Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Choosing Lenses for Your DSLR Travel Kit, Part II

AF-S-VR-Micro-NIKKOR-105mm-f-2 8G-IF-EDIn Choosing Lenses for Your DSLR Travel Kit, Part I, I discussed travel photography's many challenges including luggage weight limits, number of luggage pieces permitted, locations with unknown restrictions, bad weather when you least expect it, and others.

I discussed the two major factors that influence which lenses you put in your photo travel “kit,” travel weight and volume, and the varying conditions, limitations and circumstances of your destination's photographic opportunities.

This week, in Part II, I will discuss specific lens choices for three particular travel locations and types of travel you might choose to take which you can use as exemplars.

Maryland Judge: Videotaping Cops in Traffic Stop is Allowed

Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia at nightThere was some good news recently concerning the civil rights of photographers. It happened in Maryland where a Judge dismissed charges against a photographer who shot a video of police and posted it on YouTube.

The judge stated “Those of us who are public officials and are entrusted with the power of the state are ultimately accountable to the public. When we exercise that power in public fora, we should not expect our actions to be shielded from public observation.”

Thank goodness someone has some commonsense, understands the idea of “expectation of privacy,” and that a free and open society needs to protect those who scrutinize public officials, to ensure they remain accountable to the public.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Choosing Lenses for Your DSLR Travel Kit, Part I

Nikkor AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8G IF-EDTravel photography has many challenges. Among them are unpredictability, luggage weight limits, number of luggage pieces permitted, locations with unknown restrictions, bad weather when you least expect it, and many others.

When planning for a trip photographically, one of the most important decisions anyone must make is what lenses to include in your travel photography “kit.” Destinations usually have a variety of photo opportunities which may require a variety of lenses to meet their challenges.

There are two major factors which militate the amount and choice of gear you choose for your photo travel “kit.” The first is travel weight and volume restrictions, and the second is the varying conditions, limitations and circumstances of your destination's photographic opportunities.

Florida Photography: A New Law Gone Mad!!!

Hay bales on the farmYou're traveling in Hamilton County Florida and see a gorgeous farming landscape with hay bales shiny from the setting sun, and get a great photograph of the scene. Perhaps you come across a great river scene along the Indian River in Florida, with rows of orange trees in the background, and snap a photo of it.

Come this July, you could be charged with 2 counts of first degree felony photography, punishable by serious jail time, if a proposed Florida statute becomes law.

Florida State Senator Jim Norman (R) (Tampa) has proposed to make it a first-degree felony to photograph a farm without first obtaining written permission from the owner. A farm is defined as any land "cultivated for the purpose of agricultural production, the raising and breeding of domestic animals or the storage of a commodity."