| Cameras |
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| Canon Elan 7N |
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| Canon Rebel 2000 |
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| Lenses |
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| Canon 17-40mm L |
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| Canon 24-70mm L |
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| Canon 70-200mm L f/4 |
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| Canon 50mm macro f/2.5 |
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| Canon 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5 |
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When it comes to equipment, I'm driven by practicality. I make do with what I have, and more importantly I use what I have. The most important piece of advice I can pass on is that you don't need top dollar equipment to take satisfying pictures.
I freely admit I am not too interested in the technical details of equipment. Incidentally, this is true whether it's cameras, cars, computers, camping gear, etc. I'm more interested in the practical usage of technology, with an emphasis on using.
I totally subscribe to the good lenses, cheap body school of thought on accumulating equipment. And I totally agree there is a perceivable difference in quality with L series glass, save your money for the best lenses you can afford. No doubt a good body is important, but lenses really impact the sharpness of your images the most.
Film vs. Digital
I am currently committed to film as my form of capture although I do make use of the digital darkroom for processing. Using my Minolta Scan Dual III film scanner, I'm able to digitize my images easily and quickly. This is a workflow that works for me and I am content for the moment. I imagine I will adopt digital some day but I feel no pressure to do so. I actually see myself getting deeper into film capture as I'm doing more black and white work these days and I hope to get up and running with a medium format setup in the near future.
I don't really care much about Film vs. Digital arguments, but one true advantage I see of film is quantity which can effect quality. Digital makes it easy to take a lot of pictures, perhaps too many pictures. Some see this as a disadvantage, but I really like how film forces me to slow down, plan and anticipate the shots I want/need to take. Since the amount of film is always limited, it really forces me to try to craft each individual shot, and I like that. I suppose if your battery or storage was low on the digital side you may be forced to shoot this way as well. But this is really in tune with what's kind of a guiding philosphy for me, "less is more", fewer images can be a good thing.
Must have piece of equipment: Photo Vest!
It's kind of ironic, but this is the piece of equipment I get the most excited about when recommending accessories. It's all about practicality and in my case, preventing accidents and dropping lenses.
When I get to a location, it's only a matter of minutes before I have all my stuff out of my Lowepro photo bag. The vest allows me to put all those lenses, film cannisters, cleaning brushes, etc right on my body in easy reach but safely stored in zippered pockets.
Yes, people will think you're a pro when you bust out your vest and more people will ask you to take their pictures. But those aren't necessarily bad things....
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| Accessories |
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| Manfrotto tripod with pan/tilt head |
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| Cokin filter holders |
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| Cokin filters |
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| Lowepro Mini Trekker |
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| Minolta Scan Dual |
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| Photo vest |
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