The Brady Bunch

When I was growing up, "The Brady Bunch" was one of my favorite shows. It still is.

Recently, I purchased the complete series on DVD to share with my daughter. Now she's hooked on the show! It seems the 70's family appeals to today's kids just as much as it did back when it first came out!

The show ran for 5 seasons, so there's a lot of episodes to watch! Believe it or not, I've seen every episode - even before having this DVD set!

The DVD set comes complete with a shag carpeted cover and 21 discs. We'll be watching for a long time. These shows are "Far Out," "Heavy," "Groovy," and "Outta Sight!"

Who's your favorite Brady?

Chicago Skyline

It's hard to beat the Chicago Skyline at night.

This past Saturday's wedding was a long one, but well worth it! We were all over downtown Chicago taking photos but this one late at night is one of my favorites. We shot this one around 10:10 PM.

A time exposured shot filled-in with flash on a hazy summer's night created this almost surreal look for the skyline. The dark brown / sepia tones really sets this image apart. A fun bride and groom helps too!

No Photoshop trickery on this shot... it's virtually straight out of the camera. Just a little exposure compensation and color balancing and that's it. This new Fuji camera is just incredible! Of course, knowing how to create a shot like this helps too...

Do You Have What It Takes?

I'm often stopped by other photographers asking what it's like to be a pro photographer.

It seems everyone with a new camera wants to be considered a "pro" photographer. I was told by one of my former clients that she had heard of a person who received a new digital camera as a gift and now thinks she's a pro photographer. Really?

There's more to being a pro than just owning a digital SLR camera! Putting your camera on "Program" mode and taking random photos does not make you a pro. Getting paid for your work doesn't make you a pro either... at least in my opinion. Anyone can pay someone to take a photo, but that doesn't mean his/her photos are going to look good.

To be a real pro, you need to understand photography. You need to have an eye for it. You need to be able to work under pressure and to handle any lighting situation thrown at you. Just owning a digital camera does not make you a pro.

It's easy to photograph a wedding where the lighting is perfect and everyone is cooperative. But what about the weddings that have terrible backlighting or very dim lighting and nobody wants to cooperate? How easy is that?

Being a pro photographer means being able to adapt to situations. You need to know how to work with people, work with lighting, and work with your camera. And, if you get paid to do it, then that's great. But many pros keep working on their skills long after they have learned the craft. That's why so many continue to go to seminars, read various publications, and continuing their education in photography. And, they PRACTICE too!

So if you want to be a pro photographer, it takes more than just owning a nice camera. It takes hard work and dedication as well.

A Day of Music

Forensicguy

(photo courtesy of Dale Janzen)

Algonquin

Marshall

Rollie

Chicago Sandy

Astrummer and JJFields

Alicia and Uncle Dizzy 60

DJanzen

Uncle Dizzy 60

Jim

I spent nine hours yesterday just hanging out with friends from the Acoustic Guitar Forum playing guitar and electric bass!

Our gracious hosts, Jim and Alicia opened up their home once again for a day of guitar fun and food. Like last year's gathering, Jim was slaving over a hot grill and offering us such goodies as Salmon, Filet Mignon, Pork Chops and more. Alicia made all the other non-grillable foods in the kitchen. Chicago Sandy brought her coffee machine and offered up her specialty coffees.

As for music, I got to play electric bass most of the time and that was just fine with me. Uncle Dizzy 60 brought his Fender Precision Bass and I jumped at the chance to play it. JJFields brought his Ultrasound AG-30 amplifier for me to use with my Taylor DDSM guitar. Wow, I've got to get myself one of these! For such a small amplifier, it packs an incredible sound!

To see more images from this year's get together, click here. To see images from last year's gathering, see the June 2006 posts in the archive section of this blog.

Two Similar Lenses - What's the Difference?

This past week, my daughter was using a Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 XR Di II LD lens while I was using the more expensive Nikon 17-55mm f2.8 G ED-IF AFS-DX lens to photograph Navy Pier. We both had the lenses mounted on similar Fuji S5 Pro camera bodies set for the identical setting.

Our goal was to capture Navy Pier artisitically and to see how our shots compared. Overall, she did very well for someone who has had little formal training. She has a pretty good eye. Perhaps that's from seeing all the photos I shoot every week and hearing me describe which images are good and which are not. Anyway, while comparing our shots, I noticed that all of my images seemed to have a slightly richer color quality to them than hers. Although the images seemed almost equally as sharp, the Nikon lens did appear slightly sharper as well.

