PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT

As a full-time pro for over 30 years, the gear I take on assignment depends on what is needed. Contrary to what it might look like, I prefer to work with the minimum amount of equipment.

Being familiar with the gear is most important to me. To that end, I’ve always carried some form of Canon or Leica in my kit. With their cameras and lenses, I don’t have to think. I just do. When Leica discontinued their 35mm SLR film-based system, I switched to autofocus Canon EOS 35mm SLRs.

Around the same time, I also switched from Kodachrome 25 to Fujichrome Velvia 50 slide film. When digital camera image quality evolved to a more than satisfactory level, I transitioned to Canon’s full-frame digital camera bodies and their latest lenses for my editorial and commercial work. I’ve stayed with Canon’s latest offerings since then for my professional assignments.

My Basic Automotive Photography Kit For Stills and Video:

Canon R5 mirrorless bodies (2) with adapters and spare batteries
Canon 5DS-R body or Canon 5D Mk IV body
Canon 16-35mm f/4 IS EF L lens
Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS RF L lens
Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS EF L II lens
Canon 1.4X Extender, 12mm ext tube
Leica Q with 28mm f1.7 Aspherical lens
Memory cards, batteries, cable and remote release, ND and polarizing filters
Samsung Galaxy camera phone with DJI Osmo Mobile 6 and mount
Lowe-Pro backpack in Pelican carry on with Leica table tripod, ball head and mount
Small carry on bag with change of clothes, sunglasses, hat, dopp kit, and
MacBook Pro M2 with card readers and Samsung Drive

Checked bag:
Small Gitzo tripod
Profoto portable lighting system
Cable lock
Rigs and Harness
Clothes

Other Stuff (as needed):

Canon 500mm f/4 IS L EF lens for motorsports
DJI Phantom 4 Drone
DJI Ronin Stabilizer x 2
Tascam and cell phone audio recorders
More camera car mounts, walkie talkies, monopods, larger tripods

Red, Arri Mini or medium format digital as needed
More Pelican cases and cable locks
Porsche Cayenne equipped for car to car photography and cinematography
Tribal Persian Rug

For flash, the Profoto portable lighting system has proven reliable for studio shots and moving subjects outdoors. All flashes can fail, just like memory cards and external hard drives, so I also carry two, plus a spare flash tube. The lighting kit also includes C-stands, reflectors, gels and a variety of modifiers and soft boxes.

Spare lenses for film work include: Canon EF lenses 24mm f/1.4 L II, 35mm f/2 IS, 50mm f/1.4, and 50mm f/2.5 Macro. Others are the Voigtländer 21 f/1.4, Leica R 28mm f/2.8 II, Leica R 35mm f/2 II, Voigtländer 40mm f1.4, Leica R 50mm f2, Leica R 60mm f/2.8 Macro, and Leica R 80mm f/1.4 lens adapted to Canon. A set of Nikkor lenses 20mm to 105 mm are adapted to Canon and available to my film crew for their cameras.

Photography equipment is simply a tool. Seeing and having something to say are MUCH more important. That said, I look for gear that is of the highest quality, easy to use, and has characterful rendering. For analog film, I use a Hasselblad 500C, Canon EOS-1V, Nikon F, Leica M3, and Leica M6.

I always shoot in RAW on two cards in each camera. After the shoot, one set of shot cards stays in a secure holder inside a zippered vest pocket on my person. As soon as I return to my hotel, the RAW files are backed up on my computer, Dropbox, and at least one hard drive. All drives are kept in different locations, or one is FedExed home. I love what I do, but I’ve also learned not to assume anything.

P.S. My kit for vacationing and personal work is a digital camera, usually the Leica Q with its 28mm f/1.7 Aspherical lens and an Leica M9 with a 50mm f/2 Summicron. This is for pure seeing, shooting slowly and deliberately.