Photo Gear

Canon Rebel Xsi and L-Series 70mm - 200mm f/2.8 IS II telephoto lens

A number of people have asked what photo gear I use for the photos I’ve taken for this site, so I’ve listed it below. To give you some context, I’m not at all a photo professional, but I’m not a rank amateur, either. I’ve had a passion for photography since I bought my first Nikon F in 1972 and have taken thousands of photos around the world. I’m a PADI Certified Underwater Photo Instructor and have taught many classes to aspiring divers.

In today’s world of digital photography, much of the fun is how these advanced hardware and software tools allow us to achieve incredible results. But fancy hardware and software is no substitute for the knowledge needed to use it. I approach photography as an enjoyable pastime, learning new things as I go along. I don’t purport to be an expert, but I like to pass along the learning I achieve to others who are on as similar a journey as I.

From time-to-time I’ll post the tips and tricks that I learn from friends on this page. Check back to see what’s new.

My camera hardware
• Canon Rebel Xsi with Battery Grip (right angle, two batteries)
• Canon 18mm – 55mm f/3.5 IS zoom (kit lens)
• Canon L-Series 70mm – 200mm f/2.8 IS II zoom lens
• SanDisk Extreme Pro SDHC memory cards

My Macintosh MacBook Pro 17 with OS–X Lion and Adobe Lightroom

My computer hardware, OS and peripherals
• Apple MacBook Pro 17″
• Apple OS–X “Lion” 10.7.2
• Various Seagate FreeAgent, WD MyBook & LaCie external hard drives
• Griffin Powermate (probably discontinued, but still a very cool input device, like a jog shuttle – works great with Lightroom)

My photo software 
• Adobe Lightroom (an amazing tool no photographer should be without)
• Adobe Photoshop (for retouching and image manipulation)
• Adobe Illustrator (from CS3)
• Apple iPhoto (for cataloging of JPEGs)

The upgrades I really want (but don’t yet have – are you listening family?!)
• Data Robotics Drobo FS the best way to archive and protect your precious data
• Really great image album software: Adobe Bridge? Photoshop Album? Apple Aperture?
• A better Canon EOS body

• A better Canon L-Series wide angle zoom

The experts I try to learn from
• Matthew May Photography
• Rick Smolan