This is John Roark; former Navy Photojournalist and now a technical guy down at Woods Hole. When I get back from Japan I think we're going to work on something together. (Nikon Shooter).
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I remember the first time I walked into a rental studio. The third question I was asked was "do you shoot Nikon or Canon?' It wasn't because they had equipment for one or the other. It was kind of like asking are you a Democrat or Republican (you pick which one is which). My gut reaction was, who gives a s%^&. But, I suppose on reflection there are differences between the two.

So, I will indulge in that tremendous waste of time that is a discussion of the merits of the systems.

My reason for being a dedicated Nikon shooter was very simple. It is what I could afford when I was getting started. Manual focus Nikon lenses will mount on any Nikon SLR from the 50's to today.

I come from a Canon household. My father used to own an EOS 620 and now has one of the D series. My brother is a D Rebel shooter. I was the oddball Nikon shooter.

Now, for what it is worth, in 2004 I did get a Canon Digital Rebel. I didn't really know what I was doing with it though. It gave me those C+ grade shots all day long in auto. In fact that is part of what started this quest. I learned how to kick ass with film. Digital seemed a bit crappy by comparison.

So, anyway, I stuck with Nikon. I believed the glass was simply a cut above. Maybe not Zeiss, but better than Canon anyway. They had different design philosophies when it comes to lenses (contrast, resolution, etc).

I moved into the pro side of Nikon digital and was mostly happy. I resigned myself to Film being my love and Digital being my work tool. Then one fateful day I posted to my facebook wall a question:

Should I buy a Mamiya AFD setup or a Canon 5D for the same cost (just for fun either way)?

The answers didn't surprise me - the 5D weighed heavy (especially with my friend who works for Canon). I decided that it was time I gave Canon a shot. You see, I was using the D300s and Fuji S5 Pro (I am a Fujifilm guy for film). They are "crop frame" sensor cameras.

Here's the straight dope, fair dinkem?, simply truth. I used to lust after the Nikon D2x. It was Nikon's top dog. But, it was surpassed by the D3 and D300. Now, the D300 was (according to Nikon) the best crop frame camera they ever made at that point. So, when I got my D300s I knew I had a quality in my hands surpassing the D2x. Forget that there were higher resolution cameras and full-frame available. I didn't need full frame. My commercial work is shot at low ISO so who cares about the High-ISO. Heck most of my work was still shot with the Fuji S5 because of its color and super Dynamic Range.

Anyway, basically the D300s was a great camera. But, it lacked something. It still felt digital.

So, when I foolishly followed the advice of my friends and picked up the used 5D it caused a weird thing to happen. I stopped shooting film almost immediately. The 5D was just fun. The colors were crazy. The dynamic range was so slim I may as well have been shooting slide. And I loved it! The cherry on top was that my 50mm looked like a 50mm again. (Nikon's 50mm f1.4 AF is crap. You may disagree but my copy is total crap.)

Anyway, so for 6 months I fool around with the camera and I pretty much stop shooting film. I still shot Nikon for all work. But, for myself I was shooting all Canon.

The time had come. The switch. Two weeks ago I shot a mag cover series on Nikon and then two days later shot a feature on Canon. My first job with the Canon. It's a twofer. That film magic and full-frame focal lengths. It doesn't hurt that the 5D is decent at high iso as well.

More to come.

P.S. My thanks to those who helped me understand the various lens options.

I was on the back cover of a newspaper once. I was being thrown by a big kid from one of the military schools while wrestling. Back cover of the Stars and Stripes - full color. Not too shabby.

So, when the opportunity came my way to put some very cool women on the cover of "The Bay" magazine it was destined to be more fulfilling than my cover time. I suppose it isn't always the case that you are going to shoot 5 portraits for a cover. Makes just one picture seem so much easier.

This being my first cover it is rather exciting. Thankfully I can assuage my guilt by knowing that people have to pay the princely sum of $0 to acquire this magazine. So, if they feel like I could have done better at least they got their money's worth (monies worth?). It is a big format magazine - maybe 13x19 for a spread?

It was fast. Fast and fun. The brief was for 6 headshots, 6 locations, 6 environmental portraits. But, six became five at some point.

Given that I have never shot for The Bay they gave my photos a heck of a lot of space. Much obliged to the Art crew and their giant chalkboard wall. Their office inspired me to want a cozy chair with a fish.

Anyway, I'll post some outtakes soon. There were some good ones. A special thanks to Janet Zwolinski who was more excited than I was to jump in with the goats and ride the big red tractor (not pictured.... yet). Here is a behind the scenes photo of the talented team (including child labor... shh... don't tell anyone... it isn't child labor if I didn't pay right? Just slave labor? Thank your daughter for me Janet; she was my Mr. J ).

My biggest thanks goes to Amie who makes it all happen - even when her arms are tired and I'm not paying attention.

Now, for the camera savy among us - this is my last Nikon shoot for the foreseeable future. Why? More on that coming soon. My first Canon shoot also debuts this month. That may be up next.

READ IT HERE: The Bay Magazine

Some time back (years?) I met a photographer in the woods carrying a Hasselblad 503CW. It was the first time I had run into someone with a Hasselblad in the woods - photographing climbers no less. The photographer is Chris Motta.

Perhaps the strangest thing about it all is that both of us probably assumed that the other was really into the cool, hard-core, climbing photo style. It couldn't be further from the truth. We may be art nerds.

I think photographers have a love-hate relationship with hanging out with other photographers. It can be a drag to talk tech all the time. Especially when it is really a very subjective field. Yet, it can be so fun too.

Amie, Chris, and I started having a weekly BS session where we explored photography as an art and as a professional field. Chris has such an encyclopedic knowledge of photographic artists that perhaps the most fun we've had was a field trip to the Bank of America collection at the Boston MFA. Sure, we talk tech. But, it is about the best lens for this concept of mapping a such and such in a sketchy urban setting. The best, don't rob me for my camera lens. It's a practical discussion.

I'm going to interview Chris for the blog sometime soon. Being a photo professor and an artist by training he is very much freed from a lot of the expectation that dictates the commercial photography market. So, for me it is terribly refreshing.

At the same time I have been teaching people one-on-one. They have very different understandings of cameras. But, they know what they want to achieve. Teaching them the basics is pretty fantastic. They won't be working pro's but they will be out there taking great pictures of their families. Pictures that matter.

I've also been in touch with an old friend who has basically blown my mind when it comes to camera gear. It's been a fun month. Big things are brewing but I'll post that next time.