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Nikon D800 and Nikon D800e DSLRs: Awesome, but are they right for you?

Nikon D800 SLR Digital Camera (Body Only)Nikon’s worst kept secrets, the Nikon D800 DSLR and Nikon D800e DSLR were, dare I say finally, announced yesterday. At 36MP and $3,000, it blows the doors off the raw pixel-per-dollar performance of Nikon’s flagship Nikon D3X – an $8K camera with lower resolution that uses older technology. And Nikon has amped up the video capability by leaps and bounds on the D800 and D800e. But is one of them the right camera for you… Read more »

Think birds aren’t as important as people? Think again…

When a war correspondent fudges an image there is no question that it is a problem for them, and for their news organization. And when a nature photographer fibs about a contest image, as happened with the “Wildlife photographer of the year” that’s a known bad thing. So too when photos in National Geographic or other nature magazines have been fudged to distort reality. This week though, truth in bird photos has reached a new zenith… Read more »

nik’s Detail Extractor: For when spot metering just won’t cut it

EDL_InleLake_Fishermen_1960Unless you only shoot models in a studio, you’ve no doubt run into a lighting situation your camera just can’t handle. A very common one is a shaded subject in a bright environment. There are two classic ways to deal with the situation. First is flash. Of course, that only works if the subject is close enough and you have the right flash(es) to achieve the desired effect. The second, which I’ve often used at sporting events where the contestants are wearing caps, is to spot meter on the subject. But sometimes, like in the case of this Inthar fisherman in Myanmar, neither of those approaches will work. I’d really like to capture his wonderful facial expressions, but not lose the rendering of the background. If I spot meter for his shadowed face, I’ll blow out the scenery and even much of his fishing gear. Fortunately there is another solution… Read more »

Canon S100 field test: The best point and shoot you can fit in your shirt pocket

Canon PowerShot S100 point and shoot cameraDespite being crazy addicted to Nikon DSLRs, I usually find myself carrying a Canon point and shoot. Canon has consistently shipped small, usable, models that take great images. Sometimes it has gotten it wrong and packed too many pixels or too much zoom into too small a package, but year in and year out there have always been a few standout models. Read more »

Mystery Burmese T-shirt: Any ideas?

_djc1183I noticed this t-shirt on a girl at a market in eastern Burma in the Shan state on our recent photo safari there. I felt compelled to capture it for posterity, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what to make of it. Any ideas on what it means, or whether it means anything in particular? (Sometimes there are certainly pidgin English t-Shirts on display, but this seems more organized than one of those). Please leave a comment if you have any ideas! Read more »

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