uneven amount of light on the background. He was right; and I wasn't really "seeing" my whole frame. It reminded me that I need to keep my eyes open and not get cocky. I got some fun shots outdoors - mostly headshots.

The next day, we went to Midtown Photo in Middletown, CT., on the recommendation of a clerk from Hunt's SBI Photo. Black Friday and the place was pretty dead. It was toward the end of the day, and the local Chamber of Commerce was set up across the street giving free horse and carriage rides. Inside I found an interesting mix of old and new, a mid size independent camera shop. I had hoped to find some hidden treasures (a 21mm f4 nikkor non-ai, or an 85mm 1.4 ais). Instead I was greeted by some good conversation from a couple of wedding photographers (one of whom was a clerk at the shop). After poking around I found some Technidol on sale and the clerk gave me a roll of Kodak Technical Pan 120 to go along with it (a couple of years out of date, but I'm sure it's good). At the end of day I got 50% off of the already reduced price - which basically means I paid 5 bucks for a couple of containers of technidol and a freebie roll of 120. Ah... this is why I like small shops.

I looked at the most recent prints from one of the photographers and we discussed the wedding photography market. They are both based on packages including prints, and their best sellers are in the $3500+ range. As is to be expected, there is some pressure from lower end photographers, and the main problem is differentiation in the eyes of the consumer. They want an "educated" consumer. Food for thought.

The photos were quite good and it struck me that this guy is working at a camera shop and I'm assuming it's not because he loves sales. The pool of photographers is so large that differentiation on a regional scale must be tremendously difficult. His situation made me think: Having been seriously pursuing this craft for the last 20 months, I find that the number one time sucker is the focus on the technical and gear acquisition. I probably spend as much time investigating equipment and techniques as I do actually shooting photographs. The trap is becoming the photographic equivalent of the guy playing "stairway to heaven" in the guitar shop, as opposed to the guy getting his ass beat up on stage playing the open-mic circuit. I have avoided camera clubs for many reasons, although they are very appealing. My image of them is sitting around talking about gear or critiquing images from a narrow perspective. Neither of which appeal to me. On the other hand, looking at the work put out by other people is a tremendous reminder that I am still becoming a jack of all trades and master of few when it comes to photography.

The biggest challenge I face is a lack of education. I need to study more great artwork; and I don't mean photos. I need to study how artists used light, composition, and perspective to tell a story. I never could appreciate it until now; I just don't think I "saw" the shadow of someone's nose until recently. In my own photos I still don't see greatness, nor do I know how to achieve greatness. At the moment I'm putting myself in harms way and coming up with the best work I can. The next challenge for me will be "crafting" images from sketch, to props, to model, to location, and then executing to the highest level. I want world class photos. In the grand scheme of things I have a tremendous amount of learning to do - not just learning, but knowledge development. Really absorbing the concepts until they ooze out of my like a Bill Belichick defense.

On Saturday we attended a wedding that was very beautiful. I have no doubt that the 3 photographers covering the event did an exceptional job. I tried to stay out of the way and snap a few photos from my seat and on the dancefloor. No flash though. My primary purpose was the exploration of the dynamic range characteristics, white balance, focus, and ISO response of the Fuji S5 Pro. At the same time I wanted to capture a few images of people I know.

After it was all over we visited a relative in the hospital and played the images as a slide show. It was pointed out to me that on some of my set-up shots I had an ugly object sticking out of the head of someone. So obvious upon reflection, but I was totally oblivious to it in person. It reminded me, for the second time this weekend, not to get cocky and remember the basics. At the end of the day it is about light, geometry, and subject matter. The rest is superfluous, and the more technology I use to get the results, the more I feel that I am failing in my primary directive of being an excellent photographer.

As I ponder these thoughts, it occurs to me that I should really pretend that Henri Cartier-Bresson was critiquing my images and imagine what he would say. I can already imagine how he may have approached the situation totally differently for artistic reasons. I, on the other hand, had postcard photos in my head. So, take photos to please the masses, or take photos to impress the few? Well, either way taking photos is probably better than my endless scouring of internet archives for obscure observations by people who I have no idea of their credibility talking about equipment that I don't need. Lenses? sure. The newest uber-pixel camera? not necessary. Time to shoot some film on a manual camera with a fixed focus lens and keep it simple.

