Tag: camera

Olympus OMD EM-5 over a Canon 5D

A friend, who uses a Canon 5D, wrote to ask me if I am now using my Olympus OMD EM-5 cameras full time as my “only” cameras. Since I am doing just that I started thinking about how answering him could be turned into a blog entry. Since I am sponsored by Olympus this may appear to be obviously biased. But in my defense, I was using Olympus gear long before they started sponsoring me. As I have blogged about before, I evaluate cameras based on how well they solve the problems that I face as a photographer. The question is, in what situation is an Olympus OMD EM5 a better camera than a Canon 5D? Read More

The travelling camera bag of a professional photographer – me (a video)

Every photographer has series of problems they have to solve. The most basic problem is how to get the subject in front of the camera onto the chip, film or paper. Another example of such a problem is what gear a traveling professional will take on the road and how will they carry that. In this podcast I take you inside my camera bag to show you how I solve that particular problem. Read More

Solving the problem of camera straps

Whenever I buy (or advise a photographer about) a piece of gear, I always use the same criteria. I simply ask, “Does it solve the problem?” I used to only apply that test to cameras or lenses. Increasingly, I use it when considering other camera related gear such as tripods and flash cards. I have been using it often recently because entrepreneurs are increasingly coming up with novel solutions to problems that I once thought were not “solvable.” A classic example of this is camera straps. Read More

Buying lenses for travel photography

A student-to-be wrote me question about what to bring to a class later this year. His question was specific to the class I am teaching but also broad enough that I suspect I will be revisiting the same topic in the future. So I figured I would kill two birds with one stone and make a blog entry out of the answer to his wise question. Read More

A Digital Holga? (a video)

In this podcast, fine-art photographer, Annu Palakunnathu Matthew takes you along as she tests what is, in essence, a digital Holga. Read More

Everything you should know about buying a serious camera

I am working with an intern who is looking to move from film to digital photography. A family friend is moving up from a point-and-shoot to a serious Digital SLR. After giving both of them the same basic answers, I realized that their question is one I have answered dozens of times over the years. I also I realized that their question (and especially my answers) are a blog entry in the making. Read More

What kind of tools do I use and why? (Part two)

I am now heading home after a productive workshop in Guatemala, where the mix of cameras the students had in the class struck me as interesting. The discussion we had around camera choices is something that I thought would interest other photographers. (This is the second of two entries on the topic of what kind of tools I use.) Read More

Using light, angle and the time of day in making silhouettes (a video)

This podcast explores using light, angle and the time of day in making silhouettes. Read More

The life and death and life of Polaroid pictures

Polaroids, those instant-developing images that we all came to love, seem like they would have become quaint in the digital age. Still the saga of Polaroid’s “images in an instant,” having gone through many incarnations over the years, continues. In fact, I just started using the first Polaroid product I have owned in a long time. Read More

A “knock around” camera

If you are like me, you probably have been looking for a “point-and-shoot” camera to use when you would rather not carry your “work” camera. Some folks call these cameras “knock around” cameras, to be used when you are just “knocking around.” Read More