A while. It's been one.
Yeah, it's been a while.
I stated, in a previous entry, that I would migrate toward Google+, and that kinda happened (I haven't posted much there). It's not that I don't like it; really, I do. I suppose it's more because I'm not someone who likes to talk about myself or my life. Yeah, lots of good and bad things happen, and some of those things are worth sharing. But sometimes, I have to convince or even force myself to talk about them.
This won't be one of those forced entries, though. I think I should provide an update of sorts, especially if someone out there is still reading this journal. So...!
WINTER 2011/2012
There isn't much to say about this. Here in Ohio, winter is winter. We get the snow and the cold and everything, and life kinda slows down during those months. I don't do any traveling during the winter season (mainly because of the weather), and that means I won't have any interesting adventures to talk about.
NIKON D300s
Shortly after Midwest Furfest 2011 ended, I began saving for a new camera. I got lots of great shots with the Nikon D300s, and everything I shot and published at my photo website was done with that camera. But I often found myself desiring a little more headroom with its ISO performance. I didn't mind using (selective) noise reduction during my post-processing, and I still don't mind it. But I really felt that step was something that should be needed only when it's needed, and should not be used as often as it was. There were even a few cases where I had to do a fair amount of noise reduction on shots that I felt were perfectly exposed, and that bothered me.
The camera's ISO perforamce performance was a point of annoyance with me for a while, but I ignored it because nearly everything else about the camera was perfect. It was comfortable in my hands, fast and responsive (8 fps!), had a great auto-focus system, good metering, etc. I really did feel that I could shoot anything with that camera... until the light levels dropped. That's when I had to break out the flash, and use it to help the camera's exposure (and keep the ISO down). Now, don't get me wrong, I actually LIKE using flash, and I can get great results with it. But I often found myself in shooting situations that didn't allow me to use flash in the way I wanted to. In those cases, my only choices were to take the shot with a not-so-good setup, or not take the shot at all. I still managed to get some decent shots from those situations, but I often wondered if I could do better if I had a little more exposure headroom.
Soon after MFF ended, I made plans to get another camera. I sold a couple of my lenses (my trusty Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and my owned-for-only-two-months Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8), bought a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G, and sold the D300s. Before I sold the camera, I wondered if I'd feel strange being without a camera for a while, and I knew that I would take a big risk by guessing that the new camera would be readily available when I had the money to purchase it. But I didn't dwell on it too much because it was winter, and I knew I wouldn't do much (if any) shooting until the season changed to spring. So, I sold the camera, and received a little more than 70% of what I paid for it in 2010.
And the waiting began. I didn't have a camera, and I checked websites every day for news on the camera I wanted to buy. But the patience paid off, and I got my new camera in March.
NIKON D800
The Nikon D800. Full-frame. Much better ISO performance, guaranteed by its larger sensor. A DX (crop) sensor mode that will let me shoot at up to six 14-bit frames per second (with the grip). And... it's a 36 megapixel beast. Handheld shooting a camera with such high resolution would definitely require more care, but I was up to the task. I knew what I was getting into, and I was prepared to make changes in my techniques if I had to. I was prepared to make adjustments because I could forget about the one big thing that disappointed me with the D300s. Granted, I could have resolved that issue with a D700. But the retail price of the D800 was only about $300 more expensive than a new D700 at the time, and the D700 would have been nothing more than a sidegrade (or even a downgrade) in a few other areas. It's still a damn fine machine (I often see photo proof of that), and my plan-B was to buy that camera. But the D800 really was a lot more camera for not-a-lot-more money. And I knew it would offer more challenges, both in its use and in the additional shooting situations it would allow me to explore.
I took the camera to various places around the city for tests, and spent weeks getting used to its feel and behavior. I didn't have as much time as I wanted; I feel that I need to get two or three months of shooting done with any camera before I can feel truly comfortable with it. But I had to be ready to go because I had a convention to attend soon.
FURRY CONNECTION NORTH 2012
I took the D800 and the 50mm to one of my convention stops, Furry Connection North. Because I wasn't 100% comfortable with the camera at the time, I decided that I wouldn't do a ton of shooting. Of course, that decision was overturned rather quickly. I'm a photographer. If I have a camera with me, then I'm gonna use it as often as I can. And I always enjoy photographing the other fursuiters at conventions.
FCN never disappoints for me, and I thought this year's convention was the best of all three that I've attended. Oh, and I took a few pictures while I was there. I'm not entirely happy with how the set turned out, but I learned a lot about the camera behaves, from both the good and bad shots. As I do after every photo set, I study the files and make notes about what I liked and didn't like, and what needs to change or improve for next time. The Anthrocon set will be better, and the shots from next year's FCN will be better still. Believe it.
That's enough for now. Maybe I'll post here more often? We'll see.