COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2015 by Mark Condon. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. All photographers’ images remain the copyright of each individual photographer and have been reproduced with their permission. Any use of the respective photographers’ images contained within this book is forbidden without their express written permission. First Published, 2015 Alexandria, NSW 2015 Australia www.shotkit.com 1 DISCLAIMERDISCLAIMER The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the respective photographers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author. External links may include affiliate tracking. This in no way affects the cost of the final product. Any small commission generated by affiliate purchases go into the maintenance and upkeep of the Shotkit site,, which offers all its information completely free of charge. Thank you for your support. 2 FOREWORDFOREWORD Photography is a pursuit where the equipment garners almost as much attention as the art we use it to produce. Despite the less-is-more mantra of the purists who encourage a limited gear collection as a way to reduce distraction, each new camera release seems to attract familiar symptoms of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. - the unfounded desire to have the latest and the greatest. Is it wrong that we simply desire to advance our abilities through the purchase of these items? They may be unnecessary, but new gear promotes fresh enthusiasm for our art; the hope that our next picture will be better than our last. Gear is not the solution but it is the motivation. Seeing your camera and lenses in possession of the world’s finest photographers is motivation enough that you have all you need to produce a similar picture. It’s only practice and mastery of your craft that separates you from them now. I don’t seek to encourage commercialism, but my advice is to purchase new gear if it keeps you motivated. If acquiring that new lens makes you believe you can take a better photo, then go ahead and buy it and be sure you do just that. Make the most of tomorrow’s advancements in technology to make better art than yesterday. Build up a gear collection to satisfy your wants, then reduce and refine what you use, to be left with a few select items that you master like an extension of your body. 3 As photographers, we already know that the cheapest camera has the ability to take the most powerful photo in the world if placed in the right hands, in the right place, at the right time. We don’t need the latest camera to take a better photo, but if it excites us and makes us believe we can, then that should be good enough. For many, photography is a passion that encompasses both the art and the equipment, and it is for these people that I created Shotkit. Let’s celebrate both, rejoice in the inspiration and do whatever it takes to become the best photographers we can be. - Mark PS. If you enjoy the Shotkit Book and would like to earn a 25% reward for referring your friends, sign up to be a Shotkit Book affiliate here. 4 PHOTOGRAPHERS 5 Section 1 ROSS HARVEY www.rossharvey.com Emotive, geometric and artistic would be three words I would use to describe my work. Coming from a background in graphic design, I’m crazy about composition and creativity. I hold a Masters Degree in Advanced Computer Science, and have a well-developed geeky side. Got to love technology. 6 When I’m not taking photographs, I’m contemplating the cosmos – what it means to be human, how to generate/maintain happiness while exploring the realms of consciousness and quantum physics. As that lad Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”. I’m very much aligned with the latter :) Although I have a fair bit of kit, I now use the Nikon D750 with the Nikon 35mm f/ 1.4G for nearly everything. Before this, I used to use the Nikon D3s. The other Canon gear (including the Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 50mm f/1.2 and Canon 135mm f/2) are for specific uses, especially portraits. The Leica M3 is for film portraits, something I’ll be doing much more of this season. The Olympus OMD EM5 is my go to digital street photography camera. It’s insanely useful for that. The little prism you see bottom right is one example of many – I like to shoot through things. It can turn a normal photograph into something magical! I use three Nikon SB-900 ‘s, mainly because they tend to overheat (the Nikon SB-910 addressed that issue), but only for dance-floor and sometimes speeches. My preference, by far, is natural light. I use the Think Tank Airport International bag, because simply, it’s the best travel bag ever, and while shooting, two Spider Belt Clips (dual cameras) and a Domke F-803 which holds three lenses and cards/batteries. Ross Harvey’s Camera Gear Cameras 7 Nikon D3s Nikon D4 Nikon D750 Olympus OMD EM5 Leica M3 Canon 5D Mark III Lenses Nikon 24mm f/1.4G Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Canon 50mm f/1.2L Canon 135mm f/2L Olympus 25mm f/1.8 Leica 50mm Summicron Other Nikon SB-900 (x3) SpiderHolster Dual Belt Clips Think Tank Airport International Domke F-803 Interview with Ross Harvey 8 Section 2 NORDICA www.nordicaphotography.com Our names are Cole and Jakob, and we started Nordica Photography together in 2009 in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, we have photographed weddings around the world and for the time being, we are based out of Sweden. 9 From the day we started Nordica, we have made many mistakes with our gear and learned a lot. We have had too little gear at points, we’ve had too much gear at points, and now we’re aiming to find a balance that will not compromise quality or performance, yet lend to comfortable travelling. We keep our gear subtle, mostly due to the travel. We have always used Nikon, but that’s not to say it’s better or worse then any other brand. It’s difficult to find a poor camera these days, so we’re not that rigged with brand loyalty. The reason we use Nikon D750 bodies is for our line of work, we feel it’s inexcusable not to use the best equipment available. The only negative thing about the Nikon D750 bodies is you’ll never be able to blame your gear for missing a photo. Since we travel light, prime lenses suit us perfectly with their small sizes and all-in- all, we don’t focus too much on our gear. We choose what we think are the best tools for us and that’s that. Our lenses are all primes, and we feel that is the best way to communicate our vision. There is something simple about using prime lenses that lends the photography style to be more about compositions and communicating a moment, which is why we prefer this setup. The Nikon 35mm f/1.4 is for sure what we predominantly use on the day of a wedding, whereas the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D acts as our longer lens for situations such as the ceremony or reception when we want to get closer to the emotions of the day without physically imposing. The wider lens that we have – the Nikon 24mm f/2.8 – essentially is only used when it’s combined with our flashes for dancing pictures. The Nikon SB-700 and Yong 10 Nuo YN-560 II flashes we have are only used for dance pictures, and aside from that our style adheres entirely to natural light. Cole & Jacob’s Camera Gear Cameras Nikon D750 (x4) Lenses Nikon 24mm f/2.8 x2 Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 50mm f/1.4G Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART Nikon 85mm f/1.8D Nikon 85mm f/1.8G Other Nikon SB-700 Speedlight (x2) Yong Nuo YN-560 Speedlight (x2) Filson Harvey Backpack Compagnon Messenger Bag (x2) HoldFast MoneyMaker Strap (x2) Interview with Nordica. 11 Section 3 BRUNO ROSA www.brunorosaphoto.com My Dad was a wedding photographer in the past, but unfortunately he died when I was very young so I never got a chance to learn with him. He is my biggest motivation and I’m sure he is proud of me being a wedding photographer now. 12 Back in 2009 when I started with my first camera the Nikon D90 and a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 I was shooting for free for about 1 year to get experience and knowledge and then I started shooting weddings. I love what I do, so I put myself out there to practice all the time. I enjoy shooting weddings and work in the middle of that awesome atmosphere – I just feel like I’m not working to be honest ;) I now currently shoot with 2 Nikon D3s bodies which are awesome in low light, excellent with focusing speed and incredible with dynamic range, so it means that I can recover a lot information from the dark or bright areas and this is extremely helpful for those of us who are shooting weddings, because sometimes you don’t have much time to get the perfect exposure.