The Salton Sea is proof than man<nature. It's the story of an irrigation canal from the Colorado river overflowing and filling the old sea bed which is now mid-California desert. The new formed sea proved to be a fantastic place for water-skiing, sport fishing and developers started buying up land and building streets, hotels etc. Bombay Beach is one of those vacation towns and now it's a ghost-town. Why you ask? Well a few years back the Salton Sea started getting more saline and fish started dying off. The salty runoff from the agriculture fields continued filling the basin and water continues evaporating but the sea just sits there and gets more potent. So potent that when you first step out of the car all you smell is rotting fish in the blazing heat. The way to the fish-lined beach is rows of trailers and small run-down houses, some lived in, some not. A lot of the people who live here bought land when it had value and now it's virtually worthless so they can't afford to move anywhere else, or they don't want to move, after all, this is their home. I didn't take photos of the community but on the way to the beach there were some skeletons of old homes sunk halfway into the sand due to flooding. It's a very strange place. I suggest you look into it yourself. There's even a documentary on it.
Los Angeles
A continuation of our blogging from our West Coast of America road trip. Next up was our stay in in the L.A. area featuring the oh-so-talented photographer and our gracious host, Logan. It was actually so great because we had an "in" in the city, where we got to try some gourmet hotdogs, fantastic coffee and some extra help in navigating the LA streets.
What's in the camera bag?
in Personal
We often get asked what kind of gear we use or whether we shoot Canon or Nikon. Many photographers will tell you that "the camera doesn't matter, It's all about the person using the camera". I agree that knowing how to use your camera or understanding good light, framing and being able to capture the moment is more important than brand or model of camera; the gear you use is also the most important and necessary tool required for making great photographs.
In a world where many consumers are using DSLR cameras I feel it's important to share some of the gear we use on a regular basis.
Pictured above
- Canon 5D mark III Full Frame body (x2)
- Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS
- Canon 50mm f/1.2L
- Canon 45mm f/2.8 TSE (tilt-shift)
- Canon 50mm f/2.5 compact macro
- Canon 17-40 f/4L
- Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART
- Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX
- Canon 15mm f/2.8 fisheye
- Canon and Yongnuo speedlights
Other useful gear not pictured above
- More speedlights
- Canon 5D Mark II Full Frame body
- Lots of Batteries for the cameras and flashes
- SD Cards/ Cf cards and hard shell case.
- Reflectors, light modifiers and stands
- Rode video mic Pro
- Glass bits for shooting through
- LED Panel
- Yongnuo flash triggers
Jon's Favourite Lenses
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART (far left)
This lens stays on my camera most of the time for candid capture. It is incredibly sharp across the frame and it's low distortion but wide field of view makes it a great lens for capturing stories.
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX
The 85mm focal length has just the right amount of compression and reach to make this a very flattering portrait lens. This sigma offering has fantastic colour and sharpness even wide open.
Katriina's Favourite Lenses
Canon 50mm f/1.2L
This focal length probably provides the most versatility. It's field of view is the closest to what you see naturally so it works wonderfully to capture full scenes or closer portraits. It's razor thin DOF at f/1.2 also provides very attractive Bokeh (must be a nerd to understand)
Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8
This is the most wacky of the bunch. It shifts and tilts and spins every which way which way to allow us to tilt the plane of focus to make creative shots. It also looks wonderful in backlit situations . It's tricky to work with (manual focus) but the results are fantastic.
Why we use what we use
Most of the reason we use what we use is because it feels right and we love the look the lenses produce.
- Do you shoot with zooms? We shoot with mostly prime lenses (fixed focal length) because of the great low light capability and pleasing look they produce.
- Why not just use a Rebel? Full frame is the way to go. The sensor is much larger than the cropped sensors in consumer cameras and the body we use provides great low light capabilities as well as weather sealing. We also like our canon 5D Mark III bodies due to the dual card slots. This allows us to shoot full RAW photos to both cards simultaneously so if one fails your memories aren't lost.
- What is Sigma? I've recently fell in love with the look of sigma lenses. Yes it's a 3rd party company but It has seriously stepped up to the plate in the last few years and are giving Canon and Nikon a run for their money.
- Do you have backups? We each bring a variety of lenses and gear to your wedding or event. We even carry a 3rd body (5D mark II) in our bag in case something goes wrong with our main camera. If a lens fails we have many others to choose from and no single lens failure will result in compromised coverage.
- How often do you upgrade? We are constantly trying new techniques and new gear with our photography. If we find something that we like that fits our needs we buy it.