Here is the strangest gear review I have ever written. 

Let me set the stage… Picture a bar scene…

There’s a distinguished looking ol’ fellow sitting at the bar. He has silver hair and laugh lines around his eyes. He’s well dressed. Well groomed. Well traveled. You can tell he’s seen a lot in his time. His classic Morgan is parked outside. There’s a pretty young girl on his arm listening to his stories of being a globe trotting documentary photographer. He sips his 50 year old Chivas Regal. His name is Leica. Yeah, he’s the world’s most interesting man. 

In the corner we have Olympus, Panasonic, and Sony. They’re in a heated debate about Dungeons & Dragons or something. Sony is smart. He’s a brilliant guy. Ugly as hell. Clunky. Clumsy. Out of balance… but very smart. Olympus is more fashionable than his friends Sony and Panasonic but you can tell he’s just trying too hard. He’s cute, but sitting next to Sony shows he’s not that smart. Panasonic is just staring into his beer. A single tear drops into his IPA. He just released the GF5 and has realized it’s a total pain in the ass of a camera and wishes he could go back to the good ol’ days of the GF1.

“Remember when I created cult followings guys? Remember that? Remember?”

Sony and Olympus share glances and mumble something about the wizard losing his potion. “Hey, at least we aren’t those two assholes over there.” as they point to Canon and Nikon.

Canon and Nikon. They’re the two old men at the bar who are always arguing. You can’t tell if they’re the best of friends, brothers, or sworn enemies. Either way, there they sit… every night… arguing and arguing and arguing. One says he can drive a car faster. One says he got laid at the ’84 Olympics far more than the other. The other talks about how big his lens is. The only thing they ever agree on is they are both sick and tired of all the young kids in the bar these days taking their space. You get a feeling that if they just melded into one the world would be better for it. Please don’t get either one started about iPhone and her friend Instagr.am.

There’s a sound of an old shovelhead rolling up in the parking lot.

A young good looking kid walks in the door. Tattered 501′s. Grease stained tee. Three days of scruff. He walks with confidence. All the ladies take notice of him. The cougar den at the table next to Sony, Oly, and Pana all perk up and freshen their lips and shorten their skirts. His name is Fuji and everyone but Leica avoids making eye contact with him. Leica turns on his bar stool and gracefully nods his head to Fuji. Fuji, knowing he’s in good company at the bar, fires a grin and a wink at the old man. Leica sees himself as a younger man in this Fuji kid. Back before he opened his stupid boutique stores and started a line of t-shirts and baseball caps. (Leica should have never listened to his old friend Ferrari.)

Fuji orders a classic English bitter and starts talking to the two girls next to him. 

Phaseone pulls the perfect pint and serves it up. No one serves it up better than Mr. Phase. Phase then tells Polaroid to take the trash out. Polaroid goes out the back door and stops to share a smoke with Kodak. Kodak asks if Polaroid could spare some change. “Sorry man. Not today.”

The young girl that was sitting with Leica heads out the door but not before slipping her number into Fuji’s back pocket. 

Fuji sips his beer and quietly tucks it deeper into his pocket so he doesn’t lose it.

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And that folks… is why I say Fuji is the new Leica and the x100s is the greatest camera I’ve ever owned.

————————————————————–

I’ve just finished three weeks of travel with the new Fuji x100s. Along side the x100s I had my Fuji X-Pro1 with the new Fuji 14mm 2.8 bolted on to it. I’ll talk about that near the end of this post. For now, I’ll concentrate on the x100s. I’ll share some photos, share some measurebating 100% crops, and share a link to an image you can pixel peep to your heart’s desire.

The original x100 was my entrance into street photography. I’ve always loved this genre but I never participated in the “sport” as I call it. I’ve walked the streets with a DSLR and would shoot portraits from time to time but the DSLR either intimidated me or those around me too much for me to get into street work. That feeling of intimidation melted away when I started shooting the x100. It’s small. Dead quiet. Perfect. I just finished teaching two street photography classes in Dubai and there’s no other camera I’d rather have with me than an x100. Now that the x100s is out… that’s the king of cameras for me. It’s fast. Agile. Responsive. 

