Selecting a Favorite Lens a Message from the Editor

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April 2013 Volume 5, Issue 8 Selecting a Favorite Lens A Message From The Editor

A few weeks ago, I was discussing favorite lenses with several club members. We all talked about favorites based upon what we’ve tried or owned and it seems as if a lens is like any other toy. Your favorite may just be the one you just bought. What can be simpler than selecting a favorite lens? If you want to photograph a landscape, you use a wide angle. If you want to photograph a distant object, you use a telephoto lens. If you want to photograph something in between, you use a normal lens. This sounds simple enough, but in reality a favorite lens is a tough choice. You may have a hard time naming a favorite lens or what lens you like using the most, but I would think everyone has at least one "go to" lens. The one that you just like to shoot more then another. Now, this may not be your only lens selection, but very often this lens makes you say, “WOW” every time This go to lens may be the lens which stays on your camera more than any other lens. So, is there any logic to selecting a favorite lens? Let me prompt you to think about this subject with a little different perspective. If you could have only one lens, what would it be? Would your choice depend on your style of shooting, the cost (value) of the lens or your profession? In this edition of Exposures, several members are going tell you about their favorite lens choice. You will notice each member has a different favorite and for different styles of shooting. Don Chen writes about his favorite lens for portraits, how he came to choose a specific lens and why he still loves his choice today. Jeff Bott explains that he has different favorites depending on whether he is using a full frame camera or a cropped sensor camera. Mark Theroit provided an excellent article about backyard birding and his lens of choice. Jim Ross explains why his favorite equipment has changed to reflect the kind of photography style he happens to like at the moment. We all know that lenses are as important (and perhaps more important) than the camera Itself. I read one article about a photographer whom has a (good) habit of putting a lens on the camera then going out to shoot whatever he can with this single lens. This helped him to see how each individual lenses works the best. At the other extreme, I am sure there are photographers with a fantastic camera, every lens you could want, but can never leave the house without an entire back-pack of accessories because they can’t decide or lack the confidence to choose a favorite lens for a specific shoot. For many photographers, there is always one or two lenses that we drool over. For me it was a 70-200 f2.8. Since I shoot with a Canon, I wanted one to go with my 7D. I choose the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS II, which is great for portraits, has beautiful bokeh and is amazing in low light thanks to the image stabilization. The auto focus is very fast and it really is a very sharp lens. The downsides are cost, weight and size. This lens is really tough to Inside This Issue carry or hold for long periods of time. A Message From The President 2 The articles in this edition may get you to thinking about a new lens purchase. Web Corner 2 But, before you buy any lens, try to remember that obsessing about a lens My Favorite Lens For Portraits 4 may not be necessary. First, ask yourself, what do I want to capture with a new lens? Make sure that any new lens you are obsessing about can help My Favorite or My Most Used Lens 6 you with your primary style of shooting. If a new favorite lens will compliment Backyard Birding - It's That Time 7 your shooting style, then go for it. Again! Perhaps you can already name a “go to” lens, a favorite lens or simply the My Favorite Lens 11 lens you like the most. Prove it. You can make photographs using any lens, Accolades 12 but your favorite lens should provide exceptional ways to share moments and Egon’s World 13 share photography.

A Message From President John Williams

Last month our club has once again reached 150 members in size. That makes our club, by quite a margin, the largest of all 38 or so clubs that belong to the Chicago Area Camera Clubs. It feels like we’re just getting started as we’re having some very productive meetings with great ideas for future learning activities. It’s excellent to have such a vibrant and enthused group of members who are willing to share and participate in the efforts to make our club better! With that in mind, it’s time to ask everyone to be thinking about serving on a committee if you are not already doing so. Shortly, we will be announcing several new initiatives that will need volunteers as well as several ongoing committees. Take a look in this newsletter or on our website at the various existing committees and contact the chair to let them know of your interest. We also have our annual membership meeting coming up in May, when we have five positions for open election to our board. Feel free to talk with anyone of our members on the board about the possibilities, perhaps you too can help shape the future of our club! So what’s my favorite lens? Wow, that’s not an easy answer, I have arrived at a point where every lens I have now becomes my favorite in the right circumstances. All of them serve a purpose and do it with exceptional quality and I would not want to lose one of them. My primes are the 50mm 1.4, and a 105mm 2.8 Macro (basically the only lens I used yesterday at the Bolz Conservatory). My telephotos are the 16-35mm 2.8, a 24-105mm 4.0, a 70-200mm 2.8 and a 100-400mm. So describe to me the time, place and subject to capture, and then I’ll tell you which one is my favorite.

