equipment | books | websites
equipment
film camera: Nikon F100 with 28-80mm and 70-300mm zooms. Recently purchased brand new (I don't easily believe in used electronics) as my first real camera. Before this I was using my dad's old Canon AE-1 with two fixed lenses, a 50mm standard and a 28mm wide angle. Although the body of the Nikon alone is around $1k, it is a supurb camera that I am perfectly happy with. It has done me well for over 200 rolls so far and I expect it to last for at least twenty times that.
digital camera: Nikon D100 with the above lenses, plus a new 18-35mm ultra wide angle. I decided one day that before heading back to school I needed a digital camera. I can't quite remember exactly what influenced my decision, but I wanted to experiment in photography more, and I was spending so much money on film and developing that I decided to start moving to digital. The quality of the D100 is unprecedented, the pictures are the sharpest I have ever seen with a digital camera. The resolution is 6.3 megapixels, enough to produce a perfect print at 6.5in x 9.75in, and a decent print at 12in x 18in. 35mm film is effectively 22 megapixels when scanned with my 4000dpi film scanner, but with a high speed film the grain is enough to make it not worth it. Thus have I vowed never to use anything faster than 200 speed film ever again... digital is infinitely more flexible in low light situations. Having this camera has been a godsend to my business; without it, I would not continue my photographic studies as far, given the inconveniences of film and developing. This camera has enabled me to continue taking photos for postcards, the Lawrence newspaper, and other projects. Although I will not sell my film camera, I will certainly use it a lot less now. The ultra wide angle (18mm) is a must if you like to use your wide angle shots. Especially with these early digital SLRs, the CCD device (what captures the light) is the most expensive part, so they made it smaller. In this camera it's roughly 1.6:1 ratio, so if you're shooting 18mm digital it will appear as if you're shooting 25mm film.
camera accessories: A simple must-have in any photography is a remote shutter release cable. Although, I suppose before that (to make it useful) one would also need a good tripod. The tripod I swear by is manufactured by Bogen. The reason I love this one the way I do is because it's a big, sturdy tripod. It's heavy enough so that it won't blow over in the wind, and it has a modular head mount to connect different types of camera mounts. I also use the Bogen heads because of the plate attachments. Each Bogen head uses a plate that attaches to the bottom of the camera to connect the camera to the tripod. This allows for a quick release lever so you can attach and detach your camera from your tripod in less than a second. Another good thing to think about is a monopod, to go where few tripods can deliver. I use monopods at weddings to steady the telephotos, and that works wonders as well. Bogen also makes monopods. Smaller things that I have include a notebook always in my camera bag (especially for taking notes about experimental photography), and for the F100 a replacement AA battery holder, to allow for a very quick camera battery change (since ordinarily it would be a pain and take time). For the D100 I have an two extra 128MB flash cards (my original ones, actually) aside from the 1GB and 2GB cards that I use primarily. Don't use microdrives, they suck up too much battery power and are too fragile. I also have an extra Li-Ion battery for long events. Something that I received as a gift is the Belkin iPod media card reader. The reader is waaaaay slow (45mins for my entire 1GB card), but I suppose could be a good thing to have around when you are running out of options. At weddings I prefer to use a standard flash card reader to scan the 2GB card to my iBook when I switch to my 1GB card.
flash: Nikon SB-28D. I decided that especially since I wanted to get into photojournalism (including weddings and such), I'd get a good flash. Well, this is a good flash. I used the auto (TTL) option for my first wedding, and it worked near perfectly for almost all situations. It has many features, lots of which spur the creative mind to unimaginable ends. This flash also has a strobe option, which can be set anywhere from 1Hz to 50Hz, and any number of flashes (within battery capabilities). Great for frat party dances, or stop-action photography.
flash accessories: Something that's very handy to have is a TTL cord for your flash, which allows the flash to be fired off-camera. Too often when people use flash in their photos, the light is too harsh and the shadows too sharp, creating a very stark environment. To help, you can either use a TTL cord to fire your flash from the side (to make more interesting shadows), or you can use something more preferable, a flash hood. A hood redirects and diffuses the flash light so that shadows are softer and the light looks more ambient. The flash hood I use is made by LumiQuest. If you don't have either of these, it is suggested that you bounce your flash off a ceiling or other white object to obtain roughly the same effect. Never (or at least almost never) use direct flash.
filters: Depending on your preference, you can always use some UV or Haze filter as a lens protection mechanism, or you can use it only in dirty situations, or never use it. It depends on your habits. Lens protection filters can often wash out pictures, decreasing contrast and color, but they can save you from getting dirt into your lens. When you buy the camera, the exposed glass is the actual lens, which is extremely costly if chipped, so protect it at all cost (up to the cost of the lens, of course ;). Another necessary filter I use is a circular polarizing filter, which reduces glare and often increases the saturation of colors, especially the sky. Two other filters that are often handy are a blue filter, to make indoor light seem more outdoor... and a magenta filter, so make florescent light less green. Also, for the close-up photographer in us, a set of close-up lens filters is nice. These screw on like filters and adjust your focusing distance so you're able to focus much closer than normal. For the digital photographer, you can often just shoot in raw format, after which you can later apply post-processing filters to adjust hue and such. Maybe not quite as thrilling as changing filters in the field, but it works.
film: The film that I have come to love is Kodak Portra. For a long while I didn't care too much what type of film I used... it all seemed the same to me, and cost was more of an issue back then. But after using Portra for my first wedding, I've come to love it like mad. It's a very dynamic film, with great color saturation and grain, and it compensates for light changes as well. The wedding reception was in florescent light, and I didn't have my magenta filter with me... but Portra easily made the photos come out with hardly any green discoloration. The place I used to develop my photos at was a mail-in center called Mystic Color Lab. I stopped using them when they started not printing the film and photo information on the back of the print, since I used that information in my sorting and cataloging of my photos. Now I just use the place down the street, because I know the person and she handles the negatives well. (And, I now only use 160 Portra or lower speed film... for lower light situations, digital is more versatile.
