My Travel Tech Gear... Mainly Sony

Anonymous Art Model, Copyright 2014 Terrell Neasley

I've often been asked lots of questions about my travels and I've run into several amateur and 2 professional photographers in these four months so far. Three or four questions just about always come up and the most persistent ones have to do with my travel photo and tech gear. So I'll take a blog post to detail what I carry and why.

BODIES

I shoot Sony and I rock with two camera bodies and currently 3 lenses. The body that is pretty much my workhorse is the Sony a6500. It does everything I need. I like the smaller body-style, yet the thing is a powerful beast of a camera. Here...click the hyperlink to check ==> THE SPECS <==. I've got images stabilization and 11 frames per second when I need it. Its weather sealed with a great 24mp sensor. I actually turn off the touch screen functions. Paired with the 16-35mm f/4, it gives me a crop sensored normal perspective zoom.

Art Model Mary, Copyright 2007 Terrell Neasley

My second body is the Sony a7R2. ( ==> THE SPECS <==) Why is this body not my primary, you ask? Its because the majority of the work I'm doing doesn't require the 42 megapixels this camera uses. I save this for the work that will capture my fine art images while the a6500 will take care of my documentary work, which is about 70% of all the shots I take. I almost upgraded this body to the a7R3, but I'm glad that I didn't. At least not yet. Tempting, for sure! But here's the deal. I don't want to upgrade until I also get two new bodies. I don't want to upgrade this camera and then have to carry another battery size. Right now, both my cameras use the same battery so I can interchange them. Upgrading to the a7R3 would mean another set of 6 batteries, minimum, plus two more chargers. Can't say that's a good fit for me at the moment.

Now if I also upgraded my a6500, (which I'm not sure I'd do), the a7III uses the same battery as the a7R3. That's plausible. But even so, I'm STILL not sold on  selling my a6500. That's how much I love this camera. So basically, I'd likely carry THREE bodies, even though that's not a goal. But here's the deal. I'm not entirely sure I'd want the a7III. Its selling like hotcakes, but I think I'd rather hold off to see what Sony does with the a7S3 which is likely due soon. That would suit me better than the a7III. So I wait and practice my patience lessons. At that point, I'll decide what to do with the a6500, especially if the a7s3 is pushing 10fps at a minimum.

Anonymous Art Model, Copyright 2010 Terrell Neasley

LENSES

As for glass, I'm primarily a prime guy. I mentioned having one zoom, the 16-35mm f/4 already. I'm not upgrading to the 2.8 version because I already get killer shots with this lens. For my purposes, the G-Master version gives me no added benefit. With that, the Sony 55mm f/1.8 is super bad for my portraiture work. The smaller size is more conducive to my travel work. I did not find the 85mm G-Master to be a better lens. The 55 is the best portrait lens I have ever owned even over my Canon 85mm 1.2.

Finally, I have Sony's 90mm f/2.8 Macro lens. There is not a better one on the market, in my opinion. Its one of the sharpest lenses made for DSLR or Mirrorless. And yes, I say that knowing that I've been quoted as saying Sharpness is over-rated. Here's the deal. I needed a macro lens and Sony made one. Its not my fault that it happens to be one of the sharpest optical instruments to ever don a camera mount. I will likely also add the Sigma 20mm f/1.4 if I can make that happen when make another trip stateside. This will be my primary astro-photography, night time, and landscape lens. So I'll have 4 lenses that I travel with. Notice, there's nothing on the super telephoto front. That means that the longest lens I'll have is the 90 on my a6500 which will make it effectively a 135mm 2.8. This is purposeful. My primary perspective is wide to normal. I don't really work in the super-tele range as much.

Art Model Katherine, Copyright 2008 Terrell Neasley

PERIPHERAL

Along with those, I pack two Sony HDR-AS100V Action Cams. I use these also for documentary purposes as well as time-lapse. These are older systems, but again...no need to upgrade. These things work great for what I need them for. I use them on a table top tripod, a clamp-style grip, and a regular-size travel tripod. Its the only other battery/charger system I have and I carry six batteries for them. My iPhone 7 Plus gets a lot of work as well, both handheld and with a cellphone holder that I can mount onto a tripod. I'm still doing snap shots and video for social media with it. I have one speedlight with me. Its a Canon 430EX II that I mount with Phottix Ares wireless transmitters.

Art Model Jacinda, Copyright 2007 Terrell Neasley

I currently have no laptop I can edit on. I have never edited on one...ever. Since this is an extended travel, I don't have the choice of waiting until I return. So...I'm wracking my brain on what to get later when I come back stateside this summer (just for a few weeks). The lead candidate is the MS Surface Book 2, (maxed out 15" version) but DAMN! I do not want to pay $3500 for that thing (and accessories). Runner up is the Gigabyte Aero 15x. A bit more reasonable, but still over the $2K I'd much rather spend. Hell, maybe even that's too much. So I'll have all that sorted out by the time I return. Maybe something else will come out that meets the spec sheet and features I'm interested in. The main thing...speed. I don't want to have to wait forever rendering videos, images, or anything. Speed, but versatility, future-proof, and battery longevity.

