Gear

I fought the temptation for months, but Canon’s instate rebate program sucked me in just two days before it expired. I bought the Canon 2.8L 70-200mm IS lens and am battling with buyers remorse. Okay, maybe not. This is pretty much the powerhouse of Canon’s L series, with the ability to take some of the sharpest photos I’ve ever seen. It weighs a ton, and my hands are not going to love me for this, but I’m really excited to take this out into the field and put it through its paces.

For the last year, I’ve been switching between my Canon 24-70mm 2.8L and Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 to capture wide angles and some zoom shots, but the only long lens I have is an ultra-slow Tamron super zoom. For financial reasons, I was torn between this lens and the new Tamron 70-200mm, but the IS put this one over the top. I’ve been doing a lot more photography of people at podiums from a distance and I need the extra few stops of protection to avoid camera shake.

I’m taking the new lens out to Centralia this weekend to see what it can do. Barring rain or accidental death, I’ll post photos on Monday.

I’m sorting through the hundreds of photos I took in Spain in an attempt to make a photo book of the vacation. I’m not the best travel photographer, and I’m always a bit tough on my travel and architecture photography, but I think this is my favorite shot of the trip. I took it inside the Alhambra Palace, and I love how the focus falls only on the lettering on the left. This was taken a Tamron 18-250mm zoom lens. Yes, the one that the photo press has been gushing over all year long. Read the rest of this entry »

I just traded in my Canon 30D for the new and improved 40D. After experiencing two days of buyers remorse, I realized just how badass this camera is. I’ve only shot one concert and gallery opening with it, but the shutter is fast as hell and the auto focus is just as quick. I haven’t really delved into the new live view feature, but so far I have no regrets. I’ll have a full review after I’ve put it through its paces. For those tempted to upgrade, now is the time. The 30D is still commanding a premium on eBay and the 40D has more than enough new bells and whistles to make it worth the purchase.

Figured I’d kick off this blog with some pretty cool news. According to their PR people, The White Stripes have teamed up with camera manufacturers Lomography to produce two completely custom cameras; the ‘Jack’ Holga and the ‘Meg’ Diana+. The cameras are specially designed in conjunction with the band and will be available in both the U.S and U.K from www.whitestripes.com. These unique cameras go on sale at noon (EST) Monday, October 15th Read the rest of this entry »