One of the things you guys noted that I should blog about is the technical aspect of photography! I’ll first start off with my equipment. You’ll notice that it’s a smaller system than most people, and it’s because I am still in the middle of building up and upgrading my equipment. I want to get another D700 body, and then I want to really really invest in lenses because they matter more than the body. For the time being I’ve been borrowing and renting advanced equipment until I can afford them. For those of you interested in getting into photography, I only have one piece of advice when it comes to what equipment to buy: Learn how to take good photos first, and buy what you can afford and trade up later. You can buy the most expensive cameras in the world but if you don’t understand the basics of lighting, the relationship between aperture and shutter speed, how to focus and compose, the camera is not going to make a big difference for you.
Full frame system (what I like carrying around with me the most and use in most of my gigs):
Nikon D700 camera
Nikon 50mm f/1.8 D lens (my default lens, as it’s a natural perspective for capturing photojournalistic moments)
Nikon 85mm f/1.8 D lens (my portrait lens)
Backup system
Nikon D80 camera
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 lens (a SOLID lens for anyone using a Nikon cropped sensor camera)
Nikon 18 – 200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S VR DX lens (mostly for really zoomed in or wider shots)
Nikon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6G ED-IF AF-S DX lens (I rarely use this one, it was a kit lens and it really only qualifies for family vacation photos at best)
My dream list right now:
1 more Nikon D700 body (not interested in D3 – too heavy)
2 Nikon SB-900 flashes (I’m getting one of them very soon)
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens
Nikon 50mm f/1.4 lens
a Canon G8 or Panasonic LX3 for macro shots
Tags: Photography
