The Utah Salt Flats are awesome – and this Sunday most of them were covered by water. So I need to find out when they dry out and are perfect for photography. I love this location and there is no extra cost to photograph there for bridals or engagements. We can always stop at Wendover for a quick buffet. Wendover is only 9 miles away from the Salt Flats.

dav.d on the Utah Salt Flats

And the Utah Salt Flats are perfect for me to bring my studio lighting and create some very dramatic photos with some cool lighting setups – and quite often there will be some kind of clouds in the sky to create these amazing backdrops.

I am hoping that the Salt Flats start to dry out in the next few weeks – cause right now most of them are like a giant lake or a puddle.

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And I was the person charged with taking the group photograph. And so I created an HDR image here! I think that is a first for Photowalking Utah.

About 70 photographers attended an Ogden, Utah Photowalk

Photowalks are a chance to meet other photographers and talk technique, equipment, and even make new friends. It is also a great chance to scout locations to photograph. And downtown Ogden is really a remarkable location. And the train museum as well. I can see using the location for some engagement photographs and maybe even some bridals. Who wouldn’t think a bride on top of a train would be a cool image. That would rock!

Union Station

And while I was photographing someone photographed me! So here is a picture of me in action.

dav.d

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And the temple is a beautiful building with great landscaping – so here are a few of the photographs. I wasn’t able to photograph during sunset because I was photographing the engagements at that time. But with HDR I am able to photograph the temple with the sun in the composition – you can’t do that without HDR.

Newport Beach LDS Temple in HDR

Newport Beach LDS Temple in HDR

Newport Beach LDS Temple in HDR

And of course you really really really need a tripod and cable release.

Newport Beach LDS Temple in HDR

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This lens is a stepping stone to buying a Canon 85 f/1.2 lens. The price difference is huge and I only buy lenses or equipment when I have the cash to pay for it.

Canon 85mm f/1.8 Lens

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What impressed me most was the knowledge of photography that Judge Joe Brown has – and I can imagine he loves photography as a hobby – which just rocks! So watch the clip

Every photographer needs to be open and honest about themselves and their skills. And people should definitely realize that you get what you pay for. I hope I don’t sound like I am on a high horse or preachy.

In the digital age anyone with a camera can bill themselves as a photographer and the wedding photography industry can definitely suffer if everyone who has a camera thinks and advertises themselves as a professional.

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I really like how Canon renders the color red – Nikon sometimes is weak in that regard. Nikon excels in autofocus, metering, wireless lighting, and zoom lenses. Canon excels in resolution and wide aperture prime lenses. So I will be carrying both cameras around my neck. I can’t wait till my next wedding in California – two weeks – road trip!

Testing my Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens on my nephew

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I am primarily a Nikon camera user but I now own a Canon with the stellar Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens. This the first in a few lenses from Canon that I will be purchasing. Nikon doesn’t make anything like them so that is why I now shoot Canon. I am not giving up on Nikon – I am going to use both.

Rabbit in the Snow

If you want to see more of my animal photography you can see it at my dav.d photography website.

I can’t wait to use the new camera and lens on a real person. Maybe this weekend I will get the chance. I also can’t wait to use it at my first wedding of the year.

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The mini clinic might have to change its name – there were about 170 people in attendance. Fortunately I have not real fear of public speaking! And after the fact people said that I did a great job and more importantly I was hilarious! Which is always a plus.

And Jeremy Hall took a few photographs of me teaching posing techniques. And the model Ingrid was a great model for the mini clinic. I won’t quit my day job – but teaching photography really is fun.

dav.d teaching posing techniques

My goal in posing people is to make them look as natural as possible – I don’t want to force a pose. But I will also demonstrate some good techniques and even create the pose myself.

And everyone gets nervous in front of a camera – and 90% of the time I am sure photographers are freaking out behind the camera. They are wondering how to bring the best out of their subject. My approach? Humor and talking to the model. Get them to relax and feel comfortable in front of the lens and that will show in the portraits.

Demonstrate the pose for the model

And looking at these photos of me – I need to get to the gym more! Spring is almost here – and soon it’ll be bikini season.

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My primary cameras are Nikon. I have about 10 lenses from Nikon and love them, however, there are a few lenses that Canon has that Nikon didn’t. So I have been saving money and looking forward to a tax return to buy a new Canon 5D Mark II and some fancy Canon glass.

One of these magic lenses is the Canon f/1.4 24mm lens. Nikon did not have an equivalent lens – until last night. But I am still leaning towards the Canon lens – they are on version 2 of their legendary lens while this is pretty much Nikon’s first real version of this 24mm lens.

Nikon vs Canon in the 24mm f/1.4 lenses

These are prime lenses – they won’t zoom in and out without moving my feet. But because they are prime lenses you get really wide open aperture – which I consider critical to create artistic and almost ethereal photographs.

The Canon lens also costs $1699 and the Nikon is starting out at $2199. And my ultimate plan is to photograph with Nikon zoom lenses and Canon prime lenses.

My plans might change – I won’t be buying the 24mm till at least June – unless I score some serious bankroll.

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Hasselblad HD4-40

I just registered for an event at my favorite local photography store, Pictureline. They will be hosting Hasselblad and the new HD4-40 camera. That camera has 40 megapixels!

Now, people will say the number of megapixels don’t matter – that it is the skill of the photographer and the type of lenses you use and other factors. And for the most part megapixels don’t matter – but not all megapixels are created equally. I would prefer a 10 megapixel DSLR camera over a 10 megapixel phone camera or even a point-n-shoot camera.

And medium format cameras have pixels that blow the pixels of DSLRs out of the water. And most every single portrait and wedding photographer shoots with DSLRs. And DSLRs are perfectly capable in photographing a wedding and they are great at photographing in low light situations like wedding receptions and even some wedding ceremonies.

Phase One

But in the back of my mind I think it would be so cool to have a medium format digital camera for portraits. Bridal sessions and even engagment sessions where I drag out my big studio lights on location – that would be so cool. Can I do this now with my digital cameras? Yes.

However, the amount of detail that is captured by the Hasselblad or the competition Phase One camera would be jaw dropping. These are the kind of cameras used to photograph models, magazine covers and the high end fashion shoots. So when you see a model’s photograph who has been retouched to within an inch of their life – they were shot with a medium format digital camera.

So I am saving some money for that – well, saving money in general is good. And it is fun to dream of something better but use the tools we have right now.

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