As a food photographer there are times when I need to get in close to my subject. Usually this isn’t a problem especially when I’m photographing something that is “normal” in size, like a bowl of pasta or a plate of food. However there are, on occasion, times when I’m photographing something small and my usual lens (the Canon 70-200mm f/4L IS) just can’t focus in tight enough. It’s times like these when I need a macro lens.

The thing is, I don’t own a macro lens, and I can’t remember the last time I had ever used one. In my opinion it’s a misconception that you need a macro to shoot food, since there’s usually no need to get in so close to a plate of food to photograph teeny-tiny details (usually at the expense of not being able to tell what is being photographed). But when you have a very small subject, and you want to get in tight on that subject, then a macro lens is the only way to go.

I had a few setups I wanted to shoot in which I needed a macro lens, and BorrowLenses was kind enough to send me a few lenses to try out. There were two I had my eye on: the Zeiss 100mm macro, and the Canon 180mm macro. I wanted to try the Zeiss because, well, it’s a Zeiss … and that it was 100mm. I chose the Canon 180mm because with my 70-200m I’m usually always set at 200mm, so I figured that would be a familiar focal length. I assumed that would be the one I liked best.

When I got the lenses, I set up my shot with the ring (in the photo above), and the first one I tried was the 180mm. I hadn’t heard too many good things about the lens from a few different people, mostly along the lines of “it has too much macro”, but I wanted to see for myself. And … they were right. When I set up the ring in the shot above with the 180mm it was sooooo compressed and way zoomed in to the ring that I couldn’t get very much else in the frame. I wanted to have some of the glass and bubbles in the shot, but there wasn’t much else I could fit without backing up, and I didn’t want to be too far from my set. My initial thought of it being the one I would like best (and more likely to buy over the 100mm) was wrong.

So I switched to the Zeiss 100mm, completed my shoot and was pretty happy with the results. The Zeiss is pretty expensive, so I might not end up with that one down the road and may have to give the Canon 100mm macro a try before I dive into any big purchases. The key is that I now know what works for my photography to get the results I want.

The whole point I’m trying to get across is that if you want to buy new gear, that’s great! Just make sure you need it, first. Consider BorrowLenses, for lens rentals, or just try out gear from a willing friend. When I first started into Photography I bought so much more gear than I ever needed … partly because I didn’t know what I wanted, and also because I didn’t realize what I got wouldn’t be what I wanted. I get emails all the time asking “which lens/camera/etc. should I buy”, and my answer is always to rent first. You can only tell so much from other people’s photos, or even just trying the lens in the store. You need to be in real-world situations with gear to know if it is what will work for your photography.

Hey everyone, just thought I’d pass along the final book announcement that it’s shipping! I’m really excited about this book, it was a lot of hard work (and at times extremely delicious) and also a lot of fun to put together. I made this book for those of you who really want to step up their skills with food photography … I hope you enjoy it!

Also, in case you missed it I put together a video about the book (here’s the link) and if you would like to purchase it, the book is currently available on Peachpit and Amazon. :)

I’m sure that by now many of you have heard the buzz about Google+. The way I sum up Google+ is that it has Facebook’s way of posting and commenting, with Twitter’s “you don’t have to be mutual friends” awesomeness. It also allows you to group people into “Circles” so that you can only post to specific groups of people. I pretty much just post all of my stuff to everyone, since the only group I would post separately to would be my “family” circle (and so far none of them have accepted their invites … sigh).

You may have also heard some of the distaste about Google’s TOS (Terms of Service), which is summed up pretty well by Scott Bourne over at his blogs Photofocus and GoingPro. Scott has a valid point—there are some concerns about content (my main concern being photography) if it’s posted to Google+, since they are claiming a royalty free license to your content if you post it on the site. My “I’m not a lawyer but this is probably still solid” solution? I’ll continue to post my photos on my blog, 500px.com and on Flickr and then share the link (not the actual photos) on Google+. I doubt that Google could lay any claims to linked content, especially since that consists of the entire Internet and anyone can post a link to anything.

