This weekend Jen and I took the plunge. Spending A LOT of money we purchased most of the professional photography equipment I need to really get into the field. If you know anything about photography you might understand when I say I got a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5 lens, a Nikkor fixed 85mm f/1.8 lens, a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens, a Nikkon SB 800 flash, a 72mm polarizor and some standards like a tripod and a bag. The reasoning is three fold: A. I can’t shoot anything for personal use on government equipment. B. I’m a professional photographer, I may as well have the gear to act like one. C. The army won’t make a foolish man rich, but a wise man can use the army to make himself rich. By this I mean that although my salary in the service will never provide much in the way of comfort, I can use the skills the army has trained me on to help myself. I intend to start shooting jobs (most likely weddings) as soon as possible. The going rates in this area for photography are high and I’m hoping to pay off the gear and start making some decent scratch.
Jen has been absolutely incredible by patiently (and a bit timidly) allowing me to film her every waking moment and has even allowed me to drag her into the woods and onto a running track in makeup and interesting costumes to help me build my portfolio of work. For your viewing pleasure I’ve included some of the shots. Stay tuned to our Flickr account to see more in the coming weeks, months, and years. Let me know what you think, the more feedback the better.
Jen – I’m not sure if you’ll see this first or Facebook, but I’ll be in D.C. in Sept. We should get together!
Chris just got out of the red from buying all is photog gear. . . ha ha, course there is always something shiny and new to buy. Your hubby is so lucky to have such a beautiful model! Hope all is well with work/life/fam.