episa's photostream  

US Semi-Professional photographer currently living in Prague, Czech Republic after spending 14 years in the US and 2.5 years in Ukraine. 46 years old married with children. I like taking photography of landscapes and nature, animals and people.

It is said that Photography is both an art and a technical science. I surely had very low skills and inclinations to learn arts when I was younger. My tastes and initial background were technology and physics (I am a physics engineer by education). So this is the way I discovered and approached photography (calculation of exposure, F/stops, Flash GN number, depth of field, angle of view, ...) before I realized that what made the difference in a photo was other artistic composition skills that I had to learn and develop: eye for perspective and scale, association of complementary colors & shapes to create dynamic effects, use of the rule of thirds to create visual tension points,, etc...

I am trying hard to improve my artistic skills thanks to the many great photos found in flickr and magazines that feature the best nature photographers that inspired my interest in photography: John Shaw for macro-photography, Art Wolfe for animal photography, Bob Krist for travel photography, David Muench for stunning scenic photography (my favorite)....

I am still very influenced and biased by technology which remains a safe zone for me: I like to constantly experiment with new techniques and hardware. I switched completely from analog to digital photography in 2003. Sold back all Mamiya 645 system and Nikon F5 to work exclusively with Nikon SLR digital bodies which I really enjoy because of their low light sensitivity capabilities..

My current Photo hardware consist of:
- Fuji 690W camera (6x9 film format) for high resolution landscape photography - made obsolete by stitching software on digital files
- Nikon D300s and D700 bodies (previously owned D70, D80 and D300).
- Nikon FM2 (film camera) for super low temperatures in winter (-25 degrees and below) and just in case I want to shoot my long time expired Velvia rolls still in the fridge.

- Nikkor lenses: 14-24 AF-S f/2.8, 85mm AF-D f/1.4 (sold back), 70-300mm AF-S VR f/3.5-5.6, 16mm AF-D fish eye, 17-55mm AF-S DX f/2.8 (retired), 300mm AF-S VRII f2/8 ED-IF, AF-S 35mm f/1.4G DX.

Other Accessories: Nikon flash SB800, SB900, Gitzo Tripod Carbon Fiber, Arca Swiss Ball Head, Nikkor extention tubes, Kenko AF extension tube, Nikon AF converter TC-14E II, TC-17EII.

I sold in 2008 my 50mm AF f/1.4, 50mm AF f/1.8, 28mm AF f/2.8, 70-200mm AF-S VRI f/2.8 and switched to prime lenses instead with the intend to explore the worlds of Zeiss, Voigtlander and Leica. My expectations have been surpassed in the field of quality of contrast, color, resolution...

My acquisitions in 2009 were:
- Zeiss Lenses: 21mm Distagon ZF, 35mm Distagon ZF, 100mm Makro Planar ZF
- Voigtlander Lenses: Nokton 58mm f/1.4.
- Leica lens: Elmarit APO-R 180mm f/2.8.

My camera gear acquisitions in 2010:
- Leica lens Vario Elmar 35-70mm f/4 for travel or vacation
- Leica lens Vario Elmar 80-200mm f/4 for travel or vacation
- Leica lens Telyt 350mm f/4.8 for animal and people photography (sold back)
- Leica extender APO 2x for special occasions needing extra reach (sold back)
- Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8G N VRII ED-IF for people & sport photography
- Voigtlander APO-Lanthar 90mm f/3.5 SLII for landscape photography
- Compact camera Canon S90 to carry it in my pocket every day (retired)
- Nikkor AIS Micro 55mm f/2.8 and Nikon bellows PB6 for macro work

My camera gear acquisition in 2011:
- TC20III E for use with my 70-200mm AF-S VRII and my 300mm f/2.8 AF-S VR
- Nikon AF-S 24mm f/1.4G ED for landscape, city night scenes and indoor photography
- Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G for portrait photography. Sold my older 85mm AF-D f/1.4 lens to finance this one. Great upgrade from a sharpness point of view.
- Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.4. I like the sharpness and great aperture of prime lenses.
- Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 as a do it all zoom for city/country visits without compromise on sharpness,
- Nikon AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. I know I know: why an amateur zoom after so many great prime lenses? Well in some quick travel photography trips where I really want to travel light, and cannot afford to carry the entire photo bag with all my primes, I appreciate this little amateur zoom gem on a DX body.
- Voigtlander APO Lanthar 180mm f/4: a extremely portable and sharp lens ideal for travel. The bokeh of this difficult to find lens is fantastic.
- Nikon Camera body D7000 which I use as my second lighter body in association with my D700. Being a DX format with a 1.5 crop factor, I use it for long focal lengths applications (outdoor sport, distant landscapes, people photography in the street....). My wife uses the D300s.
- Phottix GPS One to tag my photos with Longitude, Latitude and elevation data at the same time they are taken by the camera. Very useful for future reference when one wonders where this photo was taken. Use it on Nikon bodies.
- Sony camera body NEX5-N with Sony kit lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS. I - like many other photographers - am looking for the perfect alternative to DSLR: smaller, lighter, no Reflex mirror, same or better quality. I may have found the first attempt to come close to one.
- Leica M Elmarit 24mm f/3.8 for landscapes on Sony NEX
- Voitlander M Noktom 35mm f/1.2 for hand held night shooting with Sony NEX
- Contax G lens 90mm f/2.8 with Metabone adapter to use on NEX5-N camera. This is an excellent Carl Zeiss lens that is not available in this focal length and aperture in other formats. Very small and practical for travel.
- Miscellaneous lens adapters to use Nikon lenses on NEX (Novoflex. Rayqual) or Leica M type of lenses on NEX (Voigtlander adapter).

My camera gear acquisition in 2012 are:
- Conversion of my Sony NEX5-N to Infra red with enhanced color IR filter by Lifepixels
- Leica Leitz Tele-Elmar M 135mm f/4. Very sharp and small size lens for that focal length. Good for street photography to be unnoticed with Sony NEX5-N.
- Pocket Wizard TT5 transceivers, mini TT1 transmitter, AC-3 controller: this allows to control by radio signal very far any Nikon flash individually while keeping the simplicity and automation of iTTL.
- Nikon SB910 and SB700 flashes for multiple flash photography.
- Photoclam Multi Flex (identical to the Arca Swiss C1 Cube) tripod head for very precise panorama, photo stitching picture taking applications.









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