My Photography Equipment

The two best pieces of equipment a photographer can own is a set of eyes and a great imagination.

This section is added with a little hesitation because it is not meant to be a recommendation or an opinion in on the what’s the best camera. It is simply list of what I use to make photographs. If you are a gear head like me, you may want to know what your fellow photographers are using. In reality, it is the talent and not the camera that makes great images. I just happen to use Canon and Olympus equipment. Fumbling with equipment should not get in the way of the creative process and for me, this gear stays out of my way and allows me to create without thinking of what dial or button does what.

One piece of advice I can offer for a landscape photographer willing to carry a bunch of camera gear all day on their back is to look for really good lenses, but stay away from fast ones. Most of my lenses have a maximum aperture of F4. These lenses are lighter in weight and usually less expensive too. For instance i use the Canon 70-200mm F4 L series lens. It is less than half the weight and price as the more popular 70-200mm F2.8 lens and is just as sharp and durable.

Okay, another piece of advice. The older I get the more difficult it becomes to do longer hikes with heavy gear. Since I’m not giving up either photography or hiking, I’ve turned to Olympus for their micro 4/3 system and Canon’s mirrorless cameras. The Olympus actually belongs to my wife who is much smaller than me and never liked the full frame Canon system. While it will never replace the quality of an image made with a big sensor, it comes pretty darn close and with less than half the weight and size, it makes a very compact system for long hikes and bushwhacking. Here is what my backcountry gear looks like.

Cameras

Canon EOS R5 and R6 – Canon’s full frame mirrorless cameras work for me. The R5 at 41 megapixels has is very high resolution and the R6, weighing in at 20 megapixels is ideal for low light and other situations where digital noise can be a problem.

Olympus EM1 Mark II – This little mirrorless camera body is virtually weatherproof. It is also small and light. While it will never replace the quality imagery you can expect from a full frame camera, it comes pretty close and has a nice, almost painterly, look to the photographs it creates.

Autel EVO lite +  and DJI Air 2S  Drones – Both drones are good for still photographs. The only difference is the lens focal length.

iPhone – The camera you always have.

Tripods

Gitzo GT2542 Mountaineer Carbon Fiber Tripod with Arca Swiss Ball Head – This tripod is relatively light weight, sturdy and easily packs into a suitcase for travel. The ball head is simple to use and is indestructible. The tripod is fast to set up in the field and my non-photographer friends and family often admire the snazzy patterns of the carbon fiber in the legs.

Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod  – This tripod weighs under 3 pounds and is always in my backpack. It is amazingly sturdy for the weight and folds down to a size that easily fits on just about any backpack.

Filters

NiSi polarizer and Neutral Density filter system.

Lenses

Why f/4 and not f/2.8?. It saves weight and money. Since most of my work uses a tripod the faster f-stop is not needed.

Canon RF 14-35mm f4 L Series – This is my main ultra wide angle lens used for abandonedscapes and landscapes, mostly out west.

Canon RF 24-105mm f4 L Series –  This lens is my go to lens for most photography. It is super sharp and covers the focal lengths I shoot at most of the time.

Canon RF 70-200mm f4 L Series – This is a great lens with awesome sharpness. It is also $1000 less and over a pound lighter than the popular 70-200mm f2.8 lens. The quality is the same and I appreciate the weigh savings and the ability to spend that $1000 on traveling to the great places to photograph.

Canon RF 100-500mm L Series – An ideal zoom lens for Wildlife which I rarely shoot and all around heavy duty telephoto lens.

Canon RF 100mm f2.8 Macro – I don’t do a lot of macro work, but this lens is awesome when I do. It is also a great portrait and product photography lens.

Olympus Pro Lenses – These lenses basically parallel the Canon lenses listed above. The focal lengths are sized for the micro 4/3 sensor and equivalent double the full frame focal lengths. However, the 12-100mm f/4 is the one that is always on the camera. Its range is equivalent to a 24-200mm which is the range of 90% of my work. I can head out to field in any weather and not worry about having to change lenses.

What Else?

Spare batteries, rain covers, lens shields, extra compact flash and SD cards. Basically, anything that can help avoid an “Oh Crap” moment if the weather changes, something fails or runs out of power or space.

Uru Lake folding Kayak – Why a kayak? The Pine Barrens are a very wet place with many remote locations accessible by water. Oru kayaks are small, light and easy to transport and assemble.