I’ve long been a big fan of Jim Begley’s work and recently he has become a gifted drone photographer as well. The image above of a curve near Laural Lake in all four seasons is spectacular!  I will give you links to his images at the end, and I  highly recommend you visit them, you will be inspired!

 

 

Go to:   https://www.wowphotoshdr.com

 

Enjoy,

 

the pilgrim

 

 

The purpose of this blog entry is to explore with all of you how I am attempting to get my everyday carry system down to the minimum of gear and weight, and still being able to shoot almost anything I might decide to try to tackle.  This system is aimed at shooting, nature, landscape, travel and Americana, if I was going to try to do birds, wildlife, action, sports or serious close-ups I would have to arrange for some additional lenses.

 

First the Bag:  The Wotancraft Pilot 7L.  I picked this bag up a few weeks ago, I fell in love with it’s ruggedness, utility, style, and operational considerations.  With the equipment and accessories described in this blog entry, it weighs in at 9 lbs. and that is a comfortable weight that I can live with.

 

 

In the main compartment in the center of the bag, under the flap I keep the Fujifilm X-T5 with the XF-16-8-0 F4 R OIS WR with a  Breakthrough 72mm polarizer attached and a bayonet square lens hood with cap.  I use a Peak Design wrist strap on the body.  My second lens is the Fujifilm XF 70-300 f 4-5.6R LM OIS WR with another Breakthrough polarizer attached and a reversing lens hood,  For me the X-T5 is the culmination of everything the X Series has come to be,  I love the 40 mega pixel sensor and the in body stabilization make shooting handheld  a lot more effective.  I still carry  tripod in the car, in fact two, a large full size one (RRS Versa  A 33 with a RRS BH-55 LR head and a table top type, the Leophoto LS-223 CEX with  RRS BH-40 LR tripod head. With these two lenses I can cover from an equiv. focal length range  of from 24mm to 450mm.  Quite a great range for just two lenses and both of these are very good performers.

 

 

Let’s walk around the bag and see what is packed in the various areas.  On the front left (when facing the bag) is a an accessory zippered pouch that is attached to the Mole straps of the bag with YKK Attachment clips that are very secure but easy to remove if you need to.  In that pouch I store a rugged case that holds two additional batteries for the X-T5 and 4 memory cards. (LENSGO Camera battery Card Wallet  Model D850 $11.12 Amazon) Also I keep a LituFoto LED video light N126 $24.99 Amazon it recharges with a USB C cord and is a great fill light, in fact that is the light used for all of these images in this blog entry, Lastly a Nikon manual cable release, as a back up.

 

 

In the outside mesh pocket I keep a credit card size iPhone tripod made of carbon fiber,  it is a thin as a couple of credit cards and folds out as seen below.  It is amazingly easy to fold out as illustrated below.  It is $45. on Amazon which is a little steep but works well.

Pocket Size Wallet Tripod Amazon.

 

 

 

On the right side the accessory drawstring pocket, attached the same way,  is my mini tripod (Wewatch Mini Desktop tripod Stand PS-102  $19.99 from Amazon) used often to hold the LED light and a more robust aircraft aluminum iPhone tripod holder with a Arca Swiss foot.  Mine is a the Sunwayfoto CPS-01 about $25. on Amazon.

 

 

In the elastic pocket on the left side of the bag I keep a LED flash light (Streamlight Stylus Pro 66121 $20. from Amazon) and a Swiss Army Knife in a leather case (Victorinox Swiss Army Huntsman wife Red with pouch  $49.99 Amazon)

 

 

In the right elastic pouch I keep a small Giotto Rocker Air Blower ( AA1920  $15.99 Amazon)

 

 

On the inside zippered pocket just above the tops of the accessory pouch I keep a electronic release for the camera (Vello Electronic Release Fujifilm no longer on Amazon) , a Gerber tool for tightening Arca Swiss Plates (no longer on Amazon) and two Breakthrough Neutral Density Filters a 5 Stop and a 10 Stop and a 72mm to 77 mm steep up ring. Also there but not pictured is the   Xenvo Bluetooth wireless remote for the iPhone   $20. on Amazon.

