The Online Photographer

If You Love Photography Equipment...

The only lens reviews I regularly read any more are Roger Cicala's at LensRentals. He's the only person on the web who a) tests multiple samples and b) takes things apart. I mean literally...he takes things apart.

If you love photography equipment, you owe it to yourself to read his teardown report on the new Canon EF 35mm ƒ/1.4L II USM.

I don't want to quote too much lest I risk stealing Roger's hard-earned thunder, but here's a short bit: "I keep repeating myself, but by this point I was really rather awestruck by the amount of careful over-engineering that went into making this lens. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, else is engineering lens mechanics like the newer Canon lenses."

Read also his paragraphs in the same piece about the phrase "built like a tank," and his closing comments.

And I made fun of this lens for being too big and heavy. I hereby take it back, and by the way, this crow I'm dining on isn't half bad. It goes well the humble pie. Kudos, Canon, and a kowtow.

Here's LensRentals' optical report on the same lens (and the older version, and the Zeiss and Sigma Art competitors). And here's where you rent one from Roger.

Mike
(Thanks to Michael J. Perini)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Chris Y.: "It's nice to hear Canon get some positivity. I've used Canon EOS since 1995. I still use my 70–210mm ƒ/4 first generation tele too...clunky as it is, I have film shots made with it that I wouldn't trade for anything. My EOS 2.8 24–70mm ƒ/2.8 non-IS just kills. Yes, with the hood on that thing looks like a bazooka, but I for one never wanted smaller cameras, I always wanted bigger ones. When I point that at someone they know I'm serious. I've been klutzy enough to have to use the repair service in New Jersey three times over the last several years and, while pricey, they could not have made it easier and faster. I don't have any tattoos, but if I ever got one it would say '5D Forever' But then, 'Fender' and 'Campagnolo' would have to get equal time, so best not to get started. And I agree—lensrentals.com is great!"

Hugh: "Recently swapped my 35mm ƒ/1.4L mark I for the mark II lens. Delighted with it. Just heard rumours the 135mm ƒ/2.0L mark II is coming in 2016. Can't wait. You don't really need much more than those two lenses.

"Canon Professional Service (CPS) is another factor that gets overlooked. Dropped my 135mm ƒ/2 three feet onto concrete. Pulled out the broken bits of glass from the filter. Still worked perfectly. Finished shooting. Sent it to Canon for repair. Forty-eight hour turnaround, £17 for a new filter ring, £100 for labour, including a service.

"Used CPS three times, always had the lens back in four days including shipping both ways."

ThinkTank Bargain

It's "Totable Thursday" at B&H and one of the many deals is more than $53 off on the Think Tank Retrospective 7 shoulder bag in blue slate color.  I'm just remembering how many endorsements that one got from readers the last time we talked about bags.

Just passing this along. $109 for a limited time, vs. $162.75 currently at Amazon.

Mike

P.S. This is pretty OT, but "Wi-Fi Wednesday" yesterday at B&H ended up throwing me for a loop today. One of the things B&H had on sale was a "range extender" for Wi-Fi. Since my Wi-Fi doesn't reach to one of the places in the house I want to use it, that caught my attention. So as I was supposed to be working on medical stuff yesterday, I procrastinated by working on Internet stuff. I knew nothing about it, and after driving myself at it half the day I have learned .3% of what there is to know. What do you think? Do range extenders work? Would it be better to get a better modem, plus router, to replace the all-in-one I'm renting from Time Warner Cable? Or both? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

The extender that started all this isn't even on sale any more, but now I'm on the trail, and you know how us bloodhounds are.

[UPDATE to the P.S.: Thanks to everyone for all the good advice! (There was lots of it). I took the advice of Michael Trupiano, Michael Perini, Larry Gebhardt, John Lehet, Fred Haynes' son, and several others (modified a bit), and bought a modem (a Netgear CM600), and an Apple AirPort 3TB Time Capsule to use as router and a third backup.

I learned that part of my problem is that, while the downstairs floor of my house was stripped to the sticks and completely redone, the upstairs still features mostly original woodwork and plaster...possibly, expanded metal lath with real plaster, which, I'm told, is a pretty good shield for radio waves. So I've got a Time Warner Cable (TWC) technician coming next Wednesday, and we're going to relocate the Internet equipment to a more central location downstairs in the house in a place where there's nothing but wood in between the router and the places where I need signal. If I still have problems with dead spots after that, I'll use an Airport Express as a booster.

I've learned a whole lot about this in the past several days (and increased my knowledge to .7% of competency). Thanks again for the good comments, both public and private. —MJ]

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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House of 40 Chairs (TOP Is Off Today)

TOP will be off today whilst* I take care of some pressing life administrative details.

Why not check out a recent post you might have missed, such as:

Epson P800 review (and its companion piece about why you might want to use Printer-Managed Color instead of custom profiles)

The Publishing Project of the Century

Shared Photographs: sharing is a two-edged sword

Using custom modes on your camera effectively

TOP interviews a man of wealth and taste (National Geographic and the Devil)

New 35mm lenses

Why you should make prints

Or yesterday's post about good photo-education books.

Is that enough? You can find more in the Archives.

P.S.
And a brief update: they say that when people buy a new house, they tend to overcompensate for the shortcomings of the old one. As I was scanning through these older posts I noticed that back in September I wrote:

There is currently no comfortable place in the house to sit, which, although temporary, is a shortcoming. I have dining-table chairs—no dining table yet; it's being built by the Amish—but no couches or stuffed chairs. The famous orange couch from my last new house was midcentury-modern style. It worked well in that house but would not have looked right in this one. I gave it to Xander, and it is now occupying the living room of his rented group house back in Wisconsin where he goes to college. Before winter gets here, I am probably going to need some furniture.

But there is still time. I will work on it.

My old-old house in Waukesha was not set up for visitors. There were almost no chairs even for Xander and me. The lack of seating was symbolic of a reticent, semi-reclusive, closed-down life, I'm afraid.

I'm happy to report not only that the new Mennonite (not Amish) made-to-order mission-style couch is here, but that my new house, when it's finally all outfitted, will have FORTY places for people to sit. Four-oh. That includes no fewer than twelve chairs outside. (That does count three per couch, which is not typically how people use couches; a couch or sofa should ordinarily be counted on to seat two.)

Is that a photogenic couch, or what? Quarter-sawn oak and "paprika" leather. And a superb bargain, as well. I got it from Horning Chair Shop in Penn Yan (1657 Stiles Road, Penn Yan, New York, 14527, 315/536-2042—no website, but c'mon, they're Mennonite—they often travel by horse and buggy!) and thanks again to the unidentified reader who tipped me about them (it was in a comment, and I can't find it now). Thanks as well to Alvin and Andrew. Horning Chair Shop has been great.

I love the rug, but it's a $100 Lowe's special and it's aging before my very eyes. I fear it might not last as long as I'd like it to.

Well, now I appear to have written a post, despite intentions. Well, okay, then, so I'm going to have to take the rest of the day for personal business. See you tomorrow.

Mike

*Ailsa loves it when I try to speak English. She heaps scorn on me for trying to be a bloke.

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

David Miller: "Your use of 'whilst' is perfectly good English, Mike, but blokes don't say 'whilst.' Chaps say 'whilst.' (But keep at it, your efforts are admirable.)"

Ailsa: "Careful, Mike, or I'll start accusing you of bolloxing things up...."

Mike replies: That would leave me gobsmacked.

 

Learn Photography Mo' Betta: Ten (+) Recommended Books (and a Poster)

Ted Orland's Photographic Truths poster, 2000s version. (I have an original
print of the photograph hanging in my downstairs half bath.)

• Bill Jay and David Hurn, On Being a Photographer. The ultimate explanation of why photography is not about photography, this is the first book a student or beginning or intermediate photographer should read—because it might impart to them the idea that subject can come first, and it might get them to question the standard or conventional ideas about what photographs should look like. Short, and not perfectly argued, but both courageous and essential. For further reading, LensWork #83 consists of the best of Bill Jay's Lenswork column, "Endnotes."

