What’s in my camera bag?

Camera Kit
The camera systems and lenses I use.
1. Canon 5D Mark II  A workhorse. When not shooting medium format, I use this for quicker paced, demanding photography. Also shoots terrific DSLR video.
2. 24-70mm 2.8L lens. A decent all-around zoom lens with a variety of useful focal lengths
3. 16-35mm 2.8L lens. My favorite wide zoom angle lens.
4. 85mm 1.2L lens A great (and expensive) specialty prime lens
5. 135mm 2.0L lens One of the sharpest lenses Canon makes. Great for close ups and portraiture, but won't focus on far away objects at a distance.
6.   Phase One / Mamiya 645 camera  Phase One basically bought the camera and slapped it's logo on it... It's more or less the same old solid Mamiya system with a few upgrades. This camera's lackluster auto focusing system really frustrates me, but it's the best solution you're going to find in a medium format system at this time.
7. Phase One P65+ DIGI back Would you rather buy this digital back, or a mansion in Cincinnati? I shoot certain slower-paced commercial jobs and all my fine art work on this digital back, and it makes epic, high resolution files.
8. 80mm 2.8 LS lens The only Phase One lens that's worth paying attention to.
9. SanDisk 16 GB Extreme Pro Memory cards I'm not on the whole SanDisk VS Lexar bandwagon, so I usually buy which is cheapest/fastest.
Travel Kit
This is the gear that I take with me on the road, or when electricity is in short supply.  I like to operate as a self-sufficient, battery-powered portable studio.
1.  Profoto 7B 1200 battery pack A high quality battery powered flash generator. Just drag this sucker around and you won't need any electricity for about 200-250 full-powered flashes.
2. Profoto 7B Flash Head  The appropriate flash head for the 7b generator mentioned above. I usually bring two on location in case I accidentally break one.
3. PocketWizard I use 2 of these. One on the 7b generator, and one on the camera to trigger it.
4. Kata backpack This will hold all your stuff and not totally destroy your lower back.
5. Manfrotto pole I don't like to use lighting tripods because they are too cumbersome to travel with. Instead, this pole does the trick. My assistant holds the light head out and tweaks it by hand. Think "voice-activated light stand."
6. Release Me: The Model Release App I developed this app with some friends of mine and always have it with me on my iPhone. "Release Me" frees you from the shackles of paper, and puts your model release forms in a simplified, organized digital format which has just as much legal standing as a classic paper one.
7. Elinchrom 69" Rotolux Octa Big soft light
Studio Kit
When I have space and electricity to work with, I use this equipment.
1. Release Me: The Model Release App I developed this app with some friends of mine and always have it with me on my iPhone. "Release Me" frees you from the shackles of paper, and puts your model release forms in a simplified, organized digital format which has just as much legal standing as a classic paper one.
2. Elinchrom 69" Rotolux Octa Big soft light
3. Silver Beauty Dishes A modifier that gives a distinctive soft yet punchy quality of light. I usually use these with 25 degree grids.
4. Profoto standard Head The light heads you plug into the power pack.
5. Profoto 8a 2400 Air with built in Radio Reciever  A big hoss of a plug-in power pack.
6. C stands Strong and durable stands to hold your lights
7. Profoto Zoom Reflector An all around good tool for shaping harsher light. Sometimes they come bundled with the standard heads.
8. PocketWizard for Camera You'll need one of these on your camera to sync with your 8a (or similar) power pack.
9. 1/2 CTO Warming Filter / Gel gel Put this colored filter over your light to warm up the color temperature, creating a natural "sunset" golden kind of color.
Printing
I print all my own photography portfolios, and use the best quality of materials for this crucial process.
1. Find out about my portfolio printing process here.

Joey L.

What’s in my camera bag?