After my frist day of shooting with the new S I realized something. Fuji really listens to all of us. Every single complaint that many had about the original x100 has been addressed. Everything I have seen people request in the update is there. The autofocus is leaps and bounds beyond what it was. Manual focus… get this… actually works! Image quality is fantastic. Same perfect focal length on the 23mm f2 fixed prime. It’s just an awesome camera. 

I’ve read the first reviews of the camera and many folks say it’s the same body and layout as the previous but that’s not quite right. It’s pretty much the same with a few tweaks. Here’s the back of the new x100s…

Two MAJOR improvements are here. First, the Q menu button from the X-Pro1 has arrived to the x100s. It accesses a quick menu to change a number of things on the camera like WB, file type and size, film simulation, etc without having to dig into the menu system. That’s a great addition but we all knew it would be there. The greatest update on the backside is the new placement of the AF point selection button. Previously you’d have to use both hands to change the AF point in the viewfinder. You’d push the AF button on the left of the camera and adjust the area on the right side of the camera. Now you simply push the AF button on the top end of the dial and move the AF area to wherever you want it… all with one thumb. I can’t tell you how much this one improvement has made in day to day shooting. That one change is worth an upgrade. Otherwise it is the same body as the x100 with a few tweaks here and there. One nice tweak is the exposure compensation dial is stiffer than the original. It’s not as easy to accidentally bump to a new setting. Oh, see the gaff tape on the read/write light? I put that there because I’m a left eye shooter. When I shoot it starts blinking in my right eye and that’s annoying. It also brings attention to the camera at night so I just gaff tape it. 

Leaf shutter lens y’all. I can grab flash up to 1/800th of a second with a Pocket Wizard and a hotshoe flash. The image above is at 500th. The image at the beginning of this blog post is 800th! While I was in Istanbul I had the opportunity to photograph promotional portraits for radio DJ, TV host, and writer, Esin Görür. Want to hear something else that’s interesting? The small flash I’m using these days? The Yongnuo 560II. Or as Rob Milton named it… the Kung Pao 560. Yeah, that’s the name I’m going to run with from now on. I’ve put that $73 flash through workshops and shoots in the last month and it’s… awesome! Anyway. That’s for another time. David Hobby (AKA Strobist) is also a huge fan of the x100s and echoes my opinion on it being the new Leica. Check out his review of the camera and how he’s pushing sync speed further and combining that with the built in three stop ND filter.

As I talked about in a previous post leading up to this review it was this night in Istanbul where it clicked for me.

When Galatasaray beat Schalke and I found myself in a roaring crowd of football fans is when I realized that Fuji is the new Leica. Not once did I wish I had another camera with me. The DSLR is dead to me. Yes, yes, yes. I have a Phase. That’s my workhorse camera for editorial and commercial work. Other than that? Even for some magazine work… the Fuji is it. Buy Canon? Nope! Bye Canon! You see, for decades Leica was the shit for the traveling journalist, street shooters, documentary photographers, etc. They are fantastic cameras with an undeniable heritage. But here’s the deal. The folks who put Leica on the map can’t afford them any longer. They are a boutique camera company. The working stiff can’t shell out close to $10,000 for a body and a lens. Go price out 2 M’s, a 20mm ish lens, a 35mm, and a 75mm. Go price that out. Then price out an x100s, an X-Pro1, and the Fuji 14mm, 35mm, and 60mm lens. You still haven’t spent the price of a single Leica body yet. Let alone two of them. And glass. 

Would I use the x100s at a wedding? Hell yes I would. Wouldn’t think twice about it. Would I shoot it on a magazine assignment? Yes. Portrait shoot? Yep. Promo shoot? Yep. And have. 

Walking the streets of Istanbul with the x100s, an X-Pro1, and the Fuji 14mm and 60mm made me realize that so much work could be done with a tiny little kit like that. You’re traveling light. You’re inconspicuous. You’re silent. You’ve got a ton of options between these two small cameras and these three lenses.  You’ve got kick ass sun killing sync speeds with small flash. Sharp optics. Great sensors. Tough as nails bodies. My X-Pro1 has taken three major falls in the past month. I have two scratches and a shattered lens hood to show for it… oh yeah, and a perfectly working camera. The x100s has taken one good hit to the ground from a table top. It’s fine. Didn’t skip a beat.

