Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade
Originally uploaded by Cajie.

In an earlier post, a friend asked me to post about my photographic equipment. Well, here it is.

Besides my trusty D70, these are the list of lenses, that I have collected over the period:

a) AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. This has got to be my most favourite lens. It is so sharp and fast, that I hardly need to do any sharpening in post-processing. On a film camera, this would be a "normal" lens, but on my D70 (with it's 1.5 crop factor), this lens translates to a moderate telephoto of 75mm. Excellent for portrait work. This lens is currently the best buy from Nikon.

b) Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8 ED AF-D. At around $800, this lens is not cheap, and at 2.85lb, definitely not something you can hang around your neck (unless you have a very thick neck). But it is a fast lens (f2.8), that is great for low light photography, and sports.

c) Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM. The fastest lens in my arsenal at f1.4. Great for low-light photography. It is also what photographers call a "normal" lens, because when mounted on the D70, it translates to 45mm. Great for general photography.

d) Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 HSM. Super-wide angle lens that I love for outdoor photography.

e) Nikon AF 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G. This is a great general purpose lens that I use a lot. I had purchased this along with the D70, and I must have taken atleast 80% of my photos using this lens.

f) Speedlights. As you can see, I have 3 external flashes. The main one that I mount on the camera is the SB-800. I use the other 2 flashes whenever I am doing portrait work. Simply place them on each side of the subject and I have an instant studio!. They work using wireless signals, so I can place them anywhere in the room to create creative lighting.

Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement
Originally uploaded by Cajie.

I had an interesting experience of finding my photo being used without permission on a local Arabic daily newspaper, Al-Qabas.

One of my photography friend Q8e, found my picture while reading the newspaper, and sent me a Flickr e-mail mentioning the page number where the picture was published. He also took an interesting photo of the infringement and posted it here.

I posted the news about the infringement on a very popular Kuwait forum, and the forum admin immediately posted it on his even more popular blog, www.248am.com.

Needless the say, the reaction has been very interesting. I even received an email from another magazine editor denouncing this blantant violation of intellectual property rights.

I have sent an e-mail to Al-Qabas, but have yet to receive any reply.

Canon Powershot S2 IS

End of the Sandy Road
Originally uploaded by Cajie.

During my recent trip to Goa, I took along a Powershot S2 as a gift for my brother. I have always recommended this camera for beginners and I thought it would be an ideal gift for him as he loves photography.

I was truly impressed with the performance of this camera and ended up using it on many occasions instead of my D70. It's 12x optical zoom with image stabilization actually works and the shutter lag is hardly noticeable.

It's a great camera for general use. I would'nt use it for night time photography (too much noise) - but for daytime, it is truly amazing.

A Refreshing Break

Waiting For the Big One
Originally uploaded by Cajie.

Just returned from a short break from Goa (India). My brothers run a very successful business with everything from fine dining, river cruises, beach shacks and even Ayurvedic massages (www.bettysgoa.com). Needless to say, I was pampered to the extreme, with exotic foods and drinks and plenty of leisure activities. I think my kids enjoyed the most playing with their cousins, and having a blast at the beaches.

Here are some of the pictures I have posted to my Flickr account.