Google & GrandCentral

Google just announced the acquisition of GrandCentral Communications. It's one of the coolest services I've ever encountered, and one that I am proud to have bought into Google.

What camera should you buy?

As the unofficial Google Photographer, I get numerous emails from many of my colleagues about which digital camera they should start out with. I got another one yesterday:

Wesley,
What are your thoughts on Canon Rebel XTi Vs the Nikon D40X. This will be my first real camera, so looking for something that doesn't overwhelm me, but does let me explore some of the fundamentals of photography.

Thanks,
[name redacted]

I thought I'd share my thoughts on this topic since I get asked about this so often. My assumption if you're reading this is that you're new to photography and/or you're looking to upgrade to a more sophisitacted, dSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera like the Canon EOS-30D or Nikon D40x.

(1) Canon or Nikon? There are two dominant camera "systems" on the market today that manufacture over 80% of the cameras and lenses that pros use: Canon and Nikon. You have to decide which one to go with since once you make an investment in one system, it's really difficult to switch. The lenses also aren't interchangable: a Canon lens won't fit on a Nikon camera body, and vice versa. If you really get into photography, you could very well invest in over $10,000 in lenses, so choose wisely.

I exclusively use Canon bodies and lenses, and am extremely happy with my choice. I have close friends that swear by Nikon and have made an equally large and expensive investment in Nikon lenses. You have to pick one, and there have been endless debates about which brand/system is better. (I chose Canon, so much of what I speak below will echo this).

(2) Lenses. Most people fail to realize that the glass (lenses) that you buy is probably more important than what camera body you start with. Almost all dSLR camera bodies are sold without the lens. And (good) lenses are not cheap.

What lens you choose to buy depends on what type of photography you choose to do. I personally use a Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens ($1700) for 70% of all the photos I take, but switch out to other lenses (such as the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS, $1800) as the situation dictates.

Most people starting out usually photograph people or landscapes, so a lens I recommend starting with is the Canon 28mm-135mm f/3.5-f/5.6 IS lens ($425). First, it is both a wide-angle lens (28mm) so you can take great photos of landscapes, as well as a telephoto (135mm) lens, so you can zoom in on your subject if you want to take a portrait of someone. Second, it has something called an Image Stabalizer built in which helps compensate for camera shake by reducing camera blur. (This is probably one of the coolest technologies to hit photography in the past decade). The 28-135mm lens is a great start and can give you great photos in a wide variety of situations if used properly.

(3) Buy a camera body. I'm really agnostic about what body people buy since a new one is released every couple of years (so you have to upgrade often), and the quality of your photos is really affected more by what lens you use than how fancy your camera body is. I take crappy photos when using a crappy lens and a state-of-the-art body, but have spectacular photos when using a great lens (and having good lighting) on a several-year-old, obsolete dSLR body. The current "starter" dSLR bodies on the market today that are worth checking out are the Canon Digital Rebel XTi (10 megapixels) and the Nikon D40x (also 10 megapixels).

You can't go wrong with either body, but you can go wrong by choosing the wrong lens to start with.

(4) Pick a project to learn how to take great photos. Phil Greenspun has some great advice about building your first dSLR system: choose a couple of photo projects to start with. Photograph your dog or your kids, go take a trip and take some sweet photos of a waterfall--the possibilities are endless. Post the photos up on the web to share with others and enjoy the results of your new camera.

Random Encounters on the Playa

One week has past and I'm still nostalgic for Burning Man. Here's the final installment of more of my favorite photos from Black Rock City 2005. (You can find the full gallery at http://photos.weschan.com.)


Words of wisdom tacked onto the wall at the Shinto Temple.


Romer & Brooks whacking each other with foam bats in the Thunderdome (don't ask).


My friend Dan on the playa, ringing the Virgin bell signifying that it's his first Burning Man ever.


Jeremy Mungle (L) making a phone call (on a satellite phone) while Roxana Smith makes sno-cones for everyone at the "It's Your Birthday" theme camp.


Friends of mine having a bit too much fun on a random trampoline. (There are tons of trampolines everywhere in Black Rock City.)


James Abele juggling during a dance party at the House of Lotus camp.


