DSLR Camera and Lens Combo Mambo

I am in the process of deciding what new DSLR and lens combo to buy. There are so many choices out there. What do you recommend for street, landscape and travel photography? What camera and lens combo  makes sense to you?

Computer-aided Chicano Artist Ignacio Farías

If art isn’t free, then what is it, asks local artist Ignacio Farías.

By Shannon O'Connor
The Zonie Report

Farías, 61, is a self-taught Chicano artist who creates abstract works using digital composition with acrylics and paints. His sole intention for his work is only to be beautiful, and he makes no bones about being called a “wall decorator” or using a computer to help create his works.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Farías began drawing things as a child. He said he was always in trouble at school for drawing caricatures of teachers and doodling in class.

He moved to Arizona in 1983 with his first wife, a native Arizonan, and their children. His techniques and unique styles come from experimentation and his only standard is to rarely, if ever, use a paintbrush.

“(In the beginning), I felt reluctant to use brushes,” Farías says. “Everyone uses brushes so I had to find another way.”

Instead, he uses a variation of tools that ranges from kitchen and carving utensils to spatulas, ice picks, combs and syringes. The only consistent marking that can be found on his works that were made with a brush is his signature, which he said enabled him to sign his name in a unique, Asian-looking style.

But it was his other hobbies, such as photography and advertising, that led to the use of digital composition in his artwork.

These tools of the 21st Century are the reason that Farías refers to his work as the product of “extreme mix media.” He says he’s a PC guy who uses a Velocity and plenty of Adobe software to bring his artistic visions to life.

Although the use of a computer may help with artistic effects, it doesn’t necessarily make the process go faster, Farías says. Much of the process involves the subconscious mind.

“Inspiration is not related,” Farías says. “Art is like a blessed area where the most beautiful things can happen. Never mind what is outside.”

Farías’ works are often created as a series, such as “The Eyes of a Woman,” which has about 80 different versions.

“No two women have the same eyes,” Farías said. “(They are) like fingerprints.”

Each displays the different types of women in the world. However, a few of them have an animal name that identifies the type of woman it depicts according to the Mesoamerican culture of Mexico. For example, the painting called “Eagle Woman Eyes” is a depiction of the “executive woman.”

Some of his other works are depicted on multiple canvases, such as “A Fascinating City,” which was done as an ode to Paris. This work is a display of five separate canvases that are displayed inches apart from one another but are connected by the flow of the elongated picture that they depict.

Link to Ignacio Farías website: http://www.ignaciofarias.com/
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Nikon D3: Sucha' Great Camera

Yes, I already own a Hasselblad, a 4x5, various Nikon, Canon and Minolta SLRs but what I really want is a new Nikon D3. What a great camera.

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I have been taking pictures since the mid-60s and this is by far the most exciting and useful camera I have ever laid my eyes upon. Now all I have to do is ante up about $20,000. No easy feat.

Here is my proposed shopping (wish) list:

• Nikon D3
  
• SB-800 AF Speedlight
  
• AF NIKKOR 20mm f/2.8D
  
• AF NIKKOR 35mm f/2D
  
• AF-S Micro-NIKKOR 60mm f/2.8G ED
  
• AF NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8D
  
• AF-S NIKKOR 400mm f/2.8G ED VR
  
• AF-S NIKKOR 24-70 f/2.8G ED
  
• AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8G IF-ED
  

My primary setup would be the D3 matched with a Nikkor 35mm prime lens. That combination would be great for documentary work. The Nikon can shoot at 1,600 ASA without a problem. In the early 70s, I and other photojournalists had to resort to special processing to get that ASA. Now all you have to do is flip a switch. How about 3,200… Wow!



I figure in two years I will spend the dough required to at least get the latest Nikon and one quality lens. In the interim, I will have to be content to scan my Hassy negs. So far, this hasn’t been a problem. My prints from my scans have been good enough for exhibitions and books.

Tell me what you think about my proposed setup. Yes, it is a lot of stuff to lug around, but the equipment would fit nicely in a hard case. I estimate 80 percent of my shooting would be with the 35mm lens. Now that would be sweet. I just can't wait.

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