What is the soul of this camera? It’s the styling. That’s the first part of it. Then it’s the feel of it. Then it’s that damn amazing hybrid optical viewfinder. It’s attention to details. It’s listening to the community. It’s a perfect camera. I can not wait for whatever is coming down the pipe for the X-Pro. I have no idea. While Fuji has hired me to shoot with their camera, I have not signed a contract with them nor have I signed an NDA. I have no idea. When I left Istanbul my job with them was done. They’re not paying for this review. But, yes. I got paid to shoot with the x100s. So, take that however you want. I know for some of you that paints me as a sideshow salesman. That’s fine. I get that. I’m leery of paid spokespeople as well.

I’m tellin’ you though. From my heart. The x100s is my desert island camera. 

————————————————————–

Ok. You know what time it is! Grab the KY, fire up the forums, put your glasses on, and start pixel peeping! Let the measurebating begin!

I already see people questioning Fuji’s use of the X-Trans sensor thing in the new x100s. Some love the X-Trans. Some hate it. It is true that Adobe and others have had a difficult time trying to figure out the RGGBYBRRBGYT$SR pixel layout thing with this new sensor that first showed up in the X-Pro1. I can say that Lightroom 4.4 is really really really close to getting the RAW conversion correct. I typically shoot my Fuji cameras on jpg. I know. I know. But you know what? Fuji does it right. They always have. Anyway… I love the X-Trans sensor. It’s sharper than my Canon full frame sensors. So… here’s a picture of the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Straight from camera. JPG. So yes, you are seeing a JPG of a JPG. We’ll all survive.

And the problem with the X-Trans sensor is what again? Someone let me know what the issue is because I ain’t seeing it. Am I supposed to read the serial numbers of the lights up there? Is that what I’d get from a Sony?

Mmmm. Yes. I see. Hmmmmm. It IS perfectly obvious that the third millionth pixel from the left shows signs of herpes. You’re right!

No review is complete without what? That’s right. A squirrel and some kitschy shit that folks on photography forums can argue about. 

Now, let’s go ahead and run the x100s up against a Canon 6d, the original x100, the X-Pro1, and heck, let’s drop the Phase into the mix. 

Click the image above or click HERE to get the FULL size comparison image. It’ll be up as long as my dropbox account is.

So… technical notes. Each image was shot at an aperture at a shutter speed at the native ISO of the camera used at similar but not equal focal lengths. I did MINIMAL post processing of the RAW files in Lightroom 4.4. Just color corrections. No other adjustments were made. I’ve left little notes throughout the images that can only be read at 100% viewing. Remember you’re looking at a JPG from the Interweb. Hopefully you’re on a good monitor that’s calibrated. If you’re viewing this on your mom’s PC, then, well. Anyway.

Am I happy with the image quality of the x100s? Absolutely. I’d like to see RAW conversions get better. I imagine the good folks at DXO labs will get it figured out first. If I were Fuji… or Canon, or Nikon for that matter… I’d leave the software up to Adobe. I’d give them everything they need and not worry about providing software for cameras. Especially Nikon and Canon. They suck at writing software. Just let Adobe do the job. Anyway.

Check out my 500px x100s set to see more photos from this camera. Click the image below to go to that gallery.

Would I change anything about the x100s? No. Not really. If I had any requests it would be to add an intervalometer for time lapse stuff. Including the lens hood in the box would be a nice touch. I buy third party ones on Amazon now for $12 or something. Built in WiFi / Bluetooth to connect to iOS or the like would be cool. The 6d has that and it’s awesome… until you want it to fire a @#$%#$ Pocketwizard! Jeebus! It won’t fire a trigger in WiFi mode. Seriously? Anyway. I wouldn’t change anything. I don’t need more pixels. The AF is plenty fast for me. Peaking added to manual focus is a God-send! It’s fantastic. Maybe I’d request to be able to change the color of the peaking. Currently it’s white. Maybe red / green / pink would be good options to have in the menu. But yeah, manual focus is legit now. I prefer the peaking to the digital split image.

