Every photographer has a go-to lens that helps them to accomplish their daily tasks. What’s yours? Mine was (and in some ways still is) the Canon 24-105mm F/4 L IS. It has been by my side through paparazzo work, weddings, portraits, events, sports, and it has even been my casual walkaround lens. Used on the many cameras that have passed through my hands during reviews, it has been a mainstay on either my Canon 7D or 5D Mk II: always remaining ready to be used in an instant.

This long term review will cover the two years I’ve spent using this lens and will summarize the faults and strengths of this beloved piece of plastic with the heart of glass.

Tech Specs

Ergonomics

The Canon 24-105mm F/4 L IS is a medium sized lens that extends out a decent amount while zooming in and out. Thankfully, it has internal focusing, so the front element won’t extend out. The lens sports a large focusing and zooming ring that will comfortably accommodate the thumb, index finger and middle finger of most photographers. The lens features a distance meter on the top which is extremely useful for hyperfocal length focusing and ensuring that the lens is focusing correctly. Indeed, some of the earlier models were faulty and sometimes soft. I’ve sent mine back to Canon for recalibration before and it came back super sharp.

It’s a fully weather sealed lens, meaning it has gaskets behind the switches, focusing and zoom rings as well as at the lens mount. The lens mount seal is fully effective only when the lens is used on body with weather seals, which are basically the EOS 1 series bodies and the 7D (at least at the time of writing this posting).

The 24-105mm F/4 L IS sports a 77mm filter thread. To keep the front element protected at all times, I use a B&W filter because of its brass ring which adds extra protection. Canon recommends this for optimum protection when kittens and dogs start falling from the sky.

The lens features two different switches:

- One for autofocus with manual override due to the USM motor/manual focus

- The other is for turning the image stabilization on or off. Admittedly, image stabilization is one of the best reasons to purchase this lens.

Sharpness

The 24-105mm F/4 L IS isn’t the sharpest of L lenses, but it’s more than plenty sharp for most people. To be quite honest, it’s the softest and slowest aperture lens I have in my camera bag. To be fair, the other lenses are the 35mm F/1.4 L, 85mm F/1.8, and 80-200mm F/2.8  (yes that was written correctly).

This lens is:

- Not as sharp as the Canon 24-70mm F/2.8 L

- Sharper than the Nikon 24-120mm F/4 VR (I’ve tested a prototype)

- Not as sharp as the Canon 50mm F/1.8 at F/4 or other apertures (nifty 50)

- Sharper than most comparable Sigma glass

Image Stabilization

One of the reasons why you purchase a lens like this is because of the image stabilization feature. Canon claims that you’ll be able to achieve up to 3-stops of image stabilization. Throughout my tests, they’ve been spot on in their measurement.

Now, even though image stabilization works very well, do note that similar lenses with an F/2.8 aperture have the distinct advantage of being able to allow more light in and therefore stop fast motion. My workaround has been to add more light in the form of wireless flashes and strobes.

When shooting video and even when autofocusing, you can often hear the stabilization motors at work. Keep that in mind especially when you’re shooting video and you’ve got a microphone close to the lens.

Autofocus

After my 85mm F/1.8, the 24-105mm F/4 L IS is my fastest focusing lens. That’s a huge help when you’re photographing events and photo-journalistic assignments because you’ll need to nail that critical moment in a split second. For the serious photographer, you’ll be very happy with this lens’s performance. However, so will the enthusiast and hobbyist at the price point. The autofocusing speed when combined with AI Servo on a Canon DSLR will be able to help you track your kids moving faster than you can catch them with your own two legs.

The lens features ring USM, and focuses not only quickly but silently. Indeed, you’ll often find this to be very convenient during the wedding ceremony.

I’ve used it for shooting soccer before and found that when used with the 1D Mk IV, you’ll always be able to obtain acceptable shots even with fast moving subjects.

