Toss up

The dilemmas never end; decisions to be made; toys tools to be purchased.

Front runner - Nikkor 85mm f/1.4:

The sexiness of this lens is self-evident to my fellow Nikon shooters. Can't wait to get my hands on one. I'm in the grips of an all-out obsession with ultra-fast prime lenses (gimme). The creamy bokeh produced by this beast is unparalleled by anything in the Nikkor line. It's a head shot machine...

BUT...

Since I've gone full time with my business I've been spending more and more time at my not-so-comfy workstation. And my aching back, shoulders, and neck are painful reminders that I've got to do something about my posture/seating.

I'm considering the Herman Miller Aeron:

Seems these are hard to beat in the ergo/comfort department. My wallet's telling me 'don't be silly' but my back is screaming 'do not sit again until it's on one of these.' I guess my health and longevity are worth it, eh?

Not sure which way to go first. Anyone have any long term experience with the Aeron?

honorable mentions:
Canon Sd1100 -- I don't really have a knock-around P&S camera for fun pics.
PocketWizard PlusII -- I could stand to have a few more of these lying around.

Santa needs to roll through here early this year...and maybe more than once.

Storage: The Never-Ending Quest

Project: I'm thinking of building/buying a RAID.

Problem: I have NO clue what I'm doing!

Any suggestions out there? My main concerns are discerning which level of RAID will work best for me. I'm thinking mirrored. I'm also concerned with speed. I shoot JPEG primarily so 2-3 TBs will probably do me just fine for now.

Any ideas, my techie friends?

New Camera!

...and I absolutely love what Nikon's come up with. I'll spare you all the nerdy details as there are proper reviews all over the net. But I will say that I'm sure this camera will change what I can do...especially in low light. The high ISO performance is WAY better than anything I've been using. Not quite up to what the D3 is capable of but great nonetheless.

And the custom menu is ridiculous. My D300 is basically just a really smart extension of my arm after tweaking things just how I like 'em. I'm in love with this camera!


It's only been a few days but it feels like I've been shooting with it for years:



sexy...yeah, I know:



Bukowski @ ISO 3200:


Barkley, the superstar, @ ISO 1600. With the D200 or D70 this would have been a noise disaster:


the man. the myth. the clown:


I'm very pleased with the images it produced from the first gig I used it on, which I'll blog in a few days. Until then...

Nikon keeps pushing

this is too sexy.

I've seen the light

An old friend of mine, her mother, father, grandmother and I got together at their home for a quick portrait session not too long ago. I did the shoot, which lasted about 30 mins, packed my gear in about 3 minutes, then hit the road, pleased at the portability of the set-ups I'm currently using.

You see, I used to lug around my big studio lights and softboxes because for a light nerd like me there's nothing more coveted than the light from a huge softbox...but they're hell to drag around! For now, as I work nearly 100% on-location, I'll stick to my Strobist-inspired set-ups.

Two light set-up. One strobe shot through an umbrella. One bare, camera right:


Single shoot-through:


the light from the 43" shoot-through is soft, but I'm thinking for even better softbox-quality lighting (portable is the key here) I'll pick up a Photek Softlighter or two:


I've got a portrait special running through May 31st! For more info email me at info(at)lathonphotography(dot)com!

Happy New Year! (and my late Christmas)

Happy New Year to any and all LP blog-stalkers out there. I'm sure an eventful, and fruitful 2008 is in store for us all!

What better way to celebrate than with new tools toys?!?

1. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom - I'm in love with this software. In fact, I'm positive it's the best investment I've made in my business so far (besides my beloved 80-200mm 2.8). This was designed with the high-volume photographer in mind and it shows. I'm really excited about having it. Kinda kicking myself for waiting as long as I did!

2. Western Digital 500GB External HD - more storage is always a good thing.

3. Western Digital 250GB Passport Portable HD - this thing is so, so sleek and slim. And thanks to the wackiness of retail I got it at an insanely good price. Couldn't resist.


4. Off-site storage/hosting with Zenfolio. Cheap service. Clean design. UNLIMITED space. I've become fairly picky about redundant backups...this should give me another level of security.

Jonesin' for a Treo

Now that my phone has begun its slow, inevitable decline into the realm of the $300 paper weight, I've got my eyes peeled for a replacement. And I think I've settled on this bad boy. From a connectivity standpoint I'm sure this thing will help me stay in touch with the world (not so easy at times)...can't wait to get my hands on one.

The sooner the better. My Sanyo has become a liability.

Ahhh...

these new image samples make me very excited about the future of digital photography. As a shooter who prefers to use existing light as much as possible, I've grown to despise the noise I often encounter at high ISOs. Looks like Nikon is looking to eradicate the problem all together.

Nikon D3

...finally Nikon has made it official. This is what looks to be the best Nikon DSLR to date...has some really cool features that my photo-nerd brain find intriguing. Like dual card slots, a crazy-high resolution lcd, better noise reduction (about time), and an ISO range from 100 to 25,600. That's right. ISO 25,600. Although I seriously doubt that images taken at such high ISO levels are usable I find it impressive nonetheless. Other pluses are a much larger view finder and HDMI output, just in case you ever have the urge to view your RAW files on your 60" Hi Def TV. (?)

It'll be interesting to see how this is received come November. Nikon users have been patiently waiting since '04 for significant improvements and it looks like they're here. The D300 looks like it may offer some of the same advantages. Very enticing.

Rockwell's preview

Gimme!

Can't wait to get my hands on one of these.