That's it for camera tech in my bag. Looking forward to the additional gear this summer. I'll post on the new additions and eventually post on their performance.

Art Model Covenant, Copyright 2015 Terrell Neasley

A Focus on The Print

Early work with Mary, Black Canyon, CO

There's no doubt this has been the most odd start of the year to date. I don't think I've spent this much time in bed since I was a little baby. I've been very careful with taking care of my knee, resting my body, and healing. But dang! Just as I was about ready to announce "I"M BACK!", I get food poisoning all of last week. This was such a weird experience. I've never been down that road before and hope to GOD, I never do. It crept up on my very slowly, but quickly...maybe analogous to sheep approaching you calmly and innocently only to burst out as wolves when they got in arms reach. I couldn't run. There was no escape. No amount of Pebto, crackers & Sprite, or any anti-whatever was going to save me from the onslaught once I recognized what it was. I didn't think it was going any further than an upset stomach. It wasn't until my mouth started watering and the stomach started some serious rumbling that I knew "Sh*t just got real".

Early work with Mary, Black Canyon, CO

So I'm just now getting over all that. "I'm Back". (Not all caps... a little muted, but nonetheless...) I'm ready to shoot. I'm ready to get outside and do some things. I can't hit the hard trails. I can't walk the distances, yet. But I can stand on my own two feet and get from point A to B slowly, but surely. I can't tell you how anxious I am to get some exposures under my belt and be backed up with new and profitable edits. I'm looking for my next art nude model as well as some of my business projects.

Now let me get back to the original topic I wanted to talk about. I've done recent talk about the portrait, to include capturing the self-portrait. I also want to give a mention to what I think is arguably the most important aspect of the photographic process... THE PRINT. This is just my humble opinion, but this is the final product and the end all of why we take a picture. Its the Print! To some aspect, you might be able to dissolve it down a bit and say the Picture is the final product, more so or just as much as the Print. However this is the difference. Today, many people will only use their pics for Facebook, Flikr, or some other online forum. And that's fine. Its just where we are today. Social media is the new tool of today and pictures are a major part of it. It cannot be denied. Hardly any of these need to be made into hard copies. They are shared in a more versatile medium and when hard prints are actually made, they are rarely sized about a 4x6 to hang up on the fridge or maybe the computer monitor. Or let me not also forget the novelty prints like on a coffee cup or key chain.

Early work with Mary, Black Canyon, CO

So while these points have their merit, I'm going to stay on the high road and concentrate my efforts to those shots that will hang on museum walls. I've said before, I consider myself as an artist first. I want to make art. Art shared should be on walls, not desktops. I want my work hung up in that important place in your home or office lobby and I want it shown in large format. I can't even tell you when the last time I had an 8x10 print made, even for my own personal work. I consider the 11x14 a small print and the smallest I'll do. But it doesn't have to be hung up on the walls. A print in a magazine will also suffice. This is why we do this.  We don't do a gig just to give away a CD of all the images and let the client make prints as they see fit. I can tell you I want to be in control of what quality of work my art is displayed in. 

Early work with Mary, Black Canyon, CO

This is the exact reason, I didn't allow my recent book, "A Year in Review of the Nude: 2011" to be printed in any other format other than the best of quality of paper. Will all my books be in this format? No. My next one will be way different, probably at less than half that price, more than likely. For now, I plan to only do my annual books like that. The next one I have coming out will be less so. I would like to do maybe three or four books a year and only one will be at the price point of my art nude annual. And books are a great use of the printed image. The single print is still tops. There's simply no comparison to a good quality, well presented print. Its got to be framed or hung in such a manner that the print is adorned. Much of my focus this year will be on perfecting my presentation on the print and I'm happy with what I've been able to accomplish so far. Now I want to push the envelope a little and reach beyond just the simply framed canvas print. That's the goal. 

And another of my goals is to get back to Colorado and to shoot Mary again. This particular trip was definitely a benchmark in my life as a photographer. The PRINTS from this shoot are much, much better than these digital scans. The prints were done by hand and a darkroom and I can tell you hours upon hours were spent perfecting each one. I loved it. Every minute was a learning experience. I'd like to get back to shoot some of the models I worked with early in my nude days and Mary ranks among the top priorities. I'd like to see what I can do with her today, six years after our first shoot. More experience and better equipment should result in even better art. I almost got to work with her again last Summer, but I got called back the same day I arrived in Colorado and unfortunately didn't get to shoot. Gotta try again.