Web Corner By John Rouse

SIDEBAR Gallery

Sixty-five pages on our website contain a sidebar gallery on the upper left side. These images were picked at random from all the images that were available from our previous website. Many of the images used were from photographers that are no longer members. We want to update this gallery in May. We need approximately 80 images. We only have 13 images to date. We are asking all members to submit any image that is in not displayed in any of the Honors, Excursion, Challenge or Activity galleries. Any member can submit up to five images through the Sidebar Submission form. So please submit your images within the next couple of weeks. Please use the three digit month code for the month in which you are submitting (I.E. JAN, FEB, MAR, etc.).

Visit our website www.lakecountycameraclub.org. We are proud members of the We meet the first Thursday of every month at: Chicago Area Camera Clubs Association and the Photographic Society of America. University Center. 1200 University Drive, Grayslake IL.

Our mission is to promote, teach and share the ideals, skills, techniques and Questions or comments about this newsletter? good practices of the art of photography and the use of cameras and Please contact Ken Johnson, Newsletter Editor at photographic equipment. [email protected].

President John Williams President Elect Mike Trahan Past President Ron Meyers Secretary Terry Ferguson Treasurer Jim Ross Vice President, External Operations Michelle Cox

Vice President, Internal Operations Bill Sullivan

2012 - 2013 Committee Chairpersons CACCA Representative Bob Kruzic Competition Chair Bob Kruzic

Community Involvement Coordinator Open

Company Contact Coordinator Mike Styrna

Continuing Education Coordinator Jim Ross

DPI Competition Coordinator Steve Cullen Facilities Coordinator Bill Sullivan

Historian Jerry Donahue Hospitality Desk Margie Hurwich Judge Procurement Tony Roma Long Term Planning Mike Trahan Mentoring Program Coordinator Tracy Castro Membership Coordinator Terry Ferguson CACCA Individual Competitions Newsletter Editor Ken Johnson Photo Excursion Coordinator Debra Olson October, December and February Nature Prints Program Coordinator Stevan Tontich October, December and February Photojournalism Prints PSA Representative Michelle Cox November, January, and March Portrait Prints PSA Photo Travel Coordinator Birgit Tyrrell November, January, and March Creative DPI PSA Photojournalism Coordinator Linda Kruzic PSA Projected Image Coordinator Bob Marx March Special Category DPI Get Up Close PSA Nature Coordinator Mike Trahan April Special Category DPI Street Shots Webmaster John Rouse May Special Category DPI A. Tell a Story in 30 sec. A or B Video and Sound B. Cell Phone Image

March Postcard Competition

In late 2008 and early 2009, I started getting requests for personal portrait work such as high school senior, model comp card, and engagement photography. Very often, I needed to create half-body length portrait in an outdoor environment. I decided to give this lens (Canon 135mm f/2.0 L) a try to see what it would produce. The initial test results instantly blew my mind away for its’ ultra-sharpness, color rendition, amazing auto-focus, and silky smooth bokeh. I decided to use it for real life projects. The following picture 1 and picture 3 were from my first few high school senior portrait and model sessions during that period. They were produced wide open or near wide open (f/2.0 or f/2.8).

Because this is a very fast lens (f/2.0) with great auto-focus capability, I find it extremely useful in events under low light situations such as wedding or indoor events where you cannot conveniently use flash or setup studio strobes. I have used it for almost an entire quinceanera (sweet 16) event. The images turned out great. Below are a couple of the examples shot at f/2.0 inside a dimly lit church.

