Cameron Davidson

For years I was a Nikon shooter for my 35mm work.  In 2003, I changed over to the Canon 1Ds digital kit primarily because I wanted to continue shooting with a full-frame camera.  I bought into the system heavily.  Full range of glass, multiple bodies, strobe kit plus purchasing every new body.  I never felt one-hundred percent comfortable with the camera.  Too much muscle memory from years of shooting the Nikons. Some of the Canon glass is drop-dead amazing and  I will miss using them:  The 35 f/1.4, 85mm 1.2 and the 135 F/2 are in a class of their own.

But then again, Nikon has the amazing 24-70 Nano-coat zoom, the 85 1.4 and the wonderful 105 Macro.  Plus KEH has a great collection of old manual focus Nikkor lenses that have a unique look to them (and price) – such as the 35 1.4, the 50 1.4 from the late seventies-early eighties and the much sought after 28mm f/1.4. (Out of stock right now – you can pick one up on eBay for 4K.)

Two or three years ago, Joe McNally introduced to me to Bill Pekala of Nikon Professional Services.  Bill sent me a D2X kit with some lenses and I was very tempted to return to the fold.  The files were a delight to process and the color was perfect.  I decided to wait to see if Nikon would create a full-frame machine.  They did:  they knocked the ball out of the park with the D3 and then one-upped it with the new D3X.

Last week, I made  the switch.  New glass plus some old favorites.  The camera feels right: it feels like home. Focus confirmation in the viewfinder instills confidence.  The files are beautiful in Capture One.  The Nikon CLS strobe system is pure genius and I plan to put it to heavy use come annual report season.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur with all the rain on the east coast pushing shoots back.  I attended Look3 and loved the work of Callie Shell and Simon Bruty.  Saw a bunch of friends and hung out for a bit with them.  The weather was changing and I hit the road to shoot landscapes for a campaign.  Last Sunday had been the only good day to shoot landscapes in a couple of weeks.

Yesterday and this morning I drove the mountains of Virginia for the same project.  This time shooting with the D3X and a D3.  Three lenses to keep it simple.

These two frames are from this morning.

I enjoy shooting before sunrise.  I saw and photographed at least ten fawns with their mothers close at hand, Ravens krawking at my intrusion into their space and a pair of Turkey hens escorting a brood of poults across a two-lane road  with a laggard poult rushed on by its mother who fanned her tail to speed up the proceedings.