The Month of August

Birthday dinner with Dana and Jacob, Boulder, CO

Street performer, Boulder, CO

What can be said about this month of August? Its probably been the strangest birthday month to date. Good things...not so good things. Four main parts to this month have been the most significant. First and foremost, I had a birthday. So that was definitely a good thing. Another day above ground is always cool. Along with that, I took a trip to Colorado. This is where it gets a little tricky, but I won't bore you with the details and specifics. Suffice to say, I didn't get to shoot any models. I didn't get to see many of the friends I went there for because I had to cut the trip short. Time was limited for the friends I did get to see. And to really put the crown on the cake, my car suddenly took a dump. It began spitting coolant everywhere.

Street performer, Boulder, CO

It took me about 16 hours to drive back and about 5 gallons of coolant. I went straight to the dealership but they could not even find a problem after keeping the car for a day. It was believed that a gas attendant I saw along the way might have fixed the issue by releasing air pockets through a bleeder valve. Well, I lasted another week before my ride started spitting coolant again. This time, my buddy Felix and his life-long friend Art came over to look at it. Art found a leak in the water pump and thought it might be wise to change out the thermostat as well. He agreed to work on my car the NEXT MORNING. What I didn't know til after I got over there was that it was HIS BIRTHDAY and we spend from 7am to almost 5pm taking apart, replacing parts, cleaning parts on my car. We took apart the entire coolant system almost and flushed both the engine and the radiator. We replaced all the hoses, installed a new water pump and thermostat, and he made my throttle body look like new again since we had to remove it to get to the thermostat. Sadly the car is STILL spitting coolant. I'm giving it a few more days to see if it may have just been overfilling it or something simple. So the jury is still out on that one. Long story short... Papa needs a brand new ride.

The deaf cat

So yeah, its been a weird month. So much so that I've got friends asking me where I've dropped off to. Photo-wise, its been mainly catching up on edits. As soon as I got back, there were two projects waiting on me still and the primary one was from a volunteer session for NILMDTS I had done a week before I left for Colorado. I did more edits on that project than any NILMDTS session to date. I didn't get many shots from Colorado either. Most of my time was spent hanging with friends and when I did try to head up into the mountains, I got stranded on the side of the road while heading up some mountains waiting for my car to quit steaming. And this has probably been the month with the most VA appointments ever!

Street Performer, Boulder, CO

But this month has definitely been a blessing too. Despite the car, I honestly can't complain. Well, maybe a little with the knee and my back, but other than those things all together, its been a blessing. I got to see 3 friends that I hadn't seen in 25 years. The only regret was that I did't get one shot of me with Kev, Jay, or Susie! I spent the majority of my time at Kevin's house and despite the 3 times we went out... not one shot. I only got to see Jay and Susie only briefly but still, not even a camera phone photo. I also to see two former models of mine that I hadn't seen in 5 years. I spent the night with one of them, Dana, (another shot of Dana) and since I wasn't going to get to do any camping, I took my sleeping bag out on her patio that was covered by a big crab-apple tree. Her boyfriend was also a former photo classmate of mine from college in Murray State University in Kentucky. They took me out for a birthday dinner that night.

I haven't done any more nudes since working with Viki Vegas in early July. So I need to change that. I think my next concept will be a little more edgy and possibly dark. Any takers? I've been doing safe and conservative for a little too long so I definitely need to spice it up a little. Come to think of it, I hadn't been doing much hiking either. Its too friggin' hot to do stuff locally, but I could easily head out to Mt Charleston or maybe something out to Utah. My last hike was with Aletha and friends in mid-July and that was Mt Charleston's Big Falls. Before that it was in June where I also camped out and did Little Falls that night and Big Falls that morning. I guess I never posted any pics from any of those hikes.

Well, the month isn't over so there's still lots I'll still have to report on. I gotta finish this thing up quick. Got another VA appointment on the other side of town. Hope the car holds up!

Mary, Katherine... Sorry I didn't get to drop in on you guys in Gunnison, CO. I'll be back that way, though... PROMISE!

NOVEMBEARD is OVER!

