If you’re reading this page, you’ll likely be better off checking out my actual photoblog, www.mwyman.com, where I keep my daily photoblog. I realized I’d not been doing a good job of generating galleries of related photos, and that a more free-form daily posting format would work better.
So please, check out my photoblog instead. However, if you’d like I’m leaving the original version of this page for the time being:
In early 2007, I decided it was time to get a new digital camera. Rather than with a point-and-shoot, I figured I’d make the jump to a dSLR and start developing photography as a more serious hobby. Not that point-and-shoots aren’t serious photography, mind you. But SLR’s provide additional capabilities, and I wanted to expand my photography skills (or perhaps create them is a better word - since I’d actually work at it given the added expense for a dSLR).
The end result is a Canon EOS 30D (Canon’s mid-range digital SLR) and a severe case of TLS (that is: Terminal Lens Syndrome, a debilitating affliction causing fits of lens purchasing and wondering what I could do if I got the next great lens!). Thankfully my TLS has gone into remission, and I’m (mostly) satisfied with my current lens setup:
- Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L
- Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS
- Canon EF 85mm f/1.8
- Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro
I’ve found that my photography is geared towards outdoor/landscape photography, and the 17-40 stays on my camera almost exclusively, even though 17mm on the 30D is not really wide enough for landscapes… Here’s hoping Canon actually releases a reasonably-priced upgrade to the 5D soon so I can step up to a full-frame camera!
I’m also wanting to experiment with more of a photojournalistic style, and thinking about a fast “normal” prime. In my case, the appropriate lens would be something like the EF 28mm f/1.8, or the EF 35mm f/1.4L (but as much as I’d love a prime-L lens, I just don’t see it).
Last year I started playing with off-camera lighting, but haven’t had nearly as much time this past winter as I would have thought (getting engaged, family responsibilities, etc). I may play around more with studio-type shots with off-camera lighting, but it’s kinda hard getting that working outdoors where my primary shooting takes place.
2007 was a good year for photography… I had two vacations to National Parks that yielded great photographic opportunities. In April/May I visited Yosemite National Park in California, and in July my family and I went to Glacier National Park. The results are included among the galleries below:
- Marathon Fun Days:
- Weird Al at the Minnesota State Fair:
- Glacier National Park:
- Yosemite National Park:
- San Francisco:
If you’re interested, a long time ago I dragged the camera (armed only with my 60mm macro lens, however) about the St. Anthony Falls area of Minneapolis. Pictures here.