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a note on the photos: all digital, only slight modifications if any. They aren't here to show the best, they're just representation of some of the concepts I'm writing about or explaining to somebody (like the first image which has somewhat severe off axis light - but oddly does fit a 3 dimensional interpretation of the rule of thirds (3 degrees of distance, and 2 dimension 1/3rds composition). If they are thought provoking, that is great.

My company isquared, inc. is working on the new website for the Rhode Island Rock Gym. We got involved with RIRG primarily because of my personal interest in rock climbing. I was interested in the gym, and by happenstance I asked the first guy I saw with an RIRG shirt about the gym - and he was one of the owners. So, one thing led to another and we're working for them (and we get to climb all we want, not too shabby).

Now, I am not a rock climber - I am just learning. One of my photography heros was a tremendous climber named Galen Rowell. I've read most of his books and even a few articles of his in the American Alpine Journal. He makes it sound so wonderful and effortless that you will forget that you're up really really high. I mean really really high.

So, when we needed to get new staff photos for the site I decided to take Lary and Nadav (co-owners) up to the highest vantage point in the gym. We actually climbed on top of their office to get the shot. Now, the last time I was up there Nadav teased me "you can't be scared up here" - but hah! This time he was the one who observed how very high it seemed without any safety rope (or railing).

As with any business mission, when you are the boss - you are on the hook. So as I moved Lary and Nadav around I couldn't help but feel very nervous. None of us were wearing safety equipment and we are up at the edge of a shelf 30 ft. in the air. They kept moving toward the edge to look over. I was much more afraid for them than for myself. But, by the same token I was feeling the butterflys dance in my stomach. I'm not great with heights.

After going to the trouble of setting up some lighting on a stand up, I discovered that the gym was so dark that if I used much light the guys would show up, but the gym would go black. So, in the end, on-camera fill flash did the job. I barely had to use any flash power. I made up for the rest through high-iso combined with a shallow depth-of-field. (ISO 800, f2.8, 1/60th).

It is surprising how unnatural a position can seem in person, only to look right in the camera. I urged Nadav and Lary to almost touch heads, which wasn't easy to do at the edge of the ledge. But, in the photo they seem comfortably spaced. The wonders of wide angle.

note: the framing of the guys in the photo may seem strange, but we needed room for text to be overlayed.

Up until this point this site has been about showing the good and the bad. If you go backwards through time you will see a mix of photos as I have improved over time. But, I'm at a point where editing is as important as shooting. So, I plan on shooting beautiful photos of moving things. Weston or someone else had a great quote about shooting moving photos not still photos. That is the goal from here out - beautiful light and interesting composition. Even in the photos above you may be able to tell which ones were shot recently and which ones are from 6+ months ago (the file names won't help).

Last weekend, Hunt's camera stores had their annual sale/show. All the big vendors show up and the discounts are deep. How deep? Well, usually B&H or Adorama beat Hunt's in overall pricing. However, on Saturday Hunt's beat B&H by matching the base cost and then giving me a $200 rebate on my camera pruchase. Plus everything else I wanted was 15-25% off. Everything was on sale and the reps were right there to tell you what you want to know.

The beauty of this is that I was able to approach the salesmen I am usually wary of, present them with my needs, and know that whatever they were offering me would end up being a good deal. And so it was that I asked the Lowepro rep, "I need to climb ladders with a bag; I want something light; it should be secure." The bag I tried out was pretty great, and besides being 30% off, Amie who also bought a bag got hers for %30+%50 off. The second was half-off after discount.

All Epson products were 25% off; and basically the prices won't be beat because they are fixed over the course of the year. Paper and ink were flying off the shelves. At the end of the day I had loaded up on tasty nibbles of new products (like the D300 which I played with a bit), and loaded down with a bag of goodies. I would end up going back multiple times and getting a new camera and lenses.

Of particular note; the Fuji S5 Pro dropped $200 dollars in price, has a $200 rebate, and comes with a free Patone Huey and vertical battery grip (another $280 in value). Not too shabby.

If you're shopping in Rhode Island for camera related goods, contact Paul over at Hunt's SBI Providence (401.751.5190). I went up to the home branch in Melrose, MA, but made my big purchases locally. Shop local.

