How much gear do you carry with you when you go out to take photographs? Each time that I get ready, it is like planning for a trip. More gear means that I will be more ready for the full range of situations that I may encounter, but more gear means more weight. So what do I do? I compromise. During the winter, I tend to have my 150-600mm zoom lens on my DSLR and during the summer I use a 180mm macro lens as my primary lens. I will usually have a second lens in my camera bag, often a 24-105mm lens, but often it goes unused.
For greater flexibility I usually carry my trusty Canon SX50 super zoom camera. It is lightweight and versatile, with an equivalent field of view of 24-1200mm, a 50X zoom. Like me, it is a bit old and slow and has some limitations, but it lets me capture wide-angle shots in the winter and distance shots in the summer without having to change lenses on my primary camera in the field. It also lets me shoot in RAW, my preferred format for capturing images.
On the 2nd of January, I was chasing the sunrise. I knew that sunrise was scheduled for around seven o’clock, which is the time when the electrically-controlled gates of my favorite wildlife refuge slide open. I was a little late leaving home and as I drove south on the interstate, I could see the sky turning a beautiful shade of red. As I entered the refuge, I could see that the colors were starting to fade. As soon as I got to the parking lot, I grabbed my SX50 and captured the second shot below with the engine still running and the car door open.
I turned off the engine, grabbed my gear, and headed for the water. Along the way I stopped to capture the third shot below, a view across a frosty field. When I finally got to the water, I could see that the sun had already risen. However, the clouds reflected some of the brightness of the sun and added drama to the scene and I was able to capture the wide view that you see in the first photo below with the SX50.
In case you wonder why I did not post these photos earlier, I simply forgot to upload them immediately from my “second” camera. It was a nice surprise for me when I looked at them on my computer screen for the first time yesterday. The images validated for me the value of carrying this camera with me for its multi-purpose capability, a kind of photographic Swiss Army knife.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Stunning photos!
Thanks. Unlike many people, I really love early mornings and it is wonderful to start the day with beauty in the skies.
I know what you mean! I love mornings and sunrises too! 🙂
Truly fantastic sunrises, Mike. The color and drama are glorious. Great way to start the day, for you and for me. Thank you.
Beautiful Sunrise images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them! I usually use 2 cameras. Main camera with a 400mm & 1.4x Teleconverter or a Tamron 150-600mm, and a 2x teleconverter in my vest. Then a m43 Olympus with a 14-140mm lens. If working from a car I bring a few more lenses – very wide zooms and macro lenses.If we drive 3 or 4 hours to get to a location you never know what you might need!
You and I have similar approaches, Reed, albeit slightly different gear. I am amazed when I see guys with two DSLRs, often hanging tethered from a harness. I can see how that would be good for a wedding, but it would get in the way (and be awkward) tramping about in the wild.
Thanks, Jet. It’s amazing how fleeting the colorful moments are, both at sunrise and at sunset. I can see why landscape photographers often scout their locations in advance–it’s hard to be really successful when chasing the sun.
Very beautiful sunrise images, Mike. I particularly like the first one because of the added reflections over water.
When I was on a photography trip from a car I used to carry two cameras: one with my 100-400 lens for birds and wildlife, the other with a wide angle for landscapes. These days on the boat, or on a bushwalking trip, the Tamron 18-400 is nearly permanently on the Canon 7Dii for maximum versatility: seascapes and wildlife while minimising weight as my back can’t take heavy packs any more!
It is fascinating to hear what others do (or have done), Chris, and why. It’s always a compromise–you just can’t it all. When I was in Paris, I carried a lightweight DSLR (Canon SL2) and smaller, wider lenses, because I was doing a lot of walking around and shooting landscapes, buildings, and such. I actually have the Tamron 18-400 lens, but have not used it very much. I need to start taking that out when I don’t know what I will be shooting. I sort of get stuck in a rut always shooting with the same old gear.
Lovely!
Gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing!
That first shot is stunning, Mike. They are all great. I know the feeling of chasing the sunrise. I used to see it starting to turn a pretty red while I was still on the highway. I knew where I could park, but I had to get there before the color changed.
I purchased an SX-60 and love the zoom factor for wildlife and the moon. But it won’t fit easily in a pocket so I recently added the Olympus TG-6. Limited zoom but it’s nice to be able to tuck it away. With the SX-60 zoomed all the way out I have to have it on either a tripod or bean bag in the window, A little motion goes a long way. These are very nice morning shots, also my favorite time of the day.
Gorgeous!
Beautiful!
Wow … sky on fire. You make a really good point about why it’s helpful to take that small SX 50 lightweight Canon. I like your analogy with the Swiss Army knife☺️
Thanks. The Swiss Army knife analogy works so well for me because there are so many models of the knife–there is no one size/style that fits all situations. 🙂
Beautiful images Mike, …no surprise there. And that Swiss Army Knife keeps coming up in my life!,! M 🙂
Thanks. Flexibility is normally a good thing. 🙂
Beautiful, Mike, and very interesting commentary as always. Love the image of a photographic Swiss Army knife. I’d like a camera like that! Good for lazy people who don’t like to lug a lot of stuff around. (Comment not meant to refer to you! You are obviously NOT such a person.)
Thanks, Nina. You have read enough of my postings to know that I encourage folks to shoot with what they have, no matter how modest they think it is. We live in an imperfect world and I think it is ok to capture it imperfectly. One of the downsides, I think, of today’s virtual world is that many folks strive to present to the world a sense of perfection in their appearance and in their lives that is at best ephemeral. Maybe professionals need to agonize over their gear, but for the rest of us, “good enough” is sufficient to capture a sense of the beauty that surrounds us.
You are amazingly successful at capturing that sense of the beauty of ordinary things.
New Year sunrise. Absolutely love it!