Weddings

Admittedly, I’ve only used this lens at one wedding. Otherwise, I’m a prime user and a very big lover of prime lenses for good reasons. For a wedding, this lens is best used for portraits, candid photos on the dance floor, stealthy work during the ceremony, faux macro work with the rings and food, and for photos outside.

Otherwise, I’m sticking to my guns and say go with all primes. To be fair, it’s always good to have two zooms on you just in case and I recommend this one over the 24-70mm F/2.8 for the reason that you’re bound to have a flash on you for extra illumination and because of the image stabilization.

While you’re at a wedding, chances are that you’ll experience sudden adrenaline rushes and run from spot to spot. With your heart rate going up and affecting your breathing patterns, sometimes you’ll need all the image stabilization you can get. This lens will help you get it.

Events

I’ve used this lens on the Canon 1D Mk IV coupled with a flash for a night of shooting. The 1D’s focusing turned this lens into a speed demon.

To be honest, of all the camera’s I’ve tested, I believe the this lens performed the best on the 1D Mk IV for the reason that the 1D has the best focusing of any Canon DSLR I’ve used. The 7D is a close second.

As stated previously, a disadvantage of this lens is the fact that it is F/4, so you can’t stop fast motion as easily as you can with an F/2.8 lens. With the 1D you can because the ISOs can be cranked up into the nuclear levels, which will accordingly allow you to shoot at a faster shutter speed to capture faster motion. It’s quite wonderful actually, and those that shoot events will love the lens when used with the 1D.

Don’t count the 7D out just yet though. I’ve used the lens coupled to the APS-C flagship in one of the worst lit bars I’ve been to with fairly decent results.

Be sure to also not count out the Canon 5D Mk II. I’ve used it with a flash at the same bar and the 24-105mm F/4 L IS. Once again, it impressed me: so event photographers should fully embrace this lens when coupled with a flash.

In fact, I’ve even used it with the Canon T3i to shoot an event. My only concern was that I wasn’t getting enough shallow depth of field to single out my subjects while at the wider end of the lens.

The solution: use a prime lens. However, at the more telephoto end of the lens, you can get some even better results.

Indeed, I feel that the telephoto end of this lens is where it really shines not only for events but also for portraits.

Portraits

There’s a very good reason why Rick Sammon loves this lens, and that’s because of the image stabilization combined with versatility and sharpness that it offers when shooting portraits. When testing this lens out with the DIY Ring Flash, I fell in love with it again after not using it for a long time.

Let me be frank: I’m a strobe and off-camera flash lover and if that’s true then I probably am in bed with ring flashes when I sleep. The latter is not true, but I do keep one in my room and the others at the office

I’ve used this lens with the Ray Flash, and that’s the item that I believe really makes this lens shine. The Ray Flash’s ingenious design takes the existing light from your flash and wraps it around in a ring shape. Combined with the versatility of the 24-105mm F/4 L IS, you’ve got a win-win situation for portraits. With flashes, the colors this lens can render will really pop when exposed correctly.

What’s even better is that there is little to no vignetting with this lens.

When I used this lens at the mermaid parade, the only thing that I didn’t like was (once again) the lack of sufficient bokeh when shooting at a wide angle. I want much more, but I understand that in order to get that I need a prime lens. However, this lens makes up for that in rendering some very wonderful colors.

Take a look at those reds, blues, yellows and greens!

Paparazzo

Most readers of this site will know that I’m a former paparazzo: which combines skills of sports photographers, portrait photographers, photojournalists, and vultures. Though I had only a brief stint, the 24-105mm F/4 L IS was my main lens for a while.

However, my agency always said the same thing: the lens isn’t sharp enough and I need to blow the background out more with an F/2.8 lens. With this bit of knowledge I not only walked away from the gig after some time but I also questioned whether or not it would be able to do professional quality work.

I proved them wrong with other clients and in different fields of professional photography.

