This Christmas I ended up with some old Canon gear, both old gear of mine and that of two of my relatives, all stuff I’m not planning to use.

I’m offering the gear here first, will ebay whatever doesn’t sell here in a couple days, but you can save a few bucks by offering me money now and saving me the trouble.

You’re responsible for actual shipping costs, or you can pick up here at Casa Joe in San Jose, CA. Feel free to forward.

…

Canon EF 24-70L/2.8, very good condition. (Still use this as my primary shooting lens, but someone had a copy as well, and I don’t need two.) Asking $950. New prices are $1300, used VG-mint copies regularly pull $1000-$1100 on eBay. Roughly half of my portfolio was taken with this lens (not this copy, but this specific lens design), it is versatile and sharp.

Canon TS-E 24/3.5L (first generation, good condition) Asking $775. eBay prices for comparable lenses are $800-$850 with outliers to $900 on the upside and a single $750 outlier on the bottom side, new around $1200. Lens, lens cap and body cap only. (This is not the newer second gen. 24mm TS-E, which runs about twice these prices.)

Canon EF 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 (two copies, both in good condition) Asking $90. eBay prices are variable but seem to mostly be in the $100-$135 range. Not super-sharp, but a good walking around travel range, particularly if you make large prints.

Canon EF 75-300 f/4-5.6, very good condition. Asking $110. eBay prices seem to be more like $125-$150.

Email me at joe (at) rockslidephoto (dot) com if you’re interested.

Desert Armada, White Sands National Monument

An unusual image for me, but I quite like it.

ISO 100, f/14, 1/25th, Canon EF 24-70L/2.8 @57mm, circular polarizer. I used aperture priority with +1 stop EC to get that exposure time.

I’m off photographing in New Mexico, it’s currently a bit wet here, and we may get snow tonight and tomorrow night. Exciting!

Who says that only big box chains should have specials?

For orders recieved (Pacific Standard Time) Friday, November 27th only, 8×12 inch matted prints (12×16 mat) of either of these two images will be available for $88 + tax/shipping. 12×18 inch prints matted prints (18×24 mats) are $188 + tax/shipping. Framing not offered in conjunction with this offer.

To order, email me at joe (at) rockslidephoto (dot) com. Prints will not ship until mid-December (if all goes well, roughly 12/15.)

…that my first appearance in the New York Times would have been in the fashion section? ;)

Seriously, it was a lot of fun helping out with the interview, and I’m very grateful for the press.

Also, check out my first comments on the Canon 7D over at Photocrati…..

This month I’m revisiting an image from Iceland as my print of the month. I recently experimented with printing and reinterpreting this image on Fuji’s chromogenic Pearl paper, and the results were amazing, it’s difficult (actually physically impossible) to convey the sense the physical print gives in an on-line image, it has a metallic characteristic (I don’t mean metal paint flakes like on your old Chevy, this is a luster that makes you believe the image was drawn with charcoal somehow directly on a finely brushed steel surface).

The result is as mysteriously captivating as the image’s subject matter.

I’m so excited by this result that it’s getting a turn as the 11/2009 Print of the Month. Unmatted, unframed 8×12 prints of this image can be yours for $92 (plus tax and/or shipping costs as necessary) through the end of November (although I would ask you to place orders early if you want to be sure to have the print for the coming holiday season.)

In addition, I have a single unmatted, unframed 12×18 print of this same image on the same material “in stock”. It can be yours for $177 (plus tax and/or shipping as necessary), but only one print is available at this price.

Canon MP-E 65mm macro 1x-5x

Really Right Stuff B-91B flash bracket

(I may be selling a 1st gen 24 TS-E soon as well.)

This week’s print of the month offer features this previously unshown and not yet named print taken near Nordenskjöld Lake in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. 8×12 inch, unframed, unmatted prints will be available for the month of October for $82 (plus tax if required, shipping at cost as required). Larger sizes will be available for the month at a 20% discount.

Sorry for the short notice, but a change in supplier has forced this timing.

