Season’s greetings from MJ Memories!  What a fantastic year this has been!  Many great things have come to MJ Memories.  The most notable change is our new line up of Nikon lenses and accessories.  

 

Now it is time to announce our Christmas Special!  Rent a lens for a week or longer; get a week free!  This year the Christmas Special surpasses the ones in the past because we have added more Canon lenses to our inventory as well as launched into carrying Nikon lenses!  

Christmas Special Rules and Fine Print:

• • Special applies to orders for local Wichita pick up only                                    
  • Special applies to ALL lenses and accessories
  • Available while inventory of lenses lasts (first come first serve basis)
  • Special runs between now and December 22, 2011
  • The lens rental period must start between December 19 and December 22 ( exceptions will be considered)
  • Orders must be picked up by 6pm on December 22

What you need to do:

• Go to www.mjlensrentals.com and click on the "Like" Facebook button
• Add favorite lens(es) or accessories to your shopping cart  for a week rental or longer and check out
• During checkout, notate on the order you want the Christmas Special
• Pick up the lens(es) and accessories your rented at Snappy Photo as early as December 20
• Return the rented lens(es) and accessories on January 4, 2012

I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! God Bless!

Matt

MJ Memories has just celebrated our 3 year anniversary! To celebrate the fourth year we have expanded into Nikon.  

While we will start of with a very modest product offering, we will continually be expanding our Nikon product selection.  

If you have a request for a lens that we do not carry, just shoot us an e-mail, we would be happy to consider any lens suggestion you may have.  It is my desire to offer the same great service and products that Canon users have enjoyed over the last three years to our Nikon friends.  

Thank you to all who have made the first 3 years successful and please be sure to tell a friend about us.  Word of mouth is our greatest marketing tool!  

Matt

MJ Memories is excited to announce we are teaming up with Snappy Photo!
What does this mean for you?!?!  Incredible flexibility and convenience
for your rental pickup/return!  Starting January 15 all rental pick up
and returns will be able to be done at Snappy Photo.  Snappy Photo is
located at 160 S West St (Just North of Maple and West).  They are open
Mon-Fri from 10AM-6PM (closed from 1PM-2PM for lunch).  Please see our
blog entry and FAQ page for specific details.




New Lens Pickup and Return Procedures

-The ordered must be placed by 10 PM the day before lens is needed
-Pickup/return times are from 11AM- 6PM Mon-Fri (closed 1PM-2PM daily
for lunch)  Snappy Photo is closed on Sat & Sun.
-Your rental period starts the day you indicate it is needed whether the
lens is picked up or not on that day.
-Photo ID or a print out of the order receipt is required for pick up.
(if someone other than the one on the order form is picking the lens up,
please indicate that on your order form or make arrangements with MJ
Memories prior to scheduled delivery.)
-MJ Memories is solely responsible for order accuracy and the quality of
your rental.  Please direct any concerns or comments regarding the lens
rental to Matt at 316.644.3260 or matt@mjlensrentals.com and do not
direct them to Snappy Photo.

Recently myself as well as my 2 year old Daughter Sasha has suffered a major loss in our lives.  My wife of 9 years and Sashs's momma of 4 months (we adopted her from Russia in May)  has passed away due to a sudden health illness. 


My number 1 priority is Sasha.  Due to my limited schedule (working full time professionally, single parent) I ask that the following guidelines be followed when ordering (for local delivery in Wichita) through MJ Memories.

• Minimum of 24 hour notice is required
• On most days I will only be able to meet at one time (very few exceptions)
• I will only be available via phone from 8 am through 4:30 PM 
• I will answer e-mails as soon as I can get to them in the evenings after Sasha goes to bed.

I thank each of my customers for their loyalty and ask that they understand the need to reduce my flexibility in delivery of our services.  If you have any questions, please contact me at matt@mjlensrentals.com or via phone at 316.644.3260 .

Ok, a while back my wife and I got home after eating dinner one evening and as I walked past our front window, I saw the moon rising just over our neighbors house.  I paused and thought for a moment and decided this was a great time to grab the EF 600mm f4.0L IS lens and a Wimberley gimble mount and my Manfrotto carbon fiber tri-pod.   I set up on our front sidewalk.  I cannot tell what type of cheese the moon is made of, but here is one of the pics.  You decide!

Well a month or so ago when we expanded at MJ Memories, I thought it was a perfect excuse to take some of the new glass we bought and make sure it worked ok.  I hate to rent lenses out in which I have not used!  So a friend of mine was in town from England for a couple of weeks and we set off to enjoy 4 days shooting pics in the park.  You would like this was a lucky guy having access to all the Canon lenses one could want.  The problem is he shoots with that "other" brand....  We debated camping (to save cash and just because it is the great out doors) but we ended up choosing to staying at a hotel.  Good choice.  It rained on and off all but one day while we were there.  During our trips up in the park, it rained, snowed, sleeted, hailed, and we did have a brief shot of sun once in a while.


The good news is we did get one good morning of shooting in.  On the last morning, we got up at 4am (thought it was 5am but the cell phone did not adjust to the one hour time difference) and headed for some lakes we wanted to hike into.  We drove at night to the Bear Lake parking lot where we got our gear ready for about a 20 minute hike.  We set up initially at Nymph Lake for initial sun rise, and then hi-tailed it to Emerald Lake for the remainder of the good light.  We had a blast (and due to the 3 mile hike) were exhausted.  I do need to hit the treadmill more! 


