The one thing I try to stress to beginning photographers is that one should always buy good glass.  I know many really talented photographers that show me their work and ask me how they might improve.  I can determine immediately that the issue is not the photographer, or their camera — it is the glass they are using.

Part of the problem is the “kit” lens that often is sold with a camera.  Lots of buyers think they have a great deal if the lens is included.  It is a big mistake.  Yes, a good lens will cost one more than the camera will cost and this is very difficult for buyers to understand.  Yet, I cannot stress more that “It’s the glass stupid!”

So, I thought I might discuss some lenses that I have owned or currently own and show some examples of shots done with them.  In this post I will talk about the Canon 200mm f/2.8L lens, which in my opinion is among Canon’s best.

Like others, at the end of each year I go have a detailed look at my Google Analytics stats to see how many visitors came to my websites and what they looked at.  I am always surprised by what I find.  Seems my visitors look at photographs that I thought were just average stuff, nothing special.  So I try to figure out why they liked particular photographs so much.

194,482 absolute unique visitors came to my photography website so far this year.  Dern, I did not cross the 200,000 mark, but while on my site my visitors looked at 491,844 pages.  For an average photographer like me, that number is somewhat astonishing.  And humbling.

And, my blog was active as well. Well over 60,000 absolute unique visitors read it.  That stat really got to me.  It means that I should be careful about what I have to say when writing.  Very careful indeed.  And it makes me want to write more, about little stuff that I think about from time to time that might be helpful to someone else.

Yesterday my new Canon 2x II Extender arrived and this morning I was anxious to mount it on my Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS lens for the ultimate test.  You see, I don’t pay much attention to reviews, I have to try stuff out for myself.  And I was quite anxious to see how the combination would work in the real world of wildlife photography.  The combination of the extender and the 300mm f/2.8L IS is equivalent to a 600mm f/5.6 lens.

One can read the technical specifications of this extender by clicking here.  A list of compatible lenses can be found here.

I would not recommend use of this lens on anything other than a prime lens of the highest quality.

Like others, I read stuff on the web.  Mostly about photography since that is one of my principal interests.

Recently, a close friend of mine who shares my interest in photography pointed me to a website that argued that using a film camera would not only produce higher quality images, it would also be cheaper.

So, I read the article. The article went on to blast the cost of the new Nikon D3x saying that it’s high cost of $8,000 was out of line and that the author could use a film camera that cost next to nothing and produce images of equal quality and substantial dollar savings.

Then I did some calculations.

On my last journey to Scotland, my friends and I rented a cottage near Glenborrodale.  It was an idyllic spot with a wonderful loch located just below the cottage which sat on a high rock escarpment.  For the landscape photographer let us say the area is ideal.  One could spend a lifetime in this small hamlet and never fully explore all of the possibilities for capturing images.

One cold morning, there was ice about, I found myself before sunrise standing on an escarpment looking at a tree and point that was obscured by the fog.  And I wanted very much to capture the scene as best I could and my little Canon Powershot G10 was with me, along with my 1Ds Mark II.  Trying different exposures over a two hour period, I captured perhaps 50 shots.  But, after returning home and looking at the scene, the artist in me is hopelessly caught up in some ideas.  Yes, art is about ideas.

First, let me explain.  I don’t do landscapes.  I simply lack the skills that so many others have.  But, part of my personality forces me to try things I know I will never master;  an obsession.

Stephen Delaney recently commented on one of my blog posts and in his remarks he used the words “raw emotion” to describe what sometimes happens when a guitar technician moves away from technical merit and finds the music.

His thoughts brought back the memory of a brilliant performance by a young female violinist.  She was totally involved in the music, she was the music, her whole being was the music, her soul was the music.  I shall not forget that performance ever.  What got to me is that the performer was eight years old!  I pray that my niece never loses that special talent as she grows older, that her teachers won’t disturb what she has found.

Stephen points out that not being trained in photography may very well be a good thing in that our knowledge sometimes restricts what we do.

I can not agree more with his observations.

I have received numerous inquiries about whether the Canon Powershot G10 will produce high quality images.

Some have asked me to compare the image quality with cameras that they presently own.

Like everyone else, I spend much of my time watching the decline in the world wide economy.  It is a scary time.

Recently a forum post at Nature Scapes Net set about to discuss the affects of the economic decline on photographers.  Nearly all who posted on that topic said, yes, they are seeing a significant decline in revenues for everything from selling prints, selling photos for magazines and publications, and in attendees at their photographic seminars and workshops.

And, it affects too those of us who may be considering the purchase of a new camera.  Increasingly I say to myself, “use what you have.”

On the other hand, the used camera and lens market is showing some real bargains available.  For example, about three weeks ago I sold a camera, and just yesterday I saw not one, but three ads on photography forums for the same camera at $1,000 less than what I sold my camera for.  Likewise, used lenses are dropping in price dramatically.  A lens that I would have paid well over $1,000 for on the used market six months ago are available all over the place for around $700.

Yesterday, I spent a good four hours trying to get my pool cleaner to work properly.  This involved completely disassembling and cleaning the unit, then making adjustments to water pressure passing through the device, and even removing and replacing the hose.  I even downloaded and read the manual for the cleaner and went through the list of issues that may have caused my problems.

All of the parts to the machine were in perfect condition, no wear of any kind.  And all of the parts were running smoothly.

After four hours of work, the cleaner, when placed in the pool, moved rapidly across the pool floor directly to one of the pool walls and stopped.  There it sat.  Churning away.

Now, the design of the cleaner as stated by the manufacturer is such that when the cleaner encounters a wall, it should back up, then turn right or left.  A simple concept.  Problem is, it does not work.  It has a mind of its own.  And what it wants to do is go to a wall and sit, not move about the pool and suck all the dirt off the pool’s underwater surfaces.

The whole experience was frustrating and as I soon realized well beyond my ability as a human to get a machine to do what it was designed for.  Like so many, I have been completely baffled by a machine.

According to InfoTrends, 40 million digital cameras will be sold in the United States in 2008;  38 million of them are compacts.

I see them everywhere.  Everyone seems to have one, or more of them.  One cannot go anywhere without one there.  Millions and millions of them.

Since the Kodak Brownie era, followed by the Polaroid era, every family has documented its time, its place, its happy and sad events.  Impressions.  Billions and billions of impressions.

But, you see, the compact digital camera has brought about a whole near era.  One shaped by bits and bytes, one that creates and replicates itself, one that moves from one place to another at the speed of light, one that changes and grows into something else in micro micro seconds.  The impressions are no longer held in family albums, they appear instantly by the millions across continents.  We see them critiqued, questioned, lauded, run down, shared, and enjoyed.  We see them even when we don’t want to see them at business meetings, in churches, in schools, and as we glance next to our seat on an airplane.

So I ask myself is this a new art form?  Perhaps better said; “Is this a wholly different art form?”