Paul Lester Photo

Close to two years ago when I bought my D2x, I was a bit impatient. Instead of buying it from my usual place of business, B&H Photo, I bought from somewhere else. That somewhere else was a place called B&Y Distributors. A place from where I would never again purchase anything. You’ve got to read the fine print.

At that time, B&H was closed for some holiday, or another, which is not an unusual thing! Anyway, I didn’t want to wait the extra couple of days and, I thought, this place had a ‘kit’ that had an 18-70mm lens, a 70-300mm lens for a $200 less than the price of the body alone at B&H.

I read the fine print, or so I thought. They said that it had a USA warranty and when I called, they confirmed that it did have a USA warranty. What they didn’t say was that this was a gray market camera and the USA warranty was a 3rd party warranty from Repair Tech, not Nikon. Now, I don’t have anything at all against gray market cameras. I’ve bought them before, but I’d like to plainly stated, up front, that that is what is happening.

Before placing my order, I had to ‘call’ to confirm. You got it! They put on the high pressure sales tactics trying to get me to buy, for example, a $30 digital concepts battery for $299, which they claimed to be better than the Nikon battery. I said no way and finally bought the battery for $30, just to get the guy off of the phone. The up-sell pressure is intense. They are trying to pawn off all kinds of Digital Concepts crap at 5 – 10x regular price. This is how they make their profits.

After getting my ‘kit’, I discovered the 3rd party warranty was not the USA warranty that they had implied, but a 3rd party warranty. Heck, they even sent a warranty for ‘under $3000′ value. After a call, they recognized the mistake and sent out the correct one. Fortunately, the camera was covered under my Capital One credit card’s insurance, too for 2 years past the manufacturers warranty.

At any rate, I didn’t enjoy the sales pressure nor did I like the shady dealings. Needless to say, I would never buy from them again. I was, however, very lucky in that I got a quality camera and paid less than full price, but next time, or should I say, this time, I’ll pay full price.

This topic popped up in my mind as I sit here in my third week waiting for my Nikon D3 to ship. I’ve ordered it from Ritz, a reputable seller. Unfortunately, B&H is strictly first come, first served. If I’m lucky to find it online, I’ll order it from there and cancel my order with Ritz. I could get one right now because I’ve seen some of them being scalped on eBay for 10 – 50% over full retail. I’ve also seen the ‘too good to be true prices’. I think that I’ll just wait.

Good things come to those who wait.

In case some of you have read it about on Paul Butzi’s site, I’ll repeat it here. SoFoBoMo stands for Solo Photo Book Month. You can read on his site about the full details.

Anyway, it’s just a challenge, not a contest, to put together a photography book in 31 days, containing 35 photographs and optional associated text. The format will be PDF. This means that all shooting, writing, and editing must be done within a 31 day window. There are no judges, nor are there any policeman to watch to make sure that you did it during that time frame. It’s on the honor system.

The idea started with National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo, where authors attempted to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days, and National Solo Album Month, where musicians attempt to write an entire album during the month of November, each year.

I love this quote from the NaSoAlMo website:

NaSoAlMo favors enthusiasm and perseverance rather than perfectionism. It’s meant to encourage musicians and would-be songwriters to silence their internal critic for thirty days in order to inspire and maximize productivity. The albums are likely to be hastily written, off-time, and out of tune; the main objective is to just do it.

So, here’s your chance to silence that inner critic that is always telling you that you can’t do something, or that you’re not good enough. To heck with it! You can sign up at Paul’s website. It’s nothing official and he won’t come and hunt you down if you don’t produce … at least I don’t think so.

He’s running what he calls a fuzzy month to help accommodate people’s schedules. Here’s the gist:

Because we’re just getting started, we’re doing a fuzzy month. You should pick a 31 day period that starts no earlier than April 1, 2008, and ends no later than May 31, 2008. In other words, if you start on April 1, your month ends on May 1. If you start on April 15, your month ends on May 15. Having everyone do it exactly at the same time would be nice, because it would allow for maximum sense of camaraderie, but everyone has different schedules and this fuzzy month start/finish plan buys some of that without the inflexibility.

So, gather your ideas, make a commitment to do it, and hang on until at least April 1st and let the fun begin. I might hang on until after April 15th, when taxes are done, so that I can have that ‘poison’ out of my blood stream!

When I finish mine, I will post it on my website for all to see. So, I’ve committed myself to doing it. Now all I have to do is come up with an idea and wait until April! Perhaps you’re in a rut and haven’t been shooting as much as you like. This may give you that extra push that you want/need. At any rate, I think that it will be fun and I could really learn something.

About the picture: 30 second exposure, ISO 100 f/8 200mm. More fun with the Singh-Ray Vari-ND filter. Rocks at the bottom of a small waterfall in the gardens at UNCC.

Comparisons. They, unfortunately, are a way of life. From our early childhood we rank and label things. We categorize things as good, bad, right, wrong, tall, short, fat, thin, pretty, ugly, etc. Photography is not exempt from these attitudes. How many times have you thought that you should start a project, or perhaps should sell your work because it would mean that you are a ‘better’ photographer? I know that I’ve been down that road many, many, times.

I read a number of blogs daily and sometimes get hit with that feeling. For example, Mark Graf has a great gallery, sells his print, and is a prolific photographer. There’s always something new and wonderful to look at. Paul Butzi frames his prints and does gallery showings, Chantal Stone is shooting weddings, etc. Sometimes that little voice says: Hey! If you want to be better, you have to ____. However, I always come back down to reality and realize that each of us has a vision and a purpose for our photography. Each and every vision and reason is valid, even if no one else agrees with it.

When someone new to photography asks me what they should do to get better, my answer is usually the same. It’s the same answer for the question: Hey buddy! How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!

How does one get better? It is a multi-step process, requiring the same time and effort as acquiring any other skill. Photography, while dealing in aesthetics, is a craft. This craft requires the artist, or crafts person, if you prefer, to become one with their tool so that the tool becomes an extension of the artist, not an impediment. The tool, much like a chisel or a paintbrush, is essential in helping you to convey your particular vision.

I think that once you get over the technical aspects of the camera:

• Depth of field
• Shutter speed
• Aperture
• Lens choice
• Perhaps filter use

Then you can start working on the ‘soft’, or non technical parts of the picture such as composition, tonal range, color, etc. The next step then is your particular work flow. How do you get that picture to say what you want it to say. You’ve got a great exposure, lovely composition, great tonal range, but it’s missing something. This ‘something’ could be taken care of with programs, such as Photoshop, or Lightroom.

The next step, you may or may not choose to pursue, printing. It is a craft of its own.

Lastly, there’s the story itself. If you choose to do one. Do you pre-visualize and have an idea for a story up front? Or, do you post-visualize, that is assemble the story after the fact. Both are equally valid and, I think, equally powerful. Also, having pictures stand on their individual merit works well, too. A story need not always be told. For an interesting read, check out Julie’s post on the topic of projects. As for me, if I were to do a project, it would be after the fact. I usually don’t find good, heartfelt shots when I go out looking for them.

In the end, it’s about your vision and your decision is always the right one for you, at the moment. You even have the right to change your mind as frequently as you want to! However, during that time, practice, practice, practice. The more that you are out there shooting, the better ‘luck’ you have!

Thanks for reading!