Oh. Yeah. The 14mm on the X-Pro1? Awesome! Worth the price for sure. Absolutely. My second favorite lens for the X-Pro1 behind the 35mm. 

My Fuji X Series buying guide.

x100s – Buy it. Done. 

x20 - Nice camera. It ain’t the x100s. 

X-Pro1 – The more I use the Pro the more I love it. It’s a perfect companion to the x100. It’s more of a “work” camera since you can change lenses. Now that the x100s has the same sensor they can be switched back and forth on a job without any issues other than the bodies and buttons are totally different. I’d love to see Fuji finalize button layout on the X cameras and make them the same.

X-E1 – Pretty much the same as the X-Pro1 but has a better EVF but it loses the optical viewfinder. It’s “slightly” smaller. I have one. It’s nice…. but…. It’s not the X-Pro1. That optical viewfinder is absolutely worth the price. 

Best performing camera in the current lineup? The x100s. Now the X-Pro1 and X-E1 have to play catch up. I have NO IDEA when that may happen. 

Is it worth it to upgrade from the x100 to the x100s? I’m with Hobby on this one. If you use the x100 a lot then yes. Upgrade. If you use it occasionally then keep it. It’s STILL a great camera. Hobby and I are asking Fuji to bring some of the upgrades to the original x100. Things like a Q menu (accessible from the Fn or RAW button) and focus peaking. How awesome would that be? Can we do this Fuji? You show that you still love your current client base and they will show you that they love you back. 

Long time.

Thanks for reading! I’ll update this review as things come up. Firmware updates and the like or if I see a lot of the same question. There’s a video in the works of my trip to Istanbul with this camera. Similar to the one I did in India last year. I’ll post it here when its up.

OH CRAP! Can’t have a review without photos of your kids! Jeez! Can the x100s deal with a three year old named Hawke Danger? Yes. Straight from camera jpgs. 

Yeah. I know. It’s not about the gear. I know. Yep. Uh huh. Damn I love this camera. And yes. All you red dot lovers… Fuji is the new Leica. I’ll meet you in the back alley and we can fight it out if you want. Kodak could use a little entertainment. 

Cheers,

Zack

ETA – 3/26 – I don’t think I got my point across clearly enough about Fuji being the new Leica. I’m going to be making a follow up blog post about that next week to spell out my opinion on the matter. Also! I figured out where Pentax was. SHE wasn’t at the bar. She was with another friend of her’s. It’s a sad story. I’ll update all of you on what’s going on with her and her friend. Tragic really. 

I’m currently on a 22 hour layover in Paris. I’m on my way home from Istanbul. I was sent there by FujiFilm to give the new x100s a run for its money. I am working on a full review of the camera but until I have that up I’ll be making a few posts with photos. 

I was having a beer at a pub a few nights ago and I heard an explosion of chants and cheers from around the corner. I had already been on the streets for about 10 hours that day and I was just trying to steal a moment of solitude and rest in the pint glass of a Guinness. The sounds I heard though made me grab my stuff (including said pint) and run to see what the deal was. The “deal” was football.

Galatasaray (Turkey) beat Schalke (Germany) that night and advanced to the quarter finals. What that means to non sports people like myself is that sh!t went crazy.

As all the fans poured out of every bar they were singing, and chanting, and lighting flares. I was caught in a mob of thousands of people and not once… not for a single frame… did I wish I had another camera with me. Not once did I curse my little x100s. It did what I needed it to do. In the middle of all of this it clicked in my brain.

Fuji is the new Leica.

I’ll talk more about that in the upcoming full review of the camera.

Cheers,

Zack

I’m on my first day of a five day trip with the brand new Fuji x100s.

It’s no secret that I fell in love with the first edition of this camera. I called it the greatest digital camera ever made. It has it’s “quirks” for sure but I love that camera dearly no matter how much of a pain in the ass it can be.

The new one? The S? Well… I can’t give a full review yet because I’m still putting it through hell on the streets but let me say this…

They did it. It’s the greatest camera I’ve ever owned. No. Freaking. Joke. It’s perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.

More to come when I get home.

Cheers,

Zack

Fuji X100s :: 2.8 @ 60th ISO 200

We are back with a brand new episode of Photography Critique! We go for a little over an hour on this one. We try to keep it short and sweet but at the same time we want to spend time on the work we are critiquing. Stick with this one till the end. There’s a photo at the end of the critique that ties a lot of what say together.

