In 1990 I spent almost 10 grand on a couple Hassleblads, 5 backs, 150 and 80mm lenses, and a couple Metz C4 flash units. Shot about 450 weddings with that setup. In 2005 I traded in the Blads, about 10 cents on the dollar for a Nikon D2x. Wow, less arm strength needed, no stoppage to reload film backs, and taking a zillion pics opened up new creative doors for me.

I think that the digital labs have come up to speed processing images; images are better. I think the D2x is still a viable camera. I think that for wedding photography, digital is almost a requirement. Bride and Grooms want 500 pics or more on a DVD/CD, and taking pics of bits and pieces (photojournalistic) plus the group shots, are pretty common.

As one poster put it though, having Uncle Wally taking business away from the serious pros is a downside to digital wedding photography. With the glut of used digital SLRs on the market, and easy credit, there you go. Even back in the film days, I worked for a pro lab. Had to talk many a Bride off the ledge while I explained that Uncle Wally does not have any more room at the top of the 35mm neg to include her head~! Seriously, this happened.

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1986 Mercedes 300 SDL
1975 Mercedes 450 SL
1985 Porsche 911
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo
1981 Porsche 924 Turbo
1971 Jeep CJ5 Renegade II
1995 Jeep Wrangler lifted
2001 Ford F350 Diesel to find more junk
2004 Car Trailer, to haul junk that the truck finds.
1993 Damon Challenger, diesel pusher RV
1958 Pam - Loving wife that puts up with the above!

Heck, some brides expect pics the next day. But that it due to "Uncle Wally" tossing them unprocessed on a CD the next day. Then word gets out and a bride expects that the same will happen with a real pro charging $2k for a wedding.

So I will agree that in the professional market digital has created the "he has a camera, he can shoot it" and "why does it take so long to get my pics?" attitude. This is a result of the instant gratification demand of modern society as well as the amateurs thinking they can actually shoot a wedding.

And we all know that if you are even remotely serious about photography family expects it all for free! Try that with a family member who owns a bar! lol

I think this is why I only shoot for hobby and rarely sell my work.

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

I'm 'back' at the level myself. Actually, after 18 years of weddings, I haven't touched the Nikon hardly at all in two years. These were tools of the trade, no emotional attachment to the hardware nor the trade. I now use a Nikon coolpix P80, love that camera!

My wife and I own a pizza restaurant on our property on the west coast of Wisconsin. So your bar analogy was pretty funny. www.nelsonstonebarn.com

I still use the D2x for photographing our young employees for senior pics, on our farm only.

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1986 Mercedes 300 SDL
1975 Mercedes 450 SL
1985 Porsche 911
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo
1981 Porsche 924 Turbo
1971 Jeep CJ5 Renegade II
1995 Jeep Wrangler lifted
2001 Ford F350 Diesel to find more junk
2004 Car Trailer, to haul junk that the truck finds.
1993 Damon Challenger, diesel pusher RV
1958 Pam - Loving wife that puts up with the above!

I have heard of your place. I travel that side of the state a lot during the summer. There is an annual Lincoln Mark VIII meet in Boscobel (much further south). But I have friends in Seneca. They have an land office in Onalaska. And I love driving, so I head up and down the river often.

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car

Well, come on over, I'll buy ya beer or two! We're only open on weekends, but if you need an overnight stay, we have a 5 bedroom Victorian house on the property as well.

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1986 Mercedes 300 SDL
1975 Mercedes 450 SL
1985 Porsche 911
1980 Porsche 924 Turbo
1981 Porsche 924 Turbo
1971 Jeep CJ5 Renegade II
1995 Jeep Wrangler lifted
2001 Ford F350 Diesel to find more junk
2004 Car Trailer, to haul junk that the truck finds.
1993 Damon Challenger, diesel pusher RV
1958 Pam - Loving wife that puts up with the above!

Whatever the vehicle, photographers will always take great shots.

Back in the day (film only, long before PCs even) I used to love photography and was very much into it. There was great joy to be had in composing shots, playing with depth of field, exposures, light, reflected light, shadows, bounce flashes, all of it. And if you're good at composing a shot, you'll get more from an iPhone than any camera in the hands of a layperson.

The real beauty of the digital explosion is that it's made photography much more accessible. The average point and shoot is easier to use than a kodak instamatic and takes much better pictures. And the good thing is that you don't have to pay to develop the shot of your foot and your fingers and all the other junk...or pay for those flashcubes.

The instant gratification is a result of technology in general. We take so many things for granted these days.

Completely agree about family expecting it all for free, and they treat my D-SLR as a point-and-shoot, which I don't mind, but when I'm trying to compose a shot for some landscape they want me to go take a few shots of them posing in front of the same landscape

I'm not surprised if hobbyists have a separate nice point and shoot camera for this purpose, while they have their D-SLR shooting landscapes and such for their own purpose.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

You and I apparently have a similar (ahem) focus. A common "complaint" of my photographic excursions is that my pictures rarely have people in them.

Will do, but probably not until summer. I have no plans to head that way, but I added it to my summer list of things to do!

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1991 560 SEL / 185k miles
1992 750il / 17k miles - project car