This is not to say that the Tamron lens did not do a good job. I'd say without images to do a direct comparison against, I think it would be very hard for anyone to tell the difference. It's very close. And for the price difference, I think the average person would have to agree that the Tamron offers a lot for the money.

Doing a quick search for current prices, the Tamron lens sells for approximately $439 whereas the Nikon lens sells for $1200. That's a big price difference. Is it worth it? For the pro, yes. For the average consumer, perhaps not.

I had purchased the Tamron as a backup lens to use whenever I did not want to lug around the big heavy Nikon. For the most part, I'd say it's one of the best lenses for the money. It compares favorably to the big Nikon lens at a fraction of the cost. But if I had to do critical work in which I needed the absolute best quality image, I'd be grabbing for the Nikon lens to do that work.

If you want a high quality lens at a lower price, buy the Tamron lens. Buy the Nikon if you need a sharper image with better contrast and better color and price is no object. You can't go wrong with either lens, however.

Segway on Patrol at Navy Pier - Chicago, IL

The Chicago Police Department patrols Navy Pier on a "police" version of the Segway Human Transporter! This officer was surprised to catch me photographing her twice... once in a store and then another time later while patroling the common areas.

Last year, my family got to try out the Segway while visiting downtown Chicago and we all loved it. It's such a blast to ride that I highly recommend everyone who visits downtown to try it. (Check out the April 2, 2006 post on this blog.) If the prices of these ever come down, I'd be tempted to buy one. What can I say, I'm a gadgets freak!! I think the police officer looks cooler than I do though, don't you? I look kind of "nerdy" with the stuff that the tour group company required us to wear: a reflective vest and helmet - not to mention the thin wheels with the cheap looking hub caps that are standard on "civilian" Segways. I wonder if she'd let me try her vehicle if I told her I was former law enforcement... LOL

Wedding Crashed by Little People

On the way to their own wedding, my client's wedding got crashed by these little people!

ISO 1600 Low Light Images - Fuji S5 Pro

These were taken in very low light during this past Saturday's wedding.

As you can see, shooting without a flash maintains the intimacy of the performance and adds a little "drama" to the shot at the same time.

Since having the Fuji S5 Pro's, there's just so much more I can do even with very little light!

Brookfield Zoo Outing - Lots of Fun

Yesterday was a great day to be at the Zoo! A bunch of local photographers joined my daughter and me for a day at Brookfield Zoo to do a little shooting.

So where are all the animal shots? Well, believe it or not, it was more fun shooting the wild antics of the photographers than the animals!

We were a serious looking bunch... lots of pro gear in tow. Our huge 70-200mm f2.8 lenses dominated the scene as we just blew away all those "tourists" with their little point and shoot cameras! Everywhere we went, I could see the other zoo guests looking at us.

At one point, we saw a sign for someone who was having a wedding shower at the zoo. One of us suggested we go crash it just for fun to see if they might need a wedding photographer!! That would have been a hoot since most of us were professional wedding photographers!

Oh, and if you have not seen any cicadas in your neighborhood and wondered where they were all hiding, I can tell you that they are all hanging out at the zoo! Everywhere we went, we were bombarded by the little bugs! They are huge, but they don't really do anything to you (other than land on you.) We all had a good laugh everytime one landed near Gina! That quick scream was our way of knowing we didn't lose her in the crowd. LOL

Thanks to everyone who attended yesterday. I had a great time and I hope you did as well.

"What's In That Pelican Case?"

I've had a couple of people ask me what is inside my camera case when I go to weddings, so I thought I'd show you.

This is a Pelican 1624 case (basically a 1620 case with padded dividers) which has a pull out handle and dolly wheels for easy rolling. Fully loaded with my equipment, it weighs 62 lbs! Not the easiest case to lift in and out of the trunk of my car!

For destination weddings, I use the Pelican 1514 case (a 1510 case with padded dividers) which is similar to the large case, but sized to fit in the overhead bins of an airplane.

But the 1624 is my main case for most weddings and that's packed from top to bottom. The divider section which holds my small lenses comes out to reveal a lower compartment which holds my larger lens, more flash / battery packs and cameras. The large 70-200mm f2.8 lens stores vertically in the right side of the case.

Overall, the 1624 has enough space to allow me to bring enough equipment to cover the average wedding along with backup gear. Still, I continue to wear my Lowepro belt system to hold many of the needed gear throughout the day. Things I don't need access to as often stays in the case. The case is always locked with padlocks and then secured with a bike cable and padlock to a stationary object at the church or reception hall. So if you are thinking of walking off with my gear when I'm not looking, be ready to carry out a church pew or a reception hall table as well because that's what my case is often locked to!