scanner: For scanning film to a digital proof, I use a 4000dpi Nikon film scanner, the Super CoolScan 4000. Leave it to Nikon to come up with the most professional names. For scanning prints that come back from the developer, I use a Canon CanoScan N 650U flatbed. The Nikon is of course one of the best film scanners in it's field, and the enhancement software that comes with it (DigitalICE, Grain Management) is a godsend. I've never seen dust disappear so flawlessly. The Canon I love as well... it's size is so small that I've taken it on the plane from Wisconsin to Maryland and back easily. One cable, USB powered, it scans wonderfully for it's size. I would recommend staying away from HP scanners... the software is confusing, poorly designed, and inherently slow.
printer: Most photographers that I know who print out their own photos all swear by Epson, and I've found that there's a reason they do. Epson creates the most photo-realistic, high-resolution prints there can be, and with the option of using archival pigments instead of ink, there is an advantage to using an inkjet printer over printing at a photo store. I use an Epson 1280 photo printer, using a CIS (Continuous Ink Supply) system, with MediaStreet Gen4 pigments. These pigmented inks are registered to last through 100 years, if printed on archival paper. For postcards, I have come to adore Red River Paper's Premium 76# Matte. Wonderful stuff. (If you want something a little cheaper, try the Denali two-sided 76# matte. Not as flawless a surface, but for postcards, it works.) For larger prints, I use the Premium 47# Matte. I find matte papers to be a lot easier to deal with and to look at behind glass. The fine detail is the same as glossy, and I don't like the glare that is common with glossy prints. Matte papers also absorb fingerprints well, although you should generally try to avoid fingerprinting your prints anyway. Most of this equipment can be bought through resellers like the ones listed below, InkJet Mall or InkJetArt.com.
computer: The computer that I use to scan and print is currently an Apple iBook. I bought it brand new over Thanksgiving 2002, and it's served me well. Apple tends to be a little pricey sometimes, but you get what you pay for, and it would take quite a lot to make me use a wintel box for this stuff. The nice thing about the iBook is that it's portable enough for me to use as my main computer at school, yet also bring home over Christmas and holidays to print with. The software that I use to print with is, of course, Adobe Photoshop CS. Color correction and getting the right color output to the printer is always a challenge, but after careful tweaking of the default settings you can usually get it to work well.
books
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- The Photo Book -- ed. by Ian Jeffrey. A good reference for most of the more well-known 20th century photographers. 500 pages, 500 photographers, 500 photographs.
- Photo Synthesis -- by Jerry Uelsmann. A book on photo manipulation in the darkroom. Great for anybody going into the beautiful art of manipulation, whether it be digitally or in the darkroom (or digitally in a dark room ;).
- Stopping Time -- by Harold Edgerton. One of the earliest strobe photographers, Edgerton practiced high-speed triggering and strobing effects on everyday activities.
- National Geographic -- ed. by Leah Bendavid-Val. A collection of some of the most prominent photographs taken for National Geographic. Includes some of the most memorable photographs ever seen in the magazine.
- The Invisible Universe -- ed. by David Malin. Photographs of the outer limits of the universe in a beautiful oversized format, as seen by the most powerful viewing instruments known to man.
- The Art of Wedding Photography -- by Bambi Cantrell and Skip Cohen. An artistic viewpoint of taking wedding photos, but includes technical tips and marketing tips as well.
- Manhattan Lightscape -- by Nathaniel Lieberman. As well as being a nice (unintentional) tribute to the Twin Towers, this is a good display of cityscape photography, although mainly from within tall buildings instead of on the pedestrian freeway.
websites
- Epson Inkjet Email List -- the world's largest independent Epson user's group. Absolutely required for any serious Epson user. Lots of emails per day, but there's always several threads that will pertain to your printer, and make you better for it.
equipment
- InkJet Mall -- a big warehouse of inkjet items, including printers, inks, CIS systems, papers, and more. A good supplier and starting point for some of the bigger capital expenses.
- InkJetArt.com -- a more diverse selection of inkjet products. Includes individual CIS parts, more selections of papers, and other random stuff.
- TDA Trading -- where my film is bought. Wholesale prices, although wholesale quantities. If you buy film lots at a time, this is the place.
- Utrecht Art Store -- a large collection of lots of art equipment, mostly geared toward painters. Items that may be of interest include display easels, framing supplies, and portfolios.
- CIS FAQ -- the best source for general operation questions on your CIS system.
- Apple -- the best source for your photographic computing hardware needs. Great company, great attitude, but needs a little field experience. Wish they would hire me to be a software interface design consultant.
galleries
- Washington Post: Camera Works -- one of the best photojournalism compilations from one of the best newspapers. It displays current events from around the world in nice, well-organized galleries.
- Deviant Art -- a large online community of artistic zealots. Includes a photography section. Complete with chats, portfolios, and comments on the like.
- Joel Meyerowitz Photography -- primarily an advertising photographer, but good work with black and whites and Sept 11th.
- JuJu Studios -- photography of Julian C K Okwu. Photography consists mainly of portrait studies.
- Astro Photo -- astrophotography of a small observatory in California. Amazing place to view and buy photography of spacial phenomena.
- Digital Reverence -- photography of Lee Mills, an airline pilot that enjoys taking pictures of beautiful clouds, among other things.
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