joshua pearson

<p>I find it interesting that the one point that two posters here agreed upon was that you underpriced your work. Many photographers assume that in order to be taken seriously as an artist that they must charge extremely high prices. Not everyone, even quite successful photographers, agrees with this, though. <a href="http://brooksjensenarts.com/">Brooks Jensen,</a> the editor and driving force behind <a href="http://www.lenswork.com/">Lenswork Magazine</a>, disagrees with so-called "gallery pricing" and practices what he preaches:</p>

 

<blockquote>

Each print is offered here for $20 plus shipping. Twenty dollars was good enough for Edward Weston; it is more than enough for the rest of us ﾖ even including inflation. The <a href="http://brooksjensenarts.com/pigmentonpaper.htm#commerce">philosophical foundation</a> of my uncommon pricing strategy.

</blockquote>

 

<p>His advice is especially important for emerging photographers who are trying to establish a place for themselves in a local art market. Would you rather price your work out of reach of many potential buyers in order to maintain a false air of importance about yourself, or would you rather get your work in the hands of admiring purchasers? These are the people who can bring in more sales for you in the future by spreading the word about the quality of your work. Better than that, they will not just spread the word, but people will SEE your work and ask about it.</p>

 

<p>This isn't just all talk either. I recently did my first show at a local establishment. After reading what Brooks Jensen had to say as well as speaking with the owner of the establishment I set my prices below what "gallery prices" would otherwise be for similarly sized images and lower than the prices of most others who had previously exhibited there. I established what my cost per print was and decided what I thought was an accetable profit margin. My exhibit had 34 images in it and I sold 19 in less than two weeks. This gave me a handsome profit well above what the show cost me to produce. I am now re-investing that profit into my work so that my next show will be more successful.</p>

 

<p>Don't be afraid to price your work at a level which will get your work into the hands of the general populace. It can be an effective strategy to make money at photography. Additionally, it is good for you as an artist to make a lot of sales early on to give you confidence and direction. Read the articles on Brooks Jensen's site. They are quite well thought out.</p>

I would not hesitate to suggest that you look at the Canon A610. I have been using the A95, it's predecessor, for macros for over a year and have no complaints. The camera's macro mode allows you to get fairly close up. Additionally, with the 52mm filter adaptor, you can use closeup lenses or reverse a 50mm, or 24mm in front of the lens to attain much higher magnification. All of the macro examples in my portfolio were made with the A95. These stand up well for enlargement up to about 11x14. I sold six 11x14 prints from this macro setup this weekend at an exhibition. The swivel LCD and full controls that the camera offers are extremely useful for macro work. The only tradeoff is that you are stuck with JPEG output and low ISO.

Wilson,

 

Sorry to hear that your venerable A80 has died. You and I have previously communicated about the A80/A95 series of cameras. I almost never take my A95 out without my WC-DC52, so I can understand your desire to maintain compatibility with it. After having a camera with a Flip-Swivel screen, I also would never give up this feature on a digicam. Considering all of these factors, I would suggest looking for an old stock A95. It offers a nearly identical interface to the A80 and you'll feel right at home. I'm not convinced that many digicams which have come out since this camera that offer substantially better features to warrant the additional money and accessories needed. The only aspect of the A620 that would tempt me is that the new lens seems to exhibit less chromatic aberration (my one complaint about the A80/A95 series).

 

Anyhow, good luck with whatever you decide to purchase. Once you get a replacement please share some images taken with it.

Karen,

 

Gila National Forest is an amazing place. The Gila Wilderness area is one of the most prisine forests in the lower 48. If you go North on 180 from Silver City to 59 and head East, you will skirt the northern edge of the Wilderness. This road passes through the little town of Mogollon. All along this road there are trailheads that go into the wilderness. It's a very beautiful area. If you have a day to spend hiking and are a strong hiker you might consider taking a day hike to Redstone Park, in the wilderness. It is a surreal place at times. I don't know what it is like this time of year, though. Farther to the North is Quemado Lake, which, while a manmade lake, is also a very peaceful place. There are some great photographic opportunities at the lake. I think that anywhere you go in the Gila National Forest will be a pleasant surprise to you. Enjoy yourself and don't worry too much about missing something there. The whole area is special. You can see a few photos that I have taken at Quemado Lake in my Single Photos folder in my portfolio here on photo.net. Have a great trip.