Haley Dykes In Concert - Silverdale Baptist Church, Chattanooga, TN

This past weekend while I was in Tennessee photographing the wedding of Holli Dykes and Lucas Brown, I decided to spend Sunday with Holli's sister, Haley and her ex-fiance (edit: updated) Joshua instead of doing some more sightseeing before going home. I was satisfied with just having visited Ruby Falls and felt that was enough.

I've known Haley for about 3 years now, having gone to many of the shows that she and her dad, Doyle Dykes holds in the Chicago area. Over these years, I've gotten to see how Haley has grown and matured as a musical artist so it comes as no surprise that she is now in demand for performances of her own.

She was scheduled to play at 9:30 AM, 11:05 AM and 6:30 PM at Silverdale. I go to church on Sundays so it was especially convenient for me that Haley was performing locally in Chattanooga while I was there. It made deciding where to go a lot easier for me!

Although I stayed up late after the wedding of her sister on the night before, I got up early and checked out of my hotel room and headed for the church. Luckily for me, the church was only several minutes from the hotel.

As we were waiting for the 9:30 church service, I had the opportunity to help Haley warm up by playing Joshua's Taylor 915 guitar while Haley played her mandolin and sang. Joshua played Doyle's custom-made Taylor T-5 electric guitar since I was using his guitar. This particular T-5 has the well-known "White Rose for Heidi" on the headstock of the guitar... just like the DDSM guitar.

I stayed for both the 9:30 and 11:05 services and then later we all went out for lunch. At 2:00, we headed back to the church as Haley had asked a drummer and bass player to join in for the 6:30 performance and they needed to practice. Unfortuanately, I had to leave to catch my plane ride home, so I only stayed until 3:30 PM.

During that time though, I continued to photograph the practice session and got to see how Haley worked as she prepared for a gig. I am used to hearing Doyle back up Haley on guitar, so this was the first time I have heard her play with other musicians. Her fiance Joshua is very good on the guitar so Haley still has quality sound even without her dad there! By the way, Joshua meets the "Russ Lowe Seal Of Approval" when it comes to being the future husband for Haley! What a terrific young man! I like him a lot, and yes, they are a cute couple!

Before I left for the airport, I jumped in with the band for one song by playing the nice Yamaha grand piano that the church had on stage. It was a little hard to keep proper time since I didn't have a monitor aimed at me and I could only hear the drums echoing off the walls. Hopefully I did ok...

Ruby Falls - Chattanooga, Tennessee

I'm currently in my hotel room in Chattanooga, Tennessee waiting to go to photograph Holli Dyke's wedding. But since the wedding is not until later in the day, I decided to get up early to go do a little sightseeing!

I went to visit Ruby Falls. This underground natural water fall is in a cave located on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. I love caves! I recall going to my first cave with my family when I was young. Ever since then, I've wanted to go back and so I could not pass up this opportunity to do so. Often they light up the caves with dramatic lighting as you can see from the images of the falls itself. So I photographed Ruby Falls with my Fuji S5 set at ISO 3200 and used only the light provided.

I'll have some photos from the wedding soon... so watch out for it on Monday!

The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side...

If I were not a professional photographer, what would I most like to be? Easy! A full-time musician! Well, maybe...

When I was younger, my dream was to be a full-time musician. I often thought it would be so cool to play my guitar and sing in front of thousands of people and make records (yes... those vinyl things that came out before CD's!) What a life that would be!

But over the years, I've come to realize it's not all that glamorous. After getting to know several professional musicians, I see how hard a life it really is. Most of them are on the road all the time and have little time with their families. They spend more time traveling than actually performing. That can't be much fun...

Smooth Jazz recording artist Peter White once said to me that I was more lucky than him. He said after one of his Chicago Theater concerts that he envied me because I had the ability to go home and sleep in my own bed. He had a lousy bed to look forward to on the tour bus as it headed off to the next town. Hmm.... that made me wonder what it would be like on the road.

Recently, guitarist Doyle Dykes told me that he had put on well over 80,000 miles on a vehicle that he had purchased around 2 years ago! He ended up selling the vehicle and bought another. I can't imagine driving that many miles in just two years! And, he not only drives, but flies a lot too! Plus, he rents vehicles too when he can't drive his own. How many miles does THAT add up to?

I am photographing Doyle's daughter's wedding this Saturday in Tennessee. Doyle and his other daughter Haley have gigs lined up all the way until the day before the wedding and they also have gigs the day after the wedding! So they only have the actual day of the wedding to spend with family and then they are gone again! That just blows me away! They don't even have enough time to themselves to enjoy the entire weekend with their family!

