Trying To Be Different

Posted on July 3, 2008 | Leave a comment

A couple of days ago it was hot. The temperature reached 29C and as anyone in the industry knows, weather pictures are all the rage. Its a strange concept, but the papers love weather pictures; not just extreme weather either.

As I wasn’t on assignment, I decided to go and try to find a good weather picture. In a situation like this, one has to try and be different, and the obvious shot of people sun bathing isn’t going to stand out.
So I decided to head to Kensington Gardens and see if I could get anything different. I had seen birds taking a bath in a fountain there many years ago, and thought this might make a good shot.
Alas, it didn’t really work!
Two hours spent in the sweltering sun produced a couple of ok pictures, but nothing amazing. I believe the saying is “never work with children or animals”!!

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Posted in Photography, Pictures

Why a D700?!

Posted on July 3, 2008 | Leave a comment

As a Canon user the answer to this is pretty obvious to me. However, having been asked this question, I thought I’d share my answer here.

The reason some Nikon users can’t see the point, is that when a grip is included in the price of a D700, the cost comes close to the Nikon D3, which is more rugged and faster.
The whole point of the camera for me would be to use it without the grip, making it smaller and marrying it up with a handful of prime lenses and going old school. This won’t work for some more newsy situations, but for reportage, features and portrait jobs its a perfect setup.
Along with two Canon 1D MkIII bodies, I also use a couple of 5Ds. I have a bag (ThinkTank Photo Urban Disguise) with two 5Ds, a flash, and a bunch of primes: 20mm f2.8, 28mm  f1.8, 35mm f1.4L, 85mm f1.2L II and a 135mm f2L. This is the bag I pick up for the types of work mentioned above. The 1D MkIII, zooms and long glass is used for traditional news and extreme weather conditions (as its weather sealed).
The Canon 5D without doubt has revolutionised how photojournalists work. Its given us amazing image quality in a small body, with small batteries and chargers. All one has to do is look at the amazing work produced by photographers like Sean Smith (The Guardian) and multi award winner Daniel Beltra.
The D700 still has to prove itself, and I have no idea about its image quality or handling. The one thing which is certain though is that Nikon are way behind Canon on prime lenses. None of the Nikon glass (apart from the super telephotos) have built in silent AFS motors and at the high end, the range is very small. Nikon needs to bring out fast aperture, AFS primes covering the wide to short telephoto range. This married to the D700 could promise a killer system.
Rumours have it that the Canon 5D replacement is due later this year. I for one can’t wait to see what Canon have done. It’ll definitely be interesting to compare the 5D MkII and the D700.

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Posted in Camera Equipment, viewpoint

New Nikon Full Frame Camera

Posted on July 1, 2008 | Leave a comment

It certainly seems the folks at Nikon have been busy. There had been a few rumours on the net about the Nikon D700, and now the full facts are out:


12.1 Megapixel Full Frame
ASA 100 to 25,600
51 point / 15 cross-type focusing points
5 FPS shooting speed (8 FPS with optional grip)
Colour AF Tracking
Built in sensor cleaning
Priced at US $2999.95

Its good to see Nikon taking a U-Turn in its original stance of refusing to consider full frame cameras as it used to insist that its DX format was the way to forward. I guess the Canon 5D’s sales have proved to the manufacturers that there is a huge market and need for full frame.

For more details and pictures head over to DPReview and Rob Galbraith.

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Posted in Camera Equipment, News

Clash of the Titans: Canon Vs Nikon

Posted on June 29, 2008 | Leave a comment

Who will take the crown of best DSLR; the Canon 1D MkIII or the Nikon D3?

“Being a working press photographer in London, I come into contact with a lot of photographers. Strangely, photographers from competing news organizations are best of friends once the action of the assignment dies down. Even stranger, Canon and Nikon users live in perfect harmony. Amongst press photographers, brand loyalty is perhaps not as strong as amongst other groups of photographers, and we speak quite openly about issues with gear; both good and bad.

For several years, colleagues who have shot on the Nikon D2 series of cameras have constantly complained on its noisy images and the fact that they can’t shoot at anything approaching 800 ASA and upwards. There were also complaints that Nikon refused to look at full frame cameras and kept insisting that the DX format was the best way to go. Canon users on the other hand were worried about their brand new 1D MkIII cameras and shooting in AI Servo mode in bright light. Thankfully for both camps, it looks like the two giants of DSLR manufacturing have been listening”.

I have done a hands on review of both these cameras for the BJP (British Journal of Photography) out on July 2nd. If you’re interested to read the rest of the article, get yourself a copy. Also in the same issue is coverage of the winning images from PPY (Press Photographers’ Year), showing the best of British press photography from 2007.

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Posted in Camera Equipment, News, viewpoint

Vincent Laforet Interview

Posted on June 28, 2008 | Leave a comment

In 2007 I had the pleasure of meeting Vincent Laforet at the University of Southern California (USC) where we were both part a small group of World Press Photo winners giving a seminar to the students.

I had been a fan of his work before we met and I must say that as well as being extremely talented, he’s a wonderful chap to boot. Canon has an interesting interview with him here.

Update: Sports Shooter have a very interesting interview with Vincent which includes his thoughts on the industry – a must read.

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Posted in Photography, Pictures

46664 Concert: In Celebration Of Nelson Mandela

Posted on June 28, 2008 | Leave a comment

Lets face it, this is without a doubt the best job in the world. Yes, the days can be long and the stress plentiful; its occasionally dangerous and often unappreciated, however, its still the best job.

I was fortunate enough to cover the 46664 Concert, in celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life, achievements, birthday and his charity. It was an amazing experience.
As always, there were some issues. The photographers’ area was around 50 meters from the stage which meant my standard lens became a 500mm! The slightly bigger problem was that there were several hundred people in front of our position – which wasn’t raised high enough. This brought its problems of trying to avoid the tops of people’s heads (there’s always someone very tall around in these situations!). It became worst as the crowd put there arms up, and even worst when camera phones and compact cameras were brought into play.
Still, it was an absolute joy to be there and a bigger joy to photograph it. We had two photographers covering it, two runners (taking our CF cards back and forth – many thanks Nina and Eli) and two AP editors back in the press room (Dejan and David – top job gents). Its such a joy to work with professionals. There was even some time for a little bit of fun!

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Posted in News, Photography, Pictures