D700 Love

Borrowed Image

I recently revamped my camera/lens arsenal. The hub of the system is a Nikon D700 DSLR. Also pretty exciting is the Nikon 14-24mm lens I'm using with it. Details on these below.
The history is that I have been shooting with a Nikon D300 and a Canon Powershot G10 converted for infrared (IR) use. The D300 was a big improvement from the D200 I used before. The IR G10 was great fun. I also still had one film camera: a Hasselblad XPan. It is responsible for most of my popular panoramas of Whidbey Island. So why change?
My goal is to reduce the amount of equipment and optimize it for the kind of shooting I do. I hardly used the XPan any more. I loved shooting IR, but the G10 exhibited too much digital noise. The other motivation was the extremely low noise produced by the D700.
As a full-frame (sensor size equal to 35mm film) camera, the D700 exhibits amazingly low noise at high ISO settings. I've used it at ISO 3200 with good results and with experience I think 6400 should be usable in extreme situations.
The other full-frame benefit is what happens with Nikon's amazing 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S lens. This 2.1 pound monster is one of the finest lenses Nikon (or anyone) has ever produced. The 114 degree angle of view, coupled with low distortion, make it a great landscape lens, and it shines for architectural interiors.
To keep the camera bag from causing injury, I rounded out my kit with a light 24-85mm and an old but optically great 75-150mm. The latter will probably be replaced by a 70-300mm fairly soon.

Photographing Your Art

Whidbey Photographer John Olsen and I will be instructors at two short workshops packed with practical information for 2D and 3D artists who want to photograph their own artwork. Painters, printmakers, sculptors, potters, jewelry artists, and others will learn how to capture quality images for show submissions, documentation, publication, and even giclee printing.
The morning session (April 10, 2010) is for 2D artists and the afternoon is dedicated to how to photograph three-dimensional art. We'll discuss cameras, lights, settings, exposure, backdrops and more, with emphasis on how to get good images with minimal investment.
Visit the Pacific Northwest Art School site for registration information.

Cama Beach State Park

Cabins at Cama Beach

I finally visited an exquisite little Washington State Park on Camano Island, Cama Beach. A former fishing camp, the main attraction is nicely restored cabins on the beach facing Whidbey Island. There is an outpost of the Center for Wooden Boats on site. I'll be back to explore the photographic potential of this spot.