Good friend Chris Cooper from Albury/Wodonga give us a run down of his set up…
Check out Chris’s site here.
First up, list the gear you have…
Lowepro CompuTrekker AW
Lowepro stealth reporter d300 AW
Canon 5dmk2
Canon 50mm f1.4
Canon 135mm f2
Leica M2
Canon 35mm f2
Canon AE-1
Canon 50mm f1.8
Canon 200mm f4
Canon 580 exii flash
Vivtar 285hv flash
4 x pocket wizards
Sekonic L-308-s
2 x SanDisk extreme 8g mem cards, 1 x cheaper transcend 4g mem card
Film Kodak tri-x or re labelled arista premium
Cheap-ish light stands x 2
Cheap-ish umbrellas x 2
Manfrotto tripod
Flash sync cords, hot shoes, brackets, the usual bits and bobs that every photographer seem to accumulate.
A bunch of old cameras….. I like to collect.
Rechargeable batteries or just replace them?
Rechargeable for life!
What goes missing the most from your bag?
Hmmmmm this is a hard question. My cameras are my babies…..but probably batteries maybe? Or memory cards that are still in the reader.
What lens do you use the most and why?
Hands down the 50mmf1.4. I only have two lenses for the 5d, but I think out of everything it has to be the fast fifty. You simply can’t go wrong with it. It’s a classic focal length that can be used for basically any occasion.
What program do you use for editing the photos after you have uploaded them?
Adobe Bridge for archiving, raw convertor, Photoshop CS5
Is your gear insured?
It’d be a contradiction to my baby remark, so not telling ha.
Black and white or colour?
Every scenario is different, some scenes need colour, and some need B&W. However, I grew up with B&W film in high school, and I am constantly developing rolls at home. The majority of my live music stuff is also in B&W so yep, black and white.
How many flashes have you broken?
At this stage, I’m fairly lucky. I’ve had a lot of close calls, but zip at the moment…touch wood
Favourite websites and or mags out there that motivate you to go out and shoot photos?
BMX wise its Dig. Without a doubt the best magazine in the industry. As I like documentary, live music, and that whole punk/hardcore culture, for me Ricky Adam is probably the one shooter who stands out from the rest. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rickyadam/ – http://web.mac.com/rickyadam15/www.rickyadamphoto.com/port_1.html
As of late, my “bible” has been documentary called “The Genius of Photography”. This series explores key images and events through out the history of photography, from the very first prints, to the latest digital age. The history behind my passion motivates me the most.
I venture to the newsagencies quite often and read a whole heap of varied content to source inspiration. BMX, hotrod – custom cars, tattoos, skateboard jazz, lifestyle stuff like Monster Children and Time Magazine. A broad range of fresh images from around the world. Can’t go wrong with that!
Best advice you can give someone starting out…
Never buy Photoshop. The net is there for a reason!
Keep shooting, it’s the only way you are going to learn.
Always be open to new ideas and new techniques and keep asking those questions.
And lastly, just enjoy it; the passion will take the lead.