In what was probably the most bizzare spectacle ever, GI-JOE figurines march hundreds of plastic barbies into an oven at the Barbie Death Camp & Wine Bistro art display.


Adam admiring Alton Parker's art installation in the middle of the playa.


Ring charms spin in the desert wind.


A rememberence for a passed-away loved one at the Shinto Temple.


One of the coolest costumes ever!


The front of the lamplighter procession, which happens every day at sunset.

Burning Man on Fire!

Fire Sculptures are perhaps one of the coolest nighttime things that you'll find on the playa at Burning Man. Here are some of my favorite fire sculptures from this year.


Random gathering around fire-spitting horns.


Black Rock Hoedown around the fire-spitting horns. The Space Cowboys unimog showed up at the horns and for the entire night, pumped out dance tunes as several hundred people partied around some awesome fireballs.


The fire pendulum: flames from 4 jets would propel this pendulum to spin around as hundreds of people stared in awe.


The fire pendulum in action.


Green flames from the chimney of a fire sculpture.


Fire spitting out an art installation on the playa.


Not quite a fire sculpture but equally as cool: the charred remains of the man during the ritual burning on Saturday night.

Picture Perfect Playa Wedding

Lots of people get married every year at Burning Man. I was lucky enough to stumble onto one such wedding, and acted as impromptu wedding photographer. I have no idea who the lucky couple are.



I thought the wedding offciator in the gold outfit was a nice touch, as well as the bunnies acting as the groomsmen and bridesmaid. (Note that some bunnies have beards).

On that note did you know that in the state of California you marry ONE couple for a day even if you're not clergy or a judge? All you need to do is to be deputized to perform the ceremony. (I may do this for next year's burning man!)



My favorite part of the wedding: when the gold dude said "you may kiss the bride!"



Afterwards, the wedding procession walked down the playa with everyone cheering behind them.



Ending a picture-perfect wedding, the bride and groom hop on the wedding art car to be pushed off by a flock of bunnies into the sunset.



Want more 2005 Burning Man Photos? Get them at http://photos.weschan.com

Parade of Burning Man Art Cars

One of my favorite things to do at Burning Man is to chase after the hundreds of art cars on the playa and take photos of them. There were some awesome ones this year.


A robotic dinosaur trying to actually "walk" across the playa. This was one of the more complicated art cars I've seen on the playa; there was a person riding on the back of the dinosaur controlling the various motors to get the art car to "walk."


The Nekobasu (or CatBus), from My Neighbor Totoro.


The cup cakes, back this year in force!


Eyeballs at night.


Circular saw car slicing thru the playa at night.


Driving a couch on the playa.


Snow-cone serving locomotive stopped on the playa for an impromptu boom-boom dance party.


The Swan, an origami inspired artcar by Adam Smith and team.


Middle eastern palace-inspired car.


Glow-in-the-dark Pac Man!


"Sailing" down the playa.


Dragon Limo

You can find more 2005 Burning Man art car photos at http://photos.weschan.com.

Burn the Man!

At my last night at Burning Man this past week, 35,000 people gathered around "man" at Burning Man to watch it burn down. This year, I was lucky enough to have a front row seat for the huge ten minute fireworks-laden bonfire.



Before the "man" exploded, nearly all of the fire dancers in the US converged upon the playa to give us a spectacular show of light and sound.





Then the fireworks went off on the "man."



I had a hard time getting some good photos this year because the fireworks appeared to light the man up prematurely. The man instantly erupted into a gigantic fireball. There was smoke everywhere and many of the fireworks exploded on the ground rather than up in the air.



Still some of the fireworks made it up above the smoke and chaos.



At some point, the smoke cleared away and you could see that the man had caught on fire.



At this point, everyone started cheering and yelling "burn the man." After about 5 minutes, the structure holding the "man" collasped and the man came tumbling down.



Once the man fell, everyone started rushing into the center. The chaos has begun. Several thousand people began running around the corspe of the man, jumping up and down as if their favorite team had won the Superbowl.





I made my way to the center and got some spectacular photos of the charred remains of the man, still burning after its very public collaspe.



It was so hot in there, and combined with the fact that there were still thousands of people trying to push their way into the center, my camera nearly melted. Thank god I was wearing a fire & heat resistant flight suit.



I can't wait to next year's burn.