Equipment
Martha Spencer, a musician with the White Top Mountain Band of Grayson County, Virginia. Photographed at FloydFest in July 2006 with a Canon EOS-1D and a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom.
I get a lot of questions from photography enthusiasts about the equipment I use for most photo assignments.
As a pro shooter my cameras are the tools of my trade and the tools depend on the job at hand. I shot with Nikons for most of my professional career, starting with my first Nikon F single-lens-reflex in 1965 through the D2H digital that I used until I switched to Canon in 2004.
Now my primary camera bodies are the Canon EOS-1D Mark III and the EOS-1Ds Mark III. The 1Ds at 21.7 megapixels, is one of the highest resolution DSLRs on the market and produces stunning photographs. I also have a 1D Mark II and 1Ds Mark II as backups along with a 40D.
For most non-sports shooting assignments I use two camera bodies with a 28-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8 zooms. For football, baseball, track and soccer, the primary action lens if a 400mm f2.8 (on a monopod) with the 70-200mm as backup. I also use the 28-70 for crowd and closeup work. For basketball and volleyball I like 300mm f2.8 for primary action work and the 28-70 for close in shots. Two good prime lenses for basketball and volleyball are the 135mm f2.0 and 85mm f1.2.
The 85 and 135 are also good lenses for shooting music events and portraits. I often use the 70-200 for music shots at the Friday Night Jamboree and FloydFest.
Other lenses in my camera bag include a 17-35mm f2.8 zoom, a 100-400 zoom plus 1.4x and 2x tele-extenders.
But remember that the most important tool that any photographer uses is his or her eye. From time to time, someone will say to me: “I wish I had equipment like yours so I could take pictures like you.” The best equipment in the world is useless without the ability to use it.
A good lesson for apsiring photographers comes from the legendary Alfred Eisenstadt. He was shooting in Times Square one day when a woman came up with her young son and asked: “Mr. Eisenstadt, if I buy my son a camera like yours can he take pictures like you?”
Eisenstadt didn’t even look up.
“Madam,” he replied. “If you buy him a Steinway, can he play like Van Cliburn?”