Man, does Donald have a face made for a D3X….
Shot at 1/4 at f8, D3X and the new Nikkor 50mm 1.4. Long time since I used a 50, and this thing is sharp, sharp. SB900 off to camera right, Tri-grip diffuser, 5 minute portrait session. Aperture priority at minus 2 EV, no comp dialed into the flash. The 900 has the dome diffuser off, and is zoomed to 200mm, which gives it a little punch and gets it under the brim of cowboy hat. Donald remains one of my favorite people. We were talking about women yesterday (What else is there to talk about, except photo gear, and then only for a couple of minutes. Then we go back to discussing women.) He and his honey spin on the dance floor every Friday night in downtown Santa Fe. I have a standing invite for dinner over at their place, and I’m gonna take him up on it this summer.
We were talking about how much our women mean to us, and how having one special woman in your life makes it all worth it. Though he did say, his eyes twinkling, “Joe, if the Lord ever invents anything better than women, I’ll take a dozen.”
Speaking of women, let’s talk women with cameras for a moment. (Now here’s a great discussion, right? Women and gear in the same sentence. Yikes! My wife works for Nikon and is a terrific shooter, and knows the gear and tech side of things as well as anybody. I always tell Annie I knew she was the right woman for me the first time I ever went into her refrigerator and the butter compartment had no butter but was filled with AA batteries. That’s the girl for me!)
Stacy Pearsall is a truly talented shooter who was military photographer of the year twice (first woman ever to do it) and is being featured now on Oprah. She is retired from active duty, and has taken over the directorship of the Charleston Center for Photography.
She is married to another great shooter, combat cameraman Andy Dunaway. Check out their work and their site. Between the two of them, they have, I think, about 5 or 6 Iraq tours, in addition to previous conflicts. As is common with military shooters, they are versatile, adaptable, and come back with coherent, story telling, beautiful imagery out of situations most of us wouldn’t even lift our heads up to look at. (If we did, we’d be looking for an exit.) Speaking of versatility, a few years ago Andy, went from combat camera to Washington DC for a stint as Rumsfeld’s photog, where he applied his skills tailing the former Defense Sec.
Annie and I are working on teaching together down at the Center this spring. It’ll be good to see them both. More tk….
;
Joe,
Thank you so much for the kind words. You are right, there is nothing more sublime then finding your photographic match in a partner. Not only does it make photography that much more fun, but it’s nice to know they understand our “addictions” to it.
My service to the military was the best decision, next to marrying Andy. During that time, I traveled and grew as a photographer. In case your readers don’t know, I wanted to make sure they knew how much you give to the military. Actually, that is how we met. You (Joe) were volunteering at the DoD Military Photography Workshop! You are so giving and the military owes you a great deal of gratitude.
I am so excited to see you two in the spring! Andy and I are looking forward to giving ya’ll the grand tour of Charleston.
All the best to you and Annie,
Stacy Pearsall
“…the first time I ever went into her refrigerator and the butter compartment had no butter but was filled with AA batteries.”
Or, it could indicate how easily you could be replaced.
Joe, my day is just a little bit better whenever you make a post. Thanks.
Oh I hope you make it down here to Charleston! I’ll be signing up first.
Thanks to everyone who serves in our military.
Stacy…Many thanks for your service. You really don’t know how much we appreciate you!!!!
Fantastic, as usual. Think Donald needs to come to Jersey and peek in the shadows of the old Casino…magic, I tell you.
Thanks Joe for your blog. Its always a good read! ( I personally kept film in my butter tray 🙂 AND Thank You Stacy for your hard work and dedication to the USA. I saw you on Oprah and thought that you held up better than she did on that show. Brought tears to my eyes too. Keep shooting. Shelly
I actually just finished your kelby video that also featured Donald! Thanks for posting it, it was really helpful, and i learned a lot, not only about lighting, but about keeping morale up on the set, collaborating with your subjects and also deadpan delivery =D
I managed to catch Stacy’s interview on Oprah. Her first person account of life in Iraq, both of the soldiers and Iraqi’s reminded me of the writing of William Shirer and Ed Murrow during WWII.
She and her husband should seriously consider putting their experiences and images into a book, they’re in a unique position to tell a powerful story.
Thank you Stacy for your service to our country and your commitment to telling an important, ongoing story.
Thanks to you Joe, for giving her story the time it deserves.
Cheers,
Nicholas
Well Joe,
If you’ve truely added a D3X to your camera arsenal, you’ll have to update your equipment list some time soon now! 😉
Greetz,
Anton
Joe, is 50mm really that better then 24-70mm? Lol, its not so heavy tough 😉 Funny that you use EV compensation, I just run my flashes in manual mode. Well, we all have our techniques. Lovely stuff, Im learnig much from you! Greetings from Denmark, Filip
Couldnt be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this article to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!
I know it’s no where near as good as you interesting posts here but let me at least give you a smile as a form of thanks for your hard work writing this stuff?
How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you’re on. 🙂