A Christmas List

Personally, I hate Black Friday when everybody is out shopping for Christmas joy on the same day, with doorbuster sales that have me worried about dodging bullets and getting trampled.

So I went out for a nice bike ride instead through the mountains. I discovered that I'm actually getting awfully good at riding... in fact I'm even better than I'd thought I was. So that's where the picture comes from. A nice long ride through a fairly gloomy Black Friday morning.

So I didn't pay too much attention to any of the Black Friday sales. I was kinda keeping an eye on them to see if there would be a good netbook at a super-cheap price, but no dice.

But I'm sure you want advice on what to get a photographer for Christmas, right?

Well, most photographers spend more time whining about how they really want the latest and greatest toy that their buddy online gets great results with. So, for most photographers, figuring out what they want should be easy. But, sometimes, you find a photographer who doesn't yet know what they want. So I figure I'll give two lists of Christmas ideas and then a shameless piece of self promotion.

First, my Christmas list:

More flashes

New or used Vivitar 285HV's, since the 383 Super is gone. Or used Sunpak 622 Supers. Either way, these are flashes that will work with just about any reasonable camera, take advantage of optical or radio slaves, and they are cheaper than the Nikon or Canon flashes and just as useful for what I want to do.

A background stand and roll of seamless white paper

I moved and the new place doesn't have a convenient backdrop like the old one is.

Annie Leibovitz at Work

It's always interesting to read about a master at work. I hear it's less about the exact lighting setups and more about the emotional process, but that's what I find interesting anyway.

The Darkroom Cookbook, Third Edition

I'm an inveterate tinkerer, so I'm interested in a good modern reference text.

Pannier bags for my bike

For hauling stuff around on my bike, since I only drive if I have to these days.

Pretty much the entire Jean Michel Jarre collection

It's what I've been musically obsessed with of late.

Second, some things you might want to ask for... or get for somebody else... that I already own:

The Canon A590

It's a good camera, while you can still get it, for somebody who doesn't have a camera or doesn't want a big camera. It's got more adjustments than the newer A1000 and A2000 cameras and more than enough image quality.

A 50mm lens

Except for the Olympus and Panasonic SLRs, if you are certain you know what lens mount the person you are buying for has, the cheapest 50mm lens is a great buy for a person who only has the kit lens that came with the camera.

Tripod or the like

People don't realize how handy tripods are. A Gorillapod or a full size tripod can be an excellent accessory.

Memory cards / Film

Just make sure you get the right kind of memory card or the film shooter's favorite film.

Spare batteries

One of those things that you don't think you need until you REALLY need it.

Polarizer

Pretty much the most useful filter you can buy. You can just get one polarizer that fits the person's biggest lens and then adapter rings to mount it on their smaller lenses.

Holga

It's the cheapest and simplest camera you can get and a great toy.

Third, a shameless plug. I've posted a pair of calendars to lulu.com, one a set of 12 model shots, one a set of 12 landscape shots. That's what you really want for Christmas, isn't it? :)