I have been editing non-stop for almost 48 hours and I need a break! (I have paused for sleeping and eating a few times…) I thought I would take a timeout and post about my equipment. When people ask me what kind of camera I use I generally respond with a question about what kind of a camera they are wanting. Unless, of course, I am at a wedding in which case I just respond with my camera make and model and rush off to capture the next shot. I always think it’s funny when people want to sit and chat about photography when I am working at weddings, people are just funny. I liken it to me walking into their cubical and asking them to explain to me exactly what they are doing during their busiest day. I am quite use to it though so I have learned to smile and respond with a time sensitive answer. Recently someone told me that I should not be publishing my equipment on my blog (which it is fyi under “Helpful Links”). This person was not a photographer so it is reasonable that they considered this to be a trade secret, I however consider my equipment to be the least of my trade secrets. It’s kind of like asking a race car driver what kind of a car they drive. Anyone can clearly see what kind of car they drive (at least if you can see past all of the advertisements), it is the skill that they have mastered and the art of driving that is their trade secret. I will further my point by using bullet points, my favorite teaching mechanism:

• Is a race car easy to drive? Of course not. When you first learned to drive you probably started out on an automatic, not a 6 speed manual. You also were probably required by your parents to drive an older model of vehicle so that if you mess up it isn’t that expensive of a mistake. In the same way my camera is not a user friendly easy camera to use and it is not the first camera I ever had. I mastered my point and shoot long before upgrading to a DSLR and even then it took me a while to master the art of shooting in manual. If you are unexperienced with this equipment and you were to pick up my camera there is a good chance  that you will take a worse shot than just using a point and shoot.
• Do race car drivers start out with the best and most expensive equipment? Again, of course not. It takes years of work and training for them to start winning races and get noticed by sponsors. It is then, and only then, that they upgrade to the best of the best equipment. In the same way, I believe you should not upgrade your equipment until you have pushed your current equipment to it’s greatest lengths. I used my $500 Rebel for a long time before finally upgrading to a $1500 5D and then finally arriving at the climax of all equipment, my $2,500 precious 5D Mark ii. Is the Mark ii worth it? OH YES. It is AMAZING. However, I know how to use it, I’ve practiced for a while.
• Since race cars cost so much more and are obviously so awesome they probably don’t require as much maintenance. …Well, I am not a huge nascar fan by any stretch of the imagination, but I have watched a race before and have you noticed that they stop and perform maintenance on the vehicle during the race? Multiple times?? Changing the wheels, checking the fuel, checking the engine etc… Again, like the race car, your more expensive equipment will require maintenance and up keep. You will need to take your camera and lenses in for professional cleanings and sometimes they will freak out for no reason in the middle of a session or wedding and you need to have a backup ready in such an event. I am primarily talking about camera bodies on this point. Generally speaking Canon’s L series lenses perform a lot better than their regular lenses, so if you can afford $1.500-$3,000 per lens, it is worth it. Which brings me to my last bullet point…accessories.
• This last one has nothing to do with race cars because I ran out of comparisons. My bad. If you are going to invest in a fabulous camera (lets just say the 5d Mark ii) then you need to upgrade your lenses as well. There is no point in having a great camera if you are going to have sub-par lenses. Maybe you are starting to see that my camera is not exactly user friendly? It is, however, the best. It is a 21 megapixel genious of a machine which can go up into the tens of thousands for ISO and still maintain a fast shutter speed. Oh my heart is fluttering just thinking about it. It has HD video capabilities, it’s sleek, it’s fun…and it’s mine. Oh oh oh, I love it. BUT would I recommend it for you? Well, it depends. Click Here to take a look at equipment that I recommend for those wanting to brave the world of photography.

Thank you for allowing me to take a bit of an editing break. I have enjoyed our little time together. Peace!