Here’s something that’s always bugged me: more than a few photographers have said that the Nikkor 200mm f/2.0 AI-S has “good bokeh.” One reviewer said is has, “wonderfully smooth bokeh in every sense of the word.” Another claims that, “creates one of the smoothest bokeh.” Still another says it, “has extraordinary bokeh.” The problem stems…
Continue reading →Photography, like many complex hobbies, can involve a great deal of head-scratching, second-guessing, and wishful thinking. So many photographers and those who would like to be photographers rest their hobby on, “If only I had (this lens or that camera)…” And sure, if I won the lottery… hm. You know what? Before I buy any…
Continue reading →Periodically, you hear me, or any of an additional million photographers and photo instructors, say that your next lens should probably a 50mm. Why? Whether you are shooting larger sensor cameras like 24x36mm, or smaller sensors like the APS-C or Micro 4/3, the 50mm lens does some amazing things few other lenses can. Why? 50mm…
Continue reading →My photographer friend Robert was in town this weekend, and we did the photographer thing, including a photo shoot Robert did for some of his fellow church friends. Robert and I share a slightly out-of-balance love for lenses. Lenses are beautiful and interesting. Lenses tease our imaginations. We desire lenses, all lenses, even lenses we…
Continue reading →“For you life is a long trip Terrifying and wonderful Birds sing to you at night The rain and the sun The changing seasons are true friends Solitude is a hard won ally Faithful and patient…” ~Henry Rollins This week our patch of the world is looking especially green and healthy. In it, I walk…
Continue reading →One of the biggest reasons my generation of photographers started with Nikon was their absolutely fantastic lenses. They were well-built, solid, heavy, and made incredible images. To stay competitive starting in the late 1990s, however, Nikon had to take some serious shortcuts, one of which was the extensive use of plastic in the bodies of…
Continue reading →Last week at the Oklahoma City Tennis Center, I was photographing a young Ada High School Cougar named Eden Boggs competing in the state tournament. Her opponent’s coach looked over at me and asked, “What lens is that?” I told him it was a 300mm, and it was my workhorse lens for all sports in…
Continue reading →It’s been a completely amazing holiday season for me as a journalist and photographer. Our readers have gotten into the very welcome habit of calling me when they or their groups have a festive event, and I have covered a dozen or more items, from hayrides to sweater contests, and everything else that is photographable…
Continue reading →I know it seems shallow, but I like my lenses to look big, heavy, powerful, and intimidating. I hate lenses that look like dog noses or pastry funnels. I like lenses that look like NASA took ten years to design them. I like lenses that seem to be capturing light in a gaping maw of…
Continue reading →I am teaching another photography class this month at Pontotoc Technology Center. On the first night of class, we talk about some of the basics of digital photography, and the topic of sensor size is always part of that discussion. “A friend of mine wants to buy a ‘full-frame’ camera,” one of my group said….
Continue reading →When I was just 18, I found myself interning at my then-hometown newspaper in Lawton, Oklahoma, under the supervision of a veteran photographer named Bill Dixon. My first assignment on the first morning there was to ride along with Bill and photograph severe thunderstorm damage at Fort Sill. It was typical Oklahoma late spring tree…
Continue reading →As I promised in my last entry, here are quick reviews of the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 and the Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5. One thing I have heard and sometimes even said is that there are no “bad” large-aperture 50mm lenses, but I can think of two: my original Nikkor 50mm f/1.2, and the lens in this…
Continue reading →I received an unusual gift recently from my friends at People’s Electric Cooperative: a Nikon FG-20 film camera, with three lenses, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, a Nikkor 35-70mm f/3.3-4.5, and a Vivitar 70-210mm f/4.5. The camera had been used by PEC during the film era, often by a good friend of mine, Karen Hudson. This…
Continue reading →Here’s an example of spherochromatism, a type of chromatic aberration that is common to large-aperture lenses in the telephoto range, and is more obvious when focusing closely. This aberration is manifested by unwanted color on either side of the focal plane, usually magenta in the region closer to the lens, and green beyond the focus…
Continue reading →My readers have long known that I like lenses for more reasons than their use to make photographs. I think lenses are beautiful, interesting objects with an artistic appeal all their own. I can be forgiven, then, for recently buying a big box of 11 Canon FD lenses, with a few other brands in the…
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