Category Archives: What’s In Your Kit?

What’s In Your Kit? with Brian Ferry

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This week’s What’s In Your Kit features talented film photographer, Brian Ferry. Brian used to live in New York but currently resides in London and thankfully for us has continued shooting with his film cameras and sharing them on his blog, The Blue Hour.

I first discovered Brian’s work through his blog and was instantly blown away by the power in his low key images which focus on the details and intricacies of everyday life. His images are full of the most delicious tones and textures and he manages to find light that bounces of his subjects in all the right places.


Brian answers my Kit questions below.

MB: What is your camera of choice?

Brian: A Pentax K1000, hands down.  This was my first 35mm film camera, and it has been such a pleasure to shoot with … it’s the reason that I shoot mostly film these days.  The K1000 is a tank, and I love the deep ‘click’ of the shutter and the heft of the camera in my hands.  It’s also quite a conversation-starter; I’ve been stopped many times on the street by people with fond memories of this camera.

MB: Which lenses are your favourites to work with?

Brian: A prime lens of any sort, especially the 50mm f/1.7 lens that I have for the K1000.  The fact that you have to physically move around with a prime lens (closer or further away from your subject) makes me feel more engaged and mindful of the photo I’m taking.  I also love the depth of field I can get.

MB: Name a camera you love to just have fun with.

Brian: Right now, I’m having fun with a Lomo LC-A that I recently purchased on Ebay.  I am still figuring out how to work it, but it’s compact and light, and the photos it takes have the best tones.

Thank you for sharing your equipment with us Brian. Another user of that popular camera the Pentax K1000!

You can see more of Brian’s work at The Blue Hour, his portfolio site and purchase his book here.


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What’s In Your Kit? with Elizabeth Messina

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Dream like, magical and yet like nothing you’ve seen before is how I would describe Elizabeth Messina’s wedding photography. Any girl would die happy to have Elizabeth shoot their portrait and to have her present on your wedding day would be an absolute dream.

Not only are her portraits incredible but she shoots weddings with a story telling vibe and captures all the little details with care and the perfect light. She writes the gorgeous blog, Kiss The Groom where she shares her latest wedding sessions. I can get lost on Kiss The Groom for hours and I always leave wanting to go out and buy a fancy pair of heels. She shoots the hell out of heels! Elizabeth’s stylish work can be found in many wedding and style magazines.

I was so happy when Elizabeth agreed to share her equipment with us.

MB: What is your camera of choice?

Elizabeth: Contax 645

MB: Which are your favourite lenses to work with?

Elizabeth: I always like to be close to my subject. On my Contax I prefer the 80 mm Zeiss lens. It’s perfect.

I asked Elizabeth which lenses she likes to shoot for portraits and she said she likes the 80mm mentioned above.

MB: Name a camera you just love to have fun with.

Elizabeth: I have a wonderful collection of film cameras. Some of my favourites include my Holgas, Polaroid sx70′s, Lubitel’s, the new Fuji Polaroids.

Film is so beautiful…so luminous. I love the mystery of film. Film is an intrinsic part of my style & imagery.

Thank you so much for playing Elizabeth! To hear that some of the best photographers in the business are still shooting with film makes my heart sing.

You can find Elizabeth’s work here on her portfolio site and of course at Kiss the Groom. Get thee there now to leave her fabulous comments of love.

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What’s In Your Kit? With Lisa Warninger

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This week’s What’s In Your Kit? feature is with an amazingly talented wedding, portrait, fashion and street style photographer Lisa Warninger. You may know her photography work from the fabulous street style blog, Urban Weeds. She is based in Portland, Oregon but also shoots in Seattle and Oahu and shoots weddings worldwide.

Lisa’s portrait work is soft and intimate and her portraits are so engaging that you feel like you know the person. The lovely Lisa was very obliging in sharing her favourite equipment with us. Take it away, Lisa!

MB: What is your camera of choice?

Lisa: I love my Nikon D3. It’s my little darling and a miracle. I’ve shot with about every kind of camera available. At Brooks Institute of Photography they had everything and I tried everything. When I purchased my Nikon D3 it was after dark before the battery was finally charged. I couldn’t wait to use it so I pointed it outside at the city of Portland and set my exposure and took the first shot. And it came out!!! Unbelievable. Hand holding night shots. Technology has come so far. It’s been awhile now and I’m still crazy in love with this camera.

MB: Which are your favourite lenses to work with?

Lisa: Hands down my 50mm. It almost never leaves my camera. It’s also the cheapest lens I own. I recommend that lens to everyone with a SLR camera. The best purchase you’ll ever make. I also really want an 85mm. I adore fixed lenses, but my other favorite lens is my Nikon 70-200 F/2.8 VR. It has a long name, so I usually just call it the Long Lens.

MB: Name a camera you just love to have fun with.

