I purchased a new scanner: an Epson Perfection 4990 Pro flatbed scanner with an 8x10 transparency adaptor. For the past several years I have been looking for a good quality, affordable scanner for my 4x5 transparencies. I've not been using my 4x5 outfit as much lately, mainly because of the difficulty in digitizing the large-format film.

The reviews of the Epson 4990 were quite good. I wanted the Pro version which came with the full version of SilverFast Ai 6 and MonacoEZColor for calibration, but I was a bit put off by the price tag of $850 CA. However, this scanner is a long term investment, so I decided to go with the Pro option.

I wasn't expecting much in terms of image quality, having used several professional flatbed transparency scanners in the past (back in the 90s mind you). Wow, has scanning come a long way in the past couple of years! The detail and colour fidelity of this scanner are top-notch. And the one-time dream of a colour-managed workflow is now a reality thanks to MonacoEZColor. The Epson Scan software is okay, but nothing compared to LaserSoft's SilverFast Ai 6. After several days of use, I continue to be amazed at the rich features, ease of use, and quality reproduction of SilverFast.

I have been doing tests with images I shot in 2001 for my American Southwest exhibition. At the the time, I paid for professional prints from inter-negs. I was happy with the results, but knew that I could do so much better, given the necessary equipment. For the first time, I am able to fully realize, digitally, the vision of those earlier images. I look forward to doing more large format photography, next week at the Mountain Manics Summer Camp 2005, and in the coming months.

I am starting to get very frustrated with both the local "professional" photography retailers. Several things need improving:

• website: retailer "A" purports to have an on-line store. What a joke! No information. Perhaps 5% of the in-store product selection is listed. In the past store "A" was my favorite, but when I am on-line I look at store "B" for product info and pricing (which used to be higher, but now is consistently better than store "A").
• staff knowledge: the owners and long-time staff at store "A" are top notch. Helpful, knowledgeable. But busy. The new staff at both stores are a waist of time. They rarely have answers to anything but the most basic technical questions, and seem disinterested in helping customers. I am not a full-time Professional Photographer, however, my money should be as equally valuable as Joe Pro. I may not be in the market for a Canon 1DS MarkII, but in the past 5 years I have probably spent about 30,000 dollars on photography related products. Keep alienating those long-term customers.
• hours: I work full-time. Getting to the camera shop between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday is difficult. Both stores are open Saturday, but weekends are the time when I need to be out shooting, not shopping. Weekends are precious. It would be nice if retailers realized this and had extended evening hours one or two nights a week.

I've been shooting a lot of panoramas lately (even shot a 360 degree anaglyph, i.e., 3D, view of my back yard).

I've been used a wide range of equipment, including handheld panning, basic tripod panning, the simple and cheap Panomatic rotating base, and the heavy!! and expensive Manfrotto 302Plus.

The Manfrotto is the ultimate in precision, but I need something that I can carry in the field (without requiring a sherpa to haul my gear). To that end, I ordered the Pano Elements Package from reallyrightstuff.com. RRS has a great site (they don't sell through resellers) that provided tonnes of information and great product shots. I don't order a lot on-line, but I had a great experience with RRS. They are known for quality gear that has a fairly hefty price tag, but hopefully it is worth it. I will know when the shipment arrives next week.

I plan to carry a tripod and the pano-head with me when I hike in Arches National Park the first week of May. (The nice thing about the RRS Panning clamp is that it replaces the quick-release clamp already on my tripod head for less weight.) Look forward to the shots.

Added an essay entitle Embark: Bow River Driftwood to the Solstice Essays project.

Bought a Lomo LC-A camera recently. I have "LomoHome" started that I will try to keep up to date and fresh. Check it out at www.lomohomes.com/jester