• Bryan Peterson, Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera. Not only is exposure the basis for most classic photographing "systems" such as the Zone System, not only is correct and creative exposure the very fundament and foundation of good photographic technique, but knowledge of exposure is often lacking among photographers today because cameras have become so automatic and correction in post is so readily at hand. Do not be lulled! Well-controlled exposure is still necessary if you want pictures that look their best. This title (the fourth edition linked above is due next Spring; the third edition is available now) is one of the great bestsellers of photographic technique, and appropriately so. Even if you think you already know this stuff well enough, it might not be a bad idea to brush up on your basics.

• Richard Benson, The Printed Picture. A highly enjoyable and profusely illustrated guided tour of the technology of photographic printing from one of the master printmakers of the age. Benson, himself a master of many processes and a no-nonsense lecturer, teaches at Yale.

• Joe McNally, The Moment It Clicks. Joe McNally's lively and engaging account of what it's like to be Joe McNally was part of a mini-avalanche of "How I Do It" books, the list of which includes Gregory Heisler's 50 Portraits, the compendious Road to Seeing by Dan Winter, Annie Leibovitz at Work, Steve McCurry's Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs, and numerous others. The Moment It Clicks was the one that best clicked with readers.

• Kirk Tuck, Minimalist Lighting. You don't necessarily need to do lighting, but it helps to know a little about it, and it helps to know some basic techniques. This perennially popular title will walk you through basic concepts and is also a great instruction manual for getting started.

• [As a pair] Michael L. Carlebach, The Origins of Photojournalism in America and American Photojournalism Comes of Age. A great window into photography's tumultuous development through the lens of its historically most important use. Engagingly readable and painlessly informative. I keep recommending these, and each time I do, a small number of lucky people actually read them. At least now they're very cheap, because they're only available used. Trust me, I've read a lot of photo history, and these books are special. They should be reprinted—or at least formatted for Kindle.

• Rather than recommend a book like Scott Kelby's The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Book for Digital Photographers and the small library of books like it that you'd need in order to master the ins and outs of digital technique, I think I'll just recommend a subscription to Lynda.com. Lynda.com, if you don't know it, is a video tutorial site that covers all sorts of software—and not only photography-related. Helpfully divided into easily digestible chunks, each course covers everything you need to get up to speed. For those already in the know, there are often shorter courses that clue you in to changes when newer versions come out. View one a day and you'll soon have gotten more than your money's worth.

• [As a pair] Jeff Schewe, The Digital Negative, and Ansel Adams: The Negative. (Search Abebooks or eBay for a nice used hardcover copy of the latter.) The Negative is the best of Adams's technical books. Like a clear mountain pool, it's both deep and clear. It can be read with great profit even by photographers who will only ever use a camera with a sensor in it. I suggest reading it one-after-the-other with Jeff Schewe's excellent The Digital Negative, which was in part inspired by Ansel's book and was newly refreshed just this past September. Of course then you will want Jeff's The Digital Print, and Ansel's The Print...but I'm cheating on my ten!

• David Bayles and Ted Orland, Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. One of the oddities of artmaking is that, at an elemental level, it takes real courage. You're looking at places in yourself that many human beings aren't comfortable confronting, and putting forward something so deeply personal that fear can prevent you from working freely. David and Ted "unpack" the problems of overcoming the impediments that our feelings put in our way.

• John Szarkowski, Looking at Photographs: 100 Pictures from the Collection of The Museum of Modern Art. I suppose at age 58 this is unlikely ever to be displaced as my personal Tao Te Ching of photography (much more appropriate than saying "personal Bible of photography," as both LaP and the Chinese classic are brief and a bit inscrutable). On the other hand, there can't be many TOP readers who still don't have this book unless they are recalcitrant and obstreperous and pigheadedly refuse to see reason. So you probably already have it. The late John Szarkowski (with me he pronounced it "shar-kov-ski") was one of the best writers on photography in the history of the medium, and LaP is his masterpiece.

• Have I reached ten yet? Finally, recently updated for the twenty-teens, Ted Orland's ultra-classic Photographic Truths poster. (Illustrated above.) Ted used to be Ansel's assistant, and is a fine writer and a creative brain, and he has an impish, wise and breezy attitude. He is the soul of "lighten up." Sample: "When your friends finally realize that you are a True Artist, committed to making sensitive and meaningful images, they will ask you to photograph their wedding." Let Ted's cheery aphorisms lighten your outlook a bit, and perhaps you'll be the better for it.

Mike

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Rodger Kingston: "Of all the books you mention here, John Szarkowski's Looking at Photographs is certainly one of my all-time favorites. In my copy I've noted that I acquired it in November 1973 (the year it was published as well as the year I was married). At some point along the way John inscribed it to me. In addition to 100 photographs, the book contains 100 short essays that are some of the best writing on photography that I know of. I think my favorite is the one on Carleton E. Watkins, in which, after writing about the photographer, he compares Watkins' photograph of a strawberry tree to a Japanese flag. Did I mention that Szarkowski had a wry, lively sense of humor?"

Kenneth Tanaka: "Some good choices there, Mike.

"My own list would meander outside the boundaries of photography and into the realms of modern (i.e. 1900+) art and design history for grounding and sources for visual and conceptual inspiration.

"But as I'm pressed for time at the moment that list will have to wait. Still, since you highlighted Bryan Petersen's Exposure book (how does he find the time to take a picture?) I do want to offer that Petersen's Learning to See Creatively is an excellent exposition on expanding your photographic vision. There are many such books but Petersen's lively and inviting style makes his messages easy to grasp immediately.

"Even better is The Photographer's Mind by the equally popular photo author Michael Freeman. This is also an engaging, but much deeper look at the visual, cultural, and psychological aspects of managing photographic space. Even if you've been using a camera for 50 years I can virtually guarantee that you'll find something very interesting and perhaps even immediately useful in Freeman's book. It's inexpensive. Just get it.

"(Both titles are also available on Kindle.)

"Gotta go!"

Is It Art? Dept.

Written by John Camp

Two women got into a fight last Friday at Art Basel Miami Beach (they were shopping for art, apparently) and one stabbed the  other with an X-Acto knife. People at the show thought the blood-covered woman was part of a performance art show, and that the crime scene tape later put up was part of an art installation.

I’m not sure what that says about contemporary art or the contemporary art world, but it says something.

John

©2015 by John Camp, all rights reserved

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JAYoung: "Art work can be dangerous. My ex-wife used to do paste-up at a newspaper we both worked at and once—talking with her hands—stuck an Exacto up to the hilt into a co-worker's arm. Another occasion she dropped it and the Exacto blade embedded into the sole of her sandal right between her toes. I eventually got her an Olfa retractable."

Brief Interjection (Mike Loses Mind)

I have not lost my mind; I have not become a zombie; the real Mike was not kidnapped and replaced by a cyborg; the sun did not come up in the West this morning, nor did all the birds begin to fly backwards;—although as to whether hell has frozen over, can't say, never been there.

But...for a task like last Thursday's, shooting the arborists at work dismantling trees, a zoom would have been a better choice than my XF 14mm and 23mm primes.

I know, right? Never thought you'd hear me say that, did you?

Zooms usually come into their own in my opinion when you can't control your standpoint. That includes when your subject is 70 feet in the air and you're stuck on the ground, or when you need to stay out of the way of large chunks of wood falling out of the sky. (The time in my shooting life when I was most obviously stuck with the wrong tools was when I went to Keeneland, a horse racetrack in Kentucky, with a Leica M6 and a 50mm Summicron. Nice camera; nice lens; not for that situation. On the other hand, a Leica M6 and 35mm Summicron was perfect when I had a pit pass at the Michigan 400 Indy car race.)

I've owned a few zooms over the years. I have but few favorites, based mainly on work I've seen by others, published lens tests, and brief trials. They include the magnificent Canon EF 24–70mm ƒ/2.8L II USM, the Fujifilm XF 55–200mm ƒ/3.5–4.8 R LM OIS, the Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 17–55mm ƒ/2.8G IF-ED, (a premium lens Nikon made back when it was thinking of sticking with APS-C), and the Panasonic Lumix G X Vario 12–35mm ƒ/2.8 Asph.