Aside from the TOS, in the few weeks it’s been open to the public Google+ has shown the potential to be a really beneficial social network to use in addition to Twitter and Facebook (the two I use the most). Right now I don’t see it replacing anything for me, since most of my friends and family are on Facebook and they are all unlikely to transition over to G+. I also find Twitter so useful on its own that you won’t see me quieting down over there, either. As a digital photographer who tries to stay active in both the photography and tech world I use social networks a lot (mostly Twitter) and I think that Google+ has potential to be a good way to network and meet new people.

My favorite feature (so far) is the Hangouts. It’s basically just video chat that will accomodate up to 10 people at a time, but is unique to many of the existing social networks. I’ve already met some cool people and made some connections … I’ll probably be having (and joining) hangouts regularly just to chat with other G+ users and photographers over time. There are some features I wish they would add, like reserving spots for specific users (especially the host) and ways to customize some of the settings (especially the sounds), and it would be great if I could do a screen-cast to share my desktop and also allow an “audience” if I wanted to allow people to just watch the hangout if it’s already full. But overall it’s still a really neat feature.

If you don’t have a Google+ account and want to try it out, Trey Ratcliff has a “pay it forward” thing on his Facebook page. Just watch for a post offering invites and add your gmail/email address (more info here on his blog). And once you get there, look me up! :)\

Update: I created a quick “Basics of Google+” video … click here to view it on YouTube!

I developed my passion for photography 12 years ago (in high school).  Back then film was really the only way to do photography (for an amateur, at least).  Digital was very new, very expensive, and I can even remember thinking at one point “I’ll never switch to digital!”.  I was in love with the darkroom … I even had one set-up in my parent’s basement!

Then, about three years ago, I decided to try out digital.  I’m not sure why, I guess it just looked like fun.  Then I found iStockphoto, and my knowledge about photography and Photoshop skyrocketed!  Aside from my high-school classes and some OJT at a photo lab, I’m an entirely self-taught photographer and Photoshop user.

This semester I decided to use my GI Bill to take some photography classes, just for fun.  I’m in a B&W (darkroom) class, portrait, documentary, and digital class.  The first day I walked back into the lab was so nostalgic!  The strong smell of the chemicals … so many wonderful memories.  After using my trusty Pentax K1000 for the first time in about ten years, processing film, and making a few prints I am starting to remember and relive that passion, the same passion I started with.  I love film photography and always will.

It’s really unfortunate that there are many people who have never experienced the basics of B&W darkroom photography.  It’s also very unfortunate that some people don’t want to have anything to do with digital photography!  In my opinion film and digital are very different, but both are still photography and both have their place.  It’s kind of the difference between oil paintings and watercolor paintings … both are still paintings, and both are still art.  I will always have a true love for both film and digital, and I’m very glad that I am able to have the opportunity to rediscover photography, again. :)

I went on a solo photo walk to Moss Landing today, and had an amazing time! Today, when I was thinking about going on this walk, there was no sun, it kind of felt like it was going to rain, yet I embraced the day and went anyways. I am soooo glad that I did! Nothing fancy happened on the walk, it was just very relaxing and I felt like I was back to doing what I truly enjoyed … just shooting for fun.

Because I’m taking a film B&W photography class, I decided to bring both my Nikon D200 and my Pentax K1000 along (I love that little old camera!) loaded with Ilford 100 B&W film. I have yet to develop the film (should get to it in a few weeks after PSW), but I fell in love with all of the digital shots I got! (Click here to see them all up-close.) I really felt very happy and peaceful while I was shooting, and was very aware of my surroundings. I have always loved taking photos, but some of the time it feels like work, even though I am enjoying the process. Today was purely for me, just enjoying myself and really capturing the moment.

I don’t think I would have done this if it weren’t for the recent world-wide photo walk that Scott Kelby organized last weekend … it has gotten me so inspired to shoot because I love photography, not to make the “perfect” shot or try to make any money in the process. I’ll have to thank him next week in Vegas if I am fortunate enough to meet him. :)

I had some fun yesterday doing a self-portrait! I was playing around with my ring-flash and gels, and got a neat look. I got my nose pierced last week, too, and wanted to get an updated photo for all of my social networks. :)