richard_barron

<p>What hacks me to the bone is when some super-new-DSLR owner strides up to me on The Plaza at Santa Fe and says something condescending like, "Still shooting with the old XYZ, huh?" Sometimes I'm temped to say, "Yeah, and I won photographer of the year with it last year," which I did.</p> <p>I'll say it again because it needs to be said over and over: you can't buy mastery; you have to earn it.</p>

<p>Sarah, upon taking a look at the images you posted here on a calibrated monitor and a calibrated laptop, I will weigh in and say that neither of them looks "very" anything. Also, since seeing them on the screen is only one step in the process, have you had any of these printed, and how did they look?</p>

<p>Not to sound like a salesman here or anything, but if I were running my own business (photography or other) I would buy a LegalShield membership. It's not terribly expensive, and will cover your legal needs in the same fashion as medical insurance covers your medical needs. <br> <a href="https://www.legalshield.com">https://www.legalshield.com</a><br> Abby and I have Legalshield and it is definitely worth it.</p>

<p>I shoot raw files and set a custom white balance. The look I wanted was similar to some of your images, with white foliage and deep skies. I'm not saying I didn't get interesting results, but I wasn't getting the results I had hoped.<br> That particular camera is notable for its off-the-chart moiré, so no, the purple fringing wasn't deliberate.<br> Here's another frame from that camera that was full of surprises. The gate is painted deep red and the bush in the background is true green.<img src="http://richardbarron.net/photoblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/lock-ir-01.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>I've still got a Kodak DCS 720x in storage, and it was always my hope that its ability to remove the IR filter by taking out just two screws would lend itself to IR imaging. Despite having a set of three opaque IR filters and a deep red filter, no combination delivered the look I wanted, even after extensive editing. It's possible the CMY sensor isn't suited to desirable IR response. Thoughts?<img src="http://richardbarron.net/cameras/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/tree-ir-01.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Keith, I enjoyed looking at your portfolio. Nice stuff. I see that you have some infrared imagery. Can you share your technique and equipment for making them?</p>

<blockquote> <p>I own Nikon f1.8G lenses (20, 28, 85) and Sigma ART lenses (35,50).</p> </blockquote> <p>Seriously? My only advice would be to go shoot.</p>

<p>I used a 25-50mm f/4 for years during my last fling with black-and-white film, often with a deep yellow filter on it. I found it to be optically excellent for that use. My biggest complaint about it was that the focus throw (the amount you rotate the ring from infinity to the closest focus setting) was very long, so the lens didn't "pop" into focus the way other lenses do. It also only focused to 2 feet, which was somewhat limiting.</p> <p>http://richardbarron.net/cameras/2009/09/09/a-rare-and-beautiful-classic/</p>

<blockquote> <p>the image quality is shit, on all of those</p> </blockquote> <p>I've got some 13x19s hanging on the wall next to me made with the Nikkor 18-200mm on <a href="http://richardbarron.net/traveller/2015/04/10/off-the-map-april-2015/">my last hiking trip in March</a>, and they are dazzling. If you know their strengths and limitations, superzooms can rock.</p>

<blockquote> <p>wouldn't a smaller smaller camera with a small but superb lens be a better choice</p> </blockquote> <p>Agreed. My "small" is different from my wife Abby's "small." For most of my travel and adventure imaging, I carry a Nikon D7100 with the Nikkor 18-200 and a Tokina 10-17mm fisheye. <a href="http://richardbarron.net/cameras/2014/10/28/traveling-cameras-and-how-i-use-them/">Great combo</a> - couldn't be happier. Abby, on the other hand, brings just the Fuji <a href="http://richardbarron.net/cameras/2013/04/13/trial-by-trail-the-fujifilm-hs30exr/">HS30EXR</a>, which is much lighter and smaller. <a href="http://richardbarron.net/traveller/">When we travel</a>, we're not trying to score the Photo of the Year, we just want to have fun and make pictures along the way.</p>

<p>I shoot news, sports and magazine for a living. Big, heavy f/2.8 glass for that is irreplaceable.<br> When my wife and I travel and hike, <a href="http://richardbarron.net/cameras/2014/04/07/the-long-and-the-short-of-it-superzooms/">superzooms</a> are irreplaceable.<br> It's all about picking the right tool for the job.</p>

<p>For news and sports, Tri-X was king. T-Max wasn't without its charms, but Tri-X, in most developers, was the best.<br> For shooting the American West, no film gave me the tonal values I wanted the way Verichrome Pan did. <img src="http://richardbarron.net/traveller/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/Pecos-storm.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>>>the price of the gear is largely nitpickery<<<br> I am working press, so a nice new camera is nice for about the first five minutes I've got it. Besides, my newspaper doesn't have the budget for new gear, so I make used gear work, and work well.<br> As far as working with three cameras goes, I got used to doing it before the zoom era, so I've got a system worked out. But for me, the big downside to three cameras now that I am old is fatigue. Lighter loads are working better for me in recent years.</p>

<p>Here's <a href="http://richardbarron.net/cameras/2014/12/20/the-backup-camera/">my backup strategy</a> (link).</p> <p> </p>

<p>Q: What makes a digital SLR camera “professional.”<br> A: You do.<br> Q: What can I do to my camera to make it take better pictures?<br> A: Wear it out.</p>