Mike

P.S. Many people have commented that zooms are now "as good as primes." While that might be true optically—I think generally it is—the other two of the three classic objections to zooms still hold, which is that zooms are typically as large or larger than the largest prime they replace, and as slow or slower than the slowest prime they replace.

From a "seeing" perspective, I believe there are distinct advantages to primes, as I discussed in the essay linked above under the header "Learning how to visualize."

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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John Lehet: "Over the 30 years I've been doing this, I've careened between zooms and primes and have settled on a reasonable balance. Or unreasonable, if you look at how much gear I carry. Now I carry three cameras with me, and three zooms. Also five primes.

"With Micro 4/3 and mirrorless in general, some excellent small primes came to be, and I could carry around a ridiculous number of excellent primes in my bag. Also with Micro 4/3 came some of the best zooms ever. It's lens heaven. So the funny thing now is that I use the primes by choice, very often, based on their character and vision, rather than the old time reason that it was the only way to have something sharp and low distortion.

"The infrared Micro 4/3 camera has a zoom on it because that is the best infrared lens I've found. In particular, that copy of that zoom. So that's that.

"The not-infrared Micro 4/3 camera often has the amazing Olympus 12–40 ƒ/2.8 on it, which is corner to corner sharp at every focal length and aperture ƒ/8 and below. But it doesn't have a vision. I never know what the bokeh will do. So I'm weird: I often envision with a prime, and then use the zoom more like a last resort if I need another framing that the prime can't do. I also use that zoom for everything wide. That zoom is also good when it's very cold (I spend a lot of time photographing in low temperatures). I change lenses a lot more than I 'need' to, always fiddling with primes when I could in theory just use excellent zooms.

"When I started carrying the D800E along with my mirrorless bag, I vowed that the only way this would make any practical sense at all would be if I didn't have heavy zooms at all. So for the full frame I only have two primes, the amazing Nikkor 85mm ƒ/1.8, and then the reasonable and inexpensive Nikkor 50mm ƒ/1.4. Both of these lenses are sharp and light and with nice bokeh, but the thing is, each has a vision. My eye composes based on the character of these primes, or one of the Micro 4/3 primes, more often than not. It's not just about how the shot is framed—how much of the view fits into the frame. It's not always the same to use your feet as a zoom either to change the framing. A focal length has a character and a vision, and the clarity of that is lost with zooms.

"I think most importantly, it's good to really know the lenses and what they'll do. So I would much prefer to use the 45mm prime on the Micro 4/3 than to use the Olympus zoom at 40mm, because with the prime I know the difference between the way the bokeh looks at ƒ/2.5 and ƒ/3.2, and really the whole character of the vision. With the zoom I just know how much I can fit in the frame."

Open Mike: No Timberrrrrr! Moment

You might remember that I belatedly discovered a beautiful Japanese maple tree in my new yard. (Pictures in this post.) It announced itself by keeping its leaves past the time the others lost theirs, and turning a brilliant scarlet-orange. (I have a dwarf Japanese maple too. Amusingly, I learned that they dump all their leaves at once: one day they're all still on the tree, the next day, wham, they're all on the ground.)

The Japanese maple was not getting much sun from the East and South thanks to the ridge and several larger trees hulking over it. The little tree's branches had spread out yearningly to the West, as if trying to reach for the only sunlight it could find.

The biggest problem was a stand of large trees right next to it—two big unhealthy ones whose trunks had crossed, one ash and the other cherry, and a smaller healthy one a few feet away whose branches had interposed into the branches of the maple like an arboreal Venn diagram. With all that canopy cover nearby, the little tree was strangled for sunlight.

I had in mind opening things up for the Japanese maple to help it thrive. But it looked to me like it would be a tough task to remove the big trees I didn't want without damaging the little one I wanted to keep. I couldn't quite see how it could be done. But maybe somebody could do it.

I was walking Butters when a local arborist, Fisher's Tree Service, was removing a large trunk-log from a culvert down the road, so I stopped and asked them how much it would be to remove my trees. They quoted me a great price, as long as I could be patient and wait till they had their main equipment in the area working on a bigger job. That was several weeks ago. I was supposed to call their office and set it up, but I neglected to.

Three guys showed up anyway, this past Thursday morning. The day was so heavily overcast it was half-dark at mid-morning, not the best light for taking pictures. But of course I did anyway.

And they did indeed bring some serious equipment. They had what looked like an elongated dump truck with a claw crane, and a chipper truck, and an enormous hydraulic articulated arm mounted on a truck—I didn't confirm this, but my Internet digging identified it as a Posi+ 70' stacked-boom man-lift, a type of boom truck. You can get a good view of half of the arm in the top picture. (It's foreshortened in the picture below.) It could get way up. Not a job for anyone who's scared of heights.

Note the holes in the trunk of the tree. Those look like condominiums for
somebody—did we leave some critters homeless with this operation?

It's always a pleasure to watch skilled workers work. This was clearly a routine job for this crew, and they set about their work methodically and almost silently, working cooperatively as a team and communicating, if they needed to, with nothing more than brief hand gestures. They had the process down pat. The guy in the crane would let a thousand-pound log fall into the air and just give it a flip with his elbow on its way past him so it landed in the right place on the ground. Other trunk sections they lowered to the ground using ropes. These guys are so good they probably don't even realize how good they are. Amazingly, they were working in close proximity to a rhododendron on the ground as well as the Japanese maple, both of which we wanted to keep, and they hardly touched either one. All that heavy wood raining on to the ground and the only casualty was one branch of the rhododendron. They plucked out those giant trees from in between the two smaller, fragile plants like it was the easiest thing in the world.

They patiently removed the trees from the top down. There was none of that classic "timberrrr!" cut-from-the-bottom-and-let-'er-fall-over stuff. This was as close as we got to that:

In the first picture they're keeping pressure on the last section of trunk using a rope from the claw so that it won't fall on the rhododendron. The boss looks on with interest from the bucket of the aerial lift. In the second picture, over she goes...

...And then into the truck with the claw to be carted away.

Here's the crew that did my work: George Fisher, Jason Tietjen, and Eric Fisher, of Fisher Tree Service, Bluff Point, New York, 315/536-2743. They do very good work. Note the damage in the trees revealed by the chainsaw cuts.

Butters rockets past the three new stumps at full speed.

Come Spring, the Japanese maple (foreground) is going to find conditions in the neighborhood much improved.

Mike
(Thanks to Mrs. Fisher for the names for the caption)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Mark Jennings: "Hello Mike, Those big holes could be pileated woodpecker work that has been shaped by weather, rot, and squirrels or raccoons. Insects, birds, squirrels, raccoons and even black bears will use big hollow trees. Black bears, of course, need a bigger entrance, but sometimes they can be found asleep quite high up in old snags. In any case, in the woods hollow trees are a big deal for many species. In the yard they can be a nuisance or a hazard. I understand your aesthetic and practical concerns.

"The arborists' picture reminds me of old logging crew photos from the early 1900s. I live in timbering eastern WV. It also reminds me that often the best stories are found close to home. They tend to be heartfelt."

Yvonne: "Over the years, we've spent a small fortune on tree work. I love watching experienced arborists—they are amazingly skilled and adept at climbing trees too. As we walk around our older suburban neighborhood, I see countless trees that could use the services of a good arborist, but sadly few people want to spend their money that way."

ANOTHER Turnley Sale! (No, Wait, Read This)

It turns out that David Turnley (Peter's identical twin brother, and similarly accomplished, and similarly gifted, as a photographer) is also having a print sale right now. This is not a TOP sale; it's something David and Rachel do every year at this time.

The prints are Epson inkjet prints and the prices are $500 for a 12x16" and $600 for a 16x20.

And (this was very kind of David and Rachel), if you say in the dropdown menu right above the "Buy" button that you heard about the sale on TOP, they'll donate a bit to me to help keep the lights on at good old TOP.

