The Camera I Really Want.

I generally don't do gear talk. I mean, I actually love talking gear talk with other photogs, but in these pages I think it'd probably bore the crap out of just about everyone who regularly visits. (You're welcome!)

But today, just to have it on record, I'd like to offer my wish list to the camera company relevant to my needs... Nikon.

Dear Mr Nikon,

May I please have a camera that is no bigger or heavier (preferably even a tad smaller!) than the F100 was? With your D3s sensor in it? With a 100% view finder? Please? Pretty please?

Oh, and no video... seriously. I don't use it. I don't want it. I don't want to pay the cost. I realize it's become de rigueur for pretty much every goddamn camera made these days, and will be for the foreseeable future, but really... just this once, leave it out! I currently shoot with a D200 (two, in fact). Quality camera. Really love it. But it has its limitations. No need to go into all that now, but both are getting long in the tooth and an upgrade is probably in my future. And the camera described would be oh so nice! I realize something like this is probably not even in the pipeline yet, but it should be and it should be in the next year or so. If you could make this happen, that would be great.

Actually, if you create this camera... I will buy two, straight away, no questions asked. And you know what, I suspect, no... I know I am not alone! Build it, and we will buy! I promise.

Many thanks,

-Mike Kircher

(Now, does anyone know Mr Nikon's address?) ;^}

Off Camera Flash

Just a reminder: every now and then you should try to get the flash off the camera. It gives each shot a little different feel.

This can be done using a sync cord, infrared triggering device or, if you have a Nikon system, the camera's own pop-up flash will trigger a compatible speedlight--SB800 in this case.

For this shot I used a sync cord and held the flash in my left hand. This is a very common technique and usually when it is employed the flash is, understandably, coming from camera left. (You're holding the camera with your right hand and the obvious default is holding the flash up in your left hand.) As you can tell, however, the light in this photo is coming from camera right. All it took was a minor physical contortion. With the camera to your eye, bring your left shoulder under your chin, extend your left arm out to the right (take a quick peek to see that the flash is pointed at the subject!) and shoot.

A little extra effort and a simple portrait becomes just slightly more interesting.

"Who do you have to F@#k to get light!?"

Killer video below. Yeah, it's a goddamn advertisement, but man I don't care... as a sentient photographer how can you not love this?

Enjoy.

The Frustrated Photographer from Creative Destiny, LLC on Vimeo.

Hat tip to National Geographic Assignment Blog. Saw it there first.

The West

The urge to travel. Insidious, relentless urge. Impossible to suppress once it surfaces. I first experienced this desire in my early teens. (Early teens seem to be a ripe time for many strong first desires... But that's another story!)  Images of snow-capped jagged mountain peaks, wide open spaces, deserts and grassy plains stirred the great roaming beast. Coffee table books with glossy color photographs and magazines with stories about the Continental Divide, Death Valley, The Great Plains, big sky country, and massive, thundering herds of buffalo. The West.

There's no horizon on the east coast. It's all great buildings, dense forests and rolling hills. For a boy living in Maryland, that long flat distant horizon meeting an unbroken sky was a foreign concept.

One day, I came across a copy of On The Road.19 years old, no life direction and now stoked by Kerouac's depictions of new wild places and of people "mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars..."

Not long after, I looked up an auto delivery company in the Yellow Pages (remember them?) and asked if they had any cars going to the west coast. It did not matter where. I wanted--needed--to see the sun set on the Pacific Ocean by week's end! With little more than 500 dollars in my pocket, an old Nikon F2, and a single green canvas rucksack stuffed with underwear, t-shirts and jeans, I was off. I stayed in youth hostels and crappy roadside motels. Ate fast food and drank gallons of coffee. Harsh, bitter, burnt coffee from diners and mini-marts... not the gourmet fresh roasted beans you can pretty much find anywhere today. It was great.