As much as I think it would be so cool to be a full-time musician, I wonder how much they actually give up to do that. They say the grass always seems greener on the other side...

Sure, musicians have moments that make it worthwhile, but most of the time, it's not all that it's cracked up to be.

Now take Photography... many people tell me that I have an interesting job. For the most part, I'd have to agree. Being a wedding photographer, I get to go to a party every Saturday! But like musicians, there are other parts of the job that people don't see or know about. Often they don't realize that as a wedding photographer, I am working the entire day, often never taking a break and standing on my feet for up to 12 hours or more without getting the chance to sit down! Plus I carry over 23 lbs of gear on my body all day long too! And during the weekdays, I'm on the computer all day working on the images shot over the weekend to make them look good... Not all that glamorous, huh?

So when it comes to wanting to do what others do, it is best to look at the job closer to see if it's all that you think it is. Often it isn't.

Rock on...

"What's The Best Point & Shoot Camera On The Market Today?"

Fuji F40fd

Fuji F31fd

Every now and then, I'll have someone ask me, "What's the best digital camera on the market today?" Well, as a professional photographer, I'm more inclined to use digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) cameras as opposed to "point and shoot" compact cameras. But I realize that most consumers don't want the expense or weight of an SLR and would much rather have a camera to put in a purse or pocket.

I can't argue with the logic of owning a small camera. I think having a camera available with you immediately because it is small and portable is better than not having a camera with you at all. Why do you think there is such popularity with taking pictures with a cell phone? But beyond the cell phone camera craze, the small and affordable "point and shoot" camera catagory is your best bet if you want a good quality camera that's portable.

Before deciding on which camera is best for you, I believe you have to ask yourself, "Do I want convenience features or do I want the best image quality?" There are models on the market today that offer incredible features for the money but sacrifice image quality to get it. And conversely, there are models that offer incredible image quality but lack certain features.

As a pro, I often have to make this determination as well. When I chose my digital SLRs for use in my business this year, I had to decide whether I wanted the superior feature performance of the Nikon D200 camera over the superior image quality of the Fuji S5 Pro camera. The Fuji S5 camera body is the identical body to the Nikon D200 because Nikon makes the S5 for Fuji and uses the D200 body to do it. But Fuji put in their own image sensor and firmware to control the camera. In doing so, they came up with a camera that in my opinion offers a superior image quality, but lacks in some features such as burst rate speed (the ability to capture multiple images in rapid succession) due to its limited firmware (most likely.) In the end, I felt that image quality was more important for me and my clients and decided to sell off my two Nikon D200's and purchase two new Fuji S5 Pro cameras for my work. Yes, each Fuji S5 camera is about $550 more expensive than each Nikon D200.

For point and shoot cameras, I'd have to say choosing between image quality and features is a harder decision because you want as many features as you can get for the size and money, but you really don't want to lose image quality either. The whole point of a "point and shoot" camera is convenience really. So should someone make a purchase decision on features and convenience over image quality when buying a point and shoot camera?

In 2005 I sold a Canon A95 to purchase a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera for my wife (who never uses it at all but my daughter and I do.) We still have that Fuji camera and I have a hard time justifying a replacement in 2007. Why? Because it does a fantastic job! I can't fault it's image quality for a point and shoot camera at 6 MP. It can shoot in very low light without a flash (as high as ISO 1600 in sensitivity) and I shoot a lot of images without a flash. So for me, it does a great job.

So what is the best point and shoot camera on the market? Well, for performance vs. cost, I'd have to say it has to be either the Fuji F31fd or Fuji F40fd. These two camera are very similar to the older F10 but offer upgraded image quality. The new F40fd offers a slightly lower sensitivity capability over the F31fd (ISO 2000 instead of ISO 3200) and makes up for it with a slightly higher megapixel count, but also offers picture stabilization which can help in camera blur. That's a feature that might be worth having in a point and shoot camera. But I tend to favor the older F31fd because it offers Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority modes that the F40fd does not have and these are features I like a lot. My F10 doesn't have these modes and I wish it did. Plus the F31fd costs only $210 (after rebate) as opposed to the F40fd's cost of $265 (also not a bad price.) When you think about it, to get a quality digital image maker for well under $300 is absolutely amazing!

But these two cameras do not offer the highest Megapixel count and they do not have the most features compared to other point and shoot cameras. And, they are bigger and bulkier than other cameras too. So why do I favor these models today?

