Find a new focus: Business rents lenses to give tourists, photographers a way to up their shooting game
<p>This wide angle view of Lake McDonald was taken with a Nikon D800 using a 14-24mm f/2.8 lens. The lens rents for $41 per day. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>This detail of boats at Lake McDonald was taken with the 85mm f/1.4 lens. The fixed lens is known for its sharpness. It rents for $27 for one day. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>A collection of Nikon gear available to rent from the Lens Hub. They currently have Nikon and Canon gear available. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>The 14-24mm f/2.8 lens is a great way to capture the sweeping landscapes of Glacier National Park. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Changing a lens can completely change the photograph. This is an alternate view of the boats at Lake McDonald shot with a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens. The lens rents for $37 for one day. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
<p>Detail shot of the color in the rocks at Glacier National Park shot with the 85mm f/1.4 to capture the extreme low depth of field. (Brenda Ahearn/Daily Inter Lake)</p>
Advances in technology have made shooting, editing, posting and publishing images possible in a matter of minutes, but for high-quality results there is still a great deal to be said for gear and glass over cell phones and apps.
“Quality glass raises your game,” local photographer Noah Clayton said. “The difference [in taking photos] with pro gear is night and day. It comes down to a simple fact — you get what you pay for.”
One of the biggest challenges to getting into professional-level photography is the start-up expense. A good digital camera is a few thousand dollars and added to that is another few thousand for the most common lenses.
For those who still want the high-level photo experience without the substantial investment, an opportunity has opened up in the Flathead Valley. Clayton and fellow photographer Billy Yunck have partnered to create The Lens Hub in Whitefish, offering professional Nikon and Canon cameras and lenses to rent.
The Lens Hub is the brain child of Yunck. On a trip to Yellowstone, he noticed the lines of tourists trying to get a photo of the wildlife with their point-and-shoot cameras. He knew that with the right gear they would have a much better chance of capturing the images as they were seeing them.
As Glacier National Park gets millions of visitors per year, Clayton and Yunck decided to invest in providing professionals and amateurs with a way to take photographs worthy of the Montana experience.
“This appeals to me as a pro because be I have a core set of lenses but there are specialty lenses I don’t have but might like to try,” Clayton said. “Lenses are to photographers what brushes are to painters — sometimes you just want to try a different brush.”
The lenses rent from between 2 to 4 percent of the cost of the item for a three-day rental.
So now it is possible to live the dream. Rent the gear. Make your plans.
Get up to Glacier National Park or just about anywhere else in wonderfully scenic Montana and see what you can create.
More information can be found at http://www.thelenshub.com/ or by calling (406) 203-0255. The Lens Hub is located at 2530 E. Edgewood Dr. in Whitefish.