Lisa: Hmm. Well I have a Pentax 67 and a Linhoff 4×5 field camera,  I would like a Contax 645 and a Horseman 4×5. One day. I really enjoy medium format and large format. On the other hand I adore color processing myself. I have a hard time letting it go. I hand process every shoot I do in a color I feel best suits it. Every shoot has it’s own character and it’s own story. I really feel that color plays a big role in that. With Urban Weeds though, I keep the color very basic.

That’s something that certainly draws me to the portraits on Urban Weeds. The combination of the colour for the style shots with the Black and White for the close up portraits works really well.

Thank you so much Lisa for sharing your equipment choices with us. I agree about those 50mm lenses. You can’t go wrong!

You can see Lisa’s work on her portfolio site, her blog, her fashion blog and of course at Urban Weeds.

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What’s In Your Kit? with Cannelle et Vanille

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I was going to wait till next week to post this next interview in the series but seeing as I am off to Hawaii for a week, I thought I’d give you another today.

I am so excited to share my next interview with you as she is another of my favourite photographers. The super talented Aran Goyoaga runs the blog Cannelle et Vanille where she shares 3 fabulous talents; cooking, styling and photography. Her food photography is absolutely stunning and even though all the masterpieces she creates look absolutely scrumptious, I think she could make a bag of dirt look appealing.

Without a doubt Aran’s photography is out of the world pretty because of the light she finds, her magical eye and the way she styles the food. The colours are so vibrant and jump out of the picture and everything looks absolutely delish! Clearly, the combination of photography, cooking and styling make for knock out photos and make Aran one very talented lady.

MB: What is your camera of choice?

Aran: I currently shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II but I shot with the Canon 50D until not very long ago.

MB: Which are your favourite lenses to work with?

Aran: For food photography I love my Canon 100mm macro. I am also experimenting with tilt shift lenses now. When I travel, I shoot with the 24-105mm and the 50mm 1.4.

MB: What do you find are the best lenses to use with food photography?

Aran: I think macros are great because you can get so much detail when you get in close which is great for food. I love the bokeh they give. Tilt shift lenses are also great but I am still experimenting so I cannot give much advice just yet.

MB: Name a camera you just love to have fun with.

Aran: My 3 year old son’s Sony point and shoot. We are very silly with it!

Thank you so much for sharing your favourite equipment with us Aran. I for one look to your photography for inspiration when thinking about shooting food. I just wish I could cook like that!

Please stop on over at Aran’s famous blog Cannelle et Vanille and leave her some blog love. You can see her portfolio site here and add her as a contact on flickr here.

All photography of course owned by and copyright Aran Goyoaga.

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What’s In Your Kit? with One Love Photo

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Do you ever look at a photograph and wonder what kind of camera or lens the photographer used to create such beautiful work? I often do and love finding out about what equipment other photographers carry around with them on a daily basis.

In “What’s In Your Kit?” I will be asking photographers to share what equipment they like to use and why.

What better way to start off than to introduce you to one of my favourite wedding photography companies, One Love Photo. Heather and Jon are a photography team who shoot weddings in Seattle. Heather and Jon’s work is a little bit special because they shoot a lot of film and most of the shots you see won’t be the typical, cheesy pics that many wedding shoots end up being. I just adore their work and was so happy when Heather answered my questions.

MB: What is your camera of choice?

Heather: Hasselblad

MB: Which lenses are your favourites to work with?

Heather: I love the 80 2.8 that came with my Hassy, although I often wish there was a faster lens for this camera. I would love to have a 1.2 on my Hassy, that would be something. I also enjoy using the proxar close up filters for tighter shots. When I am shooting with my Canon 5d I love the 35mm 1.4.

MB: Name a camera you love to just have fun with.

Heather: I think the Holga is a hoot and I love my bright orange Black Bird for travel pics.

Heather: I like the process of focusing a camera myself. I think it is during this focus process that I make important choices about composition. I use a waist level finder and enjoy looking down, since I photograph people it’s nice to not have the camera blocking my face while I photograph them. I also enjoy looking through the viewfinder and seeing the world backwards. I think it helps my right brain engage immediately.

I also just really love SQUARES, I just seem to have such stronger compositions and framing when working in a square format. I am not sure why, I guess some of us are squares and some of us are rectangles (kinda like apples and oranges). I also like waiting for the film and not having that immediate gratification.
One of Heather’s favourite quotes:
“I never have taken a picture I’ve intended. They’re always better or worse.”
Heather has written some fabulous posts about her photography process:
Check out their portfolio, blog,  flickrstream and a little article written about their work here.
Go visit the One Love Photo blog and give them some love.
Thank you so much for sharing your equipment and love of film photography with us, Heather. It was so great to read about your work with the Hasselblad, a Mocking Bird favourite!
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