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On tripods:
"Be careful of mounting physically long lenses to the tripod rather than fastening the camera body to the tripod. What causes the major amount of vibration and thus picture unsharpness during exposure? Not the lens! It's the camera body's mirror and shutter action."
(Popular Photography, August 1990)
Advice to buyers:
"Kits can be padded, too. I remember a kit advertised as containing 72 different items. The only problem was that 50 of them were actually sheets of lens tissue."
(Popular Photography, December 1990)
Keep it clean:
"Ever think of how many dirty places your lens cap goes after you take it off the lens? It jiggles around in your pocket or in the bottom of your dusty camera bag until the inside of the cap has accumulated a fine layer of ick. Ergo, when you put the cap back on the lens, the dirt merrily transfers to the front lens surface."
(Popular Photography, December 1990)
More on zooms vs. primes:
"I am convinced that anyone buying an SLR for the first time for serious photography will be a better and wiser photographer if he doesn't buy a zoom lens right off the bat."
(Popular Photography, April 1991)
Evolving camera bodies:
"Where did all the leather covering and the precision metal bodies with chrome finish go? They were so delightful to hold, to stroke, to feel, to admire. Who strokes today's photographic equivalents of the kitchen appliance...[But] genuine leather creases, shrinks, invites fungus, and pops up when screw heads corrode beneath...Plastic materials can be formed and scored to provide excellent, nearly permanent, highly grippable surfaces, free from fungus."
(Popular Photography, August 1991)
A modest suggestion:
"Yes, there have been noble tries at eliminating the PC terminal, such as the old ISO bayonet post (too big and protruding) and the threaded PC terminal (scarce, and a pain to thread on and off); but on the whole the PC terminal carries on, camera after camera, model after model, with no relief in sight. Surely the brilliant minds that have created the Canon EOS-1, Minolta 7xi, Nikon F4S, and the like can do better,"
(Popular Photography, September 1991)
The "flimsy" tripod you take with you is better than the one you left at home:
"The truth is that I probably have collected more sturdy tripods than anyone else within a hundred-mile radius. But unless I'm within easy walking distance of home or can stash the tripod in the car for convenient transportation, you will find me happily taking pictures with a flimsy tripod at hand."
(Popular Photography, February 1993)
The price of technology:
"What has happened to photography since the exuberant, technically daunting days of our SLR innocence. Slowly but surely, zoom lenses and flash have screwed up our indoor picture taking."
(Popular Photography, May 1993)
Intro to a column on the origins of the modern 35mm SLR viewfinder screen:
"In the beginning, there was nothing. The viewing screen of the 1949 Contax S, the first commercially successful 35mm eye-level SLR, was a pristine area, bright in the center with edge falloff like all other cameras having ground-glass focusing screens."
(Popular Photography, July 1993)
The perks of office:
"Contrary to popular belief (some popular belief, at least) I am not an equipment-engorged emperor seated on a photographic throne demanding, as my due, all new lens and camera jewels from manufacturer vassals. To begin with, accepting outright gifts would compromise my independence in reporting to you."
(Popular Photography, October 1993)
On varifocal lenses:
"Here's how you can tell if your 'zoom' is actually a varifocal. Zoom to maximum focal length and focus on an object manually about 10 feet away. Now zoom back to the shortest focal length. If the viewfinder is still sharp, you have a true zoom. If it's hopelessly out of focus, it's a varifocal."
(Popular Photography, October 1993)
Buyer beware:
"Silly Tales Sometimes Told By Salesmen Selling lenses: Off brand lenses are really over-production from major lens factories. Lenses not having U.S. warranties are seconds. Lens advertised is really discontinued. You should buy the new one at a higher price."
(Popular Photography, November 1993)
Excerpt of a book review panning The Art of Photographic Lighting:
"English professional photographer offers 80 photos: glitzy, commercial illustrations; nudes (both good and silly); snapshots; and outdoor shots in which the lighting credit belongs to God rather than the author. Photo captions are often woefully incomplete. Rambling, poorly organized, dull text is often lacking in essential information. Avoid."
(Popular Photography, December 1993)
On going digital:
"Sitting over a hot computer ain't my idea of fun. My creativity goes almost completely into picture taking. (But) I suppose if I ever retired, I would enjoy learning the Photoshop craft far more than playing golf."
(Popular Photography & Imaging, January 2005)
Avoiding trouble:
"Afraid on some dark street, a toughie will wrench your SLR from your grasp? Don't sling it over your shoulder. Carry it cross-chest with your elbow and arm protecting it. Still antsy about exposing your precious Nikon, Canon, or whatever to harm? Cover its name with black masking tape."
(Popular Photography & Imaging, February 2005)
Specs for the ideal lightweight travel tripod:
"1) No more than 22 inches when folded...
2) No more than 32 ounces...
3) Extends to 60 inches, so the SLR eyepiece is at eye level.
4) Should be able to open fully and close in less than 45 seconds.
5) Leg tips should be rubber but changeable to spikes for slippery terrain."
(Popular Photography & Imaging, February 2005)
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