Today is a cold day, a tired day, one of those days you just want to curl up on the couch with a kid or two or three and some warm fuzzy socks and just hang out. But it’s a school day, a work day, a laundry day (like all days) so we’re going to put that on hold for a while…but I did get some good snuggles from my six year old before he headed off to Kindergarten for the day, enough to hold me over until tonight I’m enjoying the half snow half rain that’s coming down outside my window now.

This week I wanted to do my Thursday Three Things about equipment, what’s in my bag, what I love to use as a photographer, what I couldn’t live without, as it seems like I get those questions more and more lately. So here goes:

thing one:

My film SLR had been a Nikon and since they weren’t the first to jump on the DSLR kick I’m a Canon girl now, have been ever since I started shooting digital (although I think my first digital camera was an HP, then a Minolta). I purchased the first DSLR Rebel from Canon just about as soon as I could convince the husband that it was necessary. I purchased it with the kit lens although I later sold that on ebay. I didn’t know a whole lot about lenses or shooting in anything other than auto at first, but took a ton of photos and read a lot (Understanding Exposure is an excellent book to start with!). I participated in online photography boards and scrapbooking boards, looking at other people’s photos and practicing a ton. These days when people ask if they should go the Canon or Nikon route I typically tell people to find a local store that sells both (here in Utah, Pictureline is my favorite) and go in and hold them both. They are both amazing brands and one does one thing better, while another excels in another area. It comes down to which one feels better in your hand and only you can decide that. I have since upgraded from the original Rebel (still have it…probably going to gift it to my oldest son soon) to the Canon 30d and now use that as a backup for my Canon 5d Mark ii which I adore.

thing two:

Lenses. A good camera is nice but a good lens is amazing. It seriously will change the way you take photos if you invest in good quality lenses. The three that I use are the 85mm f1.8, 50mm f1.4 and the 24-70mm f2.8L and I love them all for different reasons. There are two more lenses on my wishlist, but it’s going to be a long while before those become reality and really, the three that I have now could take me for a very long time.

thing three:

Light. Not really something in my bag, but something I wanted to address. I don’t use a flash. Not a built in (my camera actually doesn’t have one) or an external. I have a flash, I’ve used a flash, but I’m not a fan of a flash. I’ll use it when I need it, but I much prefer using natural and available light. And that means that I need two things: a good lens that can shoot in low light situations and a camera that can handle high ISOs when needed. When I first started with my Rebel I was just shooting auto and wasn’t really too sure what the different lenses could do other that zoom in and out, so that’s what I purchased them for. Now that I’m more aware, I understand the role that light plays when you’re shooting and I know the look that I’m going for. I look for light when I am shooting here at home and when I’m at a clients home or at a park. Studio light is a whole different ball game, one that I’m currently exploring.

And that’s all for today…no photos, but since tomorrow is foto friday, expect one or two there