Gear 4 Pictures
Ashlie Mealey
Of course, dwelling too much on the psychological significance of the rituals of race preparation can obscure a more obvious reason why some athletes are so meticulous about cataloging their gear: sometimes you just want to make sure you have all your shit together.
The Canon R6 Mark II is currently the most raved about Canon mirrorless camera on the market. One of the biggest perks of this camera is the subject tracking of people and animals! This helps so much with nailing focus during shoots. This camera also works great in low-light scenarios where you may need to increase your ISO higher than usual. If you want a camera that takes both incredible photos AND videos, this is the perfect camera for you! I use the original Canon R6 that was released in 2020. The Mark II is the newest version.
The Canon RP is a great starter camera at a lower price point. It has many of the same features as the Canon R6 Mark II, but not quite as high-tech or efficient. A few major differences are the ISO capabilities, the battery life, in-built image stabilization, image processor size, and the video recording limits. The Canon R6 Mark II is going to have much better capabilities as a professional photographer.
The Canon R50 is going to be the lowest end of the Canon mirrorless cameras. It is budget-friendly, and created to be lightweight and compact. The camera is geared towards traveling, vlogging, or for content creators. If you are wanting to use it as a professional photographer, you are likely to run into limitations and perhaps not the best quality of images for your clients (if charging).
Note: This article assumes that you are already familiar with basic climbing techniques like rappelling and cleaning. In the next dozen paragraphs, I will focus only on topics particular to climbing photography:
The walk-in is a great opportunity to get wide context-setting shots, while moments like those when climbers consult a guidebook or gaze up at the cliffs are a great time to zoom in and introduce the characters in your story.
Before you can get to work, you need to prepare the base of the crag so that you can make the most of your session while also mitigating any risk. When asking others to move themselves and their things, it helps to practice a certain level of diplomacy. You are, after all, not directly involved in the act of climbing.
You want to avoid cluttering your background if possible. One way to do this is to use a shallow depth of field, but this approach is not always effective or even possible. To avoid any unwanted distractions, remove objects that will create the strongest contrast. Shiny and bright objects can be particularly problematic as they have the potential to create hot spots. But also consider removing any objects that will detract from the aesthetic appeal of a photo.
Here, I list the minimum amount of gear needed to ascend and descend a static rope. Gearheads out there might eventually want a Croll to make ascending easier, but when starting out, you only need three pieces of gear in addition to that which you already own.
A great photographer can take great photos using any kind of camera. A great camera in unskilled hands will still deliver mediocre photos. Before you invest the big bucks in high end gear take the time to learn the craft first.
I started out my professional career with a borrowed camera and very cheap lens. I worked this way for a few years and then invested in a high end second hand camera and lens. If I were starting out again now I would do exactly the same thing. My advice on buying a camera is always buy within your means and upgrade as your skills start to improve.
Most of my portraits are shot using tripods. I like to set up my shot, position my model and then focus on their expression. Keeping my camera fixed in one position allows me to do this and really suits my shooting style.
I use Canon 580EXii speedlights as my preferred lighting when I am travelling or need to work quickly or in tight locations. I will also use a Photoflex medium size softbox that folds flat, and is perfect for lighting one person and couples.
Shooting tethered to a computer has made my life as a photographer so much easier, because I can use my computer as a teaching tool. ?I can show my model a series of great images, with slightly different poses. We can talk about how the poses are different and what I want them to do in the next series. They can see what I mean and it makes more sense, straight away.
Choosing a camera and lenses can be a complicated process for beginner and professional landscape photographers alike. In late 2016, after a brutally difficult backpacking trip with my Full-Frame Nikon set-up, I made the conscious decision to completely switch camera systems with three competing goals in mind - to get the lightest and smallest possible gear with the highest quality image-making potential, all within my budget. At the time, only Sony had developed a full-frame mirrorless system, and the only other system that offered similar size and weight options for someone like me who climbs Colorado mountains with all of my gear was the Fuji APS-C system. While I knew the Fuji system was of high quality, I knew I wanted maximum resolution, plus I was pretty in love with crisp sun-stars for my photographs, so I placed a high value on that, knowing that on the Sony system I could literally use any lens on earth using adapters.
