Share Moments - Share Photography 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. © 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 2 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]. © 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 3 2012 - 2013 Board Members 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 © 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.