There are 41 choices.

David's a very fine photographer. At the least, exercise your taste—go to the Website and pick your three favorites. Even if you're not going to buy one, which ones would you buy if you were going to buy? Tough, isn't it?

Or better yet, buy one. (Would it be too weird for me to use my profits from Peter's sale to buy one of David's prints? I'd have a very hard time choosing, except that #12 is a "deep favorite" for me for reasons I don't fully consciously understand.)

I'm not certain if these prints are signed. I'll ask and report back. [UPDATE—yes, the prints are signed.]

Mike
(Thanks to Rachel)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

marcin wuu: "I clicked 'Anna and Flander' and was promptly blown away by the sheer honesty and power of these photos. Beautiful."

Mike replies: Yes, that's one of David's best.

Hugh Smith: "These are the times I wish I were richer than I am in $$. The Turnley brothers are indeed powerfully creative. Love every image. I have French Kiss and still enjoy thumbing through it. Now I have to drool over David's work! Damn! Mi dos pesos."

jean-louis salvignol: "Peter and David: deux vrais parisiens."

Is the Retina iMac Badly Designed?

Apple recently introduced iMacs with Retina displays in both 21" and 27" sizes, for real-world prices. I b'lieve the physical design dates to the last makeover in 2012. (Mine is a mid-2011 model.)

Whether the design is good or bad probably depends on what you mean by "good design." If you're talking about whether it looks slick and beautiful and clean and all that, well, duh. It's a gorgeous design.

If you're talking about whether it's as practical as it can be, well, that's an aspect of design too, and maybe that's another story.

All the ports are still on the back. If there was one good potentiality about St. Steve passing to a higher plane of existence, it was that finally they could put at least one blowdy-bejeebered USB port on the front, where you could reach it.

Instead, they moved the SD card slot to the back, where you can't reach it, either. Now you can't reach anything.

Of course the iMac still retains the effects of its ancient ancestry as the mid-line desktop by having a limited number of ports. And finally, since they got rid of the drive, now you have to have a USB hub and a disc drive dongling off your superslick iMac, spoiling the pristine cleanliness of its lines.

And is it true what I hear that the Magic Mouse 2 has to be cord-charged, and the connection is on the bottom? Is that true? So while I wait for the mouse to charge, I can't use it? I have to endure downtime? Downtime that I never had to endure for more than about 40 seconds when the mouse used rechargeable AAs?

The stand is well designed (sense 1), but maybe it's not well designed (sense 2), either. You can tilt the screen forward and back, but not side to side. The lack of side-to-side adjustment is not terrible, because it's easy just to rotate the whole computer. But what if you need the screen to be higher? So now you have a super-clean Bauhaus-sleek computer with two peripherals cluttering the desktop, and it's sitting on a pile of books, where it's easier to knock over when you contort yourself around the back of it to change out SD cards in the maddeningly out-of-the-way, hard-to-reach slot.

Does good design cause bad design, sometimes? (Happens with cameras, too.) And may I just ask, does anybody care how slim the edge of the display is? I mean, is there one person, in any country?

Disclaimer: I know nothing about computers. I am just sayin'.

Last question: Is anyone else sitting slumped in a GAS-imploded glassy-eyed sweat about how nice a display of digital "photos" would look on an iPad Pro? No? Well then me neither.

Mike

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Scott L.: "And the power button is mostly annoyingly on the back! Where you have to feel around for it. Form destroying function. Old Apple fans are reluctant to see that the company now targets the fashion crowd. Two former Apple designers spell it out here."

Mike replies: Insightful article, and you know what? All camera designers ought to read that, too.

Alex Buisse: "I am waiting to see the screen in person, but I have a feeling the iPad Pro will be the ultimate portfolio showcase for client meetings. Making a strong first impression with a large and beautiful screen can go a very long way toward getting the job. Just a shame I can't see myself using the iPad Pro for anything else...."

Mike replies: Sounds like you don't have an iPad already. If you get one, gradually you'll find lots to do and you'll gradually get attached to it, too. I couldn't figure out what to do with the thing for about the first five months with it, and now I'm on my second one and they'll pry it out of my cold dead etc.

As I am wont to say, it's my least necessary device, but my favorite. Although the 6+ now gives it a run for its money as the fave.

Matthew: "I am typing this on a shiny new iMac (my first ever and unpacked yesterday.) While I agree with everything you say, I still felt that this was the best option when my other choice was a PC running either Windows 10 or Linux. Maybe after a month or two I will change my opinion, but after a day of mucking about on it, I am very happy with my decision."

Richard Howe: "You've really touched a nerve with this one, Mike.

"A little over 100 years ago (I think it was in 1910) the Viennese architect Adolf Loos published an essay called 'Ornament und Verbrechen' ('Ornament and Crime')—you don't need to read it to get the idea—which became one of the founding texts of a trend that is now exemplified in the Apple product lines (but by no means only them).

"This is not to blame Loos, who apparently had a good sense of how things would have to work in the real world of buildings: he also advised students: 'don't think about the roof! Think about rain and snow!'

"What was always so great about Macs was their ease of use. What Apple's designers seem to have forgotten is that eliminating useful, real function (like the color 'labels' for files in the older Mac OSs, that have been replace by little colored dots that so much harder to see that you have to hunt for them on-screen, but don't get me started…) for the sake some aesthetic or other is just as 'ornamental' as the kind of highly ornamented architecture that Loos was protesting against.

"The faults you point out, and an increasingly long list of others, are anything good design, and Apple's products ,which were once the best designed in the industry (meaning the easiest and most straightforward to use) are increasingly becoming fashion accessories, expensive trinkets and baubles, to be seen with (and now even wearing) rather than to use.

"I'm torn between rage and grief for what was once a great product line (and still is, though one that's increasingly being buried in an avalanche of pseudo-elegance.

"After nearly 30 years of using Macs, I've reached the point where I dread the prospect of sooner or later having to 'upgrade' to something where (with apologies to another famous architect) less really is less, not more.

"Oy."

Mike replies: That's the glimmer I was getting, too—the possibility that maybe one day an "upgrade" won't be. I'll get a machine that's clearly better in some ways but "dis-improved" in other ways for reasons of mere fashion, or model line protection, or some other disreputable reason.

Regarding several readers' complaints that the SD card slot was next to the DVD slot on the old machines, yes, I had to learn that one the hard way too. But the SD card slot really should be handier than being on the back where you can't see it—SD cards are meant for frequent interchanges. It makes no sense to have it on the back and it would make the most sense to have it on the front, below the screen.

Don't Forget the Kids of the Pine Ridge

Photo by Aaron Huey

One of my regular charities is the Red Cloud School on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I learned about the school from photographer Aaron Huey, who did a National Geographic story about the Pine Ridge and gave an impassioned TED Talk about his experiences there. Aaron said that the Red Cloud Indian School is one of the beacons of hope on the reservation and one of the best ways to contribute to the Lakota people. I've given several times since, albeit modestly.

Red Cloud School graduates have gone to Princeton, Stanford, Dartmouth, Columbia, Creighton and Marquette; six former Red Cloud students have earned Ph.D.s; and Red Cloud School leads the country in Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship students for a school its size (about 50 students per graduating class). Great accomplishments on a reservation that encompasses the two poorest counties in the United States.

Or find another native cause to help! The United States has 550 recognized indigenous tribes and 310 reservations, rancherias, pueblos, and Indian colonies.

For an engaging look at life on the "rez," you might try The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, even though it was written for young adults. It's by Sherman Alexie, a multitalented writer who grew up on the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington.

Mike

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John Krumm: "Everything helps, and it's important. My wife works on the receiving end of programs like this as a director of a college med school program that recruits Native American students and supports their efforts once enrolled. She went through the same program herself in the '90s. Sherman Alexie is great too. We have given many copies of his books away and I used to use his stories when I taught H.S. American Lit."

Astronomical Strangeness

The older I get, the more I am affected by daylight and the length of the days.

