New Mexico Mineral Symposium — Abstracts

An aspect of my job as a mineral and jewelry photographer is a great deal of travel, both in the United States and Europe. I photograph for museums, dealers, collectors, and publishers. I see everything from the most mundane pieces to the best—those pieces that are drooled over in muse¬um display cases and at mineral shows. This presentation for the New Mexico Mineral Symposium will be a sampling of some of the finest that I have seen. Many will be well-known species that we see at every show, and others will be rarities that are, nevertheless, some of the best of their kind.

There are a number of questions that are sure to be on some of your minds. No, I do not shoot yet with digital cameras, but I know that someday I will—when the prices come down and the quality goes up. I am also not involved in the digital manipulation of my images (i.e., Adobe Photoshop), but I will be shortly. All of my 35-mm work is done with one of three Canon Fl cam¬eras. I shoot both with tungsten light (with Kodak Ektachrome 64T film) and with daylight studio flash using Fuji Velvia (ISO 50). I use either a 50-mm or a 100-mm Canon macro lens with these cameras. I also do a great deal of work with a large format (4x5 inch) Sinar F camera.