Monday, May 25, 2026
Hi, Everyone!
In the United States today is Memorial Day, when we honor the fallen military personnel who have served in our armed forces to help ensure our freedom is sustained. Thank you to everyone in this role and to the families that have sacrificed over the years.
Yesterday my wife, Ginny, and I went out birding and taking photos around Fidalgo Island and western Skagit County. I also took some panorama photos as part of my KelbyOne Inner Circle assignment due this week.
Earlier in the week I was invited to hang some of my photos at the Balance Point Physical Therapy office in Anacortes, Washington. This was quite an honor! Here are the photos on display and available for sale.
This Week’s Subject: My Photo Equipment
I thought I’d take some of your reading time to tell you what I use for my cameras, lenses, and media as part of my effort to photograph birds, landscapes, and architecture. My hope is that this gives you a few ideas as you think about your own gear and how it fits the way you like to shoot. So, here goes!
Camera Bodies
I rely on three different cameras for my photography. They include:
Each one plays a different role, from serious bird and landscape work to quick photos when all I have with me is my phone. Of note, the camera capability on the Samsung S26 Ultra is incredible…I’ve barely scratched the surface of the photos and videos I can take with this cellphone.
Lenses
- Sony FE 4/24–105 G OSS – This lens is my trusty “go‑to” for my photojournalism assignments, event photography, and some landscape work. The zoom range is not quite enough for my bird and wildlife work; however, the 24–105 mm zoom is just about perfect for almost everything else.
- Sony FE 5.6–6.3/200–600 G OSS plus Sony 1.4x Teleconverter – This lens combination is my favorite arrangement for my bird and wildlife photography. I have also used this combination for some of my landscape photography, and I honestly don’t know where I would be today if I didn’t have this lens combo.
- Sony FE 4/70–200 MACRO G OSS II – Of my lens portfolio, this lens is not used very often—to some of my regret. The macro capability alone is excellent and great for photos of flowers, and I just need to motivate myself to use this lens more frequently.
- Tamron 17–28 mm F/2.8 Di III RXD – I obtained this lens for my astrophotography efforts and occasionally for landscape photos when I want a very wide view.
If you are putting together your own kit, you might think in simple terms: one general‑purpose lens you can leave on the camera most of the time, one lens that gets you closer to distant subjects, and then any “specialty” lenses that support the kind of photos you love to make.
Media
Both Sony camera bodies have slots for two media cards. I try to balance my media with the same capacity in each slot and preferably the same brand.
For instance, my current choice for media is:
Of note, I use a 6 mm Brother label tape to mark each chip with the camera body model and whether it is used in the left or right slot. The left slot is the primary storage and sometimes my videos are stored on the right slot. I find that marking the chips ensures I mentally track what is on the SD card for processing and backup storage on a spinning hard drive. If you’ve ever pulled an unlabeled card out of a drawer and wondered what’s on it, a simple label can save you some frustration. I will talk more in future blogs about my SD card storage and labeling practices.
Next Week’s Subject: My Backup Philosophy and Process
Staying on top of your backup processes is critically important to ensure you do not lose any of your photos, especially the most important ones. I’ll tell you more about my logic and processes next week.
How Can I Help You?
Please be sure to reach out to me at enhayden1321@gmail.com or post a comment in this blog to let me know if there are any topics you would like me to address in future blog posts. It would be my honor to pass along my experience and knowledge and learn some innovative ideas from all of you!
Thanks for reading! Thanks for your time! We’ll see you next week!
Ernie
Email: enhayden1321@gmail.com | Website: https://risingmoonnw.com |
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RisingMoonNW | Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/risingmoonnw/
Leave a Reply