What would you do for a Klondike Bar?

Okay, so I like Klondike Bars, but honestly I wouldn’t have done this…

…however, I would have done it for about a dozen shots just like this:

Pure, unadulterated fun on a slip-and-slide… and some pretty sexy shots to go with it. (More on how this photo was done below.)

And what, might you ask, would I do for a shot like this?

For all the equipment geek people who never get out there and actually do it, this isn’t for you…

Somebody overthrew a football and sent my equipment flying. Hey, it happens…

Maybe the Nikon Corp. will see this next line and send me cameras to test – because I assure you that equipment would see it all:

Wipe with a wet rag and its like it never happened. The Canon 5D was away from the fray at the moment, so there’s no comparison (for the time being). Yeah, there’s a Canon 70-200/4L in the top right of that frame, but it just had a little splash of mud.

Oh, and about that picture? You probably looked at it and was like, “Whoa, that’s so vivid it hurts my head.” Well, if you’re expecting some long Photoshop lesson, that’s too bad. The original photo is so very close to this… yet another plug for Nikon, I guess.

I shoot quite often with the dynamic range enhancer turned on and (usually) at “Normal.” This pulls everything up a little bit and makes the darks show a little more detail… so it gives this very vivid look. And I don’t use “VIVID” or some other saturation option in the picture color controls – I think it pushes colors too far – just the usual whatever its set at.

So, that was today. And the camera is still trucking away as always. A little gritty in some places, of course, but largely just as good as ever. The Nikkor 17-55/2.8 and the Tokina 12-24/4 are resilient little dudes, too. I mean, its not like I get paid or get any perks for saying things like that. Just know that some equipment you pay a little bit more for really does pay for itself in the long run. Crappy little plastic cameras and lenses? This would have been a different story.

Stay tuned,

-Noah D.