First, effective pretty much immediately, I’m ceasing doing 35mm slides of artwork. As demand for this service has decreased, film prices have increased and the logistics in getting quality processing of the film have gotten more complex.  I have two rolls of tungsten-based film left, if someone is desperate for a few last slides get ahold of me ASAP and we’ll figure out how to make due.  For the time I do expect to continue doing digital artwork photography (primarily of 2-dimensional smaller work, I’m not set up for very large pieces or sculpture.)

Second, effective pretty much immediately, there will be a short, temporary interruption in my ability to produce fine art photographic prints as I begin to work with a new print lab. I don’t expect this interruption to last more than a couple weeks, but as a result of this changeover (and it’s something I have no control over), if you’ve got buying a print as a gift for the holiday season in mind, I’d appreciate as much warning as you can give me so that I can not have your order delayed unnecessarily.  Following this transition, average lead times for new prints are expected to be in the range of a couple of weeks, rather than the “couple of days” I’ve quoted in the past.

Finally, it is likely that I’ll have one more clearance sale before the Christmas season of already-printed works in inventory, as I may (yet to be determined) be moving to a different printing technology.

This changeover does not affect the annual holiday card run, which is already in prepress.  Those of you who have placed pre-orders will hear from me by the end of the month.

I apologize for any inconvenience.

Digital Darkroom: Post-Processing images in Adobe Lightroom — Sunday, September 27, 2009

10:30 am – 5 pm with lunch break.

Adobe’s Lightroom software has greatly simplified processing digital camera “RAW” files. In this class, you’ll learn a basic workflow for “dialing in” RAW images with Lightroom, then explore techniques for making your images pop. You’ll have hours of hands-on practice, first with sample images that will be provided, then on your own photographs.

Bring a laptop with Adobe Lightroom (2.3 or later preferred) installed, a power cord, and ten RAW images of your own work. Bring images with good composition and focus and without blown highlights.

Registration is open at the Pacific Art League here, $110 for PAL members, $135 for non-members.

Blowing Sands at Sunrise

(8×12 unframed, unmounted prints $80 + shipping/tax.)

Many of you know I photograph artwork, usually paintings. While I’m not as well set up for sculpture as I’d prefer, sometime back I did try photographing some really beautiful fiber art by Tien Chiu, and we were both pretty happy with the results. Take a look!

(Note: I’ve extended the deadline to September 10.)

It’s once again time for this year’s run of holiday cards! I know it seems early, but there’s some time involved in getting the printing done cost-effectively, and by mid-October many people will have purchased their cards for the year.

So, this is the time of year when I start offering pre-orders. If you promise to buy some cards after I print them, it’s easier for me to know how many to print, and I can offer a slightly reduced price in compensation–I just need to make sure I can afford the print run. If I don’t get enough orders in the next seven days, I’ll have to cancel this years card run, I can’t afford to take a loss on these.

This years image is “Pogonip Sunset, Mono Lake”. The cards (when folded) are 5×7, same size as last year. The insides of the card are blank.

Preorder prices (through September 4)
1-9 Cards: $1.70 each
10-24 Cards: $1.50 each
25-49 Cards: $1.35 each
50-99 Cards: $1.20 each
100+ Cards: $1.05 each
500+ Cards: Call for details, you’ll be able to pick your own design.

Shipping within the US is $1.50 for up to 5 cards, $6 for more than 5 cards. (This reflects packaging and postage realities.) Actual-cost for shipping outside the US. And add CA sales tax if appropriate. (If there’s an easy way for you to get the cards from me without mailing/shipping them, shipping is waived.)

To pre-order, send email to joe (at) rockslidephoto (dot) com. (Please do send the email, that way it’s easy for me to grab it and put it in my spreadsheets for tracking the order down the road.) Payment will be due when I ship the cards out, please don’t pay me now (it’ll confuse my bookkeeping!) It’s my hope to ship out the cards in early October.

Please pass this on to your friends, thanks!