Process 047 ☼ My Cameras and What I Use Them For
GIVEAWAY: Stylish Camera Strap by The Voyeurs
Dear friends,
Today’s letter is all about which cameras I use and why, including strengths and example shots. Think of it as practical break down of my tool kit, not a gear review.
For this week’s GIVEAWAY we have some super stylish vegan-friendly camera straps courtesy of Linda Stulic’s The Voyeurs.
Also, exciting news! KLM’s beautiful in-flight magazine Holland Herald is featuring NOTICE in February, including a Q&A and a full page image. This is the same airline I flew to and from Vancouver with so this is a beautiful full circle moment for me!
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My Go-To Cameras And What I Use Them For
Throughout the years I have slowly filled out my camera tool kit to be prepared for a variety of shooting. I have bought and sold many cameras in that period in an effort to find the ones I felt most connected to with an intuitive understanding on how to get closest to the visuals in my head. I’ve gotten to a point where I have a tool for every situation I might find myself in, photographically speaking.
Note that one camera is missing from the picture below, which is my Fujifilm X100F, because I used it to take this actual photo. I do describe it below at the very end.
Pentax 67ii, my go-to Medium Format
When I shot my first roll of film with this camera, it felt like I came home. I had never felt as connected or understood by a camera before and it immediately propelled the quality of my work because of this connection.
It’s hulking, it’s loud, and it’s not ideal for everything, but I love using it for in studio portraiture using its famous 105mm 2.4 lens. Even thought it’s heavy it’s still also my go-to camera for long city walks while traveling. It’s wonderful for street portraits and documenting my neighborhood like I did in Vancouver for my book NOTICE or in the Oud Zuid neighborhood of Amsterdam during winter and spring (see below).
Pentax LX, my go-to Small Format
Let me start with a warning: do not buy a Pentax LX because it’s a nightmare of a camera in many ways, especially in the sense that they’re expensive and when they break they’re hard and expensive to fix. And I said “when” not “if” they break. If you’re in the market for a K-mount Pentax 35mm camera consider the Pentax MX instead. It takes the exact same incredible lenses and it much cheaper and more reliable, so get one of those instead and avoid getting caught in the a LX spiral like me.
That being said, I really love this camera, even with all the trouble. Any LX body is around 40 years old at this point so trouble is simply expected and part of the deal.
I mainly use the LX for street photography, like the protest above. It’s light and small with an amazing range of compact lenses. With its fast shutter, up to 1/2000, even unexpected moments and movement are not a problem. It’s also weather sealed, which is uncommon for a camera from this era and helps me stay out even in the rain.
The LX is also a great tool for the slower pace of quiet observational photography like the outtakes from the NOTICE body of work above. I even bring it along for photo journalism assignments and editorial studio shoots. Super multi-functional.
Mamiya 645 Pro, for in-studio work
The Mamiya 645 Pro is a delight to shoot with, not in the least because it gets 15 shots per roll, as opposed to 10 with the Pentax 67ii, which helps a lot as film prices keep rising. It’s way too loud for street photography so I almost exclusively use it in the studio where it’s perfect for fashion and editorial portraiture.
There’s an amazing selection of famous Mamiya lenses available for this camera, but in the end I really only use the 80mm 1.9 and especially the 55mm 2.8 which I almost never take off the camera. The shot below is an outtake from the shoot that was fully explored in issue 042 and this video by Ribsy.
Hasselblad 500cm, for calming down
This camera actually belongs to my dad. I just have it at my place as part of a very long-term loan. It’s a legendary camera, and the family relation makes it extra meaningful for me to use it. This is the camera NASA took to the moon!
Any time I need to calm my mind I take the Hasselblad out for a photo walk. No light meter, limited shutter speeds that max out at 1/500th, and a waist level finder force me to slow down since that’s the only way to shoot this camera. Shooting in a square format was something I had to get used to at first but now I love it.
This camera is portable and light, which makes it a joy for bringing it along when I ride my bike out to some place beautiful and exploring the area on foot like in the video we made out in the wintry Amsterdam forest a few weeks ago.
I love taking people’s portraits with this camera and the fact that it’s such a looker and has that iconic form factor with a waist level finder also means people are more open and curious about it. It feels less invasive somehow.
Canon Mark 5D Mark IV, my digital work horse
I don’t know many people who fall deeply in love with this camera, but it can really do anything and is a perfect work horse for client work of any kind. It’s extremely durable, super fast, incredibly versatile, and comes with a full selection of lenses for anything you can possibly imagine. It’s like a Toyata truck, always ready to serve.
I have used it for anything from global commercial campaigns for brands like LinkedIn or Squarespace, to editorial stories for magazines like Travel & Leisure (above, left) or National Geographic Traveller (below), and beautiful team portraits for start ups or entrepreneurs (above, right). Most of my paid work is shot on this camera.
One thing I don’t love about this camera is that the files need quite a bit of work in post to look their best. Thankfully it shoots large raw files that can be edited in all kinds of ways, but I wish the first look straight out of the camera was more like the files Fuji cameras produce because it would save me a lot of time.
Fujifilm X100F, my favorite every day camera
I saved one of my most used cameras for last. I have single-handedly sold at least 20 Fuji X100 cameras to non-photographer friends who ask me for a recommendation of what camera they should buy to document their lives.
It’s super small, super light, and sports a beautiful 35mm equivalent lens that renders with such individuality and personality. It’s my go-to digital camera for photo walks (see above), my backup to the Canon on client shoots, and my main digital camera for personal shoots in the studio (see below) and on the street.
I love that it has only one lens so I never have to think about which lens I might need. I love that it has dials on the camera for everything important just like an analog camera so that I never have to go into the digital menu. I love the EVF. This camera is just about perfect and is the only digital camera that puts me in an analog mind space.
Alright that was it! I feel obliged to mention that no one should feel like they need this many cameras to be able to shoot their best. This is a luxury and I have assembled this set up over quite a few years as an investment into my craft as I dive deeper.
For the first several years of my professional photography career I only had one camera and two lenses and that was plenty to do get just about any job done.
All film was developed and scanned by my friends at Carmencita Film Lab, unless otherwise noted. Use code “PROCESS” at check out to get a free size upgrade for your scans. They accept film from anywhere in the world and I love working with them. Thank you CFL team!
Alright that’s it for this week! Next week I will share a super exciting bit of news.
Keep shooting and take good care of yourselves and others.
Wesley
Process Giveaway!
My pal Linda Stulic is not only a great photographer but also a hustling entrepreneur always thinking up exciting new projects. She recently launched The Voyeurs, an accessories company for photographers, and released a collection of 100% vegan friendly camera straps, available in a various styles. Their motto is “shoot your style, wear it too” and one lucky Process subscriber will win their choice of one of the below.
To enter email me at hello@wesley.co using the subject line Process Giveaway 047 before 11pm EST on February 9th and answer the following question:
What would be your absolute dream client to do a paid shoot for, and why? (If your ambition isn’t to be paid, that’s ok too. The client can be a publication, brand, or non-profit.)
(My answer: Patagonia or LL Bean. I’d love to apply the skills I honed doing travel photography for outlets like NatGeo and Travel & Leisure and create an editorial style narrative piece telling the stories of real people in stunning environments.)
The winner will be randomly drawn and notified. This giveaway is for Process subscribers only. Subscribe by clicking the button below:
Make sure to show Linda and The Voyeurs love on Instagram and check out their web shop. Her fashion and celebrity work is so good, make sure to check it out here.
Congrats to last week’s winner Thom who won a copy of Carla Dief’s travel zine and thank you for all the amazing answers that you sent it.
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