Problems With This Lens

While I do indeed <3 this lens, one can’t deny the problems it has:

- Distortion on the wider end which is very easily corrected in post-production. In fact, most people may not even notice it except when focusing up close and personal.

- Focusing softness. This can be corrected if you send the lens to Canon letting them know about the issue.

Long Term Value

This lens is one of the most affordable L lenses in Canon’s lineup and can often be found used for an even better price. The fast autofocusing speed, silent motors, image stabilization, sharpness, color rendering, and zoom range make this lens a no brainer for most photographers. Rightfully so, it has earned a special place on our list of recommended lenses for Canon owners and for DSLR videographers.

With all this said and done, we’re going to let you draw your own conclusions and share them with us in the comments below.

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Austin Visschedyk, the protagonist in Teenage Paparazzo, has a website that shows off not only his celebrity work, but also some personal art that he’s been working on. Austin has been receiving lots of flak on internet forums and Youtube videos for getting into the business at such a young age, having expensive gear and really just doing the job of a paparazzi/celebrity photographer. The movie premiered last night on HBO and was created Adrian Grenier, one of the cast members of the show Entourage. Photoinduced has a great story on the movie as well as Austin in addition to a video on the gear used by a professional paparazzo.

In case you’re wondering if it does get that rough at time, yes it does. I’ve written postings on shooting Justin Long, Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Gerard Butler. While I wouldn’t go back into the business, I take my hat off to Austin for being so successful at a young age and in an economy where many talented photographers are struggling.

So I’ve blogged before about Julia Roberts, Sarah Jessica Parker, and even Gerard Butler. With Going The Distance coming into theaters later on this week, it is time that Justin Long and my encounter with him be shared. In general, my experience has been that male celebrities couldn’t care less about being photographed. As you’ll read, Justin doesn’t exactly like having a 5D Mk IIpointed at him.

Assignment

This day started like every other: wake up, get ready, go online, receive an email/assignment from the agency. Here’s the catch. It was raining cats and dogs. No photographer ever wants to go shooting in the rain. It’s usually too risky for the equipment and the investment, and it’s generally much harder to shoot in the rain.

So they gave me one big assignment: go photograph Justin Long and Drew Barrymore on the set of Going the Distance in downtown Manhattan.

Like any other 20-something that saw Charlie’s Angels, I loved Drew Barrymore. And from the way he carried himself in movies, Justin Long seemed like a really nice guy. Ecstatic adrenaline ran through these veins. And so, the gear went into the messenger bag, hoodie over the torso, feet into the shoes and Metrocard through the turnstile.

Gear

Canon EOS 5D Mark II 21.1MP Full Frame CMOS Digital SLR Camera with EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Camera Lens

Information Extraction

At this point in the game, I was still cutting my teeth but previous mistakes had knocked some sense into me. Every movie set has a couple of very critical and important locations:

- The filming area

- The equipment truck

- The trailor lot

- The catering area

If the celebrity’s agent really leaked a lot of info, then you’ll get a total logistical plan of the area. Luckily, I did. And so through a pint-sized version of Hurricane Katrina, I found the trailers. Walking around cautiously, I greeted the guards and acted stupid.

“Excuse me sir, where can I find the Classic Car Club?”

“The what?”

“The Classic Car Club, it’s supposed to be somewhere around here off Canal Street but I can’t really find it.”

“Let me take a look.”

At this point, the guard is totally confused but is being a nice guy and is looking for it on his iPhone. This is where I looked around the area and took careful note of the trailers.

“What’s with the trailers?”

“They’re filming a movie here.”

“A movie? Dude, that’s awesome, I was a film major in college! Think they’re hiring interns?”

“Probably, you can probably ask around if you see anyone on set. The Classic Car Club is at 250 Hudson St.”

“Uh, how do I get there?”

“You go up this street, then turn right then left and keep going up. If you hit Spring Street, you’re too far up. But be careful around here because they’re probably going to tell you to go around since they’re filming in that area.”