I don't understand this, and I already know I'm not going to understand the explanation after somebody explains it, but, although December 21st is the shortest day of the year here in the Northern hemisphere, sunset starts getting later a couple of weeks earlier than that. Here in Western New York, in Rochester, the nearest city to me that I could find data for, the earliest sunset occurs on the 9th of December. By December 21st, the shortest day of the year, sunset is already three minutes later.

So if, like me, you get up when it's already starting to get light out, and you're more aware of sunset than sunrise, December 10th is the day that relief from the darkness of Winter effectively starts.

By January 15th, sunset in Rochester has "latened" from 4:35 to 5:00 p.m.

Sad?
By the way, if you get depressed in the Winter...my brother Scott worked for Dr. Norman Rosenthal of the National Institutes of Mental Health when they were working out the treatment for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), the name for seasonal depression. The cure is as elegant as cures get—light! Bright, full-spectrum light administered regularly. And it's very effective, too. Search Amazon or Google for "SAD lights" or "SAD therapy lights."

Sit next to the light for half an hour to two hours every morning—45 minutes is a good starting time—preferably in the minutes or hours before the sun comes up, to artificially lengthen the day. (You can be doing other things.) You should feel improvement within ten days. The degree of relief varies with individuals, but can make dramatic changes for sufferers. (And SAD can be bad. NIMH got the worst cases, and I still recall some of the stories my brother told.)

The light cure is called phototherapy. I could think of some other definitions for that term.

Mike
(Thanks to S. and S.)

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Michael Perini: "Re the Broader 'Phototherapy' definition, several years ago I bought two of the 10,000 Lux S.A.D. boxes from Full Spectrum Solutions to use as relatively inexpensive product photography / copy lights and they have worked wonderfully. In a pinch, bounce them off a white wall for a 'window light' portrait. Full spectrum and very high CRI lighting enhances almost everything from the way your food looks in the kitchen to the ability to read small print—it's more than just brightness.

"Interestingly, as the LED revolution comes into full swing we should pay particular attention to CRI. The LEDs you purchase in big box stores can be of horrible color. So it pays to look. (If CRI  or Color Rendering Index is not on the package and above 90, look elsewhere) We didn't have this problem with tungsten because even if its color temperature is low, it emits some spectral energy across the full spectrum—it's a 'black body emitter.' Ctein had a recommendation for high CRI LEDs used in his renovation which I don't remember at the moment. Neither fluorescents nor LEDs radiate a full spectrum of light natively so they require some engineering to do so. As I am sure many folks have already found fixing color from a discontinuous spectrum can be impossible in the worst cases.

"Spend some time under 5500k CRI93 light and you will miss it when you turn it off. 'Good Light is a Good Idea.'"

Bryce Lee: "My own physician some years ago suggested with the time change from Daylight Savings to Standard, to use such a light device. I usually turn it on whilst looking at my morning electronic mail and then when reading the on line National Post. It sits to one side; I change the side the lamp sits on the desk to the opposite side every other day. The lamp has two settings, normal, and really bright as well as two different lenses. I got mine refurbished at the local Habitat for Humanity outlet. Have no earthly idea if it helps however do notice it does seemingly raise my internal energies!"

[Note: See the comments section for some nice-sounding and possibly accurate descriptions of the Equation of Time. As foretold, I make neither head nor tail of 'em. —Mike the Untechnical Ed.]

Jim Hughes: "Now that we live in the same time zone, let's compare. On December 9th in Rochester, sunset is at 4:35 p.m., eastern standard time. In Camden, Maine, due to our being located farther east in the zone, sunset will officially be declared at 3:58 p.m. So look on the bright side. You will be benefitting from an additional 37 minutes of afternoon daylight in which to make photographs!"

Mike replies: I always used to like to take the ferry across Lake Michigan to visit my cousins. In so doing I went from the Eastern edge of the Central Time Zone to the Western edge of the Eastern Time Zone, and magically acquired a lovely extra hour of evening daylight.

Kenneth Wajda: "I use SAD lights for food photography and portraits and film work. Great daylight-balanced soft light in a freestanding box."

Print Sale Ends Soon

Last chance: this is the last afternoon of the last time we'll be offering Peter Turnley's two most famous Paris prints for the lowest prices either one will ever be offered for again.

(That might not all turn out to be true, but it's pretty likely.)

Once orders are closed, they're closed. I apologize if it's an inconvenience, but we don't make exceptions.

The opportunity has not quite gone by. The ordering window closes this evening at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That's 6:00 p.m. on the West Coast and 4:00 p.m. in Hawaii; 2:00 a.m. Saturday in London and 3:00 a.m. Saturday in Paris; 1:00 p.m. Saturday in Sydney and 10:00 a.m. Saturday in Perth.

I'll be sending the proof prints back to Peter next week, but I've loved having them here in the house. For part of the week I've just kept them out on the dining room table so I can soak them in on the way past. The surface of the paper is luscious, the prints are rich, lush, and warm, and the pictures are deep, peaceful and quietly romantic. They're beautiful. They make me feel good.

The sale this week has been a nice success—I'd like to thank all the friends o' TOP who've already ordered one or two. Don't forget you get a free book if you order two prints (lots of people have taken advantage of this), and that part of the profits go to the French Red Cross.

This weekend I hung one of my three Turnleys—this one, in the kitchen:

I'd love to have a Koudelka, an Erwitt, a Helen Levitt, and a Cartier-Bresson to go with my Turnleys and keep them company. But I'm not rich*.

You don't have to be rich either, to own one of these, or give one as a gift. That's the nice thing about this. One last time, for these last few hours, here's the link. [UPDATE: Orders are now closed. Thanks for your interest!].

And, thanks.

Mike

*And none of those four ever had the advantage of having a TOP sale. :-)

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Alessandra: "Mike, you got me in trouble! I convinced my husband that I deserve a wonderful Christmas present, and we ordered both the prints. I'm really happy and excited, but now I'm not sure where to put them.

"First idea, our bedroom, where there is a good place...but I want to see the Paris prints a lot and not only when I wake up and when I go to bed. I have a good place in the living room, but it's not empty, Michael A. Smith's 'Isola d'elba' and 'Cactuses' are already there! And I can't move them with satisfaction to the bedroom because they call for a good light and a close scrutiny....

"Big headache! And it's only your fault if I could afford such beautiful pieces of art (even two fantastic Ctein's dye tranfer prints)! Shame on you!"

Mike replies: I feel suitably contrite Alessandra. If it's any consolation, most people who like art have the same problem. Including me in my new house—I probably have room for only about a third of my prints, and that's only the ones that are already framed.

Brian Drinkwater (partial comment): "I prevaricated about this until the last minute but just got in under the wire...this is great value especially since Paris has so much emotional connection for my wife and I. It's the city we first met in back in 1998. Thank you for offering this print and I'm happy some proceeds are going to the Red Cross."

Bob Smith: "Could only afford one print but I was able to get the one print I've been yearning for since you turned me on to Peter, Paris from the rooftop. Damn it I'm HAPPY! And a big print too, to go over my mantelpiece and fill the living room.... What a Christmas present!"

Random Excellence: Anders Petersen

Photo by Anders Petersen

Swedish photographer Anders Petersen is best known in his home country but has been important to all of European photography; his first book, Café Lehmitz (1978), created a sensation, and remains a landmark. He is sometimes exaggeratedly gritty, and that "seamy underside" ethos has been so well mined by others by now such that it's starting to flirt with cliché, but visually he's insanely talented—his pictures don't so much define a mere "style" as create their own world.

I love the way the woman's hand obstructs the child's face in this. The small magic of a photograph.

His website pictures nearly four dozen books. Some that are available currently are From Back Home (with J. H. Engström), Rome, and an eponymous title (Tom Waits fans will recognize the cover picture).

I've never taken one picture that looks like an Anders Petersen, and I wonder how he does it.

Mike

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Paul: "I think this quote by Anders Petersen sort of sums up his way of shooting: 'Please be horrible! Tear down your photography into pieces. Don't bother about glamour, destroy the surface, take care of your innocence. Your fantasy is more important than reality. Remember, your pictures are jumping like rabbits into your camera when you understand photography is not about photography.'"

