WHAT'S IN MY BAG EPISODE 2?

Part 2 in my series of what's in my bag, takes a look a my lens. Yes. That's singular. At present I only use one lens. But it's a versitile one.
To go with my Canon 5D mark 2 camera body, I don't go anywhere without my Canon 24-105mm f4.0L lens.
This is one of Canon's pro "L Series" lens. Don't worry though, you don't have to be a pro to buy one. But you could be after you do!
As you can tell from the short description - this is a a zoom lens. But don't let that fool. As a landscape photographer I like to have a reasonably wide angle lens to make sure I get as much of the scene in the frame as possible. Coupled with the full frame sensor of the camera, I can fit plenty into shot!
With the flexibility of having the zoom, this lens caters for many shooting situations. Plus it is resistant to moisture and dust, which gives you peace of mind that you can take it outdoors and it won't fail.
Living on the coastline I shoot mostly around water, sand and salt. I can tell you that during most shoots I get sprayed because I put myself in precarious positions and my lens has never missed a beat (touch wood).
I remember the first frame I took with the body/lens combo and it blew me away. I couldn't believe the 3 c's - colour, contrast and crispness. Funnily enough I was a family portrait (not a landscape) snap of my wife with her mum and sister.
If you are looking to take your photography a little more seriously, these days you can pick up a Canon 5D mark 2 with 24-105mm f4.0L combo at a bundle price and I thoroughly recommend you do.
If you have any question don't hesitate to ask.

Catchya
Josh :)

What's in my bag?

Every now and then people ask what equipment I am using so I have decided empty out my kit bag a do a series of blogposts on the gear that is in there. And NO, the bag on the left isn't mine.

Firstly I will start by saying that my kit is probably pretty empty compared to some other photographers.
In my opinion having every lens that is on the market doesn't make you a better photographer (necessarily). Of course, if you are a portrait photographer you are not going to spend $1,000's on a fisheye lens. Likewise, if you are a landscape photographer - you will not sink all your hard earned into a specific portrait lens.
So whilst (at present) my kit is modest, it works for me in what I want to do - landscapes. I say "at present" because my interest will no doubt change down the track. Mainly because I have a my first child on the way and the kit will probably see an introduction of a more portrait based lens. Fingers crossed.
If you follow my work you would hear me talk about my camera quite often. I'm a Canon boy. But don't hold that against me! My first camera was a Canon. A Canon 20D. It served me well and I still have it.
But nowadays (and for a few years now) I use a Canon 5D mark 2, which I guess - if you use Canon and you are interested in photography and you are wanting to take your photographic options to the next level then................you should upgrade to one of these.
Don't get me wrong - just because you have a great camera doesn't mean that you will have great photo's. Right? Weeeeeellllllll...........(in my opinion) This bad boy does a pretty good job at improving your photography straight away. I still remember the first shot I took with this rig (as a reasonable novice) below. I was in awe of what I was looking at on the screen. Such good contrast and colour and this was shot with a very cheap lens.

First RAW frame of my Canon 5D mark 2 © Josh Pitt

  As a landscape photographer for one - it has a full frame sensor, enabling you to fit more in your shot. What does that mean you ask? Well maybe not all of you. But for the ones that did - have a look at this article. Learn something new? Great!

Earlier I mentioned taking your photographic options to the next level. Next level. Next level. Next level. It's two of those buzz words that gets thrown around a lot these days in photographic circles and sometimes I think maybe a little too much. But for lack of a better term I will use it today because I guess it is appropriate to what I am saying. Which brings me to my second major reason I love the Canon 5D mark 2 . It has 21.1 megapixels to play with. This enables the photographer to have the ability to produce reasonably large print sizes. Particularly important if you are looking to sell your work! Believe me I know by experience. Having worked for over 6 years in fine art photographic sales and everyone want BIG prints, but sometimes BIG never seems to BIIIIG enough. But this camera will allow you to service the majority of client print size needs. And do it well.

Understandably not everyone has a budget for a semi-pro/pro camera, thats cool. The most important thing is to find the right camera for you and a lot of the time your budget dictates what you get. With that said, I would urge you to get a DSLR (digital single lens reflect) camera of some description. I guarantee it will open up the world of photography to you. And of course try out some of the manual settings. 

Find the right camera for you here, at cheaper than normal prices.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask. Keep an eye out for more of my kit shortly.
Catchya
Josh :)

Where do I shop for camera stuff?

From time to time people ask me where I get my camera equipment from? Well...... I actually get it from a variety of different places, but definitely online most of the time. (Sorry retailers, but as photographers, we need to save as much money as possible to spend on travel or more equipment!).
Sometimes a lot of photographic products are limited to only a few distrubutors worldwide, which has its pros and cons.
Whilst having only a few distributors definitely guarantees that you are buying brand new, genuine products, it has the obvious downside of "less competition" meaning - often pricing is set buy the manufacturer and there is no room to move, for the distributor.
As mentioned earlier - photographers need the best of both worlds - cheapest prices but still know they are getting genuine products.
Recently I have revisited a website that I used waaaay back when I purchased my Canon 5DMk2. I had looked all over the internet and in store before I actually stumbled across a company called TopBuy.com.au. Even nowadays my Canon 5DMk2 retails for $2,808.95 at Camera House , whereas TopBuy.com.au currently has it listed for $2,144.75 including delivery, you can even save an extra $20 if you pay direct deposit and not use a credit card. Don't worry you can get warranty's and (touch wood) my 5D is still going strong after a few years.
There are also many of the pro lenses, memory cards, bag, batteries and heaps of other camera stuff.
I'll be honest, it's not where I go for all my camera equipment, because they don't have everything, but I definitely visit here first before checking anywhere else. 
They do refer to themselves as an Online Department Store, sooooo they do have a wide variety of other things too.
But I hope this gives you a bit of a leg up to getting the camera or accessory that you have been wanting, but haven't seen it at an affordable price.
Catchya
Josh