Often times when people talk about sports photography, they complain that the only way to get good results is to go out and spend ten grand on lenses and the latest full frame camera, with maybe a couple strobes thrown in there. Then you need a press pass and a good eye. I disagree strongly with these people. While certainly the best lenses and cameras will enable you to take the sharpest and cleanest images, you can still make great images with humble gear. The shot above was made with a Nikon D40 and a Nikon 55-200 lens. A combo that barely costs 400 dollars. (expensive to some, but in photography, very cheap). I'm not saying this is the greatest image ever, but it just goes to show you can produce solid images with entry-level camera gear. Don't give up if you can't afford the latest and the greatest, nothing beats a good eye and a sense of timing.

Recently I have been struggling with depression. As a sort of way to confront my demons, I thought I would make an image that portrayed the feelings I have. While I am not 100% satisfied with this one, I do feel it gives at least some idea of the struggles caused by depression. The light areas of the image would be the part of me that is fine and normal. The dark is depression, just kind of creeping into all the little areas of my life so sneakily. (An obvious metaphor, but I'm not at a point creatively where I feel comfortable making more abstract or complex ideas in my imagery). The out of focus is also the depression that casts a fog in all aspects of my life.

Wide Angle Primes

I recently bought a 35mm f1.8 Nikon lens. I bought it because I was excited about the low light opportunities it would give me. However, last night I took it out around a small city that I live in. I discovered it opens up many more opportunities for creativity than just the ability to shoot in low light. First, obviously is shooting at low apertures can help blur out distracting back ground details. The more important thing it forces me to do is get up closer to my subject. When shooting pictures of people, for instance, it forces me to have conversations and truly understand the person. This, in turn, allows me to create a more true to life portrait as I can create something that reflects the true "them" rather than my own preconceptions on who they are. While there certainly is some distortion in these wider primes, it is easily fixable in post processing, and the more true to life photos are more than worth the extra time spent on my photos.