I think we’ll be back to doing these more often! If you want to submit your work you can do so by emailing us a link at critique @ zackarias [dot] com. That’s Zack with a K. Do not just email us photos. Send us a link to your site, flickr, 500px, facebook, etc. 

Cheers,

Zack

I can not believe that it has been nearly four years since I made the short called Transform for Scott Kelby’s blog. It was an honor to be asked to guest blog again this month. As Transform came from a place of things I was struggling with then, Signal & Noise follows that lead. I’ve been off social media for a little over two months now and the smoke is just starting to clear. 

Visit Scott’s Blog to read more on my progress of clearing the noise from my head. A big thank you goes to my wife, Meghan, for working on the music. Big thanks as well to Deke Spears for being instrumental (punny!) in helping with the music as well.

Visit Meg’s site to download the song if you’d like.

Feed your soul. Not your feed.

Cheers,

Zack

You ever get the feeling you have to shake it all up? Ever long for something you haven’t done in years and years? Ever get intrigued by something and you have to figure out a way to try it? Ever get tired of the DSLR? Does winter hit and you go looking for some sort of creative defibrillator?

I never feel this way. Ever. And that’s a total lie.

It’s winter time. I’m off social media and nearly done with all of my commitments for the year.  I’ll be head deep in shooting new work until the spring. It’s going to be a kick ass winter. It will be filled with frustration. It’s already started. The Polaroid processor I bought to use this film died after 3 whole sheets of film. That sucks but 3 sheets worked. I’m excited. It’s like someone building a rocket for the first time. They launch it. It fires. It starts to go up in the sky then it blows up. They could be upset that the rocket blew up or they could be happy that the dang thing even left the ground. I’m going to try to stay on the positive side of things. Jason Groupp gave me an 8×10 camera. Well, he loaned it to me. Good luck getting it back Jason! I shot a sheet of Impossibly expensive film in it. I guesstimated my bellows extension. I listened to the shutter speed and figured it was about a stop off. I made my adjustments and I got a photo. The processor may have blown up but it got off the ground!

Additional news… I’m older. I turned the corner last week and I’m now 40 years old. I’m over the hill. Maybe this Impossible Project stuff is my midlife crisis. I’m ok with that. Wouldn’t mind an old Porsche 911 SC though as a crisis purchase. Don’t think I didn’t look at those recently. So, in light of wanting a Porsche, this IP film at $190 a box (10 sheets) is a bargain! My wife, Meg, should be happy about that.

I’m happy with her. She threw me the greatest surprise birthday party in the history of surprise parties. This past Friday started off normally until our house was broken into. Some asshole smashed in a window downstairs and stole an xbox then went upstairs and stole a guitar and an effects pedal. I called the cops. Collected serial numbers and all that. I said expletives. I cursed out my dog for not chewing off an arm or something of the burglar. All of this before we were having my birthday party at our house on Saturday. My awesome father in law came by and boarded up the window and we went on with our day. 

It was a rare Friday night where all the kids were out of the house spending the night with various other family members and friends. Meg was going out for drinks with a friend. This gave me an evening to head to the new studio space and work on getting that place up and running. Once all the kids were deposited at other households I went to the lab. That’s what we call the new studio space down the street in Kirkwood. I started hanging some silks and my studio manager called me in a panic. She had stopped by the main studio to get something and discovered a pipe had burst and the studio was flooding. OMG! My house was broken into and now THIS? 

I rushed over to the studio taking inventory of everything that would be directly on the floor. I didn’t know where the main cut off valve was and I don’t have one of those tools to cut it off. It’s 7:30pm on a Friday. Who’s that plumber that advertises on the radio? I hear the jingle in my head but can’t remember the name. I bust through the door of the studio wondering why the overhead lights aren’t on. The place is flooding!!! Well, here’s why the lights weren’t on. 

