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“The challenge to the photographer is to command the medium, to use whatever current equipment and technology furthers his creative objectives, without sacrificing the ability to make his own decisions.” Ansel Adams |
CamerasI have been using Olympus Cameras since switching to digital capture 6 years ago. The majority of the photographs on this website were taken using the Olympus E1, E3 or E510. The E1 is one of the iconic cameras of the digital era. Its peerless ergonomics; weather sealed body and the unique Olympus Supersonic Wave Filter, which genuinely protects the camera sensor from dust, made it a superb camera to use in remote mountain environments. The E3 has taken these qualities to a new level. During the 4 years that I have used Olympus digital SLRs in the mountains, including changing lenses in and around helicopters, I have never been troubled by dust on the sensor. I was initially sceptical of some of the new features on the E3 but was rapidly won over by the built-in image stabilisation that enabled hand held shooting in low light situations. The Live View LCD has also proved to be very helpful when taking shots low down to the ground, particularly when shooting panoramas, while the ability to see a real time histogram prior to exposing the image is very useful in rapidly changing mountain light. I have a number of Olympus Zuiko professional lenses but since the introduction of the f2.8-4.0, 12-60 mm I find that I hardly change lenses. When travelling long distances or climbing it is often not convenient, or indeed practical, to carry a large, heavy SLR and lenses. For the last year I have been using an Olympus E420, one of the smallest and lightest digital SLRs available with its associated light weight lenses. I have been very impressed by the results that this small camera produces and am looking forward to getting my hands on the new E620 which combines the small size of the E420 with image stabilisation and an articulated LCD. |
Earlier photographs were taken with a Pentax MX on either Fujichrome Velvia or Provia film using a variety of Pentax SMC lens. They have been scanned with a Nikon Coolscan 5000. I have recently had my MX bodies repaired and serviced and continue to use them from time to time. Small, robust and totally manual, 25 years on and the MX remains an excellent camera for the mountaineer when weight and space are at a premium. Tripods and Panoramic HeadThe Gitzo carbon fibre G1228 tripod with a Kirk BH3 ball head represents an excellent compromise between stability and portability and is as important as the cameras and lenses that I use for capturing high quality landscape images. For shooting panoramas I use a Really Right Stuff PCL-1 Panning Clamp and a MPR-CL II Nodal Slide which attach rapidly to the ball head and enable easy adjustment for differing focal lengths. Really Right Stuff make some of the most beautifully engineered and ergonomic camera equipment I have seen. FiltersI believe it is important to capture as near to the final image in the field as possible and to keep post-capture manipulation to a minimum. I therefore often use neutral density graduated filters to allow sky detail to be retained and a polarising filter to increase colour saturation and reduce reflections where appropriate. I use Lee Filters. |