Naturalist

I'm at a work conference for a few days where my primary role is as
photographer, along with my buddy Matt. A friend of ours let us borrow
a couple of L-series lenses - a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L
and a 24-70 - which have made
all the difference.

In years past I've slogged through my photography duties with our
really crappy plastic kit lenses. It was really a chore sometimes. But
yesterday I found myself really enjoying my work.

One thing that has changed is that instead of trying to shoot like a
photojournalist or a party pic photographer, I've been trying to get
more beautiful and artistic shots like you might see a wedding
photographer take. That has been challenging, but fun. And the fast
lenses make a lot more of a difference than I thought they would.

I've also cemented something that has been kinda creeping up on me as
of late that I just wasn't ready to deal with- I'm a natural light
guy. By that I mean that I prefer to use avIlable light to shoot
rather than any sort of flash.

Matt is a flash guy, and I've dubbed him a "flashist." He loves to use
lights and umbrellas and remote slave flashes. And he gets some great
results that I wish I could get when I try to use lights. But I just
prefer natural highlights and shadows and the great texture that comes
with them. It just looks more real to me.

Using a really fast lens has allowed me to do that to a degree that I
haven't been able to before. And I'm hooked. I can't afford any L
lenses, but I'm going to but a 50mm prime 1.4 as soon as I can.

When I get back home and get some shots downloaded I'll post some of
my favorite shots here.