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Soon after, I discovered another use of this great lens - indoor performance. The lens is relatively small and light weight so it’s easy to transport and move along with very little intimidation of anyone in the audience. I have used it on many occasions at my children’s school or after school performances as shown below. The 135mm range gave me a good reach to the stage.

© Don Chen © Don Chen As a portrait photographer, I find this lens a great asset in studio headshot production. I can get quite close to the model in order to communicate, while giving the model enough room to pose freely. Oh, don’t forget to check out our club mug shot gallery. My images there were taken with this lens.

For specifications on this lens go here: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/112539-USA/Canon_2520A004_Telephoto_EF_135mm_f_2_0L.html

I use two Canon camera's, a 7D crop and a 1DX full frame. My 7D is used mostly for birds in flight, nature and long range outdoor sport photography. The two lenses I use most on the 7D are the Canon 70-200 f2.8 L IS ll and the Canon 400 f5.6 L. The 70-200 is wonderful for outdoor/indoor sports and low light nature as it is a very fast and versatile. The 400 is light weight and with the 7D crop camera allows me to shoot with a long focal length of 640m. This is a great lens for birds in flight as it can be hand held, weighs less than three pounds, and is extremely fast auto focusing. The 5.6 makes this lens good on sunny days, and even then I usually ramp up the ISO in order to get a shutter speed of at least 1/1000 of a second. My favorite and most used lens on my full frame 1Dx is the 24-105 f4.0L IS. This is a great walk around lens as it is light weight, medium fast, sharp and very good auto focus. The 24 end of the lens is good for landscapes/architecture and the 105 end works well for portraits. This lens also works well as a nature lens on walks through the woods or shooting in the city. I would estimate that 80% of the pictures I take with my 1DX are taken with the 24-105. I also believe that I am not alone the in belief that this is probably the most preferred walk around lens among all canon shooters, whether they shoot crop or full frame cameras. Camera's will always change, but investments in excellent lenses can provide you enjoyment for years.

This is a short spring primer on attracting and establishing a photogenic environment for making top notch bird images. General Considerations First things first, you'll need to work with the habitat you've got. Is your backyard fairly open and surrounded by open areas - or is it dense, wooded and surrounded by closed in areas? This makes a big difference as to which type of birds you can successfully attract. Some birds are equal opportunity visitors but most have a preference. Dense areas have good success with Woodpeckers, Blue Jays, Orioles and Cardinals. Open areas have very good chances of attracting Bluebirds and Swallows. This is what I'm lucky enough to have available. Try as I may (and I have), Woodpeckers and Jays are just not interested. I have had some luck with Orioles and I will talk about that in the food section. © Mark Theriot Learn what types of birds are common to your general area, climate zone and time of year. There's a great tool on the web from The Cornell Lab of Ornithology that gives you all the information you need about birds in your area. It's worth a bookmark. A healthy lawn also makes a big difference for natural feeding. If you use fertilizer and insecticides, look for organic and natural types of products. Want to learn more about bird friendly yards, then check out Cornell Labs here. Bird Friendly Yards As with any type of creature, birds will look for the "big three". If you've only got one or two of them, you will get occasional visitors - but not regular neighbors. Here's a quick review, one at a time. 1. Shelter Shelter will be species specific, so reference the Cornell Lab site above for your birding type and also visit Wild Birds Unlimited for assistance in setting up the right type of housing. An actual "bird house" is only one of two types of shelter considerations for birds, the other is natural vegetation such as trees and bushes. Not only can these provide protection for birds, but many can also function as natural food sources. Visit Gardening for Wildlife for more information on enhancing the habitat.

© Mark Theriot 2. Water Just as with humans, water is a critical component for happy birds. There are many types and styles of bird baths, so choose to your personal taste - the real consideration around water is cleanliness. Birds can be highly susceptible to dirty and bacteria infested water. Change the water frequently and either scrub the bird bath or use cleaning tablets to keep it safe.

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3. Food  Seeds Not all seeds are created equal. Your basic mixed bird seeds will do the job all right, they'll attract everything - including Red Winged Blackbirds, House Sparrows and Cowbirds that can make it a rough neighborhood for song birds. A cleaner seed choice is safflower as it is very desirable by Cardinals and House Finches. The rougher crowd of birds will usually stay clear of safflower.

