"Best lens I’ve ever used"

Shooting Orthodox Monks in Ethiopia with the Phase One Digital 80mm Lens

Performance

There are some photographers who will go that bit further than most of us to get the perfect picture. Joey L is certainly the embodiment of a photographer who will go to the ends of the earth to get the right shot as he proved in his latest project, which was making images of tribes’ people and orthodox monks in Ethiopia. Preparation was paramount for this photo-grapher, as months of detailed research went into this project before he embarked on the two-month trip. He left little to chance, including a commitment to employ the best photographic gear he could get his hands on. The Phase One 645, P45+ and a 80mm lens had to fulfill some strict criteria that included the ability to withstand rough treatment in the harsh, dusty and hot environments. "We hired jeeps and drove on roads that weren’t really roads, they just happened to have been driven on a few weeks before". The kit was subjected to hours of intense vibration in the back of the Jeep and it suffered numerous bumps and scrapes, but Joey L says it never failed or let him down during his time in East Africa.

Portraits in the field

He shot his portraits using flash and ambient light with the aperture wide open on f2.8. Joey enthuses as he describes the quality and detail of final images as "Crazy" and the 80mm glass, "Best lens I’ve ever used". He explains, "Even when I put an ND [Neutral Density] filter in front of it, I didn’t expect it to be as good as it is". A high resolution DSLR was used as a backup but he only shot two captures with it. "I don’t want to use any other camera. It sounds cheesy but it’s true… The AF is fast and the skin tones are perfect". With no formal training, Joey modestly claims he’s just made a lot of mistakes and studied on the Internet to develop a style that has seen the likes of Warner Brothers Records, Kawasaki and NBC covet his services. Joey L divides his time between commercial commissions for high-end clients and personal projects shooting portraits in locations around the world including India, Nepal and Columbia and many more. He’s has ambitious plans for the future and is now looking for the finance to embark on a World Tour.