Tools of the Trade
People keep asking what camera I use. My honest answer: whichever one I had on me.
Here's every tool that trained my brain and eyes, roughly in the order they came into my life…
Canon PowerShot A1000 IS
Where it all started. A pocket digital camera. Made me trigger-happy. I shot everything.
Kodak KB10
The fixed-focus plastic 35mm that half our dads owned. Point, shoot, advance. Nothing fancy.
Nikon D3100
My first DSLR. This is where manual exposure became muscle memory.
Nikon D750
The workhorse. Rugged, forgiving in harsh light, and dragged across more miles than I can count.
Nikon FM2
All mechanical. You shoot, you wait, you forget, and months later the lab surprises you. Delayed gratification, anyone?
Fujifilm Instax Square
For slow evenings with friends. Low stakes, square prints, passed around the table.
Nikon Zf
My everyday camera now. Old-school banger, with a modern mirrorless brain inside.
OnePlus 7
My longest-serving pocket camera. Years of proof that the moments in front of you matter more than anything else.
GoPro Hero 10
For places where a proper camera is tough to take.
The lenses and the bag
Cameras get the attention. Lenses and the small stuff do most of the work.
Go-to lenses
- Nikon AF-S 24–120mm f/4G ED VRThe one on my camera most of the time.
- Nikon AF-S 50mm f/1.8Small, light, fast.
- Nikon AF-S 70–200mm f/2.8G ED VR IICompression and isolation. My minimalist-landscape lens.
- Rokinon 14mm f/2.8Very wide, manual focus. Good for night skies.
- Nikon FTZ adapterAll F-mount; on the Zf through Nikon’s FTZ adapter.
In the bag
- Tripods: Manfrotto Befree Advanced, Leofoto Ranger LS-284CFor long exposures and low light.
- Hoya filtersFor water, skies and harsh light.
- Bags: Lowepro, Osprey, Nike UtilityWhat carries all of the above.
Some links earn me a small commission from Amazon, at no extra cost to you. It helps fund my passion projects. I only list what I actually use.
Different tools help in the practice.
Show up, pay attention, wait for the light.
The book
Ten years of shooting around a day job, in one book. 9-5 AND ART. Every copy numbered and signed by hand.
See the book