 "Kissing a man with a beard is a lot like going to a picnic. You don't mind going through a little bush to get there!"- Minnie Pearl

Me, with as much hair as I have ever had on my face

I'm glad there is no Decembeard...at least that I know of. Having that much hair on my face was just a complete oddity for me. I kept thinking my nose was running until I went to the mirror and noticed I had one mustache hair curling up and back into my nose. I had never heard of the thing, but apparently its [Novembeard/No-Shave November] growing in popularity. My daughter put me up to it. She said all the boys back in TN were doing it, which consisted of her hubby, his brothers, my son and a few of his friends. I figured, what the hay, so I told her I'd commit to it. I don't think I look that good in a beard, if you can call it that. Its the most hair I've had on my face, but I don't grow facial hair that fast. For me, all that was actually about 6 weeks worth of growth. At the time she told me, on Nov 1st, I was just getting ready to shave off two weeks of face hair. It still took me about another week after Nov 30th to shave it all off. The place I normally shop at was all out of my depilatory cream I use to remove hair on my face and head. I can't use a razor. The "Brothas" tend to bump up too much with a razor. I often had to have a shaving profile in the military which was a doctor's excuse not to shave.

Mary and I kicking back some cold ones in Crested Butte, CO

So what's ol' Big T, been up to lately. Well, Photo Anthems.com has been revamped, big-time. In an effort to cater towards more weddings and other events, I've redesigned the site to reflect that a little more. Almost nothing on the site is as it was last week. Many a nights was spent taking down HUGE loads of my art nudes and other images that just didn't cut the mustard. I've got to go back to work on my landscape images, in both re-edits and new pics as well.

Mary, off the edge of a cliff  in Black Canyon, CO.

That's a couple thousand feet free-fall below her.

My good ol'e bud, Dave Rudin was in town over last weekend. He was the only one to get pics. We met for breakfast along with Wolf189. It was really good to meet Wolf. I think we share some commonalities in styles and approaches. He's been around for a while and really knows his stuff. As usual, when you put a gaggle of photogs in a small space together, time flew by as we discussed everything from camera gear, to classic films. Not film like, TMAX, well...we did discuss that. Wolf only shoots film. However I was referring to classic movie films, particularly foreign films. He and Dave were much more familiar with many of the more notable ones and the actors/actresses of the day. As Dave and I always do, we had breakfast at the Original Pancake House and about three hours had passed before we knew it. Wolf had to head out for a photo gig, otherwise we could have helped close the place. As of this moment, I didn't see any of the shots he took, but I am sure DaveR will have pics of us posted on his blog, Figures of Grace, shortly. In the meantime, pay a visit to my new friend Wolf189 at his web site, www.Wolf189.com and his blog, www.Wolf189.blogspot.com. Oh, and here is his profile on Model Mayhem. Trust me, you are in for a treat.

I've gotten a good laugh out of a few things lately, but none really so much as getting to see my friend, Jodi (with no "e"), do a tandem sky-dive. The girl's got guts. But that's not the only reason I love her so much. Outside of being a good friend, she's a strong believer in doing things the natural way, as nature intended. I love her hippie-style and the way she has a genuine care for people. She's a great mom, very spontaneous, and will take on a challenge with vigor and courage. This is the first time she's ever exited a plane while airborne. At no time does she ever flinch, hesitate, or even carry a distressed look on her face. Yeah, the girl's got guts. Enjoy the vid below or click HERE. And I thought I'd reacquaint you again with pics of my friend and once model, Mary since she said I looked like Kimbo Slice!

A Girl, Her Dog...and her HAWK!

This week was such a good week, particularly on Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday, I had a few meetings with a promising model and another that held some promising opportunities. On Thursday, I got to meet and shoot with my friend, Katherine, who's on a road trip at the moment clocking some serious miles. She was only in Vegas for a few hours as she was passing through, but she swung by to do a shoot with her pet red-tailed HAWK. We got several images in the 3 or 4 hours we shot. Then as quickly and suddenly as she blew in...she was gone.

Let me give you just a little history on Katherine and I. I met her almost two years ago, while hiking in Colorado with my friend Mary, whom I was scouting a location to shoot. Katherine and another friend were at the bottom of a trail in the Black Canyons camping out for a few days and fishing. Mary and I met them at the end of the day and they welcomed us into their camp and fed us fresh caught rainbow trout and I think some chili. In the course of conversation, Katherine asked what were were out wondering the mountains for. I made mention of my intention to shoot Mary and she asked if she could be in it as well. I came back out to their campsite the next day and hung out til it got warm enough to shoot. As the temp rose, Katherine lost her clothes. Before long, she was catching fish and cleaning them naked.

I am not sure how it got started but we all ended up skinny dipping in some of the most frigid waters imaginable. This was snow melt, fresh off the mountains. I got to shoot Katherine and had a great time doing it. My entire spontaneous week in Colorado happened to be one of the best experiences of my life. Getting to meet Katherine was a thrill even if we hadn't gotten to shoot. The weather almost didn't cooperate. It rained the day before she got here and the day after. I had a great time with her and might get to shoot her again as she makes a return trip upwards again to Colorado. These are a few of the images I did a quick edit on. It may be a while yet before I get them posted in a gallery on my site, but I wanted to share with you all, anyway.

You will for sure see more of this girl.