Gear Talk

One lens I was very excited about trying out in Patagonia last month was the new Z 24mm 1.8 S.  We are already shooting both the F4 and F2.8 24-70mm, and the results are stunning.  But why get a prime at 24mm?  Simply put, this lens is faster by more than a stop, and that Read More

The holiday shopping begins!  I’ll have a blog post of holiday gift ideas, but in the meantime, Singh-Ray filters are on sale, and they will be on the list.  Wouldn’t it be nice to capture everything you saw in the landscape right in the camera?  And when the photo contest comes up and says entries Read More

I’ve been in the mountains recently photographing elk, especially in Rocky Mountain National Park.  Fall color has been really nice, and the temps have been mild…until a couple of days ago.  Our first blizzard of the season came through, temps dropped to the teens, and snow starting falling.  Any radical change in the weather often Read More

Okay, I’ll admit I am fixated on bokeh.  Bokeh (however you like to pronounce it), refers to the quality of out of focus elements in your image.  Why is this such a big deal?  Because bokeh establishes mood and separation in an image.  A background with beautiful bokeh almost looks like a painting.  And place Read More

Nikon recently delivered the newest lens in the mirrorless S lineup, the 85mm F1.8.  This is a portrait photographer’s meat and potato lens; I have used my 85mm F1.4 for years around the globe with amazing results.  But with new technology and the closer mounting distance of the S lenses, could this new lens replace Read More

I just returned from photographing along Route 66, first some assignments and then followed by a fantastic Route 66 workshop.  As you might expect, there are a lot of old cars along Route 66. We often photographed during twilight and used speed lights and larger Elinchrom ELB 500 strobes to illuminate the scene.  But a Read More

Photo backpacks are like tripods.  It just seems like you need more than one, or maybe many, to have the right one for the specific photo shoot.  I have used numerous photo backpacks through the years, and still am finding new ones that fit a specific need. But recently I was photographing grizzly bears in Read More

I’m continuing to clarify information on mirrorless cameras and lenses based on reader questions.  There is a lot of new technology involved with mirrorless, and some new terms getting tossed around in daily conversations that may be confusing.  One aspect of the new Nikon S lenses for the Z camera system is focus by wire. Read More