Got my first real digital camera this week.

The photo was shot last night from a friends back porch. I cropped the photo to a third of the original size to show the lightning up close. It was around 11pm and dark out. I got a few more strikes but this is the one I like.

The Nikon D700 is the digital camera I've waited years for. Finally a camera at a reasonable price that actually rocks. Full size (35mm film size) sensor, not the smaller DX version that had been the norm until now for nikon. I shot a million dollar house for 4.5 hours this past thursday morning for Skrilla Builders. The camera worked beautifully and effortlessly to the extent I felt it was cheating the old need to know something film photography. Had I shot film it would have taken 10 rolls of 35mm and multiple filters to get white balance. Besides the great quality at high ISO's allowed me to leave the tripod after the first hour to just shoot hand held. That was very important due to a 9 am shooting deadline to get the details though out the house photographed before the homeowners moved 3 semi-trucks worth of stuff into the behemoth.

To have bought film, processed and scanned the stuff it would have cost me $200. Enough to buy memory cards that will last years. Plus I actually can look at the photos instantly without expensive, time consuming Poloroid instant self developing film. Instant feedback, skipping ISO settings, D-lighting which gives more details in the shadow and highlights, all just made for a really great experience. I've shot and stored away a hundred rolls of film the past few years without scanning or printing them. I got pretty good at just reading the negatives when I picked them up and took my time to archive em while they hung on the wall. Now I've got some time to catch up with my film archive. I will still shoot film for the sake of having a negative with certain subject matters. Film has been a great part of my life's experience's. Hopefully one day I can get my own color and B/w darkroom set up and have some fun with the negatives I've shot over the past decade.