And New Lunar Year begins with the Dragon...

Photo detail:  Taken with Nikon D700 and Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 AF-D @ f/2.2, 1/5000s, ISO 100.

 

 

Hello Readers,

Gung Hay Fat Choi. It's been awhile since my last posting and ramblings about midlife crisis and gear.  How have I fair?  Well, honestly, doing pretty well, thank you.  When the Nikon V1/J1 was released back in September, I almost crumbled to consumerism and the alluring ads from Nikon that this is it, the soccer mom/dad camera of the decade.  Plus, it can do video as well, so no need to carry that extraneous camcorder.  But then my wife, the household CFO, hit me with this question, "Does the V1/J1 have better image quality than your current one?"  While it's a simple question, the question in itself is not quite so simple.  There were many "nice" features to rationalize with and a million reasons to own one.  Then realization hit me in the face.  Am I seriously being honest with myself here?  Would I be satisfy with its performance and carry with me everywhere without the bulky D700?  Dalai Lama reminded me of a Tibetan saying: “at the door of the miserable rich man sleeps the contented beggar.”  When will it ever end?  LLD (Lens Lust Disease) is indeed a sick disease, a void of endless desire that will shrink your savings account into pocket change.

So, the D800 has been announced a few weeks ago.  I was excited like a gearhead, but then something crossed my mind, and it just collapsed on its own weight and became muted.  Why?  See the above paragraph.  In which ways will my photography improve with this newly announced camera?  Mostly likely, I'll just have a bunch of megapixels with the exact same skill set.

My motto for photography:  "Live simple, capture simplicity".  That is more difficult than one can follow, and my current gear is in no way simple, but it is my choice and after many careful thoughts, that I have chosen these as my necessary tools appropriate for my skills.  Now, the other part is a life-long process...

It's also been awhile since I've talked about workflow.  It still feels incomplete and too complicated.  It has too many hurdles from getting copied over onto the drive, renaming the file structure and nametag, etc. I'll need some time to sit and figure this out.  Hopefully, I'll have something soon and blog about it.