While there is no one perfect camera that works for everyone, the good news is that when it comes to image quality, the available options today from Sony, Nikon, Canon, Fuji, and many other brands will produce amazing results compared with digital cameras just a few years old - meaning - you probably can't go wrong here. There are some variables though that you will want to consider when choosing a camera for landscape photography, and each camera system does better or worse in these areas, ordered based on what I think are the most important factors:
This is always one of my favorite questions and depending on the day of the week my answer probably changes. With many things in life, the answer is, "it depends." Over time, I have been able to purchase a wide variety of lenses so that I can outfit my kit based on the circumstances. It was long thought common wisdom for the landscape photographer to want to carry three basic lenses:
This is a great set-up; however, over the past few years I have come to really enjoy photographing tighter, more intimate scenes of nature and one of my main go-to lenses has been my 100-400mm lens [Sony FE 100-400 Canon R 100-500 Nikon S 100-400]. Below you'll find highly equivalent camera and lens combinations for Sony, Nikon, and Canon, keeping in mind I am a Sony photographer. I also have extensive experience with Canon and Nikon since I have to teach these systems as an instructor for Muench Workshops:
I've also built out a kit for long-range backpacking where weight is a higher premium, utilizing smaller prime lenses and a light-weight 70-200mm f/4 lens, which doubles as a macro lens, with a total weight of 4.9 lbs:
Occasionally, I will also want a dedicated macro lens with me as well, and currently my go-to for that on my Sony set-up is a Voigtlandar 110mm. My friends that use the Canon RF system rave about the Canon 100mm RF Macro due to its 1.4x magnification.
It is an exciting time to be alive if you are an avid landscape photographer or even someone starting out. The options are endless and the quality of camera gear has improved significantly. I developed a tool, which you can find below, to help myself and other landscape photographers make a purchasing decision. Have fun with the tool and play around with it to see how the weight of your kit changes based on the system and lens choices you make.
I use this tool regularly to assess my gear set-up for various trips when weight is of importance, like when I hiked 500 miles on the Colorado Trail. I also have a page dedicated to my current gear set-up.
As a full-time Sony Professional Photographer, I have extensive experience with the Sony system and have owned almost every lens Sony has produced. As such, I have some thoughts on various loadouts that you may want to try out to maximize your experience for landscape photography.
For serious landscape photography, you can't really go wrong with the Sony A7R5, which is my trusted workhorse. I also use this camera for wildlife photography (because I'm too poor to afford the Sony A1, which would be the better choice). I used my Sony A7R5 exclusively for my 35-day Colorado Trail Thru-hike, so you can trust that it will hold up to the elements. Things I love about the A7R5:
Sony 12-24 f/2.8. This lens is a beast, but much lighter and smaller than you might expect. It's sharp. It has amazing coverage. It works well for night photography. It takes rear filters that are not nearly as clumsy as the old front filter kit set-ups offered by NiSi, Lee, or Fotodiox.
This is where things get tricky. The obvious choice for me is to use the versatile and sharp Sony FE 100-400mm (which is arguably Sony's best lens for intimate landscape); however, you lose out on the 71-99mm range. I personally did an analysis of my photography in Lightroom when I was using the Sony 24-105 and found I was not photographing between 71 and 99 a ton. However, if you do find yourself using those focal lengths, consider the Sony 70-200mm FE f/4 Macro lens and pairing it with the more wildlife-centric Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 lens, which is still a fantastic work-horse for landscape photography.
It's a great time to be alive as a photographer because you can get a lot of quality from slightly older camera bodies that still pack a lot of features into a small package. In the Sony ecosystem, it is hard to go wrong with the Sony A7R4, which is about $1000 less than the A7R5 mentioned above. It has the exact same sensor and is only missing a few features you may or may not care about, including focus stacking. If you are looking to cut costs further, you can get a lot of mileage out of the Sony A7R3, which still has 42 megapixels and creates beautiful landscape images.
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