Photography
Photography has also been an interest of mine since I was a kid. However, it was the digital revolution that caused me to become obsessed. Today I am the proud owner of several Nikon cameras, a bunch of Nikon/Nikkor lenses, a couple Olympus cameras, a Mamiya medium format outfit, and, for some reason, a collection of every Kodak consumer camera made during the 1950's.
For many years I shot 35mm film and even carried a small film camera in my flight bag. Then, in 2000, I bought my first digital camera and became fascinated with the new medium. The outstanding quality of current digital SLR cameras (DSLR), and even some of the high quality digital point and shoot cameras, have made digital an excellent choice for most photographers. For many shooting situations digital's photo quality matches that of 35mm film. And, for high volume shooters, the overall cost of digital is far less than film. Recently, I reached the 10,500 photo mark on one of my digital cameras and was pleased to realize that I had saved $4430 over what those photos would have cost using my favorite print film and 4x6" prints. However, you have to understand that, because you don't pay per frame with digital like you do with film, digital photographers waste a tremendous number of frames. Of those 10,500 frames only a small number were value photos, a large percentage were back-up shots, experiments, and of subjects on which I would have never wasted film.
The prices of high quality digital cameras continues to drop while film camera availability continues to diminish. A couple of years ago, when I first wrote this page, the least expensive Nikon DSLR outfit on the market sold for over $1200.00, today you can buy their outstanding entry level DSLR for $500 with a lens. Currently, Nikon produces 22 different digital point & shoot models, 7 DSLR models and only two film cameras (a $337 consumer SLR and a $2800 professional SLR). There have even been rumors that Kodak will stop producing film. I find that hard to believe, but the photo industry has become very interesting to watch.
If you are considering a
DSLR camera, I suggest you take a long, hard look at the
Nikon line. From
their entry level model to their top end professional version Nikon is producing (in my
opinion) the best camera bodies on the market. While Nikon's "Matrix
Metering" exposure system, their iTTL flash system, and their general durability
are unmatched by other manufacturers, it's the Nikon/Nikkor lenses that have me
sold. For decades Nikon/Nikkor lenses have been renown for their
outstanding optics. While, you can go out and spend well over $1000 for a
great lens form any manufacturer, Nikon's current trend seems toward producing
extremely high quality optics for surprisingly
low prices. Today they are
producing zoom lenses with optical quality that was only available in fixed
focal length, prime lenses a decade ago. This is great for the vast
majority of us that can't take a $1500 lens as a business expense. For us
average photo enthusiasts we can go out and buy some truly remarkable Nikon
glass for under $1000, and very often between $300 to $600. As an example,
Nikon produces a
17-35mm f/2.8D ED-IF AF-S lens which is the bench mark wide pro zoom and it
sells for $1499.00. This lens is used by virtually every top professional
using the Nikon system. By contrast, Nikon also produces an
18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D ED IF AF lens who's image quality most
experts
consider almost equal to the $1499 lens. Other than some optics changes, the primary difference is that
Nikon uses a polycarb barrel on the 18-35mm making it lighter and less expensive
to manufacture. So, instead of the high priced metal bodied pro lens you
can get the nearly equal poly lens for only $449.00. And, both are
covered by the same 5 year warranty.
Even though my primal need for immediate gratification has made me a confirmed digital addict, I often feel the overwhelming desire to shoot film. And why film? A digital camera only captures a portion of the image and interpolates to fill in between those portions. The color gamut of film is much broader than digital with smoother, more accurate transition between colors. Print film captures a broader range of light giving better highlight and shadow detail in the same image. Film is not pixelized and, therefore, is inherently sharper. And, while the variety of available films decrease, the quality of new products like Kodak Ektar 100 is just outstanding. Add the fact that there are incredible deals to be had on used film cameras today and film is still very attractive.
Recently, my shooting has been about 40% film because I have rekindled my interest in developing my own B&W film (35mm and 120) here at home in my darkroom. Any color film (35mm) that I shoot I have Costco "develop only" for $1.90 per roll.
So, with a realistic view, film is not dead, it has just lost the attention of the general public. The advantages of digital appeal to us all; immediate results, good to excellent images, highly automated equipment, continuously decreasing camera prices, and no usage cost. On the other hand, I can load a $2.00 roll of Fuji X-Tra 400 in my Olympus OM2, that I bought on eBay for $26.00, have it developed at Costco for $1.90, load the negatives in my $400 scanner and have results equal to a $5000 DSLR. What's the expression Homer uses?
During the summer Ev and I spend several weeks at Woodland Resort on Leech Lake in Minnesota. Mike and Kelly Schmidtke own and operate Woodland and they are two of the nicest people we know. A couple years ago I took a number of photos of the resort (cabins and grounds) and I am extremely flattered that Mike and Kelly found some of them good enough to use in their new brochure and website. Take a look at Mike and Kelly's website and go visit them. It will be a vacation you'll remember forever.
The top photo is Kabakona Bay, MN taken with a Nikon DSLR. The middle photo is Gold Canyon, AZ (home) also taken with a Nikon DSLR The photo below was taken across the street from our house using the Mamiya and Kodak Ultra Color 100UC print film.
I
am replacing my You Tube links with Pro Show Web presentations. Pro Show has
much better image quality. Pro Show Web allows you to create slide shows
on the web for free! They also provide for two subscription methods that allow
even more capabilities. The Deja Vu slide show was produced using their free
service. Check-out Pro Show Web
here.
Below is a link to my current You Tube presentations.
Click here to visit my You Tube Page
My new Photography site is designed as a stand-alone website, just follow the link below to visit it.
Click here to visit my new Photography Site