                         Emerald Lake  Photo taken with the Canon EF16-35mm f2.8 Lens


                                        Nymph Lake - Taken with the EF 14mm f2.8L Lens

All in all it was a good trip.  If you notice some of the "fall color" looking trees, this is actually due to a beetle problem.  These are all evergreens in which have been killed due to this beetle infiltration.    The trip was an all in all success.  The purpose of the trip was to learn, grow, and gain more experience as a photographer.  I would say for myself it was a success. 

My wife and I just got back from a week in Northern, CA.  We celebrated my father's 70th B-day, headed to the coastal redwoods for a week and then finished up our trip with one night in Napa Valley.  The trip was primarily vacation, but I was able to grab a few shots.  The lighting was bad most days in the redwoods, so I do not have any great tree photos.  I do have a couple of shots of landscapes, their dog Hunter on the beach, and some macro work. 

	We were able to hike Fern Canyon, up in Humboldt County.  If you ever get a chance to do the Fern Canyon hike, DO IT.  It is absolutely beautiful.  During the hike I was able to use the EF 180 f3.5L, EF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS, EF 14mm f2.8 wide angle, and the macro lens on some cool landscapes, cools looking mushrooms and wild flowers. This part of the state is known for their Roosevelt Elk (pictured to the left).  We ran into one of these huge animals (not hard to do) at the beginning of the Fern Canyon hike.    Fern Canyon is a great hike that takes place in a rain forest type setting.  Typically, you will have a lot of fog and rain.  The canyon walls are carpeted with ferns.  The second part of the hike is a pleasant hike through a redwood forest.  (See below)
An Elk at Fern Canyon Taken With The 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS It is hard to capture the grander and enormous beauty of Fern Canyon.  I decided to focus on the smaller quaint details that make the canyon so beautiful.  Below is some mushrooms found on the hike.            Mushrooms Taken With The EF 180mm f3.5L Macroo
	Fern Canyon Trail Taken With the 14mm f2.8L

A Lily Taken With EF 180mm f3.5L Macro	A lily (pictured on the right) was found growing up through an old fallen redwood tree root structure.  I love the deep green color surrounded by woody earth tones of the old tree stump.  Below is one of many different wild flowers you will see on the hike (depending on when you go).  This particular flower is just a little bigger than a pencil eraser.  It is a beautiful flower.
My wife and I enjoyed many mornings hanging out on agate beach looking for agates.  Though we did find some, they were a lot more elusive than they were last time we were there!  We did get to take in most of a sunset, before fog rolled in and spoiled the display.  Below is a picture of Hunter (my parents golden retriever) on the beach enjoying the sun.	Wild Flower Taken With The EF 180mm f3.5L Macro
Hunter Taken With The 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS

We stayed at a couple of nice places.  The first place we stayed is View Crest Lodge.  It is located in Trinidad, CA, a prime location for Agate Beach.  Fern Canyon, Big Tree, and the old Highway is just a few miles to the north.  The amenities were fantastic, very rustic and beautiful.  I Just want to say THANK YOU to the staff at View Crest Lodge.

We finished up our trip in Nappa Valley.  We drove down Highway 101 from Eureka and then jogged over to get into the valley.  What an AWESOME drive.  This part of our trip was actually planned at the last minute.  We ended up saying in Nappa at The Arbor Guest House B&B.    We stayed in the Arbor View Room and it was fantastic.  Dan and Candy (proprietors) were very nice and accommodating.  The accommodations are top notch and the 3 course breakfast is to die for!

Matt

After many requests, we have now added the Canon EF24-70mm f/2.8L lens to our line up.  Thank you for your feedback, it was through this feedback that we decided to add this to our offerings.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to drop me a note at matt@mjlensrentals.com.

Thanks,

Matt

 

Over the New Year I had the privilege of spending 4 days on the Gun Flint Trail in Northern Minnesota near the Boundary Waters.  It is a beautiful place and if you ever get the chance to go, you should do that!

 

As you can imagine, it was COLD!  The temps ranged from +5 to -15 degrees F.  I have never shot in those type of conditions, so I did some research.  I took what others had recommended, tweaked it to what I thought made sense to me and worked for my situation and gave shooting pictures in a -15 degree weather a shot.  Overall success.

 

I thought I would through a couple of pointers out there that I learned and ask for comments, further advise, experiences, etc from our followers.

 

Here are my tips:

• Battery life goes fast.  Fast is an understatement.  I did not have my battery grip for the 30D I shoot with, so my battery lasted about 1 hour.  I did have a spare so I was golden.  After 2 hours of shooting, you need to step in to warm up anyway…
• Do not, I repeat, DO NOT shoot in cold temps and take your camera indoors.  Doing this  will cause a large about of condensation that will build up on your camera equipment and then refreeze (yes freeze in doors) and eventually thaw.  I found that putting my camera back in my camera bag and bringing my camera bag indoors where it is warm for about 45 minutes to a full hour prevented any condensation.
• Be careful shooting when it is that cold.  My friend actually got frost bite from his nose contacting the camera body.  It could be because he was using a Nikon D300, but I think the cold had something to do with it as well.
• Plan ahead, stay warm and have fun!

 

 These are my few pointers, I would love to hear from you what your have learned over the years.

Matt

 

I am just curious how much interest there would be in renting the Canon 50D & the 5D Mark II camera bodies?  If you are interested in renting either one of these, shoot me an e-mail at matt@mjlensrentals.com