Mattias: "Anders is a wonderful and inspiring fellow human being and photographer. Thirteen years ago he was a guest and speaker at my local photo/camera club (to which I went only twice—the atmosphere was too suffocating...). I brought one of his books to sign, which he instead promptly inscribed to me in the following manner (my translation):

What photography is actually about is a question only for equilibrists. The main thing for me is that it is fun, mobile and terrible—to not be afraid of being afraid—if you understand what I mean. That is how I feel.

"And yes, apparently he prefers to use three small Contax T3 nowadays."

Photography vs. Digital Imaging

I know I'm alone in this, but I continue to think we should use different terms for pre- and post-digital-era recordings of lens images. I know digital imaging has fully co-opted the word "photography" and optical/chemical photography has been relegated to the awkward and imprecise back-formation "analog," but I continue to think of "photography" as "light writing"—a reaction caused by the light through a lens—and digital as the light from a lens mapped and made plastic, with all the potential that implies. They're fundamentally different things. They deserve different names.

The handset is what you once hung up, and the
hookswitch was what you hung it on.

Of course human beings have a tendency to create continuity linguistically even where it's questionable—hence things like "horsepower" and "carbon copy" and "I'm going to hang up now." But "Digital photography" isn't even any easier to say than "digital imaging," and imaging and its potentiality is simply different than what "analog" photographers had to deal with. That will become more clear as digital imaging becomes less and less about "capturing" one single "still" instant of one specific view all at once on one large sensor.

Maybe when digital imaging grows up, it will be comfortable having its own name.

Mike

UPDATE 12/5: Ctein suggested privately that the terms "film photography" and "digital photography" probably make the most sense, and I'm inclined to agree, given that a "good compromise" has to be made between rigorous good sense on the one hand and common parlance on the other. I continue to feel that most people (globally, not here in particular) automatically make this into a status issue and argue as partisans of their own particular practice, which has the effect of blinding us and preventing us from being able to look objectively both at what we have lost and what we have gained in the current great shift. I guess that matter will be left to future historians to parse...although I fear they, too, because they will not have one foot in each camp, will make a mangle of it. —Mike

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01af: "I absolutely cannot see the slightest reason why photography using film should be called 'photography' and photography using a semiconductor sensor should not."

Mike replies: Because the photograph is like a plaster cast of a bear print, and a digital image is a replica or model of the plaster cast of the bear print (if you're up on your art history you'll recognize the source of the metaphor).

latent_image: "Well, I guess I'm a rock in the big stream that's flowing past because I'd like there to be an elegant distinction in terminology. I'm not optimistic, however. To my mind 'analog' photography has a physicality that is not often present in 'digital' photography: emulsion, substrate, chemical baths, etc. There is no analog photograph until it is rendered in a physical form one can actually handle, and all the steps in the rendering involve tangible materials and substances. The vast majority of digital photographs are virtual; they only exist when shown on a screen. Few are ever printed or given any kind of physical form. I think there is a difference."

Kefyn Moss: "You're right Mike. Your first sentence sums it up—you're alone in this."

Earl Dunbar: "I'm writing this before reading all the other comments, but you are not alone, Mike. They are fundamentally different crafts. It just happens that the final outputs (I'm talking about prints here,) are similar enough to appear to be the same objects. They carry the same purpose and in the eye of most viewers, the differences don't seem to matter. Different methods of painting (oil, pastels, watercolour, etc.,) are still called painting, but everyone recognizes the differences. As digital imitates film/chemical photography, I think its success in doing so is the problem."

Steve Smith: "I am 99% a film photographer but I consider both digital and film origination to be photography. There is a point in post-processing where it becomes something else though. The problem is that no one can agree where that point is, as it's subjective. There are many HDR images and other manipulated images I have seen which are well past the point of being photographs."

Lens Day

Careful, don't go nuts...B&H just announced "Lens & Flash Friday," a one-day sale with almost 60 lenses and flashes at deep discounts. It's not just slow-movers, either—the deals include the superlative Fuji 56mm ƒ/1.2, the Canon EF-S 17–85mm zoom, the Panasonic 12–35mm that so impressed me when I tried John Camp's in Madison, and even the desirable Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 12–40mm ƒ/2.8 PRO for $150 off.

And, as they say, "too many more to list." Check it out.

Mike

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Two Most Popular Nikons Buck Declining Sales (and Other Industry News)

Phase One's glorious Schneider-Kreuznach lenses

Nikon
According to financial information found in Nikon Investor Relations, Nikon's sales of digital cameras dropped more than 11% in July, August and September of this year. Lens sales declined more than 10% in the same period.

Of course, that's good news in a sense, because Nikon's dropoff in sales was less than that of other major manufacturers, and Nikon still sold 960,000 cameras and 1.33 million lenses in that period. That's still an awful lot of cameras and lenses to shift in three months.

And Nikon confirmed to amateurphotographer.co.uk that sales of the sweet-spot D750 full-frame camera and D7200 APS-C (DX) camera bucked the trend. Both saw increased sales in the same period.

(I get it. I still have an itch for one of those Nikons, because of their ungodly high dynamic range. There is just something about what those cameras can do. I think I've suffered from low-level but permanent gear lust for the mainstream Nikons ever since my fling with The Big Dragoon. Shut up, Josh.)

Samsung
In other indsutry news, Samsung has a new software-centric mobile chief (that's not really relevant, I just wanted to use the term "mobile chief"), and Samsung is shutting down its digital camera and camcorder business in the UK. Samsung said in a press release, "We quickly adapt to market needs and demands. In the UK, we have seen a gradual and sustained decline in demand for standalone digital cameras and camcorders and related accessories. For this reason, we have taken the decision to phase out the sales and marketing of these products. This is a local decision, based on local market conditions."

In other words, the Korean giant doesn't want you to believe the rumors that it's considering leaving the camera business altogether. It's just those tightfisted Brits that are the problem, that's all.

...Except that this news follows earlier news that Samsung will be letting stocks of its flagship NX1 camera (now down to $1,100) dwindle to extinction in Germany. And, as dpreview reports, the language in that press release was almost identical to the UK press release...just responding to local conditions, nothing to see here, move along, move along.

Mamiya
Finally, hot of the presses, Phase One, the maker of medium-format digital backs for professionals, issued a press release yesterday saying that it has acquired the assets of Mamiya Japan. This is not entirely a surprise; medium-format cameramaker Mamiya's presence in the camera market has been pretty vestigial except for its collaborations with digital back makers, and Phase One (or rather its parent, Silverfleet Capital) already owned 45% of Mamiya stock. The lock-stock-and-barrel move will allow Phase One even greater control of the manufacture of its high-end digital cameras.

For film fans with fond memories of Mamiyas past, however, this probably puts a penultimate period on the Mamiya they once knew—and thus, even though Mamiya will continue from today more or less as it has been doing up until today, this marks another quiet sic transit landmark of sorts, in the march from film to digital imaging.

Mike

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It's Cyber Millennia!

I don't know how many of these "Cyber Week deals" you might want to hear about, but this one is pretty amazing:

A Canon G16 camera, a Pixma 100 inkjet printer, and a pack of printing paper for $269.99. 

That's just short of them paying you to take it off their hands. The deal is good till the midnight on Saturday, but the supply is limited so it won't last that long.

Of course, it's possible that only 2 1/2 TOP readers will be interested, because everybody here has their cameras and printers already. (The third guy is only half interested.) But maybe for a spouse, S.O., child, or friend?

Next, you can get the very computer I paid $2,000 for for $1,299. I'd sell you mine, but I think $1,400 is the lowest I could take for it. Kidding.

A decent monolight for $216.80. Lawrence at B&H says, "This is a nice light. Build quality is good. Light quality is very nice." [UPDATE: Looks like this was wrong. The link is to a two-light kit, and the savings are $216.80. Sorry for the error, and thanks to several tipsters for setting me right. —Mike the Ed.]

