Family

This is Lee Worley playing drums for Jonathan Helser during Two Nights in June at MorningStar.

I'm pretty sure this is his most recent tattoo, and I stumbled upon it by accident. I originally had my 85mm lens outfitted to shoot past Lee to get a shot of Jonathan with some crowd behind him, but I saw Lee's tattoo, so I popped on my 24mm.

I've been asked a lot why I carry around so many lenses, and why I don't just use one zoom lens. I used to own a zoom lens, it was a terrible zoom lens. I think it was some kit lens that came with a camera body. Those are great if you're in need of some glass on a budget and you're not delivering images to clients, but... I'm not, and I am. Camera bodies come and go, but the lens is an investment.

I mostly use Nikkor prime lenses (non-zoom lenses made by Nikon) because, aside from the very evident increase in quality, they force me to be creative. If I want to zoom in on someone's face, I have to either slap on a different lens, or actually walk closer.

The argument can be made that a zoom lens provides you with more flexibility and broader options in order to capture the moment without having to move. Which is why I would highly recommend having a couple zoom lenses to cover most focal lengths if you're an event or wedding photographer. Because I shoot mostly portraits, I have the benefit of composing the shot and having control. However, this is at the top of my wish list: Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8 ED-IF (drool).

Bottom line: You get what you pay for when it comes to the glass.