Since (believe it or not… ;-) people sometimes ask me what equipment I use and why, I have created a page listing some of the products I use these days: See G Dan Mitchell’s Equipment List. In addition, there is also a Reports, Tests, and Commentary page that serves as an index of posts that I have made about equipment and other related topics.
Enjoy, and feel free to post questions and comments.
One advantage of shooting with other talented photographers is that every so often one of them actually produces a good photograph of me! On last weekend’s visit to the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and the Artist Point area, my brother Richard Mitchell (Touching Light Photography) was my guide and fellow photographer – and he made a photograph of me that I like quite a bit. Thanks, Richard!
G Dan Mitchell at Mt. Shuksan. Photograph © Copyright Richard Mitchell. Used by permission.
At about this time every year interest increases in the question of what equipment can work well for back-country photography. Over the years I’ve working out an approach that seems effective for my photography. A few years back I wrote an article here describing this, and I just made a few minor updates to it this morning. If you are interested, take a look at this description of my “Backpacking Photography Equipment.”
Keep in mind that my goals include making photography a primary focus of many of my back-country trips – so I’m perhaps will to endure a bigger load of gear than some might be willing to carry. Also keep in mind that I’m working to create photographs that can be turned into rather large and high quality prints – if your goals are more modest (and for most people, they should be!) you probably want to consider a somewhat different setup. Differences in your subject preferences – wildlife? macro? – might also suggest a different setup than I use.
I pretty much always shoot from the tripod so I’m attentive to tripod and ball head quality. I use the excellent Acratech Ultimate ball head at this point – it is a fine piece of equipment and has proven reliable through several years of substantial use including a lot of backpacking. (One reason I got it was the light weight for such a solid head.)
Today I say a video demonstration of a new ball head from Induro. While its larger size and bulk might make it less than ideal for my backpacking photography, this unit looks quite powerful and I’ll have to take closer look for use in other types of landscape and similar work. It looks like it would be especially useful for stitched panoramas, especially in that it allows for shots in which the horizon is not in the center of the frame.
If you haven’t heard of Induro, they are worth considering. I’ve been using their large C313 carbon-fiber tripod for several years now, and it has been solid and reliable through a lot of shooting in conditions ranging from the Sierra to Death Valley to the Pacific coastline.