Here's a Lensbaby Pro System kit for Canon or Nikon DSLRs for $150 off.

There's one more I want to tell you about, but give me a minute to go find it. I'll be right back.

Oh, here it is. A Manfrotto (the tripod people) Stile Collection Unica VII messenger bag, normally $100, for a twenty dollar bill...$19.99. Can't beat that with a stick. Well, maybe you can, but be careful not to hurt the camera inside the bag...(I shoulda been a comedian. Or maybe that's the wrong conclusion by 180 degrees.) This one ends in three hours (noon today, Thursday). [UPDATE: Not even 11 a.m., and it looks like these are gone already. —Mike]

I'm getting word that a big lens sale is starting at noon today. If that looks interesting I'll let you know.

Mike

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Dean Forbes: "Thanks for the sales tips. I ordered one of the bags. Will beat it with a stick (empty) to give it a worn-in look.  :-) "

A Very Good, Very Cheap Camera

Silver Sony A6000. Only $398.

It seems like only eight seconds ago that the Sony A6000 was the latest-greatest thing—actually it was announced, according to dpreview, on February 12th of 2014, not even two years ago. It was the successor to the NEX-7, at one time a highly coveted camera itself, and the flagship of Sony's APS-C compacts.

Now you can get one for $398.

$398.

I still have a lot of affection for these Sonys—I used the NEX-6 for quite a while (well, in digi-years) and it became my buddy. Handy, friendly, high-performance compact camera.

If I were getting one of these I'd pair it with two of the (also very inexpensive) Sigma DN lenses—for sure the 60mm (90mm-e) ƒ/2.8 DN, which I owned, and either the 19mm (28mm-e) or the 30mm (45mm-e). I can't speak to the wider ones, but the 60mm was a special lens, with some of the smoothest, prettiest bokeh you'll see. Lovely for portraits. That 60mm just looks great.

Admiring Light has a nice photo of a Sony-Sigma combo. Reviewer Jordan Steele (one of the most highly competent photographers among Web reviewers, by the way) said of the A6000, "The a6000 is one of the few Sony cameras I have taken an immediate liking to, and I thoroughly enjoy shooting with this little wonder. [...] It’s hard to get more bang for your buck than this little gem."

Don't you wish you could teleport to 2002 and tell people about the cameras that would be going begging at the end of 2015? Our 13-years-younger selves would have been astonished.

Mike

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Seligerj: "While it's true that this was announced not even two years ago, Sony has been rumored to be on the verge of releasing the next version for ages. And the next version will have what I consider to be the key feature for increasing the keeper rate: in-body stabilization. For people who primarily shoot with tripods it doesn't matter much, but for people who don't, universal image stabilization is amazing."

Christopher Mark Perez: "Maybe I'm crazy, but I LOVE those little, cheap, light, super super sharp Sigma EX DN Art lenses. I own one of each and they are the Lenses of Choice on both my A6000 and A5000 (hey, it was new and really really cheap and I couldn't help myself, OK?).

"For what it's worth, it's the A6000 that encouraged me to give my FF and APS-C Canon DSLRs the boot. My neck and back have never been happier. My clients can't believe how sharp/good my images are coming out of such a small camera (the A6000)."

Eamon Hickey: "I bought one when it hit $398 last week. I reviewed it (very positively) last year, and it is indeed an impressive camera—not perfect, and not, for me, an object of love, but really, really functional.

"I was marveling yesterday at just how much function you get for $400 in the year 2015 CE, so I did some very quick, very dirty calculations to see how it compares with, say, 50 years ago. Based on the dollar's inflation since 1965 (about 750%) and the yen's appreciation against the dollar over the same period (about 300%) this camera would have cost about $18 in 1965.

"To put that in perspective, consider the Pentax Spotmatic, a popular mid-level SLR. In 1965, a Pentax Spotmatic with a 50mm lens was roughly $250. Using my dirty math, that Spotmatic would be about $3500 today."

"My conclusion: we photographers are getting a lot for our money these days."

What A Long Strange Trip

Written by Ctein, TOP Technical Editor

Last Saturday, as you might know, was TOP's 10th birthday. This site has been putting my life through changes for almost as long as it has Mike's. Okay, not quite 10 years, more like 9.3. Close enough.

It started in the summer of 2006, about nine months after Mike started TOP (which I had no idea he was doing; we were not in regular contact). I was having a conversation with a friend of mine about where to take my writing career. I was looking at the future of photography magazines, and the number of magazines that wanted in-depth and honest product tests and advanced how-tos had been steadily declining for 15 years. It wasn't going to be too much longer before I wasn't writing for anybody. I needed to do something to keep my name in the public eye. It wasn't just about earning money as a writer; an invisible artist is a broke artist.

My friend suggested I start a blog, which she'd enjoyed doing for a year or so. I said that was a non-starter for me. I don't write for the public for free. It's too much like real work. I'm a professional and I get paid for my words. I'd blog when hell froze over (exact quote).

That very same evening I got a call from Mike. He wondered if I might write a column for his hitherto-unknown-to-me blog. He couldn't pay me a lot; in fact he was worried I'd be insulted by the amount he could afford to pay me. But it was important to him that professionals be paid for their work, even if it's a token. It was the principle of the thing. No argument from me! I said I'd give it a try, although I wasn't sure how many column ideas I could come up with. Whatever, I'd run with it until I ran out of ideas.

As soon as I got off the phone with Mike, I called my friend. "You are not going to believe this. Hell just froze over."

True story; I couldn't make up stuff this improbable.

Shortly thereafter, this first column appeared.

As for running out of ideas? 300+ columns later, when I stopped doing my regular column, I still had a massive topic backlog.

The first TOP dye transfer print sale happened a little more than two years later, a bit over seven years ago. This was something Mike had started back at Photo Techniques magazine—offer readers master-quality prints at a ridiculously low price, so they could see for themselves what really good prints looked like. By taking all the orders and money in advance, the photographer could print in volume to meet a known demand, allowing them to charge a low price. I did on a couple of sales for PT, and each earned me a few thousand dollars. Mike was figuring TOP ought to do as well or better. With hundred-buck prints, we might hope for as much as $10,000 in sales!

Mike diffidently asked, if I wouldn't mind, would I consider giving him a 10% commission on sales? I told him hell no. Absolutely not. He was going to take 20% and not a point less, or I wouldn't do it.

He caved. I'm a tough negotiator.

We thought about putting a cap on the sales, but it seemed really tacky and faux-egotistical, like those ads you see for "limited edition collectibles." I could deal with 100 prints. Hell, if a miracle occurred and we doubled down on that, which had never, ever happened in the history of the program, I could deal with that.

So, this piece ran.

So began the madness...

When the sale ended after ten days, I'd sold 750 prints. AUGH! I felt like Mickey Mouse and those blasted marching broomsticks. Damn near killed me.

But, suddenly, print sales were big money for me and Mike. We've both been riding that pony ever since. It's carried me through several tight periods.

The final blowout dye transfer sale paid for (most of) the remodeling on my house when I shut down the darkroom two years ago. As for Mike, these ongoing print sales with multiple photographers were what enabled him to get out of his shoebox of a house into something where he could stretch out both arms and not bruise his knuckles.

Oh yeah, changes.

Then came the big one.

I (virtually) met John Camp through TOP about 6 1/2 years ago, through our respective posts and comments on TOP. I mentioned in a column that I'd be going to the Twin Cities for vacation. John dropped me a note suggesting that since he lived on the Eau Claire river, not far from the Twin Cities, it might be a chance for the two of us to meet face-to-face. We did. We hit it off.

Almost from the beginning he nagged me about writing fiction. I would having none of it. Nonfiction is easy; fiction is HARD! You have to make up all those lies and keep them straight. Not for me, nuh uh. I was adamant. John knew enough not to push it.

Until, about 3 1/2 years ago, when the science fiction novel he'd been noodling around with came to a dead stop for him. He rang me up on the phone with a proposition. There is a (fairly) faithful summary of that conversation in this column I wrote for John Scalzi's blog, Whatever.

