Photography Kits
Before you read anything else, read this: You don’t need amazing gear to make stunning images. I’ve invested heavily in my gear because I love photography, and over time, I’ve learned the value of top-of-the-line gear. My #1 rule is don’t have GAS. Don’t buy a new piece of gear until your current gear doesn’t allow you to accomplish your creative vision. When I buy something new, I spend hours upon hours researching the purchase. If you have gear questions, don’t hesitate to shoot me a question in the contact page above. But be warned, I have opinions!
Everyday Carry
Wotancraft Trooper Camera Bag I used to carry the ONA Astoria (I beat up bags and had two of these) but it just doesn’t have the capacity of the Wotancraft. This one is a lot more modular and flexible to fit various needs
Canon EOS R Mirrorless Body I absolutely love the camera. Its the perfect balance of cost and resolution for me.
Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L My Favorite Lens. Its been on the market for a long time, but its there for a reason. Perspective Correction. I haven’t done much with the tilt, but I use the shift constantly.
Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 L III The sharpest lens I own. I prefer more in the 24mm range, but this lens is epic all the way out to the corners
Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8 L II This lens is the one that lives on my camera.
Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8 L II Had to complete the holy trinity. This is another epic lens
Canon EF Extender 1.4 III and 2.0 III I use these with the tilt shift and telephoto lenses to extend the range of both
Pelican Memory Card Case Simply the best way to keep your cards organized
Filter Kit
Wine Country Camera Filter Holder All the other companies are finally starting to catch up to Wine Country. But no one else has the wood accents. The metal frames for the filters are a life saver. After dropping and breaking my 10-stop filter a few years ago, this is clutch
My filters are all top of the line glass. I don’t mess around with the things that go in front of the camera. These filters are all zero color cast.
Nisi Soft IR Nano GND 0.9 Balancing Out Strong Skies
Breakthrough X4 ND 3.0 When you need those long exposures
Formatt Hitech Firecrest ND 1.5 For those really bright times when you don’t need the 10
Formatt Hitech Firecrest ND 0.9 Used a ton around sunrise to help keep water smooth and control exposure
Formatt Hitech Firecrest ND 4.8 You don’t think you’ll need more than a 10-stop filter until you do.
Sunrise Kit
The Everyday Carry+
FLM CP34 L4 II Tripod Another recent acquisition. This thing is beefy and tall. I’ll never have a question about stability and its over 70” tall fully extended. Also includes a bowl leveling base. Weighs the same as my smaller tripod
Arca Swiss Quick-Link Tripod Head Quick Release I bought this recently for my travel tripod and its absolutely incredible. It provides a sturdy, yet easily detached connection between the tripod head and legs. Enabling easy changes or removal to fit in a travel bag.
Acratech Long Lens Head this is only a two-way head, but with the bowl leveling base on the tripod, it’s all you need. Sturdy and easy to use
Flashpoint Wireless Shutter Release All the others out there are pointless. I refuse to use anything connected to my phone as it runs down batteries on multiple devices at the same time. I’ll use this style of shutter release until they stop making it. Perfect for Timelapses, Bulb Exposures and keeping your hands in your pockets on cold mornings.
+ Filter Kit (Below)
Film Kit
Minolta X700 SLR this is the first film camera I picked up used from a friend in the area. Great camera with built in metering that works amazingly well!
Minolta 28mm f/2.8
Minolta 50mm f/2.8
Bronica ETRSi I moved into 120 format because I loved the feel of the images that I didn’t quite get enough of from 135. This is a modular system that allows you to kit it out to your specifications. It’s a great, affordable way to start with medium format film.
Zenzanon 40mm f/4
Zenzanon 75mm f/2.8
Mamiya RZ 67 Pro I love the quality improvement of 6x7 images over 6x4.5. Going from 15 to 10 frames a roll makes it challgening, but the modular system is great. Amazing image quality and great system with tons of lenses out there
Sekor 50mm f.4.5 W
Sekor 75mm f/4.5 W Shift
Sekor 180mm f/4.5 W
Travel Kit
The Everyday Carry +
Osprey Stratos 34L I’ve tried a couple other “camera” backpacks for hiking and they all suck. I broke down, went to REI and got a bag meant to go on hikes and made it work for photography. There are two features that sold me on their bag. Their suspension system and space for a water reservoir
Mission Workshop Capsule I tried 5 different camera inserts before I found the right one for the Stratos. All the others claimed to fit my full kit, none did. This is the only one that works with the way I use my gear.
Leofoto Ranger LS-325CEX A smaller version of the FLM tripod, this fits perfectly in a carryon suitcase.
Arca Swiss Quick-Link Tripod Head Quick Release This provides a sturdy, yet easily detached connection between the tripod head and legs. It allows me to remove the head without tools.
Acratech Long Lens Head this is only a two-way head, but with the bowl leveling base on the tripod, it’s all you need. Sturdy and easy to use
Canon EOS 60D DSLR Body An old workhorse body that I’ve had forever. I carry this to get extra reach out of the 70-200 for wildlife or far off things. It lets me double fist without the need to change lenses
+ Filter Kit (Below)
Infrared Kit
this is a whole different animal. I’ll be posting a walkthrough of infrared soon in my Journal, but for now here’s a breakdown of the Kit I use.
Canon EOS M50 (720nm and 550nm) I recently had two additional bodies converted so I could do the Black and White as well as color approximation of Aerochrome film. Kolari Vision did the conversions for both. I use the EF-M to EF converter with these bodies.
Canon EOS 60D Body with the full conversion done by LifePixel Way back when I just upgraded to my full frame 5D mk III, I had my old 60D lying around collecting dust. I saw some infrared images online and sent off the body to be converted.
Canon EF 16-35 f/2.8 L III infrared is a fickle thing. This lens only really works wide open at f/2.8. Otherwise there are nasty hot spots. Check out Kolari Vision’s Lens Hotspot Database for more information. My other lenses are just horrible IR performers so this is pretty much it for now.
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