 Nectar © Mark Theriot Hummingbirds of various types can be attracted to most areas by special feeders and nectar. You can purchase "hummingbird food" but it's really just sugar water. If you're willing to take a few minutes, you can boil your own. Two very important facts, regardless if you boil your own nectar or use a packaged brand - DO NOT use food coloring in an effort to attract Hummingbirds. You've got plenty of color in the feeder itself and the dye is not healthy for the birds. It's also important to change out the food (more frequently when the weather is warmer).

© Mark Theriot  Fruit and Jellies There are many birds who are attracted to fruits such as oranges and berries - Orioles and Waxwings to name just a few. But don't underestimate the power of grape jelly! It's a cheap and easy alternative to fresh fruit and you'll also find House Finches lining up for a beak full as well.

 Live Food Live food is the only real choice for certain types of birds. The best and easiest type to use are meal-worms and can usually be purchased at your local pet supply store. Mealworms kept refrigerated will stay dormant but will come to life once placed in your nice warm backyard. If you're © Mark Theriot a little squeamish about worms in your fridge, you can also try the freeze dried (in other words - dead) variety. They seem to work fairly well when other live sources are not readily available. Ok, you should be all set for the "attracting" part. In the next installment I'll focus on building a photo friendly environment. It's easy and can be accomplished anywhere from low to no cost if you know how to proceed. This is where it really starts to get fun!

Happy Birds Make Happy Photographers! © Mark Theriot A photo friendly habitat makes the job much easier - and it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. The basic setup below contains all the elements needed for the birds (food, water and cover) and I added a few low cost perching options for the benefit of me and the birds. Keeping an eye open after some spring thunder storms can usually turn up broken branches and chopped up trees. I used one chopped stump that I found and several branches to make up different perching options for my feathered friends.

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In order to be "portable" with my displays and able to change my perches out, I use a potting bucket filled with stones as my base. It keeps everything nice and orderly, mobile and fairly easy to make changes. Here are a few more photo friendly environment tips to keep in mind:  Pay attention to your backgrounds. The farther away you can keep them and minimize drastic color changes, the better you'll be. It will help deliver a nice creamy background.  Shoot tight. As you can see in my setup - distractions abound. Shooting tightly allows you to place bird feeders near by (to interest your subjects and encourage them to hang out on your perch) without having these "hand of man" items ruin your shot.  Don't forget the sun location - both now and next month. As the sun moves through the season, it's position will shift slightly - making a flexible shooting environment a must.

Now let's make some pictures! © Mark Theriot If you're new to photography (or bird photography in general) this will be an evolutionary process. Take your time and have fun with it. Here are some tips and considerations to get you started.

 Background In the shot of the Black Capped Chickadee above, the distant background provided a nice creamy blur - but it's not perfect. The brown blur over the bird's head wants to draw your attention away from the bird. Always actively look at your background as you're composing the shot, a step or two to the right would have improved this shot tremendously.

 Getting Close Most, but not all, birds will begin to get comfortable with you in their space. To aid in this, sitting (or standing) still and generally being quiet is needed. Limit sudden movements by being more deliberate and slow when you do move - it will ease the bird's tension. Also, sitting in the same spot © Mark Theriot frequently and for good blocks of time will help the birds adjust to you. I regularly sit within 12-15 feet of my closest bird setup with no issues (except be aware of the minimum focusing distance of your lens. This determines how close you can be and still achieve focus). Oh, and one more thing - don't think you can hide. Trust me, the birds know you're there!

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 Lighting Needless to say, you want great light for your shots. When you were setting up your backyard birding area, you paid attention to morning and afternoon sweet spots as well as accounted for the movement of the sun over the spring and summer months - so you're all set. Well, not completely. Consider one more technique as the last piece to the perfect shot - fill flash. Now, this isn't a requirement (you can make great shots without it) but it helps you deal with some of the inevitable shadow areas that can appear on the bird, especially around the eyes, face and breast. In the Bluebird shot above (and many of my other backyard shots) I use fill flash along with an inexpensive adapter called a better beamer to help my light throw farther. When you're ready, brush up on fill flash and take your shots to the next level.

