Photography Talk: Inside My Camera Bag

I’m interrupting myself—and my general comments on photography—to answer a question which I’ve  received a lot: “what kind of camera do you use?”
 
Up until a few months ago, I was shooting with the Nikon d70. This past February it died, and I made the upgrade to the Nikon d300s. I love it!
 
But my favorite pieces of equipment in my camera bag are actually my lenses. The lens is as important—if not more so—than the camera in achieving a good image. I have the Nikon 50mm f/1.4 and the Nikon 105mm f/2.8. (You can find comparable lenses for the brand of camera that you use.)
 
My 50mm is on my camera 75% of the time. If I could recommend you buy one thing to improve your photography, it would be this lens. It is a fixed-lens which means it has no zoom. Your feet become the zoom--don’t worry, you get used to it!
 
Fixed lenses produce sharper images. And that little “f/1.4” means that you can shoot with a very wide aperture. Translation: you can shoot in low light situations without using a flash. There are more advantages than the two just mentioned. Google, and you will find more than you can read.
 
(This lens has a cheaper cousin known as the 50mm “f/1.8.” It’s cheaper because of that little “f” number again. Not a big deal. Simply means that with the “f/1.4” I will be able to shoot with a tad less light than you.)
 
My 105mm is fun. It took me many birthdays to save for. It is also a fixed lens (I like those no-zooms). It’s a telephoto lens so I can be far away from my subject while seeing them up close through the viewfinder. It produces a really beautiful soft and hazy background, which I love. It also has macro capabilities so I could take a picture of a single eyelash if I really felt like it. Hmm…don’t think I’ll ever feel like it.
 
Hope that answers your questions. Feel free to keep ‘em coming.