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Home : About the Photographers : Our Equipment
Okay, you are here because you are
either a gear nut, and have to know what sort of equipment I used to
take the pictures that you have seen on this web site. Or you
are here because you are interested in knowing what sort of computer
equipment that I use. Or what sort of image processing software I use.
If that's you, then you came to the right place.
Or maybe you just clicked on the wrong thing accidentally.
Either way, I have to say that just because you don't have the same
equipment that I do doesn't mean that you can't take the same sort of
pictures. If you have a reasonable camera, a tripod, and an interest
in learning and experimenting, then you too can do this! We have written up
some techniques for you to perhaps learn from,
and some of our favorite places to go as well.
Photo Equipment
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 Nikon Cameras
Nikon N-70 and Nikon FG
Sometimes you want the fast action of an automatic camera. Sometimes you
want the slow methodical pace of a manual camera. Both of these are solid.
The N-70 is a middle model in the "pro-sumer" product line for Nikon. Not
quite professional, perhaps, but more than the average consumer. I like
this camera a lot.
The advantage of the FG is that batteries last a long time. Since the only
use of the batteries is for the metering system, you can operate the camera
for longer exposures (like star trails) without draining the batteries. This
is an older model Nikon that is no longer manufactured.
Update: February, 2005: Nikon no longer makes either of these cameras. We
still have the FG but do not use it as much. I have picked up a D-70 to
complement the N-70. The "D", of course, stands for digital. More on that
in another article to come.
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Nikon Lenses
Nikon 50mm (it came with the camera)
Nikon 200mm Micro (for those close up close-ups!)
Nikon 600mm F4 (it wasn't cheap, but ooooh what a lens)
It's hard to go wrong with Nikon glass. However, they are more expensive.
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Sigma lenses
Sigma 18-35mm (by far, my favorite Landscape lens)
Sigma 28-70mm 2.8 (a nice middle range lens, and fast)
Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6 (my first "other" lens)
Sigma 170-500mm (an inexpensive way to get close to wildlife)
Because of the expense of Nikon lenses, we started out expanding our
collection of lenses by purchasing Sigma equipment. The quality seems to
be good, and the cost is certainly lower than their Nikon equivalent. The
superwide 18-35mm lens is a lens that I never go without.
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Tamrac Camera Bags
We have one medium sized camera bag that – if packed carefully – can
hold two camera bodies and most of the smaller lenses that we travel with. The
Nikon 600mm F4 comes with its own hard case. Other equipment generally travels
in a backpack padded with clothes or other similar arrangement.
We do not currently own a photography backpack. Generally they are good only
for carrying photo equipment, and I can generally arrange to carry the photo
equipment along with camping gear in a more efficient fashion with a regular
hiking-style backpack.
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Manfrotto (Bogen and Gitzo)
Bogen 3001 Tripod
Bogen 3221W Tripod
Gitzo 1329 Mk 2 Carbon Fiber Tripod
Bogen 3030 Quick Release Head
Bogen 3047 Quick Release Head
When I got the "big glass" (Nikon 600) I needed a better tripod. The Bogen
3021 was fine for everything else, but would not safely support the heavier
lens. But I also wanted to stay within a weight limit as far as what I would
need to carry. Where to go? Gitzo!
Gitzo makes some of the world's best and lightest tripods. Their carbon
fiber units support more pound for pound than any other that I have
experimented with. The unit that I have is more than enough to support my
heaviest lenses and other equipment. We have an article (with pictures)
showing all three of these tripods in our
tech tips area if
you would like to know more.
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Arca Swiss B1
The support from a tripod is one thing. The tripod head also needs to be
able to handle the weight of the larger lenses. The Arca Swiss B1 is the
top line ball head, recognized by photographers around the world as best
in class. So we got one.
Update, 2004:: And we no longer have it. We hated it. We really hated
it. It's not that it wasn't a quality piece of equipment, far from it. It
is everything as advertised. Really excellent piece of work. So why don't
we carry it any more? Because we have decided that we hate ball heads
and have purchased something else that works much better. Details in the
next item description below.
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Wimberly
If you have a really big lens, there really is no substitute for a
Wimberly tripod head. After playing around with the Arca Swiss mentioned
above we got this piece of equipment. We will never go back. You have to
try it to believe just how good this thing is.
We'll have an article comparing the three different styles of tripod heads
that we have experimented with on our
techniques page soon.
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Computer Configuration
- Workstation
It really doesn't matter which brand of personal computer you work with any
more. It just has to have lots of memory and a fast hard drive. A fast
internet connection is nice too. We quit putting our hardware specifications
on this page because they change almost every year. Suffice it to say that
faster is better, more memory is better still, and you can never have enough
storage options.
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Nikon Super Coolscan II
This scanner works for both slide or negatives from 35 mm cameras.
For what it's worth, I don't recommend it; it tends to pick up a lot of dust
and/or dirt. The newer models of the scanner apparently have the same problem,
but the software had been enhanced to help correct this issue. I say, fix the
scanner so it doesn't get dirty!
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Paint Shop Pro
Shareware at work; this program is fast, easy to learn, and inexpensive!
Try it, if you like it, you buy it. And if you like it and use it, you
should buy it. We are a registered user of all of the shareware
applications used to create this website. Paint Shop Pro contains the most
frequently used features of Adobe Photoshop, and even uses most of the same
shortcut keys to make it easy to switch back and forth. I highly recommend
this product.
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Our Equipment
