What’s In My Bag – Scott Frederick

Posted by Editor - Jimmy McIntyre in Featured Photo, In My Bag | 2 comments

Article by Scott Frederick

What I use, when I use it and why I like it

 My bag:

ThinkTank Streetwalker Pro.

I use this bag because it holds all of my gear, it’s compact & very comfortable.

My Camera:

I use a Nikon D7000 w/MB-D11 Grip as my main setup.

I upgraded from my first DSLR, an entry level Nikon D5000 w/ 18-55mm kit lens after 2 years.

The Nikon D7000 is a Semi-Professional Camera built very well. It has all the power and features I need to take my photographs. Plus, I can’t afford a Full Frame and the lenses that are compatible with Full Frame Bodies!

Tripod: 

Induro CT-213 w/ BHD-2 Ballhead.

I use this tripod a lot. It’s much better to invest in this $600 tripod setup over the $150 budget tripods.  One reason is, I’ve been through 3 budget tripods in 3 years.  Primarily because of the salt water destroying the aluminum on the cheap tripods.  Induro’s Carbon Fiber Tripods are so good, I don’t have to worry about replacing my tripod every year.  It’s rock solid, a pleasure to setup and make adjustments is very fluid.  Also, I’m achieving better clarity in difficult shooting conditions because of this tripod.  It keeps my camera very steady.  Especially during a 4 minute long exposure. The tripod is very light as well and comes with a tripod bag. My favorite way to transport a tripod while on the go.

Lenses :

Nikon/Nikkor 10-24mm DX f/3.5-4.5

This is my go to lens more than 90% of the time.  It’s Ultra Wide and on a Nikon crop sensor camera body like the D7000, 10mm is equivalent to 15mm. I shoot quite a bit at 10mm. However, I also have 14mm of zoom range for situations where I prefer to be zoomed in closer and reduce wide angle distortion.

Nikon/Nikkor 17-55mm DX f/2.8

This is my walk around lens, great for low-light at a fixed aperture of f/2.8.  I use it when I need to get a little bit closer to my subject than the 10-24mm allows.  I also use this lens for Long Exposures and has a great zoom range for minimal landscape photography.  Also, I use this lens when shooting groups of people and portraits.

Nikon/Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

I use this lens a lot for close up shots when shooting handheld, especially in low light.  Sometimes, when my D7000 is mounted to my tripod bracketing for HDR, I utilize the 50mm f/1.8 around my neck mounted to my old D5000 body.  This allows me to grab some extra shots while the Promote Control is taking over the HDR duties on my D7000

Other lenses in my bag that just don’t get to see much light are:

Nikon/Nikkor 55-200mm

Nikon/Nikkor 35mm f/1.8

Nikon/Nikkor 40mm micro f/1.8

Promote Control

I’ve been using this device a lot since I starting working with Real Estate Photography.  It allows me to bracket as many shots as I want at any specified EV increments.  For instance, I would expose 9 brackets manually at 1EV steps. Now with the promote control I can take 13 shots at 2/3 EV for example. This would be a better way to bracket in extremely high contrast interior scenes in my opinion.

Expodisc Neutral:

This is a great device for a custom white balance.  The filter goes over the front of your lens, while you shoot a Preset WB.

Filters: I always have and always will love B+W filters.  They are built very well and the glass quality is unmatched.

B+W UV 

B+W ND110 (10 Stop)

B+W ND106 (6 Stop)

Sometimes, I use the ND 10 stop and 6 stop together in a stack.  Usually so I can exposure my images in the brightest of sunlight for up to 4 minutes at wider apertures.  Still to this day, I’ve not done much HDR with ND filters.  I would like to experiment more with that idea in the future.

Also in my bag are business cards, extra batteries, memory cards, flashlight, protein bar & sani-wipes!

To see more of Scott Frederick’s awesome photography follow these links:

ScottFrederickPhotoBlog.com

Facebook.com/ScottFrederickPhotography

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