about the artist
My tools and workflow
Here are the tools I currently use, and how I use them. Before you read this, I suggest you take a look at my photos on this website and on Modern Ketubah. The type of work you do has a lot of influence on the way you work. By looking at my photographs, you can start to see how my tools and methods relate to the type of photos I take.
Camera
I do all of my work digitally. Then again, since I am a graphic designer, I had been doing computer graphics (3D, animation, multimedia, you name it) for a long time, so it wasn't so much of a jump for me as a natural evolution.
My main camera is a Kodak SLR/n, a 14 megapixel full-frame digital SLR. I bought it the week that Kodak discontinuing it, which might sound like an odd decision. But when I tried the camera, I became entranced by it. That's the only word. Within minutes of using it, I was creating photos that more closely matched my artistic intentions then ever before. The camera has some quirks, but it also has a beautiful range of color and tone, and is capable of capturing the most subtle shifts in light. I also noticed that unlike most cameras, the Kodak attracted a loyal fan base who loved it. The most common thing I hear about the camera is that "there is just something special about it". And I agree
My backup camera is a Nikon D100 SLR (a 6 megapixel digital SLR). It has been a great workhorse for me. Because it's a little lighter, I often use this on the road.
For the occassional film project, I have my Minolta Maxxum 800si, and my Dad's old Nikon FM. I also have a Polaroid-back pinhole camera and a "Holgaroid" (Holga camera with a Polaroid back) that I love to pull out once and a while to get out of the digital world and shake things up.
Lenses
I do most of my work with one lens, the 105mm Micro-Nikkor, which has become as natural to me as a pair of glasses. I also use the Nikkor 85mm PC tilt-shift lens. When I need to branch out, I use extension tubes, lens inverters, bellows, etc... anything to give me a new way to look at a scene.
Studio
I do most of my work right now in my studio: a board on two sawhorses, lit up by a pair of White Lightning X1600 strobes and a brace of $10 tungsten worklights from the hardware store. My favorite two tools in the studio are the Delta Grab-it, and the McClamp -- two amazingly flexible clamps that let me position my subjects exactly as I want them.
Hardware
The main tool in my digital darkroom is a Apple PowerMac Dual-processor 2GHz, with 3.5 GB of RAM, and many many large hard drives. With that I have Sony LCD monitor and an 18" Iiyama RGB monitor, both calibrated with the Monaco OptixXR Pro. I do all of my own printing on a Epson 7600 wide-format printer using Ultrachrome pigment inks. I even has a Minolta Dimage Elite film scanner on my shelf still, for that occassional film project.
Software
The software I currently use the most: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Bridge, Adobe Camera Raw, Kodak Photodesk, Picturecode's Noise Ninja, and Colorbyte's Imageprint RIP.
I shoot all of my photos using the Raw file format as it gives me the greatest range of darkroom control. After shooting a session, I transer the photos to my computer, and sort them my project and scene. I use Bridge to do an initial review and culling of the shoot, removing all photos that immediately don't work. I then use ACR, a raw editor, to do any global color and exposure adjustments that are needed. If any local corrections are needed (blemishes, dust, small color problems), I bring the file into Photoshop. All of my printing is done using Colorbyte Software's Imageprint. This RIP gives me a great deal of control over how my images are translated onto paper.
Special Effects Software
None. Everything you see in my photographs is a natural result of light moving through glass.