Before I start/complete this series of articles, I will try to make sure the structure of the blog is more logical, and contains an option to read by tag or timeline.
Lens that I will discuss include the 135/2.0L, the 85/1.2L, 300/4.0L & 400/2.8L...
I've never really been in tune with the 'touchy, feely' side of expressing myself, or, to my detriment, of listening to the experiences of others. So I caught myself by surprise, when I realised that some of the articles and books I've been reading recently, have inspired me, not from the 'daring tales' of the action of the story, but more about the personal journey that an individual has taken.
I don't claim any special skill or background, or even achievement that merits this blog being a 'must read', but I hope that some will find little nuggets to appreciate on their own journey.
My initial articles concentrate on my discovery of photographic passion. Typically this is through stages of various hardware acquisition. Later I will discuss some of the tips, tricks & techniques that help me, along with a few of the traps where I've messed up.
One area that I have found sadly lacking, is the number of articles to help one move from Intermediate to Mastery of photography. Is this where it all becomes a 'trade secret', are we too ashamed of our 'keeper rate', or just too busy or not aware of the subtle nuances that make a better photographer?
My next series of articles will be about some of the lenses I own, and have owned, and on a purely biased basis, what I recommend, if your budget and shooting interest align with mine.
During my rather miserable experience with the 7D Mk II, I 'accidentally' bought my first 6D. This presented something of a quandary: where do I go from here?
As an upgrade, the 'natural succesor' to these two fine models was the 5D Mk III. Only I didn't see it that way. The 5D was similar in image quality to the 6D, but not really a match for the sport features of the 7D.
So during my travels, and appreciating that a Mark II was just around the corner, I snapped up a new (original Mark I) Canon EOS-1D X for a very reasonable price, bundled with an 'L' lens I had been ogling for many years.
During the (24-hour) decision-making period of, 'should I, shouldn't I', I had the opportunity to test the camera, in store and on the street, and found the results truly spectacular.
Here was a camera where one could appreciate the full-frame pixels, and, in minute detail, determine how to successfully capture the action. The camera essentially has the same auto-focus system as the 7D Mark II - but it works!
Less than a month after purchase, I had captured results at a Biathlon that would not have been achievable (at least by me) with any of my previous equipment.
As an 'epitath', at least to this story, the camera keeps getting better: some time in my first year of owning and using the 1DX, a ’version 2' firmware was released. This had a couple of seemingly insignificant new features, but made the camera even more flexible, with greater potential.
More on using the 1DX in a future article...