Like most photographers in the world, I am a gadget-fan. It always seems like I could use just one more piece of equipment to get that perfect shot. But alas, also like most photographers I have limitations, like a budget for instance! And so I must make due with what I have at hand most of the time. This is likely a blessing in disguise. I have heard great photographers say that the best tool for the job is the one you have on hand. I would say that the truth of this has been borne out in my own experience.

This section of my web site reveals the tools that I currently use to photograph, scan, and produce high-quality prints.

Photographic

Bodies : Nikon D200 digital SLR; Nikon D100 digital SLR. Backup is a Canon PowerShot Pro1 8 megapixel point-and-shoot.

Lenses: Nikkor 12-24mm f/4G ED-IF AF-S DX Zoom ; Nikkor 35-70 AFD f/2.8; Nikkor 70-210 AF f/4-5.6; Nikkor 35mm PC; Tamron 90mm f/2.5 macro; Tamron 200-400 f/5.6 AF; Nikon Circular Polarizers; Galen Rowell Singh Ray Graduated Neutral Density Filters (2-stop hard edge and 2-stop soft edge).

I also have a complete Hasselblad 500 C/M system collecting dust, which is a near-travesty; no Zeiss glass should be sitting around idle. Alas, the cost of a Hasselblad digital back is just too much to justify (CFV-II Digital Back @ US $10,000), and I must insist on staying away from film.

Accessories: Bogen 3221 w/3030 head (my standard camera support); Bogen 3444 Carbon Fiber Tripod with Kirk Enterprises BH-1 ballhead (my travel tripod); Lowepro Rover Plus AW Camera Backpack; LowePro hip bag. Domke Photogs Vest.

Computer: Apple Mac Pro 2 x 2.66 GHz Dual-Core, 6 GB RAM, 2 x 500 GB RAID 1 plus several other removable hard drives for backing up various items; DVD-RW drive; 24" LaCie 324 color LCD monitor color-managed with Eye-One display 2 Professional Monitor Calibration; 15" Samsung SyncMaster LCD monitor (for more Photoshop "real estate").

Peripherals: Nikon LS-4000 film scanner; Epson Perfection 2400 flatbed scanner; Epson Stylus Pro 4000 printer with archival Ultrachrome pigment inks; 6"x8" Wacom Intuos Tablet.

Note: I am no longer shooting with film--I don't even own a 35mm film camera anymore.  However, the principles for recording technically outstanding photographs remains constant despite the medium.

I have always leaned towards highly-saturated color slide films, but shot primarily color negative film for a couple of years while I worked at a photo lab. I'm not intent on using any one particular film, but I tend to gravitate towards Kodak Ektachrome Elite 100 (EB), and/or Fuji Velvia (RVP). Both of these films yield results that are difficult for me to differentiate from each other, although I'd say that the RVP has a decided advantage for color saturation in low-contrast lighting. Coupled with my choice of using fine-grained saturated slide films is the frequent use of a polarizer under most conditions. Routinely, I at least view a scene through a polarizer to see if I can reduce unwanted glare off of my subject(s). I often can't tell how much glare there is until I take this step. This is likely the reason many of my images appear "saturated". True, a polarizer will charge your "light account" about 2.5 stops, but for my style this is moot since I habitually use a tripod.   Some tips...