Dream team

So I've spoken about my dream team kit a couple of times but the real question is what does that kit actually comprise? I think it's fair to say it's obvious that I'm looking at high end kit but Nikon seems to have made 4 lenses that just 'fit'.

So first off we'll talk lenses. The obvious lens is the 24-70mm f2.8 which covers the most common focal lengths on full frame and acts as a mid telephoto on crop models. The next lens is the 70-200mm f2.8 which picks up from the top end of the mid range lens, these two alone should be more than enough for most jobs. The next lens is the 14-24mm f2.8 which picks up from the lower end of the mid range lens (see I told you these lenses fit together), this is ideal not for landscapes but for photos where a dramatic, imposing photo is required... it also happens to be excellent for real estate (which is where this lens will be earning money). Next up is the 200-400mm f4 which will be the lens I buy if I make money in sports or birding, otherwise it's likely to remain just a dream!

So there are the 4 main lenses right there, there is also a 50mm f1.8 (or f1.4 if I get around to buying one) purely for when the lighting gets tough (ahem, weddings). The 105mm macro lens for product shots wraps up the lens section!

So what about bodies? 2 full frame bodies and 1 high speed crop body, right now that converts into a D800, a D3 and a D300, but will obviously change as new bodies come out.

Diane and Ryan

First off a huge congratulations to Diane and Ryan, I wish you both many years of happiness!

This is my first wedding since starting this blog and also the last I am booked for, so until iI start filling my kit bag I probably won't undertake any more of this type.

I have to admit I wasn't happy about the lack of backup body; I'm used to having two bodies, one with a mid range lens (28 70) and the second with a telephoto (70 200). Fortunately nothing went wrong with my kit and overall things went more smoothly than I expected.

Here is my favourite from the day!

First car shots

After a particularly bad day I decided to meet a friend and take some photos of his car.

Car photography isn't something I've done before and most of the general advice I've read regarding car photography was either out of my hands or simply not possible, however I needed something to cheer me up and I'm happiest when I've a camera in my hands, so how could I refuse?!

We drove to Bradgate Park here in Leicestershire, one of my favourite spots in all honesty for all types of nature photography. The weather was unusually good and there was an amazing sunset, so everything on the light front was working in my favour!

A static shot of the car:

f10, 1/15, 800 ISO

and an action shot with my new 120 300 2.8:

f2.8 1/320, 800 ISO

I'm rather happy with these (especially the action shot), and hopefully will get the chance to try some more in the future.

The Mitsubishi FTO 2 litre V6 is actually for sale, so the next car shots I do may be of a completely different vehicle.

Special thanks to Paaras Doshi for giving permission to shoot his car.

Test shots (Sigma 120-300 2.8)

The weather has been in my favour today (finally), so I decided to walk up to one of the local parks and see if I could get any interesting shots with my new lens... unfortunately it started dulling up and raining before I got there however there was one brave little squirrel which couldn't be deterred!

f2.8, 1/800, 800 ISO

There were some obvious front focusing issues which was a shame as the first photo I managed to get was the best for colour and a full body shot, however the fact that the eyes were out of focus was a bit of a put off. Keyed in some fine tuning in the field and it seems 100% sharper now.

Overall, very pleased indeed!

New bit of kit!

So my new lens arrived today; a 120-300mm f2.8 Sigma.

This thing is a beast!

Unfortunately because of the appalling weather I'm not going to get chance to test it for a while (boo), all I can say is it weighs an absolute tun and is built like a tank, the real test comes when I can finally get the sigma 1.4x and 2x converter and use it at an air show.

The kit so far...

So you may be wondering what kit I have right now? Well not as much as I once had, and certainly not the dream team I'm working towards, but it's a good starting place.

I'm shooting a Nikon D300, with it a third party grip. My lenses include a Nikkor 50mm f1.8 and a Sigma 28-70mm f2.8. I use a Redsnapper tripod and ball head and some Yongnuo wireless triggers (RF 603s). I have an ND8, ND graduated and a circular polariser all 77mm thread, I also have a piece of welding glass, rated at 13 (about 16 stops of light reduction).

So that's it for now, I'll be adding to this soon with any luck as I work towards the dream team (but that's for another post)!

About me

Hi my name is Rob, and this is hopefully going to be a diary of my progression from amateur to professional photographer, its mostly for my amusement but might be interesting to fellow photographers, and if I manage to help anyone along the way then that's even better!
I've some experience with paid photography, I've done a wedding and some odd jobs here and there, I've learned a lot doing so but it was all cut short in May 2012 when someone broke into my flat and stole all my kit... thousands of pounds worth of glass and sensor gone.
I've learned from that too.
So these days I work in a camera shop and am in the process of moving which leaves me very little money to splash out on replacement kit, I've managed to grab a couple of bits and pieces thanks to help from family and should be able to cover my current bookings.
Hopefully over the course of the next few months I'll have my dream team kit and resume working as a tog!