Three IPS Panel Monitors: a Viewsonic, an HP DreamColor, and an Eizo with hood and colorimeter.
Is the monitor really that important?
The quick answer: YES, absolutely.
IF YOU CAN’T SEE THE COLOR AND TONAL DIFFERENCES on your monitor, then you can’t make good post-processing decisions and adjustments to your digital negatives. It’s that simple. You can’t adjust your curves to give your print smooth tonal transitions or to distinguish subtle shadow detail if Continue reading »
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Cascade Rain, Mountain Loop Highway
I was a little restless after dinner last evening, having had to delay a long photography trip because of a few different projects that have come up. I could see that the clouds were still dark and heavy over the mountain to the east, but to the west, the sky was clearing, which is a recipe for dramatic evening light. The only question was where to go. Since it was already nearly 7pm, and I knew that sunset would be around 9, my options were limited. I decided to make the drive past Granite Falls and up the Mountain Loop Highway to see what I could find along the way.
As I approached the Verlot Ranger Station, and the trailheads for Mt. Pilchuck, Lake 22, and Heather Lake, it was already clear that I’d made a bit of a mistake. I was in the shadow of the mountain, and would therefore miss the light… and the clouds were still heavy. So I kept moving, heading up towards the Big Four and Ice Caves. Then, it started raining. Rain can be very peaceful, though, especially if you can keep your camera out of it. The rain was light enough that I could stop under large trees and remain completely dry, but the mist defined very pretty layers of trees and rocky crags. I set up my tripod and took a few shots, and then decided to get out of the weather. Continue reading »
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Ansel Adams' "The Negative"
My Favorite Photography Books
Let me begin this post by acknowledging the fact that it’s absurd to try to pick the 10 best photography books. There are thousands of great books out there, from a variety of different fields of photography, and it would be equally hard to pick the ten best books in any sub-field (like fashion photography, landscape photography, photojournalism, etc).
Instead, take this as 1) a list of books that have been influential to my photography or that I’ve found especially intriguing recently, and 2) an invitation to tell me what books would make your top ten list that are not already covered here. Maybe I’ll add them to the list, and make this a best 100 or 200 or…
My thought on photography books is this: If buying a $30 book can help me get the kind of results that I expect from my $5000 camera, then it would be a waste of money NOT to buy the book. There is nothing that gets me motivated and inspired like a good photography book. Continue reading »
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Mac or PC? Actually, I don’t believe that it really makes much of a difference, as long as you know what you’re doing with what you have. But that’s not the point of this post. I just ran across a bit of information that struck me as interesting.
According to NetMarketShare, which seems to produce reliable numbers, MAC OS makes up a mere 5.26% of the total market share of operating systems, compared to 91.23% for Windows. That seemed a little bit low to me, so I checked the stats on a couple of websites that I’ve built, and I’ve found that MAC tends to represent about 8-10% of the visits on most of them.
This site, however, is different. This month, so far, 28.5% of the visitors are MAC users, and last month, a full 29.6%. OK, so it’s just confirmation of what we already know… photographers (and other visual artists) disproportionately prefer MAC, although the vast majority are still using PCs. Still, I didn’t expect there to be such a strong showing for Macs on a blog like this, so I thought I’d mention it.
And of course, this post gives everyone a good excuse to tell me how much they love their Mac, as Mac people are so zealous to do 
I learned Photoshop on Mac originally, but have used a PC most of the time for the past 10 years.
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Which is the best Canon SLR for Video Use? How do they differ?
[For non-video related comparisons of these cameras, please see my previous articles : 5D Mark II vs. the 7D and the 7D vs the T2i.]
Currently, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II is unrivaled in the world of SLRs for professional quality video production. For those of you who watch the FOX medical drama “HOUSE”, you may be interested to learn that the recent season finale (May 2010) was shot entirely with Canon 5D Mark IIs. The 5D’s closest competitors, though, are also Canon SLRs, and less expensive ones at that. These are the Canon EOS 7D and the Canon T2i / 550D. There are a few fundamental differences between these cameras and the 5D which may make them more attractive to some film makers, while others may be deterred. I’ll quickly discuss these differences below. As always, additional information and further questions are welcome! Continue reading »
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Which 70-200 Lens Should I Buy? A Quick Guide
Canon's 70-200 lenses, and a Sigma thrown in for good measure. Not to scale.
With the release of Canon’s latest offering, the EF 70-200 f2.8 USM IS II, Canon has at least 5 pro-quality lenses in the same focal length range. If you include the original EF 80-200 f2.8 from the 1990s (now discontinued, but still available used), the count is up to 6. And then there are the offerings from Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, and the other third parties. Tokina’s lens in this range, now over 8 years old, has fallen out of favor, and I’ll leave it out of this comparison. Tamron’s offering is very impressive optically, but does not currently have image stabilization. Sigma has recently announced the addition of a new, image stabilized version of their very popular lens (and we can hope for some minor improvements to image quality that is already very good). Continue reading »
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An evening cloud break, April 5th, 2010. Under-exposed by 1.5 stops to keep the snow from blowing out. Click on the photo for a larger size, it's worth it!
I am currently very lucky to be living in a house with an astounding view. Every now and then, I take a look out the front windows and find a view that is stunning, and I have to grab my camera and start taking pictures. Individually, these photos are not much more than that: snapshots from the front deck. Together, though, they show the volatility of the landscape in this area between the mountains, Lake Stevens, and the Puget Sound. Continue reading »
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Since posting my original Quick Reef Tank Photography Guide, I’ve received quite a few questions about how people can improve their reef tank pictures. In many cases, I’ve found that what’s more important than taking better pictures is properly processing those photos.
This video was made with those people in mind. (Click “Read More” to get to the video…) Continue reading »
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On the drive to Montana, in Eastern WA.
Every wedding has its quirks… they’re all a little different and usually a little odd. This wedding, which I shot near Missoula, MT last October was no exception. But lest anyone get the wrong idea… the people involved were absolutely wonderful. The wedding was fun and comfortable, and generally enjoyed by all.
In fact, the even the trip there was beautiful. I stopped several times along I-90 on the way from Seattle to take photos of the beautiful fall scenery. The drive back was equally enjoyable… for the opposite reasons… but I’ll get to that later.
The father of the groom (and best man).
The wedding was scheduled for early on a Saturday morning, outdoors at state park known as Fort Fizzle. If you’re familiar with Montana weather, you’ll know that October mornings are cold, so the pre-ceremony breakfast and coffee were served around a series of camp fires and standing propane heaters. Continue reading »
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Who will benefit from paying for the Canon 7D?
[If you're interested in the VIDEO features of the Canon 5D Mark II, 7D, and T2i / 550D, you may also find this article helpful: Canon SLRs for Video - JMG]
This week’s introduction of the new Canon 550D / Rebel T2i raises some interesting questions. This is a camera that clearly out-classes the Canon 50D in many regards, and has many of the features of the Canon EOS 7D, but at less than half the price (Currently $799 at Amazon.com). Will professional or semi-professional photographers be satisfied using the T2i instead of the 7D? What types of photographers will get any practical benefit from paying double for the Canon 7D?
Let’s get this out of the way first. If you’re at least a semi-pro, you’ll want to opt for the 550D designation over the “Rebel”, if it’s available. What photographer over the age of 15 wants a camera with “Rebel” in red letters across the front? Just kidding.
More seriously, though, let me do a quick side-by-side comparison of their features. If you’d like to see the whole table at once, just click use the drop-down menu at the top-left of the table: Continue reading »
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