chris_hartwig

Hi Ryan,

Welcome in France ! I'm afraid it's going to be tough to find services and products similar

to the ones you used in the USA... There is no service similar to Baylab in France, at least

nothing as complete and geared towards the pro needs... We do have online labs, but they

are not nearly as great as yours ! I do recommend photoweb.com, for their OK print

quality, but it's an amateur service (ICC profile available, Frontier prints, Fuji Crystal

Supreme paper)... You may want to visit Picto in Toulouse, a pro lab with some reputation

(and highest prices).

I'm currently looking abroad for prints, like in Germany (despite the language which I can't

speak) ! Some photographers in France prefer to buy an Epson 3800 or 4800 and do their

own printing !

Regarding albums, you'll have the same problems... Mine come from Spain, and my Flush

Mount albums from Italy (and soon the USA !).

No you may be wondering how we can work in such a business desert... all I can say is it's

not easy, and it can be easier to shop abroad !

Anyway, welcome in the South of France !

Chris, from Marseille

You may want to have a look at DropProof... It's free and allows Paypal online payments... Here is the link : http://www.bigfolio.com/drop_proof/

It is what I'm using, and at that price, you can't beat it.

However, it may not be very easy to use and customize, depending on your web skills...

I use three lenses for weddings : EFS 10-22, EFS 17-55 IS and EF 70-200 IS.

I would say it's a matter of style to choose your lenses... but I chose flexibility by having those three.

Some don't use a tele for weddings, but I love candid portraits shot during weddings.

Some don't use a wide lens, but it suits my style for including the mood/environment in pictures, for the architecture in churches, or great scenic views in formals. It can give the feeling you are IN the action taking place : don't expect to remain unnoticed as a photographer, because you ARE in the action.

In the end, I use the 17-55 a lot, but often find it too short, or too long.

I don't swap lenses a lot, but when I can rest a little, I'll swap for the 70-200 and shoot portraits, then I'll swap for the 10-22 ahead of time, when I know something will happen and I want it wide.

A wide lens has a hidden big plus: it puts you well in front of uncle bob who does not have a wide lens... but you must be careful: do not distort people and do not be too close !

The 17-55 is, in my opinion, well... standard... The other two augment your creative ability.

Another route is fast fixed focals... 5d, 24 f1.4, 50 f1.4, 80 f1.8 : that's what I'd like to try someday, and I'm sure my pics would reflect another style...

As I see it, the 10-22 is not redundant with what you have, and the 17-50 is... The 10-22 really gives you another point of view, a broader one...

Sure, you must be careful with perspective. It can really distort people in a unpleasant way when used wide. I use it on a 30D and really like it... And at f3.5-4.5, it's not so slow. Of course, if I didn't already have a 17-55 IS, I would buy one before getting the 10-22... But maybe your 28-70 L could somewhat fill the gap...

Try to rent one and see how it fits your style of photography. It may become your #1 lens if you love it wide...

I had one made last year... for the price, it can be considered good. It's a flush mount

album, digital press printed... the overall quality is "good", but cannot be compared to

Graphi : they're not in the same league...

The pages are pelliculated (spelling ?) : like post cards, they're covered with a highly

reflective film. The pages are thick and rigid. The cover is soft, and actually quite nice.

Craftmanship could be better, but not at that price.

I offer it for my parent albums... Give it a try... delivery is quite fast (if I recall, around 2

weeks).

PS : my first post... Hope it helps...