Using the Bride’s preparations in the morning as an example, the wedding photographer will find himself in a normal house hosting an abnormal day; there will be people darting about, things being prepared, girls having their hair done, children running around and then there’s the dress and shoes to be photographed as well as arranging those very last minute changes to the schedule which the photographer needs to know about. The last thing the photographer wants to be doing is changing lenses all the time; so with the Nikon 24-70, he has that wide 24mm range to grab the scene setting shots so you can see where everything is in relation to one another, then quickly go to the 70mm for the intimate closeup for the detail shots.

To say the lens is a jack of all trades and master of nothing is not true. It is as sharp and quick focusing as any of the other telephoto lenses on the market. It will be outclassed in the ‘sharpness’ factor by a dedicated prime lens like the awesome Nikon 50mm f/1.8 but that is not as adaptable in a busy wedding day.

So, there you have it. Not every professional will agree with me and I’ve seen some who just carry two prime lenses, but for me I like to be prepared and not caught out. If you are to buy one lens as a wedding photographer, then I cannot recommend the Nikon 24-70mm enough.

I would love to hear your comments, please leave some at the bottom off this page!!

A spice rack really close up.

A very healthy breakfast smoothy

iPhone 3Gs taken with Nikon Fisheye 10.5mm lens

More photos of the unpacking can be seen on my other blog.

Now if I may put on my Bride’s head on (metaphorically), it is a great tool for Brides to follow a Photographer to see what he/she is like. Everybody has their quirks, but they never get identified. Here is an opportunity to see what I am really like!

So, head over to www.twitter.com/renderz and click follow.

Jade got into a stunning purple dress with a cute bow on the back. By now I didn’t have to direct Jade that much; between her and Kelly they came up with some good ideas. Even so, in my strive to be original, I had to fine unique angles to get a good shot.

Finally, be back tomorrow for the final part of the Valentine’s Day shoot and there will be a Video too!! Oohhhh

See the first of 5 set of Jade Parsons Valentine’s Day photos here!!!!

Day 2 photos

Day 3 photos

Day 5 photos

I posted these photos after processing in Lightroom because that is what I would do in a real job.

This device just arrived this afternoon. I’m taking it out on an event this evening. It is essentially a mobile backup device for Compact Flash cards. You can backup other digital storage mediums with a 17-1 adaptor but I see no use for that at this point.

What is so great about this over other mobile back devices is the speed that is can backup files onto it’s internal 60gb HDD. According to the specifications, it can backup just over 1GB a minute. That is astonishing! I have used other devices and they are so poor that they are practically useless. They tend to be very slow, and drain the device’s batter before you backups are complete. Also, it’s battery life can last for approx 40gbs of data backup from one charge. It comes with everything you could think of for photographer on the move including a belt pouch, car charger and a external rechargeable battery for extended use.

This article here goes into more technical detail. I’ll be posting a field test review in the next few days.

So, plan B was to get to the Stoke Mandeville Hospital’s A&E and see a doctor immediately. I imagined the A&E to be quite empty at 5.45am. I was pleased to see two girls from Finland and another girl who I never got to chat to because she had her Ipod on. I presumed the wait would only be 30 minutes…30 minutes later the assessment nurse (the lovely Angela) took down my information, took my blood pressure and (excitingly) my heart-rate which is a very pleasing 67BPM WHOO HOO!!!!

I was asked to wait further in the waiting area, Angela soon came out to tell me the wait would be about 90 minutes! I sighed but didn’t complain as I know how strained the British NHS system is regardless of what Michael Moore reports

I was prepared for the wait, I bought along a book I’ve been trying to finish for almost a year but I get easily distracted by Photography magazines, however I had to focus on my book called Songman by Will Hodgkinson bought for my birthday last year by a friend known as “her who cannot be named”. I highly recommend it; Hodgkinson asks musicians how they get ideas, compose and go about writing hit songs. He totally demystifies the process and makes it clear that it is about luck as it is about persistence and talent.

8am came and a doctor shouts out Mr Lee Terry in a strong accent. I make myself noticed and follow him into one of the examination rooms. After alot of questions and twisting he gave me a blood test and arranged an x-ray.

It seems I have inflamed joints due to excessive stress so he gave me a very cool splint to restrict movement of my right hand and told me to take Ibuprofen as that acts as an anti-inflammatory for a few weeks.

SO, in conclusion, BEFORE you buy a Nikon D3 beware of the consequences. It is a beast of a camera which does take gorgeous pictures but do not underestimate it’s weight. Treat it with respect and it’ll look after you by taking awesome photos.