“Do you know who is in the movie?”

“Drew Barrymore and some skinny kid with acne.”

“Cool, thanks.”

The guard unknowingly provided a hell of a lot of information for me. How did I know to ask about the Classic Car Club? I had been in the area before covering an event for PCMag.com. In reality, I actually had a very decent knowledge of the place.

Right at Hudson St was where the caterers were located. Right around that area was Justin Long, just hanging out, talking with people and going into the NYC Fire Museum. Taking the camera out right there and then was way too risky as it would immediately alert the cast and crew.

And the shutter finger was still, but the clouds weren’t. The rain began to kick in tenfold.

Refuge in a Deli

When it rains on a movie set, hell essentially breaks loose. Everyone rushes indoors and the crew tries to protect all the equipment as best as they can. All talent and higher level crew members are escorted around by guards with umbrellas. I was able to spot exactly where Justin went into, and so I waited.

The weatherman said that the rain was going to last a while. Because of this, the nearest deli became a refuge spot for a while. It was perfect. Stools were lined up against the window facing the filming set and where Justin just went into. Consumption of a turkey hero commenced as I waited for “the target” to come back out. Sitting to the right of me was a team of regular Joes that wanted to take photos and sell them, just for the heck of it. But they had no idea how to. It was at this moment where I really realized just how much this market was oversaturated. For photographers to be competing with regular folk was just insane. One side of the fence did it to put food on the table, the others did it just because they could.

After eavesdropping on their conversation for a little while, I found out that Drew Barrymore was in the same spot as Justin.

Cool, I thought. I’ll be able to kill two birds with one stone. At this point, the rain was dying down a bit and I stood in front of the deli, under the awning waiting for either Justin or Drew. My hand went into my messenger bag and felt around for the 5D Mk IIwith lens attached. Because I had spent so much time with it by now, I was able to unscrew the filter, turn the camera on and set it in AI Servo mode without even looking as the camera stayed in the bag.

So this was the waiting game. Justin and a producer came out. You can see them in the picture above. They were strolling; walking the equivalent speed of what pisses off most New Yorkers when tourists flood midtown.

When Justin was close enough, the camera came out and I fired a couple of shots. Justin didn’t like this. In fact, it was the first time that I had ever gotten a look of disapproval from a male actor. The camera went back into the bag and shortly after, a couple of guards told me to leave.

I went across the street.

After waiting a while longer, Drew came out—with five guards who all blocked my shots. Bastards. To date, the couple of seconds that this all happened in still haunts me as my worst experience ever photographing celebrities. I simply just don’t get it. Lindsey Lohan is so nice and such a sweetheart. Why the hell can’t Drew be? Even more so, why can’t Justin? You know who were really nice? The cast of Law and Order SVU!

I went home, sent my agency the photos and told them what happened. They thought it was awful and were actually sympathetic to the fact that I was just starting in the industry still and encountered this problem. I had experience as a photojournalist but photojournalists go up to people and ask their permission to take photos. Celebrity street photographers don’t. It was a different world.

After some emails back and forth, they stated that the agency would not invest in purchasing a 70-200mm F2.8 L lens for me. In fact, they told me to go buy my own or alternatively to rent it. My contact actually recommended that I get the Sigma or Tamron version to save money.

Once again, this is why I had wished that the 7Dwas out around this time. To be fair, there are many photographers able to do wonderful things with the 5D Mk II. I had recently upgraded/switched from Olympus.

Conclusion

This day again was only another reason why I left celebrity photography behind. As stated before in previous pieces, there are some very good photographers out there and some wonderful celebs, but being sent into an area with so many unknown variables was just insane. Part of this is why I admire war photographers so much, though what I did is nothing compared to what they do.

With the imminent release of Sex and the City 2 on May 27th, I’d thought I’d share my experience of photographing Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of the movie while it was filming last summer. Those of you that are fans of the series and the movies may be delighted to know that Sarah is actually a very pleasant, sweet and nice person. In fact, she was one of my few positive experiences when photographing female celebrities back when I was a celebrity photographer.