Brady,

<br>

There are some physical differences between the R1800 and the R2400 as far as paper handling is concerned. <a href="http://inkjetart.com/R1800/">According to Inkjetart</a>, the R1800 can only handle paper up to about 19 mils thickness at a weight of 325 gsm (scroll down to the portion discussing differences between the R1800 and the 2200). The 2200 and R2400 can handle up to 51 mils thickness. I can confirm that with certain papers you will experience problems with the R1800 as you approach these limits. I recently did some prints on Inkjetart's <a href="http://inkjetart.com/canvas/fast-dry-matte.html">fast-dry matte canvas</a>, which is a 17 mil paper at 330 gsm. My R1800 printed on the paper, but loading each 13x19 sheet took several tries before the rear paper feed would accept the paper. The final prints looked great, but there was considerable work to get to that point compared to printing on other papers which require the rear feed. The R1800 is quite a capable printer, and there aren't too many papers out there that are thicker or heavier than 19 mil 325 gsm, so it might be what you are looking for. Good luck.

It seems that the links to member portfolios have been removed from

the member information section. In addition, the small images of the

3 most recently uploaded photos is gone as well. Is this just an

error, or is this a permanent change that has been made to the site?

Currently, you cannot get a listing of a member's portfolio folders or

presentations from their homepage. I hope that this is not a new

design that has been decided upon. If you cannot easily get to a

member's images, then why are there even portfolios on the site?

Surely, we are not intended to view all images on the site through the

TRP section. What's the deal with this change?

Mumtaz,

<br>

I have recently purchased both the wide converter (WC-DC52) and teleconverter (TC-DC52A). I am fairly pleased with the wide converter. The optical quality is acceptable and it works at all zoom settings. The teleconverter seems to also have acceptable optical quality when the camera is zoomed out, but it vignettes when the zoom is wider than about halfway zoomed out. Overall, I am happy with the converters, though, and I intend to use them extensively on a trip to Japan this week. Some people have recommended that other converters from companies like Raynox offer superior quality. I have not used them, but it is worth a look. You might want to check out <a href="http://www.lensmateonline.com/">Lensmate</a> for more options.

Sara,

<br>

You might also check out <a href="http://tempecamera.com/">Tempe Camera (TCR)</a>. They are a very good pro lab that is located close to the ASU campus. They do 3 hour processing on E6, and I believe similar time for C41. I have had nothing but positive experiences with them. You might also look to get film from them. Enjoy your stay.

Does anyone here have experience with any of the Canon wide

converters? In particular, the WC-DC52 for the Powershot A series of

cameras. What is the optical quality? I have seen a few photos here

on photo.net using the wide converter that impressed me (Wilson Tsoi's

in particular), but at web sizes it is impossible to judge the

quality. I realize that the LA-DC52D lens adapter is required to use

the wide converter and I already have the adapter to mount macro

lenses on my A95. Any feedback you have on these converters is

appreciated.

When I went looking for a light tripod I tested out both the Velbon Maxi and Ultra tripods. Neither seemed to be what I was looking for. Then I found the Slik Sprint Mini. I have used everything from a Canon A95 digicam on it up to my 4x5 with a 90mm Angulon. The Slik is much sturdier than either of the Velbons and it has independent leg spread. The Slik can get down to ground level. Weight and cost are about the same as with the Velbons as well. Seriously consider the Slik Sprint Mini.

James,

 

The 7660 uses 6 colors when printing (C, M, Y, K, LC, LM) in color while the 7960 uses 8 when printing in color (C, M, Y, K, LC, LM, LG, DG). The addition of the light gray and dark gray during color printing allows for a larger color space to be addressed. This is why the 7960 uses the PhotoREt Pro driver while the 7660 and 7760 use the PhotoREt IV driver. When these printers came out I tested them against each other in several areas, including color output. I determined that there were differences in the color output that were noticable in side by side comparisons. In particular, the 7960 seemed to give finer gradations and more accurate rendition for images that had expanses of blue sky.