I made the trip 6 more times after that. And then that was enough. Sitting for hours at a time behind the steering wheel watching the yellow stripes zip by eventually lost its appeal. The love of the West still burns, though. So I get out there when I can. It's not often enough, of course... but I know it's there, and that is comforting.

 “Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” – Jack Kerouac

Gotta go!

Kodachrome 64... No More...

It was inevitable, really. The Godfather of transparency films is being snuffed out! Kodachrome will no longer be available after this Fall. (Story)

Kind of a shame. But oh well... a photographer continues moving on. Bigger, badder sensors, and custom curves and all that.

But just for old times sake here's a shot of my big brother with a "trophy" bass from the Greenbrier River in WV. (ca 1973.) Good times. Great film.

"Kodachrome... they gives us those nice bright colors, gives us the greens of summer, makes you think all the world's a sunny day... Oh yeah."

Cheers.

Are You Experiencing Your Camera?

Thought I'd present a little comparison between relying on your camera's default, auto everything modes and taking some control yourself over the final image.

Today's cameras, no doubt, are sophisticated and advanced enough to almost always provide you with a good image. No matter what the lighting situation. Whether it be a bright sunny day at the beach or a candle lit dining room at home. The metering systems and the default settings in most dSLRs today are up to the task.

But there is so much more these cameras can do when you dig down deep inside the menus and start personalizing some of those settings!

Now...we've already blown the modeling budget for the year, so for today's comparison we had to rely on some flunky on the Kircher's Conceit staff.

First up...Nikon D200 at default settings. Auto white balance. Pop-up flash. Flunky.

This is a fine picture. Well exposed. The camera did a good job of metering, handling three different light sources (daylight, incandescent light, and flash.) But for my taste, I'd prefer a little less flash, and a little more saturation and contrast.

So...same camera and lighting situation but this time I dialed down the flash 3/4 of a stop, added a 1/2 CTO gel to it, pumped up the saturation--just a bit, don't want to look cartoonish--and added some contrast. And yes, all this can be done in the camera! (Who needs Photoshop?)

Anyway, here's the second shot.

I like the skin tone in this one more. I also like that it's hard to tell that a flash was even used. Just popped a little bit in there for the shadows.

Of course, people's tastes are different. You might be perfectly happy with what you are working with right now. You might like something altogether different. But know your camera's limits, its capabilities.

Much fun to be had! Cheers.

Inclement Weather.

It was a cold, dark, rainy night and I was sitting in my car waiting for it to warm up. I had just come from a night of good food and good cheer with friends. Looking around I noticed interesting patterns and shapes caused by the water droplets on the window. The lights from the parking garage gave depth to the scene. Without even thinking I fished the trusty old Nikon out of the bag and started shooting like a mad man! It was crazy! I saw images everywhere, abstract though they were. It was at this point that all hell broke loose!

Heh-heh...just kidding! Really...it was just raining and I took a picture. Here it is.

But seriously, as I mentioned in an earlier post, do take advantage of crappy weather. There are some cool shots out there to be made!

Velvia 100 and a light table.

Shot some film the other day. Yes...film! Slides. Chromes, if you will.

I have to say, I sometimes really do miss film. There's nothing like that tactile reality. A sensation that's painfully absent from digital. Throwing a roll of 36 slides onto a light table and watching them come to life. Slowly scanning each one with that 8X loup. The colors! The sharpness! (if you have a steady hand and a good lens!)...there's nothing like it.

But time (and technology) moves on. Digital has done wonders for my photography. No denying it. And if it weren't for my digital camera (Nikon D200, thank you very much!) it'd be next to impossible to maintain a web presence without going completely broke!

So, no real complaints...just a mild lament. There's no going back. I will, however, continue to on occasion pull out the old Nikon F3 or F100 and have myself a blast shooting away without the crutch of looking at the LCD on the back of the camera (I actually still do that with the film cameras, but nothing's there!). Oh and did I mention that killer sound of the mechanical whirr of the motordrive. Ah...what a joy!

Yep, I really do miss it.