This photograph was taken around the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, right by Central Park. It was quite the day and also quite the learning experience.

Upon hearing that Sarah was going to be there shooting, I figured that I’d get there bright and early to get some exclusives. Little did I realize that around 50 other photographers also thought the same thing. Because of this, many photographers essentially have the same photos of her. It’s photos like the one above that stand out because of the fact that there are an extra ten photographers that stayed behind after shooting.

That day was rough. Between being yelled at for getting in the way of other photographers and not giving others enough space to work, I was also quite under-equipped. The Canon 5D Mk II and 24-105mm F4 L IS is not exactly a combo that most photographers carry with them to shoot celebs, especially when that celeb is halfway down a city block. Despite the disadvantages, the 21MP sensor allows photographers to crop in to nearly the center of the photos and still produce very usable and lovely results. This is what happened to me for most of my shots. It isn’t the case with the above photo, where Sarah is about seven feet away from the camera.

Besides professional photographers, there were also the loads of fans trying to squeeze their way in to take a picture for bragging rights—as well as the occasional and dangerously close NYC buses and Taxi cabs that were right behind or sometimes besides us.

Now also consider the deadline for many photographers: if you’re shooting for an agency, you need to get them your photos right away so that they can make the sale and so that both you and your agency make money. Otherwise, you’ll be fighting tooth and nail in a very over-saturated market. To do this, I located the nearest Barnes and Noble and edited the photos on a Macbook and uploaded them onto the agency’s server via the free wifi. After that, it was off to the set again to shoot another batch. This process repeated itself around four times. It ensured timeliness.

Something like that isn’t for the weak: lugging photo gear and a Macbook around along 10 city blocks in the hot and humid NYC summer isn’t exactly fun. It’s actually recommended that you bring a water bottle.

So did I get to talk to Sarah? No, she was way too busy. In my opinion, she photographs beautifully but isn’t particularly attractive in person. Perhaps it was the angles though.

Sarah was and still is a precious commodity for celebrity photographers. Widely known and busy females are what make sales to magazines and newspapers. When photographers speak to the readers and buyers though, we see a different story. Sit down in the NYC subway any day of the week and take a look at what your female riders are reading. If it isn’t a self-help magazine or book of some sort, then perhaps it is a tabloid with the latest celebrity gossip. Now take a look at the pages they spend the most time on: they’re mostly staring at the images of men. Not just any men: very good looking men. It’s a fact, many heterosexual females will rather stare at a picture of Gerard Butler with his shirt off than Sarah Jessica Parker on the set of a movie. In contrast, men are the ones that want the half-naked Hollywood sweethearts—but we tend to do online for those these days.

Because of this fact, magazines and media sources in general should pay lots more for images of men. The good looking ones are just as objectified as some females. It really isn’t fair for female celebrities to be chased down just because there is a lot of money involved in getting snapshots of her; and yes it is mostly the females.

In summary, Sarah Jessica Parker was a pleasure to shoot. But it really wasn’t worth the pay.

As promised earlier, I received a ton of hits to the website yesterday and so I am delivering to you all my photos that I shot of Gerard Butler and Full/High Resolution shot with my Canon 5D Mk II. Photos and a personal thank you note after the jump.

First off, I want to thank everyone for the tremendous outpouring of support from GBGals.com mostly but Twitter brought in quite some traffic as well as On Location Vacations, The Weirdly Obsessive Gerard Butler Message Board, and GerardButler.net. Without you all, I wouldn’t have been able to do this.

Now, I’m positive that some of the New York celebrity photographers will want my head on a platter for doing something like this, but let them. I’m done with the industry for the moment until I can figure out a way to make it profitable for me. I’m currently shooting events, headshots/portraits, and weddings.