 

If you decide to get either of these printers, you should be aware of the fact that the ink cartridges that they use are not compatible with the recently announced 8750, which uses an entirely different line of inks called Vivera. This new ink set includes a blue ink to bring the total to 9 inks for color printing.

 

I would also suggest that if you do get one of these printers that you check out the Ilford Galerie line of papers. The Galerie line has two types of paper, Classic and Smooth. The classic papers are a swellable media, much like the HP Premium Plus papers, and they are designed for dye-based printers like the 7960 and should provide fantastic print longevity. They do, however, take quite a while to fully dry (as much as a week if it is humid). The Smooth line of papers are designed for both dye-based printers and pigment-based printers. These do not provide the same longevity for dye-based prints as the Classic papers do, but the prints dry very quickly and there is a wider variety of paper types available. My personal favorite paper is Classic Pearl. There is a chance that if you try this paper that you will never use anything else again. It's fantastic.

<p>Here in Arizona we have had flowers in bloom for quite a while. I shot everything in both of the following folders within the last 2 months:</p>

 

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=480338">Wildflowers in the Sonoran Desert</a>

<br>

<a href="http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=468898">My garden</a>

Henry,

 

The front element of the 50/1.8 is fairly deep in the lens body and many people feel no need for a lens hood. I have a feeling that the HS-14 will have no positive effect when used on this lens.

I'm curious if anyone here has any experience with the Natura S camera that was also released. It's a 24mm F/1.9 point and shoot. They want a premium for it, though. It's retailing for around $300 depending on where you are and the strength of the Dollar.

Matt,

 

I have spent time in Hokkaido, the Northernmost island of Japan. It is a very wild and interesting place. Hokkaido is the only island of Japan that has brown bears (grizzly bears). Over 60% of Japan is forest, so it is not all megacity. Most of the people you will meet are very nice, but unless you speak Japanese pretty well, there will be a big communication problem. Most Japanese study English in school, but speak it very poorly. You should be aware of the fact that you can't really walk from one end of Japan to the other because Japan is a chain of islands. It is about the same size as California. Additionally, the climate from Kyushu in the South to Hokkaido in the North varies tremendously. I think that your best bet is to find an english-speaking person in Japan who is willing to help you figure out what you can realistically do.

 

--josh

I just want to chime in that I have also bought a lot of gear from KievCamera and I understand your frustration with the delay, but understand why it happens. Mike is likely in the Ukraine right now and not able to run the shop himself. I have made it a point to only order gear from him personally on the phone. The other guys who are sometimes in the shop don't seem to fully command the English language. I think that you probably have no need to fear that you will not get the item you ordered, but it might be a longer time than you want to wait. I suggest that you let Mike know that you are not satisfied with the delay and vote with your money from now on, so to speak.

I had similar thoughts when I returned from Switzerland this summer. It was a magnificent place that gave me more excelent photographic opportunities than any other place I have visited. I need to scan in my best images from my trip there. If there was a section or article on Switzerland, I would gladly contribute my best shots to the page.

 

--josh

I have not owned the Maxi 343, but I tested one out at a local camera shop along with the Ultra Maxi series. I was not impressed with the rigidity of the legs nor with the stability of any of these tripods. I ended up getting a Slik Sprint Mini tripod instead and I have not regretted this. The Sprint Mini has independent leg spread, a removable center column and interchangable heads. The whole thing with head weighs less than 2 pounds and I take it with me on trail runs. It supports my Nikon N70 with either a 24 f/2.8 or my 100mm series E f/2.8 with no problems. The independent leg spread is invaluable to my shooting style and can really help solve stability problems as well. The only downside for some people is the Sprint Mini's maximum height of 43.3". This does not hamper my style of shooting, however I know some people for whom this is a problem. You might look at the Slik Sprint Pro if this is the case, as it has a maximum height of 63.1". I have never tried the Pro, so perhaps others can comment on this. Overall, I have also been impressed with the construction quality of the Sprint Mini. This tough little tripod has been through quite a bit of abuse in the past few months and still works fine. I would recommend that you at least look at the light tripod offerings from Slik.

