Reasonable and appropriate lens buying that I was easily able to rationalize. At least to myself. One from Nikon and one from Olympus. Why play favorites? First up: Olympus.

Silver finished, Olympus 40-150mm f4.0-5.6 R Lens for m4:3

If memory serves correctly this lens is the fourth one in the short history of micro-four-thirds lenses with the focal length of 40-150mm and a maximum aperture of f4.0-5.6. The "R" designates that it is the version with an aspherical element and an "HR" element. It's one of Olympus's "high grade" series of lenses (according the the fact sheet on B&H Photo) so I think you can expect that it's not a bad lens. Time will tell but my early shots, wide open, seem sharp, detailed and nice. 

So, why did I buy a cheap, kit class 40-150mm instead of the new, super premium f2.8 "Pro" model from Olympus? I'm booked to shoot two different conference/events in the upcoming week and I'm torn between shooting with the (much) heavier Nikons or the much more convenient Olympus cameras. 

If I chose the Nikons (two D610s) I would want to use an all purpose, all terrain lens that covers a wide range effectively and then bring a longer zoom for just in case. If I choose the Olympus cameras (two EM5.2s) I needed something longer than the 60mm Sigma or 60mm Olympus Pen FT f1.5 lens to get images of speakers on stage in a giant ballroom. Since I rarely need longer lenses for the Olympus cameras and because I see myself doing more and more commercial work with the Nikons I wasn't ready to pony up a small fortune for the premium Olympus optic if I thought I could use something less pricey and

Renae with Seagull camera. Camera subsequently donated to a photo student whose own camera was stolen.

My camera: Leica R8

Lens: 50mm Summilux

Film: Agfapan APX 100

Twin lens cameras are great to learn with. 

If you are into film. 

Printing apparatus. Lithoprint. Austin, Texas. Person press checking a job in the background.

Alternative metering?

Press Proof and Printer. Packaging printing for Chanel perfume boxes. Primary Packing. New York City.

Camera: Hasselblad 201F

Lens: (top): 50mm f2.8 Zeiss

Film: Kodak Tri-X

Printing paper: Seagull DW

Side Street in Rome. 1995. All square, all the time.

Mamiya 6 camera.

75mm lens. 

Kodak 400 CN chromogenic B&W film. 

Looking Straight Up at the Ceiling in the Alexander Palace. St. Petersburg, Russia 1995.

Cold, wet snow outside. Interiors warmed by too hot radiators. A Texan in Polartec taking portraits of the ceiling, toes thawing out. In the times before digital we shot one or two frames and then moved on. One or two frames were just enough if you knew how to read your handheld meter.

Portrait for the Austin Lyric Opera. An ad campaign some years back...

Kodak DCS 760C. Nikon 105mm f2.0 DC lens. 

Tungsten lighting. 

Happy Father's Day (where applicable) to all the VSL readers.

Wine. Shot with iPhone 4s. 

Ben got me some good wine and my wife (as a joke) got me a table top tripod made for cellphones (yes, she reads the blog...). I put the second gift to good use immediately. This is a shot of my Father's Day bounty from my vantage point at the kitchen table.  I can hardly wait to start uploading all sorts of images from my now stable cellphone to Instagram. Soon you'll be able to see all the mundane facets of my daily life...... Ah, interconnectivity.

Seriously though, Happy Father's day to all. If you didn't get something you wanted from your family you can always head on over to the camera store and snag some little jewel you've been pondering.