I hope I’ve made a couple of fans out of you that took the time to come to the website and rack up my unique views and hits. And I also hope that I can keep you coming as well with other photography related content and loads of pics. Feel free to subscribe via email or RSS feeds on the right-hand side of the blog. Or, just visit.

Feel free to explore the site, and my Flickr. Hell, even Google me. I say that at times. If you’re a photographer or photo tech, I’m looking for contributors.

Anyway, that’s all for the moment. Here’s the gallery for your download. I ask that you please respect my copyright and by that I mean please don’t post these pictures anywhere they don’t belong. An example being Facebook, because of their terms of use.

PS- If you’d like to host these on your site, shoot me an email at chrisgampat[at]thephoblographer.com

The Bounty Hunter is coming out in theaters soon, starring Hollywood heartthrob, Gerard Butler. In celebration, I thought I’d share a slew of photos with you all and relate to you the experience of shooting Gerard: quite possibly one of the most pleasant I had while being a celebrity photographer.

As a celebrity photographer, you’re either loved or hated. Similarly in fashion photography, there can be a hierarchy and a picking order when shooting if other photographers are around. If you’re the only one, then you’ll get your exclusives. Out in public, anything goes. Taking a picture of a celebrity for profit is legally no different then a regular person taking a picture of them on their camera phone. You’re not stalking them either: they’re filming movies and so everything is in public view.

Hate them or love them: it’s a job. There’s a need and want for the photos and so you fulfill that want. It’s something that’s craved by everyone. America always wants to be entertained and always wants to see those photos.

I admire Gerard though. Not only because he’s a confident, talented and respectable young man in the industry. But Gerard gave me perhaps my first pleasant experience shooting a celebrity. He didn’t have loads of guards blocking him and he acted, well, like a normal human being. He was very down to earth and even talked to some of the on-lookers. It seemed that he even tried to pose for the camera at times. You can see those in the compilation shots of him in the opening photo.

He didn’t seem like the diva-types that require you to not even walk on the same side of the curb as them. That was nice to know.

The nice ladies of GBGals.com featured my photos, and I in fact never even heard anything from the agency I shot them for.

That summer was probably the hardest I’ve ever had as a photographer. As a guy straight out of college and trying to make a living for himself, I can tell you that I jumped into that industry at the wrong time. One quickly learns that it is an oversaturated market in a media environment where the magazines you shoot for are making large cuts: such as photographers.

But it’s great to see that nice people, such as Gerard can still get to the top of the fame hierarchy without totally stepping on anyone and everyone around them.

And that, my fellow photographers, should inspire you. It inspired me to be the nice photographer. To be fair though, nice doesn’t always mean let yourself get walked all over.

The Bounty Hunter comes out March 19th 2010 in theaters.

Many photographers dream and aspire to work for the professional agencies. Having a name like Magnum, Getty, Zooma, Associated Press etc. sure means that you’re good and at the top of your game. Most photographers though don’t know what these agencies call for. From my time working for Magnum Photos, Spotlight Press and talking to Brad Elterman of Buzzfoto, I learned quite a bit that shocked and amazed me and even colleagues of mine. Some of those tips after the jump.

Some photographers may know and criticize Getty’s approved camera list. One fair criticism I’ve heard before from a former co-worker is, “Why would they allow the Canon 50D and not the T1i if they use the same imaging sensor?” It seems to make sense since someone like Magnum Photographer Eli Reed takes along the EP-1 with him.

High Quality Files

While different agencies may differ slightly on their terms regarding equipment, they all require high quality and very sharp images. According to Getty’s Submission Requirements:

“All images must be uncompressed 47.5-52 MB TIFF files, (flattened, with no layers, paths or channels), 24 bit RGB Color, 8 bits per channel (8 bit file) before importing into the Getty Images Preflight Tool. This tool will test the TIFFs against the parameters set out in the Submission Requirements and convert the files to high quality JPEGs that you can then submit to us without further processing.”

