I'm a zoom lens kind of guy -- mostly because I like the versatility of zooms. But I've been intrigued by prime lenses for the simple reason that a good prime at a big aperture can give you really nice separation of foreground and background elements -- almost looks a bit like medium format. And to the layman's eyes, it's this quality of an image that seems to say "pro."

So I went over to Adorama Rentals and picked up the Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF on a 3-day weekend rental for $26. Can't beat the price for trying out a lens before you drop a cool $1200.

Build
The lens is quite compact, especially compared to Mike's Canon 85mm f/1.2 (that lens is understandably a huge hunk of glass, but creates some pretty nice images). The Nikon lens debuted in 1995, so it doesn't have all the newfangled glass, vibration reduction or Silent Wave motors. Speaking of Silent Wave, this lens doesn't focus nearly as fast and can be on the loud side, but considering the size of the glass, it's not so surprising (and Mike thought it was quite good compared to his f/1.2). The 85mm is a bit like a 50mm on steroids in size, but it's very small and light compared to a fast zoom.

Although my intent isn't to shoot street photography, it was such a great overcast day in New York City, that I walked down to the street this afternoon to take a few pictures. Everything was shot wide open on a Nikon D3 at ISO 400.

I reduced the size on these images, applied a slight curve, and ran an unsharp mask. Are they sharp out of the camera? Yes. Ultra-sharp? I dunno. Everything looks slightly blurry to me at 1:1, but I'm not a lens reviewer. I'm just a guy who pushes a button like a monkey.








These dogs were really friendly! He licked my face!





My Conclusion:
The images look really good. Creamy. Buttery. O-toro. The kind of stuff that would clog your arteries and make you take an extra Lipitor. The bokeh is nice, particularly in foreground elements. I thought the colors were accurate -- not too saturated, not too bland. The focusing was a bit slow for street photography, but let's be honest, this is a portrait lens, so you can't really judge it on that criterion.

The thing is that I don't shoot enough available light portraiture to make it worth purchasing. When I shoot in the studio, I'm locked in around f/8, so my zooms work fine. When I'm shooting events, I like the versatility of the zooms, even if the widest aperture is f/2.8. So the problem isn't the lens. It's me. It's not you. It's me.

Let's do the math real quick. A daily rental is about $20 (the 3-day weekend rental is slightly higher). The cost of the lens is about $1200. If we assume a 3-year write-off, I'd have to use the lens 60 times in 3 years, or about twice a month. Yes, resale, blah blah blah. I'm still gonna rent. Don't worry Nikon, I'm buying that 24-70mm.

There are rumors of an upcoming refresh of this lens. It would be pretty bad-ass with some VR and Silent Wave. And if that happened, I might have to change the stuff I photograph....

If you haven't already heard, a 6 year old boy was thought to have been launched into the atmosphere in a homemade balloon that his father made. The father, an amateur storm chaser with some bizarre theories about psychics and science, was photographed in 2007 by PhotoShelter member Nathan Armes.


Richard_Heene_Colorado_Storm_Chaser - Images by Nathan W. Armes


Here's hoping that the Heene's son, Falcon, is ok.

Last month, I wrote about using Blurb's PDF-to-Book functionality to create a photo book. Photo books are not new, but I've typically considered them as items that soccer moms were ordering for their scrapbooking activities. But it's clear that a well-designed, well-executed book can be a great upsell item for professional photographers who have seen a decline in print sales.

Ingrid and our friends at AdoramaPIX also offer a book making service, and I took it for a spin.

Instead of going through the rigamarole of design and color profiles, I decided to approach it more from a consumer angle without worrying about all the various settings that were available to me. This approach would be more akin to the standard offerings from most companies in the bookmaking space.

Unlike many other services, there is no software to install on your computer. AdoramaPIX's book designer works completely in the browser. This is great if you want to upload the images from home, and perhaps work on the book from the office, or the road when you have more time.

I'm not a big proponent of photo manipulation because I have a lot of respect for photojournalists and other photographers who's skill is a the point of capture. On the other hand, I'm really digging these photos from Peter Funch's Babel Tales. Peter spent some time in New York, and sat around taking photos of people doing the same thing on the same street corners. Then he artfully composited the shots to make cool panoramics of everyday, boring stuff.

The first time I really became aware of Dan Winters was back when I subscribed to the print edition of the New York Times (ah, the nostalgia). Leonardo DiCaprio was on the cover of the Sunday Magazine, and I just couldn't believe my eyes. The portrait was perfect -- the pose, the lighting, the color of DiCaprio's eyes matches the background and the hue of the image. (The image, not so surprisingly, went on to win a crapload of awards)



The second time I became aware of Dan Winters was when I started noticing some cool pictures of workbenches and gadgets in the science magazine Discover. There was something so unique and recognizable, and by golly, it's that damn Dan Winters guy.



