What cost photography?

Yeah, how about those crazy fees, right? Well, the simple answer is expenses! A professional photographer is immediately hit with some pretty hefty expenses for equipment, something which never really ceases and new gear is introduced each and every year. I personally have well over several thousand dollars invested in photographic gear at the moment, and there are still many pieces that I could use… it’s never enough! Below is a pic of just some of my gear at this point…

This doesn’t begin to show all of my gear at this point, which includes tripods, light stands, diffusers, strobes, all assorted gadgets, and bags… oh, I have three bags I work out of! And believe me, they all have their purpose!

Then there are memberships, like to the Professional Photographers of America which covers my insurance, to other organizations like KelbyOne, where I keep up my proficiency training in the latest techniques and business affairs. There’s the mundane like business cards, and a computer to edit and editing software. And then there’s advertising… I presently advertise through only one site, Thumbtack, and it costs me upwards of $400 a month alone. It is my main lead generator, and is just now beginning to pay off.

My point is not to complain about business costs, because I knew what they were when I started this little enterprise, but to share with others some of the realities of taking photos professionally; it’s more than an iPhone for sure!

The Cannoli Capers

Last evening, I had the joy to photograph “The Cannoli Capers,” a production of the Louisville Community Theater, and directed by Mr. Nathan Meadows of Minerva. As my friend Kerry was in it, it was all the more engaging. On a sad note, it was the last production and last performance by the Louisville Community Theater at the Skyland Pines Country Club; the Club was recently sold to Amazon, Inc., who will be demolishing the Banquet Hall for yet another distribution center.

It was a great assignment in that I got to utilize virtually all of my photo gear; the primary lens that I used was my new Nikon Z 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens, which is the most amazing lens I have ever shot with, plain and simple. I also got to play with my new SB-5000 flash, and look forward to doing more with it in the future. It was a slight challenge in that I felt flash lighting was not possible due to the audience and the players, so I shot in ambient light and pushed the iso accordingly. Shooting RAW and using LightRoom for the win!

Here below are some of my photos!

Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame

Traveled today up to Cleveland to spend time with a friend and tour the Hall. It’s been a couple of years since I had been there last, and there were a number of changes in the musician displays, notably for me, no more Cars memorabilia out on display. But I did get to see mementos from some of my favorite musicians, including Billie Eilish, Lady Gaga, Kurt Cobain, Eddie Van Halen, Blondie, Pete Entwistle, and others. Below is a collection of images I took there, all shot in natural lighting at relatively higher ISOs, well, for me at least.

New Times… New Gear

I’ve been a photographer for most of my life, starting around the age of twelve, when I got my first rangefinder, a Yashica, and I used to take photos of the local Little Leaguers playing games at Highlands Park. I graduated to birds and a screw-mount Pentax SP1000, my first SLR camera, and then on to a Canon F-1N, my first professional camera. I started shooting weddings in my 30’s, then with a Nikon F-4S, my very last film camera, and about that time, I went digital and never looked back. I am both a Nikon and digital format loyalist, and that is what I shoot today. I’ve used both APS-C DX and full-frame FX digital cameras, including the Nikons D-90, D-200, D-500, and D-7200.

Last month, I made another switch, from digital SLR to a digital mirrorless camera, the new Nikon Z-6 Mk II. I have never been so enamored with a new camera as I am with this one. It’s simply a perfect shoot in every way. As a result of my switching cameras, I bought some new lenses and other gear to facilitate my being able to work commercially; 50mm f/2.8 macro, 24-70mm f/4 zoom, 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom, MB-N11 battery grip, and SB-5000 Creative System flash, among other things. Equipment really does matter in terms of performance and reliability, and I am now ideally set up for carrying on commercial photography work in professional fashion.

