"Content, that’s key to success. Not just the content of your camera bag but the content of your photograph. But the one depends on the other, doesn't it? It’s very understandable that photographers put so much emphasis on their technology, but that’s not what really, honestly, makes the best photos necessarily. It’s the way all the elements of the photograph are arranged in the viewfinder that makes content work. The arranging of those elements is where camera gear comes into play."
Here's what's in my bag and why it's in there. Remember it's not the camera that makes the photograph - it's the photographer.
Bodies
Canon 5D - Primary wedding and portrait camera. The full frame sensor made it an easy transition from film and I like Canon's soft warm tones.
Canon 30D - Primary sports body. It gives me 5 frames per second (2 better than the 5D) and also serves as my backup wedding and portrait camera.
Canon Eos3 - My film camera. Yes I still use film. Before digital I did my own black & white processing and printing. I'm keeping it so one day I can build a darkroom and do it again.
Prime Lenses
Canon 50mm f/1.4 - The first lens I bought for the Eos3. The wide aperture was great for the street photography I started with. It was small and light and the contrast it gave me with Tri-X film was stunning.
Canon 300mm f/4L - My primary football lens. I bought this used off of eBay and let me tell you it's worth every penny. The big guns (Sports Illustrated) use the f/2.8L version but for what I do, the price for the 300mm f/2.8L isn't justifiable.
Zoom Lenses
Canon 17-40 f/4L - Good wide angle zoom lens for the 5D and standard zoom on the 1.6x crop factor sensor of the 30D. Not that great of an everyday lens on the 30D because of its girth. The lens hood is very large and can get cumbersome.
Canon 24-105 f/4L IS - Great everyday or "walk-about" lens on the 5D. It's sharp and gives me great color and tone. The IS is helpful for low light street and portraiture. The IS doesn't help with sports but nevertheless the lens does well in gyms when shooting basketball.
Canon 70-200 f/4L IS - In my view the BEST lens in my bag. This lens is EXTREMELY versatile. It's a great lens for weddings and portraits allowing you to get in close without being in the way. Extremely sharp for the details and gives me great color and tone. This lens also sees heavy use on the football field and basketball court. This is the only lens that comes with me to EVERY photography job.
Lighting (The Key To Photography
Canon 550EX - My first strobe. Good power okay with batteries. Real noisy, but it works, and works well.
Hensel Monolight - These definitely don't fit in my bag but they are pseudo portable and give me that big studio look. They need to be plugged into A/C (wall plugs) which limits their portability and they are on the heavy side. They do a great job of lighting though. They give off a nice warm light and these "monos" have plenty of power to light up the darkest of venues. You can get a lot of different light modifiers for the Hensel's such as snoots, grids, soft-boxes, reflectors, beauty dishes and more, which allow you limitless options when it comes to lighting design.
When I add more to my kit I'll make a note and link back to this post.