Photography is fun, but it ain't easy. There's nothing easy about taking a good picture. And it's even harder to take a good portrait. The one that makes you stop. But Dan Winters seems to do it over and over again. He even took a portrait of our friend Fiona Aboud.



Periodical Photographs is a collection of his images of people and things. If you read the Times Magazine, Esquire and Discover, then you've likely seen many of them before. But many of the images were still new, and surprising like the one of U2 backstage. The images are quiet, sometimes oddly disturbing, and highly distinctive. I respect a guy who can follow his vision to a state of unique perfection. And I respect people that shoot large format because it's slow and hard. And if my reaction to seeing large format portraiture is wanting to go out and buy one, then I know it's good stuff (and no, I'm not going to go buy one).



Some people object to his nearly ubiquitous use of ring flash. Yeah, I see it, even when it's 3 stops under. Some people don't like the feather light look. Some people don't like that blue background. But he's going with it, and you should too.

Besides, when's the last time you bought a photography book?

Hey hey! Who wants a look at some wonderful photography? Today we're delighted to announce September's PhotoShelter Featured Photographers! Their selection of images will be displayed in the "Images" tab of the product tour.

There's a distinct international flair among September's featured photographers. In fact, 12 of the 20 are based outside the US. So, you'll see images like:

• Rafa Rivas' (Spain) intense images of unlucky matadors
• Sephi Bergerson's (India) unique approach to Indian weddings (not to mention a very nice integration of PhotoShelter with his custom WordPress website)
• Carl Pendle's (UK) high quality collection of lifestyle, food, and travel stock photography
• Dave Walsh's (Ireland) travels aboard several Greenpeace expeditions

And we were captivated by so much more. Many of these photographers sell their work through PhotoShelter as prints, products, stock photography and personal use licenses. Their websites are great examples of how you can customize PhotoShelter using our templates or your own designs.

Like what you see? Embed our September featured slideshow in your own website or blog by clicking the up arrow in the lower right of the slideshow.

Want to submit your images for consideration for the October slideshow? Here's how. Images must be submitted by the 20th of the month, and winners are posted on the first Tuesday of the following month.

I had never attended a "Festival of a the Photograph" before, but kept hearing great things about it. What started as a bunch of friends gathered in Nick Nichols backyard, has grown into a major event for photography with people traveling from all over the US to attend. The festival has been able to maintain its homegrown, organic feel, which makes it very different from other events that we've attended in the past.

PhotoShelter was there to support the "YourSpace" exhibit. Festival attendees could drop off an image for printing by our good friends at Canon, and then upload it to PhotoShelter for inclusion in a festival slideshow.

Today we're proud to announce our latest selection of featured photographers, whose vibrant work will be displayed in the "Images" tab of the PhotoShelter homepage slideshow throughout the month of June.

Take a moment to browse through the 20 winners, whose work ranges from food (Rick Osentoski's fresh spinach makes me hungry) to Mexican entertainment to the NHL playoffs:

You may note an extra dash of color this month - we couldn't resist paying homage to spring's arrival through our selections. In particular:

• Poras Chaudhary's view of a local fair in India
• Gerry Walden's handmade candles
• Gunther Deichmann's elephant in Jaipur
• Gregory Wrona's Font Magica de Montjuic

Like what you see? Embed our June featured slideshow in your own website or blog by clicking the up arrow in the lower right of the above widget.

As always, we're thrilled about the quality of the submissions and strongly encourage you to keep sending them our way! (**Note: Please pay attention to the guidelines if you want to be considered - this is necessary for us to keep the review process efficient. Images must be submitted by the 20th of the month, and winners are posted on the first Tuesday of the following month.)

Being situated right above NYC's Union Square has its benefits, like the Green Market, great restaurants, and unbelievable people watching.  Last week we saw a woman dancing on a pole (yes, that kind of pole) for charity.  We also saw a contortionist get his head, right leg, and right arm all inside the head of a tennis racket. And my personal fave, the Michael Jackson impersonator.

Early today, we saw a large gathering of people and noticed a fancy trailer, tent, white seamless backdrop, and a bunch of strobes.  So, I ambled over to get a closer look.  Turns out, Jake Chessum - known for his street fashion photos in New York Magazine's Look Book, is doing a photo shoot all day today for HSBC Bank. The fun part is, they're shooting regular people - yes, as regular as our bald and unshaven marketing director, Andrew.  No makeup, no stylist, just whatever you're wearing today and the misty ambiance of a foggy Union Square morning.  If your photos get picked for the HSBC campaign, you make $750. They're looking for real stories, and real people, doing what they can to get by in today's economy.  I'm sure you have a story to tell, so stop by Union Square today and get your inner model on.