Now, not all cameras can render 47.5 MB TIFF files even after editing in RAW. So keep that in mind when you’re ready to go play with the big boys.

Lenses

Building on that, my time at Spotlight Press as a celebrity photographer taught me some of the harsh lessons of business. I shot with a Canon 5D Mk II and the 24-105mm F4 L IS lens. That lens is considered by many to be sharp enough for most reasons and also of excellent quality. However, Spotlight had told me that the lens is sharper at the wider end and I should try to always get close to the celebrity because of this. Additionally, each image needed to be “full frame.” By their definition, this means that the subject should take up the entire frame, it should be vertical, and there should be some room left for possible cropping.

That’s not so bad, it makes perfect sense for sales actually. Just getting the image is hard. They recommended the 24-70mm F2.8 L and the 70-200mm F2.8 L IS actually because those lenses are significantly sharper and you’re able to blow out the background much more with your subject in focus.

Brad from Buzzfoto also said similar things when I asked for constructive criticism on my photos. However, he added more insight to create better photos from his years of experience. He told me that my images were not sharp, the background needed to be blown out more, I had no eye contact from my subject and there was no emotion either. He also recommended to use a bit of fill flash at times as well. All great tips on making it better, despite I’ve also been told from other editors that the work is superb. It’s always great to strive for total excellence.

My above image of Gerard Butler is one of the best I’ve done. There is more at my Flickr’s Photojournalism section.

Cameras

This is also possibly one of the reasons why many Magnum photographers use Leicas. Their lenses are considered to be top of the line with lots of bokeh and will provide very sharp images. That doesn’t mean you have to of course. The majority of photographers shoot Canon or Nikon.

Also remember that that doesn’t mean you need to be digital. There are many Magnum photographers that still shoot with film and they’ve got a huge archive of it all in the New York office.

Getty has things to say about film scanners too though:

“We only accept digital files from scanned film if they have been drum scanned by a professional scanning house or scanned using the approved desk top film scanners from the following list: Imacon 949, 848, 646, 343; Fuji Lanovia Quattro and Finescan; Creo Eversmart Supreme 11, Eversmart Select 11, IQsmart 1,2,3″

Just be sure that your editing can provide extremely high quality images and that it can give your clients what they need. Of course, also remember not to alter your photo too much as that can go against photojournalism ethics.

What tips can you offer from your experiences?

Those of you that read this blog and have followed me from Photography Bay and my Flickr will know that I’m a former celebrity photographer. It’s a very rough world and possibly one of the most cutthroat that I’ve experienced. However, it does have its highs. And I can really tell you that it is very addicting. Now that I’m out of that business, I’d like to show you a compilation of my favorite photos of celebrities that I’ve shot.

Author’s Note: That’s Aerosmith up above. Also, feel free to download them all if you’d like from my Flickr. If you are going to repost them on the internet, then you MUST link back to the website where you got it from and cite me as the photographer and owner.

Hey there, thanks for coming to the blog as it is under serious construction still (I’m open to ideas.) As my first posting I’ll write up a little bit about what I am and what I do. Hit the jump for more.

I’m a photographer, videographer, blogger, musician, gamer, modern day adventurer, poet; you might as well just call me a Modern Day Bard.

At my time of writing this, I work for Blind Photographers, 2D-X, and Photography Bay.

I shoot

Events (Maria Sharapova unveiling her Diamond Powershot Collection)

Concerts (The Blip Festival)

Photojournalism (The Recession in NYC)

Street (Halloween Parade 09)

Headshots (Shannon)

Portraits (My friend Matt)

NYC (View from the top of the Rock)

Celebrities (Gerard Butler)

I love video games, mostly PC games but I’m not particularly picky and see the strengths in all platforms. I’ve been a tech journalist for a couple years now: working for Geek.com, PCMag.com amongst others.

I used to intern at Magnum Photos and have been published in the NYTimes amongst others.

I’m looking forward to developing a great relationship with you all.