It's been a while since I've blogged. During the past 2 months I've been a taking a lot of photos and giving myself a crash course in lighting. Like many people I've been debating getting a new digital camera. Do I really need a new camera? No. Do I want a new camera? Yes.

Running a business, it is even more difficult to curb my enthusiasm. Better equipment = better results for clients = more work. But, in truth it isn't the equipment that takes the photo. Even with a low or mid range SLR camera you can cover most of the bases for general use. Only for catalogue, fashion, or sports do you really need the finesse a high end camera can buy you (high end = $3000+). The rest of the difference you can generally make up for with good technique. Does this make a new camera less tempting? No.

Like most people with a skill I've learned through trial and error. Not having the newest camera has been the impetus for creativity and problem solving. It all comes down to one basic concept - at some point it isn't about the camera and it is all about the light. You have to have lenses to focus the light, so they are important. But, at the end of the day the number of megapixels or RMS (grain rating) of the film isn't important anymore. At some point the media is good enough for the job. The rest is the light, timing, composition, and processing.

I have never needed more than 6 megapixels. But despite this fact, this "low" megapixel count is exactly what has kept me from investing in a Fuji S5 pro camera. Almost everything else about this camera is what I would dream about. Wide dynamic range, beautiful color, Nikon compatibility, advanced wireless flash possibilities, cool aesthetics, weather proofing - lots of stuff. But, I can't ignore that in practical terms it is a 6 megapixel camera in this day and age when 12MP is more the pro norm.

Instead, I find myself spending more money on the Canon digital system that I already have. But, there are a bunch of interesting cameras out there and each has a niche. Nikon and Canon are tops but there are also the Fuji, Pentax, and Olympus cameras out there. All of the competitors have advantages over the Nikon and Canon standards. The differences are quality, price, or technical advantages depending on what you require.

The Pentax K10D is weather sealed, has built in optical stabilization (so every lens can have "anti-shake") and costs less than Nikon or Canon. The lenses are SMC coated (which is functionally identical to Zeiss T* coating). At $800 it is a tremendous value.

The Olympus E-3 is a 4/3rds system camera that offers some real advantages for people who want to shoot light and far. The sensor is smaller than other manufacturers, meaning that the lenses are effectively doubled in length (a 2x lens factor). You can't buy a 300mm f2 lens that you can carry in your pocket; but you can buy a 150mm f2 lens from Olympus and have that super-fast pocket 300mm lens with in-camera image stabilization. Imagine not having to use a monopod. Nature or sports photography would be fundamentally different.

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Let me start by saying I'm not big on heights. But, nevertheless I am intrigued with rock climbing and aviation. So, when when my company started working with Horizon Aviation and Rhode Island Rock Gym both of these jobs challenged my bravado. I have to put on a good face and pretend all is well as the ground drifts away below me and spins in circles as we rotate around for aerial shots. Then later, standing 30 ft. up off the concrete floor (without harness), the Rock Gym management chides me for being uneasy at the edge - "come on, you can't be afraid of heights." Ah yes. Yes I can.

Now, mind you, it isn't that I am deathly afraid of heights. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of doing things at great heights (to my mothers dismay). But, once I got glasses I was overcome with an irrational fear that they would fall off as I looked over a ledge. This hasn't left, and it is a convenient excuse.

So, when Providence Fire Restoration called and said that they want to update their stock equipment image I said no problem. When they mentioned the cherry picker it was still not an issue. It was only when I was butt to butt with Chris Howe (owner PFR) in the cherry picker and we swung out well away from the truck that I got very nervous. That and Chris started saying things like "what was that?!, did you hear that? uh oh!" I told him that if I had an "accident", he was right up against the losing end of that joke. It didn't deter him. But, despite Chris' best efforts, we got the shots and processed them to be a big wide shot (the top photo). It could probably be comfortably printed several feet wide and still remain very detailed.

My first experience in a cherry picker wasn't half bad and it really offered up some interesting opportunities. Except for when we noticed that we were inches away from a neighbors house, it went off without a hitch. Would a better camera have given me more? Maybe, but probably not. This was all about the angle of the shot.
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So, while I've mostly posting hobby shots until now - I'm going to start posting work shots and examples starting now. From where I started to get to this point has been a great ride. Thanks for coming along with me.