I’m so excited! I just got my confirmation e-mail. My order for my brand spankin new Nikon D300 has been processed. I should have it within a week.
So why the switch to Nikon?
I’ve been a Canon shooter since 1999 (first film, then digital), and previous to that I shot with a Contax SLR and Mamiya medium format. When I first embraced digital photography there we few affordable options. Nikon’s offering was expensive while Canon’s offering had a CMOS sensor and the image quality at that time was hard to beat. The decision was pretty easy. I was lucky enough to get a Canon 10D within the first few weeks of it being released. The camera took still takes great pictures, but I never fell in love with it like I did with my previous cameras. Something wasn’t quite right and I only brought it out for paid shoots and the occasional portfolio shoot. The other thing that irked me was Canon’s, “We won’t build one camera that can do everything.” philosophy. If you wanted to shoot sports/photojournalism (1.3x crop factor) you need to get a 1D. If you wanted to shoot in the studio (full frame) you needed to buy a 1Ds. And the 5D was a half-assed attempt at a mid range offering with some pro features in a not so pro body.
Then, last year Nikon announces the D300 and D3. My jaw dropped. CMOS sensors, 12 megapixels, pro level auto focus and much more. I waited for Canon to drop the bomb and announce their offerings to directly compete with these two cameras, and I waited, and I waited, and waited some more. Nothing even close. So I decided to go out and hold the D300 in my hand and see how it felt. It felt great in my hand and the build quality was excellent. I also started to feel that lovin’ feeling again.
Is this post biased? Darn right it is! I just bought what I consider to be the best camera for my needs that is available today. Is the D300 the perfect camera? Almost. I can’t afford the perfect camera, the D3, just yet. But I know the perfect exists and it’s a Nikon.
To all the Canon lovers out there. I know your going to hate me, but this my opinion and you are entitled to your opinion. I don’t hate Canon, I just think Nikon has the best camera for me.
I spent part of my day creating this Exposure Adjustment Chart:
The chart is pretty straight forward and I hope the instructions are clear and easy to understand. The PDF is sized to 4″ X 6″ so you can print it out and keep it in your camera bag.
If you wish to post the video and the PDF on your site, Please feel free to do so. The only thing I ask is that you do not alter the video or PDF file in any way.
I’ve been reading online a lot of people asking about how to become a pro photographer. There are many ways one can do that, but there are few things to think about.
Shoot what you like and what you’re good at.
Remember, it’s a business! There are local laws, insurance and professional services (lawyers, accountants) you need to look into. Do your research!
Talk to other photographers and even assist them to get an idea of what it’s like to to be a professional photographer in your area.
The difference between a professional photographer and an amateur is “getting the shot”. Clients pay the pros to get them the shot they need, when they need it.
Talk to potential clients. You might be surprised what you find out.
Photography is a people business. Don’t be afraid to talk to the people in your area of interest.
Finally, good luck!
There are probably more things you can think of to be a pro. Give me your comments.
Today’s DIY light modifier video post is postponed. Why, you might ask. I had a minor mountain biking accident. I fall and go boom! Over the bars and landed on my right shoulder and sprained my middle finger on my left hand. It wasn’t even on a difficult section of the trail (Lumpy’s Epic - Pemberton, BC) I just lost my concentration for split second and that was enough to cause my crash. (Note to self - don’t crash!)
I need to rest up for a shoot I’m doing tomorrow night for one of my best clients. So I’m off to ice my shoulder and my finger. I’ll try to post something about the shoot and the light modifier shortly.
This post was so much fun to type with just one hand and not using my middle finger :o)
That’s it… I quit! I’m no longer going to be doing this blog… Just kidding.
Seriously, though. I started this blog to share my ideas, thoughts and experiences, and to have some fun. And I’m doing that. What I wasn’t expecting was getting as many visitors as I’m getting. And, even more surprising is the traffic I’m getting from Google™. The search for “Making your own gray card” accounts for almost 65% of all my traffic from Google™ and searching for “beauty dish” on Google™ my post Make Your Own Beauty Dish comes up on the 4th page. The traffic isn’t anything close to what David gets at Stobist but it’s decent.
My idea was to eventually switch the blog over to my site www.imageguy.com and move the sales page for my gray cards to an internal page. My thinking for doing this so soon, is if I wait too long to switch the blog to imageguy.com I might not be able to regain the Google™ rankings once the posts are moved over. So, my plan is simple. I’m going to install Wordpress on imageguy.com. Make the blog look pretty, move all my old posts over and start blogging on the new site. Simple! Right? We’ll see!
If anyone has any experience with Wordpress or has done something like this before PLEEAASE give me any advice or help you can in the comments. I want to do this as quickly as possible, and having no experience with something like this I don’t know how long it will take.
It’s been a busy week and on top of that I’m fighting off a nasty cold. I’ve either been out of the house, or sleeping. Yesterday (Saturday), I finally got to stay home and rest. I took mom’s advice and drank plenty of liquids and ate lots of soup.
I’m feeling better (I can now sit in front of the computer without things getting fuzzy), but still not 100%. Hopefully, things will get back to normal soon. I’m working on a few projects and should be posting things up on the blog shortly.
My new years resolution is make this blog as interesting as I can. I am already working on a couple of posts and they should be up in the next few days. In the mean time go out and photograph the people that are the closest to you - you’ll never regret doing that!