That’s Meg in the spotlight. Playing our NOT stolen guitar in our NOT flooding studio. I walk into the studio and Meg is serenading me. A massive amount of relief washed over me as I began to realize that the studio was not flooding, and, most likely, there’s probably some people hiding back behind the big silks. I think I just walked in on a surprise party. There was also a keg of Wells Bombardier in the kitchen (Thank you Jeremy Hall!). I poured myself a beer. I turned off the overhead lights realizing I had just killed the ambience as I barreled through the front door. Meg transitioned into the happy birthday song and droves of friends and family and colleagues and clients poured out from every nook and cranny in the place. It was overwhelming. Later in the evening Meg started a video of folks who sent in their well wishes. I can’t thank everyone enough who was part of her ploy. I wish I could share the video but a few folks asked us not to because they went all out on some of them. That’s fine. I now possess bribe material on them.

At one point I thought the house break in was all part of this. Nope. That really happened. I may owe my dog an apology.  She may have kept the burglar out of the upstairs after all. We went late into the night and started again the next day being Cary Norton, Dave Jackson, and Dan Depew were in town for the fun. Spent Saturday night nerding out on cameras and lights and melting Polaroid processors along with Kevin Abeyta and Erik Dixon.

Again, thanks to everyone who was a part of my 40th party. I’ll never be able to top that Meg. But at some point… I’ll try.

Cheers,

Zack

Wednesday Update :: Sale is over! We did it! Thank you everyone!

Happy Holidays one and all! It’s time for our annual OneLight DVD Cyber Monday sale for charity! In addition to having our one day, and one day only DVD sale, my BFF Ab8ta and I have teamed up again to bring you a limited edition t-shirt. Don’t you love the OMG BOKEH of Christmas lights? We’ve got the shirt for you! Our limited Spray & Pray shirt sold out in one day. This one will go as fast most likely.

As with all things that I unabashedly sell on this blog, proceeds from this sale are going to a great cause. Meet Quinn…

When Meg was eight years old her family met a young 20 something year old guy named Roger through their church. Roger was looking for a place to live and Meg’s family needed a little extra income to help out with rent each month. Roger, undaunted by the prospect of moving in with a family with four small kids, one with special needs, moved into the extra bedroom in their little house in Decatur, Georgia and quickly became a part of the family. Meg still refers to Roger as her “big brother”. He was very close to Meg’s family and so, when he got married and started having kids of his own, he named his 2nd daughter, Quinn, after Meg’s family.

About two months ago we got news that Quinn, who is now 14, was diagnosed with a genetic condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (a connective tissue disorder). The EDS also caused Quinn to have a tethered spinal cord, severe scoliosis, and a chiari malformation in the brain. (A chiari malformation is a serious neurological disorder where the bottom part of the brain, the cerebellum, descends out of the skull and crowds the spinal cord, putting pressure on both the brain and spine and causing many symptoms.)

She is in need of surgery to untether her spinal cord, and then decompression surgery to relieve the pressure in her brain. She spends every day with severe pain, back spasms, muscle cramping, and is unable to stand upright. She has lost her hearing in her left ear, lost the ability to read as her vision is blurry, has frequent seizures, and insomnia due to the pain. There are very few neurosurgeons who understand the connection between the EDS and the tethered cord/chiari malformation in the U.S., but her family has found a fabulous neurosurgeon in Washington, D.C who is very familiar with her situation. Sadly, their insurance company has denied her surgery because the neurosurgeon is out of state. Roger has a new job with benefits that kick in Jan. 1, 2013. Unfortunately, the doctor is still out-of-network, and there is a $20,000 deductible that must be met.

We want to help her meet that deductible and then some. 

The OneLight DVD is for sale today for half price! $75 get’s you a 2 disc set of everything you need to know to get started with off camera flash. It’s on sale today… and today only. 

The shirt is sold out!

Ab8ta has sold all the shirts!!! Check out his other shirts though. The Johnny Cusack is my personal favorite. 

We are only a few DVDs away from meeting our goal to help Quinn. As soon as we hit that goal the sale is over and I’m back to my social media sabbatical!

BUT WAIT! There’s more! 

For today… and today only. The OneLight Field Guide is on sale in print for $21.00 and… in e-book form (and through Mag Cloud’s iPad app) for $10. 