 

--josh

The site says that they will sell only 70,000 samples as a test of the market, and that this will begin on July 22nd. The film has a low response to neutral colors to enhance the saturation and color seperation. It is also a higher contrast film than Velvia 100. If you look at the spectral response curves that are shown, it should do interesting things to the colors of a scene. This seems to be aimed primarily at consumers who shoot nature images. I would like to get a sample of this film to see what it is like. Very interesting.

Jim,

<br>

You don't mention what part of Arizona. If you want something in the Metro Phoenix area, I would probably go with Tempe Camera, aka TCR (<a href="http://www.tempecamera.com/">http://www.tempecamera.com/</a>). This is a very good pro lab which has always given me consistent results. In the Tucson area, I would go with Photographic Works (<a href="http://photographicworks.com/">http://photographicworks.com/</a>). I have had nothing but positive experiences with either of these places. Good luck.

Jon,

 

I own an Olympus Stylus Epic, and I am very happy with it for what it is: a point and shoot camera. It has a spot meter mode that can be used to control the exposure to a certain extent. This camera is a great value. The lens is very sharp and contrasty. The next step up, which I have not used, seems to be the Rollei AFM 35. It has a f/2.6 38mm lens, manual/auto control of both aperture and focus, exposure compensation and exposure bracketing. You can find one new online for just under $300. Above the Rollei and you start hitting the $500 and up range. If anyone here has used the Rollei, please chime in as there aren't many posts from users of this camera on photo.net.

In Tucson, you can't go wrong with Photographic Works. Their E-6 processing has always been very consistent and is a 3 hour job. You might find film cheaper at other places, but don't have anywhere else do your processing.

Andrew,

 

I own the 3021, but have never used the 3001. I will say that I really love the versatility that the 3021 offers me. I took out the center column and have not taken it into the field with me in months, as it just gets in the way. Like I said, the 3021 is versatile. I use it with 35mm, 6x6 medium format and my newly acquired 4x5 setup. Every time I am in the field I am pleased with the tripod, but I also wish that it was lighter. If I didn't have to support a 10 pound monster medium format system, then I would definitely consider a lighter tripod. The worst was a 19 mile hike in the Arizona desert in summer when all of my best shots turned out to he handheld anyhow. Sometimes I can almost convince myself that those hundreds of dollars that gitzo is asking are worth it.

Rod,

 

If you post that image of the second area here on photo.net, there are quite a few of us who live in this region who can probably help you figure out where it was. I used to drive by Picacho Peak every day on my way to work. Additionally, you might consider looking at other areas in Arizona for wildflowers. Arizona Highways publishes a book entitled Desert Wildflowers that has information on when and where to find flowers in bloom here in Arizona. Finally, if you would like to learn more about the desert flora and fauna, you might consider visiting the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum or the Tucson Botanical Garden, which are both located in Tucson. They both have a wide variety of desert flowers that you can see and learn about, albeit in a distinctly tame environment.

 

--josh

Adam,

 

I would be hesitant to take such a wide variety of films on a trip like this. Travel is not the time to be testing out new films to see what you like and don't like. Imagine if you were to decide to take 3 new cameras with you in addition to the camera that you are used to using just to test what they are like. You would always be fumbling about, not sure what camera to use and not sure that you will get the results you want. It is the same with film. Focus on the imagery that you are creating, not the medium with which it is created. Figure out how many rolls you think you will shoot. Will there be situations that require you to shoot higher speed film than you usually shoot? If so, can you just push your existing film choice, or do you need to take a higher speed emulsion? If you push a roll, remember to mark it as such. When I travel, I take two emulsions, an ISO 100 and an ISO 400 slide film. The fewer choices you have to make when the light is changing, the better your results will be. Don't worry about your film, just enjoy yourself and make some great photographs. Also be aware of shops in the area where you will be that carry your favorite film. It is better to shoot all the images that you want to take rather than worrying about running out of film.