Sealife

Here are a few of my latest photographs... taken with a 105mm macro lens...

Fuji S5, Nikon D3 and D300

So B&H Photo has the Fuji S5 for ($1,564 in stock) D300 for $1,799.95 (in stock, and D3 for $4,999.95 (still and backordered)

So.. the Fuji is a steal I guess, or maybe the D300 is a steal.. what do you think?

I am still hoping for a D3 in the holiday stocking.. hahah.. maybe 2050...

Cocoa's Photo Session

I recently created a slideshow of Cocoa's photographs...

---> Click here to see it <----

New Nikon D3 camera and old fav's

News of Nikon's new D3 immediately sprung thoughts of finally being able to move to a camera with a (almost) full sensor. For me the perspective of shooting with (Nikon) digital camera's has always felt awkward; the 1.5x 'magnification' just doesn't work for me. Give me a 135mm lens and let it be just that.
I brought out my Nikon F5 this weekend, used a roll of recently purchased Fuji Pro S 160 film for a friends photo shoot. What an exhilarating (yes, exhilarating) experience! The results were quite out of this world! Paired with the Nikon 135 DC F2 lens the combo is flawless...

So, I will shoot film! I will just process negs to CD using a cheap service and then scan only the individual images I want (in higher resolution). Yes that means I will have to also purchase a film scanner. Is that so bad? :)

With the news that new film emulsions are being produced; that film has just as much a place as digital; I am certain that we will find a renewed interest in this media. People will say "Let's do the 'retro' thing!"

This is atleast true until i get my hands on a D3! Time will tell...

and be on the look out for some of the images from this session....

Comments???

Cocoa's Photo session preview

Here is a quick collage from this weekends photo session with Cocoa and family.
It was really fabulous to have worked with Kirk, Amanda and Cocoa! More images soon...

Indoor light - photo from iPhone

(I sent the previous post and this picture from iPhone, then added these words later...)

As you see the iPhone handles this really tricky scene without a problem! There was no setting of white balance, exposure or anything - point and click magic!

iPhone here we go

So (and only because I can't leave you all asking if I did or not) I
eventually decided to buy an iPhone. I really won't add much more to
this as so many posts talk, everyone has an opinion about it: For me,
this tool will help me to market my work and generally keep well
connected.
I will upload a photo showing night-time photography capability in
next post.

Point and Shoot for trip to Vancouver

I spent hours on Sunday debating whether to purchase a new digital Point and Shoot camera. In the end I concluded that all of the cameras have one or more must-haves - they either lack RAW mode, too large or too small etc. Top pics were Canon G7 and... well that really was the top pic! Unfortunately it has some problems for me:
1) It is Canon. Not that there is anything wrong with Canon, it is just that the camera accessories must be Canon - so all my accessories will not work.
2) Lack of RAW mode. Sorry this is a clincher. Burning the final image into a compressed lossy format isn't for me.

In the end I think I will take the Nikon D70 with one lens and Nikon 35Ti
Here are two web links referencing the 35Ti:
http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/companies/nikon/htmls/models/compact-images/Nikon35Ti28Ti/Html/index.htm
http://nikonimaging.com/global/products/filmcamera/compact/1990-1994/35ti_quartz_date/index.htm
There are a few reviews on the web. Retail was about $1000 used I paid maybe $300-$400. I am not sure now what the price would be.

Oh.. the pictures are really amazing! People compare the camera to SLR quality!

Well the camera isn't made anymore. It is a film camera and more of a Rangefinder than Point and Shoot (meaning more than anything that it requires some manual override to really appreciate its full ability).
So I will be buying and testing some film this week before the trip.
Thankfully we can still buy film.

John Scott Workshop - Signed up

(Weird I typed out a bunch of stuff clicked publish and the only thing that appeared was the title - so now to re-type everything)


So last night I looked around for cheap flights to Vancouver.. usual comparing of websites - this is really easy now with www.sidestep.com - confirmed independently that the price quoted was the cheapest and went for it - booked the ticket and then it hit me... oh no, in my haste to book the airline ticket I forgot that it is prudent to first pay for the workshop then the plane ticket... ooops... as fast as my fingers could type I jumped over to the workshop registration page and entered all the required info.

I was quite relieved to receive the email stating I am confirmed for the workshop.Never know the workshop may have lots of space left, the worst thing would have been that I would spend five days in Vancouver taking photographs and random Yoga classes... not so bad. Now I wish I could have spent that following weekend in Vancouver - oh well it will be expensive enough as it is.

Yoga versus Photography Workshops

I am really close to booking a ticket for the John Scott workshop (see below); I came to a realization: I spend a ton of money on Yoga workshops but rarely do I sign up for photography workshops.. then of course the question "Why is that?" - After all photography was the first real hobby (after computers) of mine, I really enjoy it (as much as Yoga)...
The reason I conclude is that the cost of individual Yoga workshops is generally lower than that of photography workshops, really good photography workshops are always out of town, are expensive and require the usual additions such as accommodation/airline ticket. At least that is my conclusion: Yet I am not entirely convinced... after all I have attended two Eric Schiffmann workshops in LA, the big 3 1/2 month Yoga stay in India and now likely John Scott (We won't talk about the 10's of local Yoga workshops attended) - all adds up.

hmmmm..... maybe my next vacation (will be a photography workshop)... time will tell

Animal photography

Interest in my animal photography is becoming exciting! Here is a picture from one of the sessions... Kimba is the sweetest cat: Look out for the follow-up pictures!