 Coloring © Mark Theriot Pay attention to the coloring on certain birds to ensure you time your shot correctly. Similar to many ducks, some birds have an iridescent quality to them that varies depending on their angle to the light. What appears to be almost totally black at one angle, can look quite colorful at a slightly different angle. The Tree Swallow above is a good example. Almost dark black over his eye but the same color behind his eye (at a slightly different angle to the sun) is amazing. Pay attention to the light and learn the coloring traits of your birds.  Be Considerate Don't endanger your birds for the sake of a picture. When birds are very young, it can be safe (in nesting boxes only) to approach and take close-ups - but keep the following in mind:  Mom and dad will fly off - but will return when you leave © Mark Theriot  Be quick about it, do not leave the box open for any length of time due to temperature considerations  Do not move the box around  Do not move or disturb the actual nest  Do not approach the box after the first week or so. As the birds get older, you could force them into fledging (trying to fly off) too soon and endanger their life. For birds that are naturally nesting in trees and other places, don't even approach, you could alert predators to their location (where as properly setup nesting boxes are protected) or damage the nest by moving branches or other obstructions around. Have fun with this new aspect to your photography - it's a very rewarding experience! © Mark Theriot My best all around nature lens I love my 500 for birding on a tripod but the best overall lens I've found for portability and wildlife is Canon's 100-400L. It provides maximum flexibility with image stabilization at a reasonable price (as far as Canon white lenses go). It's a tough lens, perfect for bouncing along the trail and ducking through bushes and trees. The pump style (as opposed to the more typical twist adjustment) takes some getting used to but once you do, adjustment is fast and easy. Consider Canon or Nikon refurbished or even second hand (Canon or Nikon forum sites) for your lens purchase, I've had good luck with both of these in the past. Stay in focus. © Mark Theriot

I love to do all kinds of photography. Much of the time my favorite type of photography is the one I’m doing today or the one I’m anticipating doing tomorrow. Sometimes, I struggle to achieve barely acceptable results, especially portraits. I love to capture the spontaneous mood of someone or the delicate moment of a bride’s anticipation of the wedding, but I really have to work at capturing that moment. I think that is because I’m shy and find it taxing to direct people into a “special” moment. I tend to be comfortable relating to a delicate flower petal or a spider web covered with dew. Over the years, my equipment has changed to reflect the kind of photography I happen to like at the moment. That moment might last for several years, but it is a reflection of my current passion in photography. I now have a 17-35mm “wide angle”, a 100 mm macro (L glass), a 100 - 400mm long zoom (L glass) and a 28-270mm zoom in my bag. I’ve been concentrating lately on using my wide angle lens which forces me to get up closer for my people photography and include more of the scene in my landscape images. I’m finding that I am beginning to relate to people more and engage them with my camera. I am also finding that I enjoy the change in perspective I can get and the opportunity to make a beautiful black and white of a landscape scene. When I get the opportunity, I love to do macro shots that are more creative and exploratory of the subject. I really like to make the viewer wonder “what is that?” or “how did you do that?” This one allows me to explore my creative side with unusual multi-image combinations and extreme close-ups that explore nature. Spring is on its way sometime soon (not soon enough for me), so I can get outside in the forest preserves and capture the beauty of those sights unseen by the casual observer. © Jim Ross My 100-400mm zoom lens is my newest acquisition. I’ve always wanted a long zoom to capture the elusive bird flying overhead or the excitement and power of an airshow. Up until now, I could only try with my shorter zoom that never seemed to be quite what I needed. I haven’t had a chance to use it much yet, but am looking forward to what the spring and summer will provide for subjects. I’m off to California and Arizona soon, to Big Sur, Monterey, Carmel the seashore and the desert. I’m sure there will be many opportunities to discover the power of my new big lens. I can’t wait. So, what is my favorite lens? The one I have on my camera at the right moment, the right place, and the right time. I think if I had to choose, I would pick my 100mm macro. Or maybe my 17-35, or maybe my 100-400. Hmmmmm - I think I need to work some more on what I really like to do photographically. I think I’ll take all three lenses with me on vacation.

