About the Author
I'm Ron Buening, a photographer and optics enthusiast based in the Tampa Bay area. My work is rooted in a simple conviction: understanding the instrument is inseparable from understanding the image. That conviction drives both my photography and everything written here.
My primary subjects are birds and wildlife, with a secondary fascination for architecture and the urban landscape. I see these two worlds as distinct and worth documenting on their own terms, particularly as the human-built environment continues to press against the natural one.
I shoot the Nikon Z system and have a particular interest in the history, design, and optical character of photographic lenses — the lens, after all, is where light becomes a photograph. This site is a companion to that interest: a place to work through the optics in practice, from the classical lens formulas of Rudolph and Bertele to the practical realities of shooting in the field.