Gear
Thanks to the fine folks at British Columbia Magazine for inviting me to be the guest judge of their 2017 Photo Contest! Grab a copy of the latest issue to view the winning pics and a feature on the gear I use in the field.
It's always exciting bringing a new piece of gear into your creative field, especially a camera as nice as the new 5D MKIV. I'm not one to run out the door though and buy each camera or phone that hits the market. The pace of technology is simply too great and unless I can point to very specific things that are holding me back with my current setup, I'll stick with it. Back in the film days I shot with the Canon EOS 1N before making the switch to digital in 2006 with the Canon 1D MKII. I shot with that right up until 2012 when I bought the 5D MKII, just a month before the MKIII would come out. The MKII has definitely served me well over the past 4 years, capturing beautiful images and video while being dragged through soaking wet rainforests, over rugged clearcuts, and to the tops of 250ft trees. But certain technical elements were starting to show their age, most notably the auto-focus system, which struggled in low-light and often missed on important shots. I decided it was time. The MKIV's improved auto-focus system, dynamic range, higher resolution, and low-light capabilities, along with its added touch screen, GPS, WiFi, and HDR video with focus tracking, are all much welcomed additions. I can definitely see how it will improve critical areas in my field of shooting on a day-to-day basis, which includes a lot of hand-held shooting in dark forests. I can't wait to get it out in the woods and I'll be sure to post some images once I get back!
