Thursday, March 10, 2011

An Extension of the Mind and Eye

My cameras are an extension of my mind and eyes. They keep me engaged with the present and allow me to explore the hidden details of my life. Regardless of my path, I am forever seeking new ways to interpret the natural and human ecology of my landscape. To me, photography is so much more than an avocation. This passion for capturing milliseconds in time is my purpose. As an empiricist, I am the technician. I obsess about composition, exposure and point of focus. As an artist, I release myself from the confines dictated by the empiricist. I will purposefully defocus an image, blow-out highlights, and abandon the accepted rules of composition. 





Chase Jarvis often states that "the best camera is the one that is with you;" yet he carefully selects each piece of kit prior to any shoot. While any camera is better than none at all, the "right" tools will influence how you can convey your vision. So rather than lie and offer some trite piece of advice, I freely admit that my photographic vision is intimately linked to my tools. The "right" camera and lens paired with the "right" technique really does matter. 
As I continue to expand the reach and scope of this blog, I hope to spend a little more time discussing the gear we use and how we use it. While I will not abandon my focus on ecology, the environment, and travel photography, I will try to describe how our gear is used to meet our artistic goals. Rather than writing traditional equipment reviews, I will share my own spin on how gear improves or inhibits our vision, and will offer some insight on my motivation for adding something new or eliminating a piece of kit from the bag.
Stay tuned...
Samburu Village, Kenya. Canon 5D + Canon 70-200 f4.0L


Masai Village, Tanzania. Canon 5D + 17-40 f4.0L 
Samburu Village, Kenya. Canon 5D + Canon 70-200 f4.0L
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