Equipment and Photo Gear

I have mixed feelings about posting a page full of photo gear, since any photographer worth their salt will tell you that it's never about the camera, it's all about light and your imagination.

The funny thing is, I've never met a photographer who wasn't mildly obsessed with gear on some level - myself included. You kind of have to be. Can you make great images without great gear? Of course you can, but try shooting a Great Horned Owl at sunset with an 18-50mm f/5.6 lens and no tripod. Then get back to me about "the right" gear.

Having the right tools for the right job is absolutely essential, and each situation is different depending on the type of photography you're into. But obtaining the right tools isn't going to happen overnight, or in a year or two. It's taken me years - almost seven, so far - of plotting, planning, experimenting, learning, saving, trading-in and trading-up to acquire the gear that I have today.

When I was a kid, my weapon of choice was an old Brownie Starflex. Took some great snapshots with that little contraption that are still around in a shoebox somewhere, but I didn't end up playing around with film a whole lot after that. My first digital camera (pictured in the upper right of this page, circa 1999) was a Kodak DC215 equipped with a massive 1 megapixel sensor. Check out that CF card... Four whole megabytes of storage. Max ISO? How about a spectrum blowing "140". Most cellphones today dance all over that. I remember paying through the nose for that camera and being "happy" that you could grab about a dozen frames before the batteries totally shat out on you. But that little Kodak produced pretty decent 4x6 worthy photos. Since those early days, I've owned countless digital (and film) cameras made by Sony, Olympus, Nikon, and Fuji before finally settling on Canon. Some were easier to use than others, some were better made than others. In the end, they all did the same thing; They recorded light. No more, no less. Remember that above all else. All they do is collect and record light.

If I had one piece of advice to pass on to new photographers, it would be: Don't get totally hung up on gear. Times will change. Try to pick a system that feels right *for you* and get the best glass you can afford for it. Don't wow-out on camera bodies, because in a few months there'll be something better out there that replaces what you've got for half the price. Good glass lasts a lot longer, and holds it's trade in value better. You can always trade it in.

The bottom line is: Get the gear you really need, because it does matter - but never forget that the most important part of the camera is the twelve or so inches behind the viewfinder.

If you're interested in reading more about the equipment I shoot with today, I'm going to have to shuffle you over to my blog pages, because the list is ever changing and would be difficult to read/scroll through it all right here. Continue Reading ->