There are also lots of ideas percolating with my new-found creative desires. I’ve discovered a wonderful and reasonable studio to rent in Cleveland, and hope to do some photo work there. I am considering branching out into boudoir photography, which seems to be popular these days. And I am hoping to book several weddings this year, and continue to expand my portfolio, and my expertise in order to move up to bigger realms. I would also welcome the opportunity to work with commercial projects, such as factories and power plants. And lastly, I am collaborating with a local artist, who is working with my photographs and linear art overlays. Hopefully lotus cooking to end the year, and to jumpstart 2022.

My photographic influencers

There were several photographers that influenced me early on as a teen, growing up in Massachusetts but summering in Maine. One such photographer is Peter Hornby, whom I used to hang with as an early teen while on summer in Ocean Park, Maine. I stayed with my grandmother every summer at this environmentally rich speck of land along the Maine coast, while Peter stayed with his grandparents, the Hotchkisses. At the time, I was using a Canon F-1N, all the while dreaming about having a Nikon, which I couldn’t quite afford, and what drew me to Peter, despite our shared hobby, was the fact that he did have Nikons, which he let me handle and take some pics with. Every day, Peter would ride his black bike down to the beach, camera in hand, and many times I would meet him and we would take photographs together. Peter was a very quiet person, we never talked much, but we allowed our love of photography to be our bond. I grew to love his photos of Ocean Park, memorialized on postcards in the Ocean Park Gift Shop, and I tried to duplicate his techniques and sense of vision.

Another local photographer that had a significant influence on me was the late Edith O. Stephenson. Ms. Stephenson, a lifelong resident of Ocean Park, lived at the very end of a street and, as luck would have it, had a salt marsh in her very backyard. This elicited a love of both nature, and photography, for me, one that would be lifelong to this day. Ms. Stephenson taught me how to photograph birds, she with her Pentax SP-1000, and I with the very same camera, my first SLR. She was adept at bird photography way before it was a thing as it is today, and many modeled for her in her backyard; ibises, herons, egrets, ducks, warblers. These were memorialized on a wall in her den, where she displayed her various photographs. She also taught me the ways of birding in my formative years, and we would be up at dawn and out in the marshes of Scarborough looking for herons. I owe a lot to her for her teaching and stewardship.

One professional photographer that I admired greatly was the late Peter Turner, an American contemporary photographer. I first discovered Pete in Photography Magazine back in the mid-1970’s. He was known for some very vibrant and abstract photographs, and was a very early influence on my photography, my having tried to emulate his artworks. Pete Turner’s works can be found at Pete Turner Photography.

The last photographer who was a major influencer to me is the late Galen Rowell. Galen was an adventure photographer, having traversed virtually all corners of the earth for that perfect shot, his glacier and mountain work being among the most spectacular. He also was a photographer representative for Nikon cameras, always testing the latest gear in the field for Nikon. His work has influenced my landscape and nature imaging ever since I discovered him in Photography Magazine as well. He wrote a wonderful book in 1993 titled Galen Rowell's Vision: The Art of Adventure Photography. Sadly, he and his wife were killed in a plane crash in 2002. Unfortunately, Galen Rowell’s Mountain Light Photography website has been taken down.

Dale Chihuly

Yesterday, I went to the Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens to view and image the Dale Chihuly exhibits scattered throughout the conservatory. It is certainly some beautiful artwork.

Dale Chihuly is a Washington-based artist working with glass media, and is featured in exhibitions and galleries across the world. Chihuly has been blowing glass and creating immense and technical sculptures for five decades. His work can also be found at Chihuly.

The gallery below highlights some of the works by Chihuly at Franklin Park. I hope that you enjoy, as much as I do, his creativity and mastery of blown glass.

First look... Nikon Z6ii Images

Yesterday, I visited the Mary Stark Sanatorium in Stark County, Ohio. It opened in 1929 originally as a hospitla for tuberculosis patients, one of 25 in Ohio. It was closed in 1995 after continued declining patient census and large operating deficits. Sadly, the beautiful architecture has been in decline ever since, and it was bought by Stark County for $1.00 in 2008, and it was turned into a county park.

The images below are taken of the outer building. I would love to capture the main hospital building, however it is surrounded by a large fence, which doesn’t lend itself to photographing well, sadly.