Well, I think it comes down to image quality for me as the most important feature when deciding on a camera. No matter how fancy a camera is and how many bells and whistles it offers, if it can't make a good image, I can't justify buying it or recommending it. From what I've seen from various reviews and having owned a Fuji F10 (the camera that the F31fd and F40fd was based), I'd have to say that these two Fuji models offer the best image quality in the Point and Shoot category.

You may think that I'm just a Fuji enthusiast. After all, today I own two Fuji S5 Pro's, I owned a Fuji S3 Pro last year and I own a Fuji F10 point and shoot camera. Well, the decision to own these came after a lot of research, "soul searching" and cost. I had to sell perfectly good cameras to afford these for my business and the decision to do so was very difficult for me. I have been a Nikon and Canon user for many years (although I favor the Nikon system over Canon in general for it's ease of use and familiarity) and so going to Fuji was relatively foreign to me. But I'd have to say that the image quality of Fuji's products (at least these cameras, not all Fuji cameras) impressed me enough to buy them and recommend them to others.

There is a great article on DP Review about high ISO (this gives the ability to capture images in low light) and I recommend you read this if you are looking at point and shoot cameras that will allow you to shoot without a flash in lower light: http://www.dpreview.com/articles/compactcamerahighiso/

If you would like to read a review of the excellent Fuji F31fd, check this out: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujifilmf31fd/

So are the Fuji F31fd and F40fd the best point and shoot cameras on the market today? For image quality at low light, I'd have to say... probably. Check out the review and look at the comparison images to determine this for yourself.

Do the two cameras offer the best features for the money? No. They are lacking in many features that make other models more attractive such as physical size, focus speed, zoom ratios, etc. But to me, the image quality is the determining factor over the features when I buy cameras. And, don't get fooled about the megapixel count either. You'll see in the review's comparision photos that even at only 6 megapixels, it outperforms others with higher megapixel counts. The megapixel race isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Don't buy a camera solely on this specification. And don't be fooled by the claims of "high ISO" from other manufacturers either. Check out the article on High ISO and you'll see why.

Awesome Leaves!

My daughter shot this image with a Fuji S5 pro and a Nikon 17-55mm f 2.8 lens today.

I like how the backlight shines through the leaves highlighting the big leaf in the middle. Normally such a massive amount of backlighting would ruin a shot. But she had the spot meter on and got a great exposure. Be sure to click on the image to get a closer look.

A budding photographer, huh? A chip off the ol' block? LOL

Ballet

You either love ballet or you don't.

Well, maybe that's not true. If I had to choose one or the other, I'd probably have to say I don't love it, but I don't hate it either. But there are times I do love it, and there are times I hate it. It's kind of like Opera... you either love it or hate it. Sort of... In other words, I can't make up my mind. I keep changing it.

Now take the case of these young dancers. How could you not love watching these talented kids perform? It takes a lot of hard work to be a ballet dancer and it's just awesome to see kids really doing something they like to do. The girls did a great job!

I photographed a portion of last Friday's dance recital rehersal and was able to get a couple of good shots of the dancers. I was as far back in the Barrington High School auditorium as you can be but I wasn't worried since I had my Fuji S5 pro camera with a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR lens on it. I set the camera to ISO 3200 with Aperture Priority set for f 3.2. The camera chose a shutter speed of 1/250 second. The lens was set at 170mm and handheld.

The image was post processed with Gary Fong's BullZEye 2 color correcting software and then sent through Neat Image software to help reduce any digital noise. Adobe Photoshop CS 2 was used to sharpen the image slightly with unsharp mask. The image was cropped for a pleasing composition and then downsized and saved for web presentation.

Overall, the image is quite good considering where I was situated. Be sure to click on it to see a larger version of it.

Wedding at the Hyatt Regency - O'Hare

This Saturday's wedding was really done up nicely! The wedding and reception was held in the same room which made it very easy on the guests! After the ceremony was done, the room was expanded and totally redecorated for the reception. It's amazing how quickly things can be converted over. I used a "fisheye" lens to show 180 degrees of the room.

My clients and their guests were all very nice as well. Very polite and courteous! I had to tell the guys to "loosen up" since they all seemed so polite and reserved! I suppose you can't ask for a better set of friends when each of them are so well behaved! To get them in the mood for things to come, I did a "Huddle" shot where I laid on the ground and had all the guys huddle around me. The huge dome above us really made the shot... check it out!

Big City Bride did a great job in coordinating the event and keeping everything on schedule. Kudos to Wedding Coordinator Rebecca Hart for organizing everything for my clients.