A bunch of years ago I wrote a lengthy article about lenses and they fit in my photography style. I guess that was back in 1999 or 2000. With a little research I'll find it to for a comparison to what I use today. As an aside, I believe it's always important to see where you've been and the path you've used to where you are today if for no other reason than to help others about ready to take your same path. Anyway... Let's get down to business and talk about my lenses and why I like them--okay, some I like more than others but overall I really like all my lenses.

Wide-angle Obviously, these lenses are my primary landscape tools though nowadays with digital panos and stitching, the need for super wide lenses is a bit diminished. Still, when you need a single shot wide view lens there's nothing like a wide-angle lens to capture the whole story:

• 14mm f/2.8 ED-IF Nikkor - This is my primary landscape lens. It has a super-wide field of view (FOV) on full-framed film based cameras like the Nikon F5 while on the D-series cameras it only emulates a 21mm. While that's plenty wide by itself, I constantly find myself wishing for more lens for those action photography opportunities when you can't plan on a digital pano or stitching. This lens has a super huge, highly vulnerable to scratches, front element which constantly worries me whenever its lens cover is off. Unfortunately, the front element's curved style and wide girth can't be supported by any filter on the market. The element is out there totally bare and exposed, hence my apprehension. Secondly, even though a normal 21mm lens on 35mm cameras can be covered by a Cokin style filter, you're at a loss with the 14mm f/2.8 ED-IF. While not normally a problem, I've found myself wishing to use a graduated filter or polarizer on occasion. This isn't a real problem with the rise of digital darkrooms but this kind of post processing flies in the face of my "get it right in the camera" philosophy. As for capability, it's incredibly sharp--as sharp as anyone could want for landscape photography. Its wide f/2.8 aperture is hugely appreciated when working a wedding or active low light photography situation. Overall I use this lens lots and baby it as much as I can. Highly recommended for those wide shots with Nikon's digital SLRs.

• 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5 ED-IF Nikkor - I've been using this lens for four years now and used to reach for it more than any other non-telephoto lens. It's a real surprise in that cost sometimes doesn't equal optical performance. For less than $500 bucks, this lens is sharp and relatively distortion free for the nature photography utilization. You can see some barrel distortion in the portrait orientation if you really look which might be an issue for architectural photography. It's not an AF-S style lens so its auto-focus is a bit slow realitively speaking but that's not much of an issue for lenses this wide. A cool thing is its 72mm filter is exactly the same as my 28-70mm f/2.8 AF-S and 70-200mm f/2.8 AF-S VR. I only need one filter ring when out in the field in other words. Also, with the D-series cameras, a Cokin style filter covers the entire range of this lens--from 18 to 35mm's. Next, the lens is really light due to it's plastic/poly style casing. I haven't actually dropped the lens so I can't attest to its ability to survive a "drop test" but it has performed well in all the environmental conditions I've put it through the last four years. It's not nearly as weather sealed as my other more professionally oriented lenses. It operated a bit roughly after a particularly nasty/dusty trip to Death Valley NP. Fortunately, the little grains of sand have worked themselves out leaving the lens functionally perfectly nowadays. The only thing I'm really pinning for is a faster aperture. When shooting active low light subjects I'm left with using my 14mm f/2.8 ED-IF due to its lens speed. f/3.5-4.5 is not fast enough on those occasions. Sure you're saying "how often do you need that capability as a nature photographer?" Often enough to regulate this lens to the "specialty" arena and use my 14mm f/2.8 ED-IF or 28-70mm f/2.8 AF-S on a daily basis. Recommended when you're watching how much you carry out in the field and need to save a couple of bucks.

Normal "Normal" is in the eye of the beholder. Back in the "day", 50mm lenses were assessed as representing what the eye could see "normally". This concept was turned on its head withe the introduction of Nikon's digital cameras. This meant 50mm's suddenly were short tele's as if such classifications meant something. Still, normal lenses typically avoid the distortion issues of wide-angle lenses without the "flattening" characteristics of a telephoto. The artistic aesthetics of using a normal lens is these tools live in the world between the issues of wide-angles and telephotos. There's a clear need for them in your tool bag and when used in a good stitching workflow, you can do some pretty amazing things.

• 28-70mm f/2.8 AF-S Nikkor - This lens is a beast in every meaning of the term. It's a beast to carry around since it weighs about the same as my Nikon D2h. It's a beast when people see you carrying one meaning it's a symbol in their eyes you mean business. It's a beast when shooting people with it. There's no subtley when this lens is pointed at you. It distracts people who haven't worked around a lens like this before because it's so large. It's a beast anyway you shake it. But there's a benefit to all this. The auto-focus speed is incredibly fast. Its sharpness is beyond reproach. I think it might even be sharper than my 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR at 70mm's. What about its other optical characteristics? The contrast is awesome. The bokeh--how out of focus background look--is smooth as can be. It doesn't flare that much when pointed at the sun. Even then, the supplied lens hood does a good job blocking the sun. Optical quality is great. Now, its super-wide aperture is a huge difference when out in the field for those low light occasions. When combined with a D-series camera, you have a moderate telephoto that easily finds a niche for those dawn/dusk situations with cooperative mammals. In fact, I like shooting most of my environmental shots with this lens in these situations. Overall, I find this lens on my camera more often than any other due to its middle of the road versatility and incredible capability on the optical side. Highly recommended as an overall lens--my most used lens--and definitely useful for those willing to suffer through the hunched backs and painful shoulders carrying the thing around.