Lastly… If none of this is for you, do me a favor… If this blog has ever been of help to you can you repay that by donating directly to Quinn? We’d all appreciate that. Check out her ChipIn page and follow her on facebook. Let’s make this happen. Let’s all chip in and make a difference to Quinn.

Cheers,

Zack 

Well everyone… I’m going on break until 2013! From Tumblr. From Twitter. From Facebook. From IG. From every social media site except this blog. For the past four months I’ve been hammering away to reach a goal of 1,000 questions answered on my tumblr Q&A blog. I wanted to build something with pure signal. No banner ads. No affiliate links. No bias to one thing, person, retailer, or whatever. Just as much information as I could provide. And at 1,000 answers… it isn’t finished. There are more than 1,600 unanswered questions sitting in the inbox. I have not been paid, massaged, or cajoled into “endorsing” a product, a person, or a company. 

There are a ton of topics covered. Things like

• What softbox to buy?
• How to ask a photographer to assist them.
• What lens should I get?
• How do you archive images?
• Best thing to own less than $100.
• My top 5 favorite books on photography.
• Dealing with social media.
• Dealing with difficult clients.
• Personal projects.
• Growing as a photographer.
• Marketing.
• Networking.
• Advertising.
• Pricing.
• Confidence.
• Lack of confidence.
• Moving to full time.
• Weddings.
• Portraits.
• Editorial.
• Commercial.
• Fashion.
• DNG vs. RAW.
• Presets.
• X x X = X
• Etc. Etc. Etc. x 1,000 

The search box on the site will do a site specific search via google. It’s a little buggy but it is FAR better than using Tumblr’s search engine which was developed in 1937, I think. I am working on compiling a list… to become… well. The average time spent on this site is about five minutes. I figure… Hey! Bathroom reader! So yeah… That’s happening! I’ll be going through the blog and expanding on some things, adding photos, samples, forms, worksheets, etc. More to come on this book project later.

Some answers are a few lines. Some are a few pages. Some are silly. Some are deep. Some get my feathers ruffled.

I want to thank all of you for hanging out here with me for the past four months and bringing a lot of great questions to the table. You all built this as much as I did. Thanks for that. I’m sorry if your question did not get answered yet. I have about 1,600 unanswered questions right now and I’m not getting back into that inbox until the beginning of next year. You can ask now… But I won’t see it for awhile. Just sayin’. 

What should you do this winter?

Go.

Shoot. 

One thing. Can you help me with something? Help me as I cull a list of the most useful posts there. If you have any specifically book marked please give me the link in the comments below. I have my favorites. You might have some others.

Cheers,Zack 

PS – I will be jumping back on social media for our annual Black Friday / Cyber Monday sale for charity. Other than that though… Meg will be changing the passwords to my social media accounts and that will be that! I have a ton of work to do this winter. I want to cut out as many distractions as possible, put my head down, my hand to the till, and get it done.

You may have heard me mention the Quiet Hounds before. That’s because they are one of my new favorite bands. I’m fortunate enough to know these five fine fellows and I recently tagged along on a video shoot of their’s to shoot some stills. So these aren’t quite “behind” the scenes. More to the side of the scenes. 7am call times suck but then you see the light and it makes it worth while. 

Funny story. I was shooting that early morning light (as seen in the first photo of this post) and had to grab it quickly as the video crew was needing to get their shot. Just before I ran out of the way I snapped a shot with my iPhone to put on Instagr.am. The band liked that shot so much I thought they had used it for this cover. Upon further inspection this evening I can see where they actually used part of one image shot with my IQ140 and part of my image shot with my iPhone. That… is funny. There will be another post at some point featuring a full shoot with Quiet Hounds. For now, check out their new song “Beacon Sun” and see the video on their site. Also, if you are in ATL on November 17th be sure to catch them live at the Goat Farm. Their live show is amazing.

Cheers, Zack

I have been getting a lot of questions on my Q&A blog about misc gear and accessories that I use a lot. This also comes at a time when I’ve been asked by eBay to curate a few of my favorite things that I have found there. I figured I could go ahead and pick ten of my favorite photography items that I use a lot but don’t talk a lot about. A lot of the things I get from ebay are grip accessories like clamps and such and odd ball items like lens converters.

It’s a cool time to be alive in photography.