 

 

Finally in the back zipper pouch on the back of the bag I keep a  couple of field note booklets and a pen.  These which are decorated with the National Parks art are from Amazon $15.99.

 

By-the-way I do not  have any arrangement with Amazon, if you order any of these items I do not get any compensation, the information is just for you,  just in case you were interested!

 

I did not show my iPhone an Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max, since I carry it in my jacket pocket but it is an integral part of my shooting system, it is in fact my back-up body. I highly recommend this youtube video below, Scott Kelby makes some great point on using your iPhone, and as you will see, I bought a few of his suggested item too!  He also demonstrates the little Carbon Fiber tripod in the video.

 

 

O.K. that was a long one, but I hope it was helpful, I can report that through most of February I really used this system to my advantage and had more fun shooting than I have in long time!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

 

I had an email request that I thought was very interesting.  A reader said, “I enjoy seeing what you pack and how you carry it, but I’m even more interested in why you pack certain things ?  For instance I see you have a LED light panel, in what circumstances do you use it?”  A perfectly valid question and one I intend to address this weekend, I need to shoot some more set-ups and then show some illustrated shots that allow the reader to see the value of the particular accessory I’m showing.  I will hope to get that published tomorrow or Sunday!

 

Thanks for the question!

 

Blessings,

 

 

the pilgrim

 

 

 

Ten Truths

 

1. If you’re not making incredible images, it’s not your camera!  Almost any camera made today or in the last 10 years is capable of making incredible images, the question is are you?
2. Lenses are not consistent – so have a plan!  Though lenses are more consistent, lens to lens, than ever before, there are still better samples and less precise ones.  Here is my trick, buy form a dealer that allows return within a few days for a full refund or exchange.  Keep ordering and testing until you get a sample that you are convinced is up to your standard!  Now you can use it with confidence!
3. Everything is composition!  The success and failure of an image rests on how you handle the elements within the frame!
4. There is no such thing as a famous photographer. Elvis was famous, Frank Sinatra was famous, Abraham Lincoln was famous, photographers are only known by other photographers, that’s not famous!
5. Unless someone is paying you for your images, you are the only person that has to be satisfied with them!  If someone is paying you to shoot, you better make them happy or they won’t write the check, if you’re shooting for yourself, you’re the only judge of your success!
6.  “Technique beats equipment every time!”  That quote is from the incredible nature photographer, Rod Planck, and he is right!
7. Self worth is not the result of your art, it’s a result of who you are!  Your worth is not determined by your photography skills or results, they are determined by your character, integrity and compassion.
8. The best photographic technique is to: Slow Down!  You will make the biggest improvement in your work when  you slow do2n and take time to think about what you want photogrpahically and how to get it!
9. It’s better to really know how to use 2 lenses than to carry 8 and not know!  Too much gear is only confusing, it’s best to master a few lenses than to have too many.
10. If I thought my photography defined me, I wouldn’t no much about life!  “Nuff said”

 

Bonus:

 

1. It’s wasted money to buy cameras that have features you will never use. Example; if you never shoot sports or action or willed why would you spring for a camera that van shoot 15 frames per second?
2. If you judge your work by comparison to others work, you will never enjoy photography!  Bad news here; there is always someone better, no matter how good you are, so stop sweating it and have fun!
3. The best camera is the one you have with you!  This is why an iPhone or smart phone is so valuable, you almost always have it with you and when you need it, you have it!
4. If you own it and can’t carry it with you, why do you own it?  I’m preaching to myself anyone else that is over stocked!!!!!
5. The best accessory to assure sharpness is spelled: T-R-I-P-O-D!  OIS (Optical Image Stablization) can help with hand holding no doubt, but real tack sharp images come from using a good solid tripod!  Remember there are two kinds of tripods, those that are easy to carry and good ones!