© Jim Ross © Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - April 2013 Volume 5, Issue 8 Page 12

Accolades

Each year Northwestern Mutual publishes a Calendar with pictures that are submitted by staff, representatives and advisors via a photo contest. John Williams recently received notification that one of his images won and will be included in the 2014 Calendar for the month of August. The landscape photo to the right is the image that won. It will be called First Light for the calendar and was called First Light in Valley of Fire for our club competitions . John stated that it will be fun to have one of his images in a calendar that gets out there to thousands of Northwestern Mutual clients!

Mentoring Sessions

Mentoring sessions at the Lake Villa Library are being held monthly through August. Registration is required. If you are interested, please contact Tracy Castro [email protected].

The next scheduled sessions are as follows:

April 16 Critiques (bring prints or jpegs for critique) May 6 Tutoring (submit list of help wanted) June 12 Critiques (bring prints or jpegs for critique) July 10 Tutoring (submit list of help wanted) August 14 Critiques (bring prints or jpegs for critique)

© Lake County Camera Club. No material may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the Newsletter Editor or the material’s specific contributor. Exposures - April 2013 Volume 5, Issue 8 Page 13 Dates To Remember March 27 PSA: “PID” Projected Image Division Judging at Community Protestant Church March 28 LCCC: DPI Due March 28 CACCA: Special Category ‘Street Shots’ Due March 31 LCCC: ‘Sunlight’ Challenge Due April 4 LCCC: Competition Night at University Center. Starts at 6:45 pm. All printed entries must be submitted by 6:30 pm. April 4 CACCA: Post Card Competition Due. Entries must be submitted at the LCCC meeting April 5 PSA: Nature Due April 13 CACCA: Inter Club, Individual and Special Category Competitions April 18 LCCC: Board Meeting April 20 LCCC: Shutter Café—8:00am at Hillside Restaurant April 21 PSA: Projected Image Division (PID) Due April 25 CACCA: Special Category Due LCCC: Photo Excursion—Sunset Model Shoot in Lehman Park April 30 LCCC: Challenge Due May 2 LCCC: Program Night—Macro Photography by Tom Beigalski

Egon’s World A man and a woman walk into a bar.

They have a couple of drinks, then leave. Outside of the bar they are "accosted" by two psychology doctoral candidates who wish to ask them questions about their recent visit. They agree. The man is asked what he remembers about the place. Among his observations are the fact that he spotted a beautiful women at the other end of the bar, When asked to describe her, he could only say she was very pretty and had a great figure. When asked about the interior of the bar, he was able to estimate the square footage of the place, the size of the mirror behind the bar, and the approximate number of folks imbibing. The woman, on the other hand, didn't attempt to estimate stuff, but boy! Could she recite details. Yes, she saw the woman the man described, and proceeded to describe what she wore, her hair color, eye color, the color of her drink(!), etc. (she also said she wasn't THAT pretty.) As far as the size of the place, she said "medium", but could describe the walls, floor, and ceiling color and trim with great detail. She said the mirror was "big" and then proceeded to point out that some of the wood in the frame was chipped. As far as the clientele, she again could describe what many of them wore. Yes, our brains are that different. This is not an "all or none" phenomenon, there is a lot of crossover between the sexes' abilities in these respects, agreed, it is a generalization, and of course I made up the whole scenario. I am not a psycholo- gist, (but I've played one on the stage-not!). The point is that there really are differences in how we observe and remember, the reasons for those differences are not really important, (unless you are one of the aforementioned students looking for a grant.) My point is this; the next time you are watching the judging of photographs, try to guess whether a woman or a man created it. I believe that with experience the divisions between women's and men's choices blurs a bit, but it might be fun to try this out. Keep score! Have "competitions". I may be all wet here, (it COULD happen!), But let's have fun and maybe get some feedback.

By the way, I'm technically challenged (my cell phone is very old!)