Fast-forward to the present. Now I'm a New York Times best-selling novelist who does photography. Talk about weird….

And none of this weirdness would've happened if it hadn't been for TOP.

I'd say the next 10 years couldn't possibly be more peculiar than the last.

I know better.

Ctein

©2015 by Ctein, all rights reserved

Mike adds: My non-knuckle-damaging new new house, built A.D. 1880, has 600 sq. feet more than the shoebox. It's cheaper in every way but one than the old new house back in Waukesha. (The one: propane is expensive.) I love this house. It's lovely inside, and the back yard is wonderful, protected on three sides by that high ridge you see behind the house. That's the family room on the right, in what used to be the one-car garage. So far, a handful of TOP readers have visited! Stop by if you're ever in the Finger Lakes.

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Photobooks: Good News and Bad News

Before I get started, thank you to all of you who helped make the first day of our print sale yesterday such a soaring success. People just love those pictures and those prints is all I can say. We had a very good first day.

And get this. Without revealing details, Peter found himself on the receiving end of a bit of blowback from within the art world for selling his prints just too low. As one dealer lambasted me once, "the idea is to make art more exclusive [i.e., keep prices as high as possible], not more democratic!" Be that as it may, there's still plenty of time to get yours. I can tell ya, you'll appreciate a print you like for a lot longer than you'll keep your current camera or shoot with whatever lens you're currently jonesing for. But enough of my harangue—on to the news:

...Bad news first:
Remember that small cache of gorgeous photobook remainders from the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s I told you about, discovered in the storage rooms of a major Midwestern art museum? Well, they're here—the samples I mean—and all of them are good, and five of them are great, and two or three of them are superb. And—still in the good news column—the cache isn't so small, turns out. There is a decent supply of the most desirable of the books; there should be enough for everyone who wants one, at least if you claim yours in the first few days. And it will be very cheap for what you'll get, if all goes well.

But the bad news is that institutions move slo-o-o-o-wly—more slowly than I could have conceived—and the museum folks won't be ready to field orders until, I was told, March at the earliest. I was thinking we should have popped the cork on this project very soon—say, last Friday. In that timeframe somewhere. But then I'm a ninja and move with the stealth of a bat and the swiftness of a striking snake. (And I don't carry me no load. Heck, a blogger will pick up and move like a M*A*S*H unit bugging out. California threatened to tax Amazon affiliates and Ken Rockwell jumped clear across the country before you could say "support my growing family," and was I not hunkered in Wisc. just a few short months ago—?)

Ahem. Anyway, it's on the back burner now. We're a-takin' the long view. I just hope the museum doesn't change its mind 'twixt then and now, because if you get the chance to get your hands on 'em you are going to love these books, believe me.

And now the good news
...Which is that my luck regarding book purchases has changed recently. I sometimes order promising books and just...well, don't like them. For example. I bought Charles Harbutt's last book, called Departures and Arrivals. Charlie Harbutt died last June, and I'm a big fan of his work in general (I have a signed original copy of Travelog that is one of my treasures), but...I just didn't like Departures and Arrivals. I thought whoever made the selection was trying too hard by half to pick the frames he'd shot that were as loose and enigmatic as possible, the better (perhaps, I don't know) to establish him as art-gallery-worthy. The results is a book and a view of CH that's gassy and soft, lacking his usual sardonic edge and his "enhanced reality" darkness, and one I couldn't in good conscience commend to your attention. YMMV. [UPDATE: Actually, Chris Hunt sent me Departure and Arrivals, because it didn't suit his taste, and—as he reminded me—I wrote this post as I was waiting for it. Goes to show you I don't even remember my own blog posts.  —Mike the Egg-Faced Ed.]

Then I received Alec Soth's Songbook. Didn't like that one either, sorry to say, much as I like and approve of Soth and Co. and its various projects and peregrinations. It just had no center, and the worst pictures have that fey, arm's-length arty hothouse quality that I hate, with that attitude toward subject matter like a monocled countess holding a dead rat by the tail. (Disclaimer: the foregoing sentence does not consist of approved art-critical terms, and if your name starts with Ale- and ends with -oth please ignore me.) Can't commend that one either. Won't go on my shelves next to Niagara, Sleeping by the Mississippi, and Dog Days Bogota. Seems like a touch of by-rote might be creeping into the churn as the Soth books tumble forth in their plenitude.

But my luck has changed. I received Harry Gruyaert, which Ken raved about in these pages a while back (the impression it made on Ken was like the effect Miles Davis's Kind of Blue had on jazz fans when it was new...there was one fan who loved Side One so much he was afraid for months to flip the record and listen to Side Two). I, too, love love love Harry Gruyaert (not the guy—I don't know the guy. The book. Didn't I just link that twice? I did). One of the best photo books I've accessioned in the last couple of years.

Harry Gruyaert, Town of Liège, 1981. Photo courtesy Magnum Photos.

He might be a "photographer's photographer." Some of the pictures don't seem to be about much. If you "read" them in a normal way, you think, that's just a woman walking past some discarded flowers. But as page after page goes by you realize what he's really after is the feel of places and moments limned and delineated by color, and that the use of color in every picture is what he's really after and what makes each picture sing. "Town of Liège" above is really une étude en vert. The moment you realize that is when the book comes into bloom, and you "get it."

...And you should get it. (Didn't I link it twice?) Strong buy rec on that one. Especially if you shoot in color, and care about color, and respond to color, and want to learn to use color better yourself.

Book of the Year 2015
And in further news, I've found TOP's Book of the Year for 2015. No, it's not Harry, although it could be, and it's not friend Peter, although it could be. It's a black-and-white photographer, a major black-and-white photographer, who I had never heard of. Seriously. (There are not a lot of major black-and-white photographers I've never heard of.) I'll write about that one as soon as I can get the writing done. It's my favorite photobook since the miraculous Here Far Away, Pentti Sammallahti's 2012 masterpiece.

In the meanwhile, buy a print! Seriously, whatcha waiting for? Time's a-wastin', and TOP can't roll out the red carpet like this every day*.

Mike

*Speaking of days, did I miss Cyber Monday? I did, didn't I. I am completely hopeless.

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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Featured Comments from:

Rich: "Mike—I need to thank you for your book recommendations. Over the years I've compiled a nice collection, and the ones I haven't been crazy about I've sold at a profit. In many case one or two hundred dollars profit ! Unbelievable...and proof to my wife I don't just lose money reselling depreciated cameras." 

John Krill: "I have a real problem with your blog. It's costing me big bucks. I just ordered the Harry Gruyaert book. From the picture you have posted and the photo on the front cover of the book it looks like my money is well spent."

Peter Wright: "Now am full of anticipation! Your book recommendations are always spot on. I have the Harry Gruyaert, the Pentti Sammallahti, Crosstown by Helen Levitt, The Photographs of Ray K. Metzker and French Kiss among many others. These are full of pictures I deeply wish I could have seen and taken, and are an inspiration for me to get out and shoot. I already have the Peter Turnley print from his book cover as part of my small (but growing) print collection. Again, it's a picture I wish I could have made. My collection also includes a Ctein, a couple by an M. Johnston, and others. I tend not to put these prints on the wall, but I do get them out for viewing and they help greatly in 'calibrating' my own printing. I can't think of another web site that provides this much help. Thanks!"

Bernd Reinhardt: "I agree with you about Pentti's wonderful book, but I think it was my book of the year for 2014 if I remember correctly. My book of the year for this year is without a doubt Songbook. It is a masterpiece depicting a slice of America in a respectful and artistic way. A friend of mine knows Alec and Alec gave him a word of advice on a new project: 'Every photograph should be a little surprise.' Look at Songbook again with these words in mind, and if it doesn't change your opinion, please make me a fair offer and I will buy your copy as a Christmas present for a good friend of mine. I am being serious about this."

Mike replies: I wish I knew where mine was—I'd take another look. But it has not come out of the moving boxes yet. My new house has almost no room for books, so most of them are in boxes on the second floor of the barn.