Lessons

Lesson Info

Big Sur: Basic Camera Package

Coming up next a very next thing we're going to run an on location video set in big sur so our team your team we all converge down there and we didn't on location so we could see exactly how you work in the field and were a fly on the wall now this first video if I believe is setting up in big sur and looking at the specific equipment tell us a little bit more about that experience so weii set up in big sur on basically we wanted to do uh first of all a very entry lives entry level you know this is a small kit this is something that somebody that's just looking to maybe step up from you know their iphone or maybe a compact camera two maybe doing a little more dslr photography um you know something that is attainable three lenses one body and we went out and we really specifically we're talking about backgrounds were talking about putting people in those backgrounds were talking about the correlation of lens choice using compression using depth of field uh small person big landscape as ...

opposed to you know having somebody that's very dominant in the image you know all these things they're sort of addressed and working with what we're given working with light ah and sort of you know making walking away hopefully maximizing all those opportunities to make the best possible pictures on any given day great and for friends across the other side of the world why thank sir big sir I mean it's one of the most magical places on the planet for me I originate from colorado I moved to california basically for big sir it's a it's a dynamic coast uh massive cliffs water crashing uh it's just absolutely special it's I mean there's no cell phone service it's off the greatest faras getting off the grid in california it's awesome and I try to find those untouched unspoiled places as much as I can and this is ah, a short drive for anybody here in california. Fantastic. Hey, my name's lucas skillman I'm an adventure photographer and filmmaker. We're in beautiful big sur california and we're here to talk about adventure photography I know it can be very overwhelming. We're outside there's lots of changing light there's whether there's all these different aspects of it but we're gonna break it down. I'm going to show you how to go out and make great photos and go from good to great for me is a photographer. The difference between making a photo and taking a photo is taking that next step instead of just going out in documenting what's in front of you having a little foresight going out doing the research maybe, you know, working with your friends or with models actually going out and thinking through the process and putting yourself in the position to, you know, to really make, uh, amazing images and putting yourself in that position to succeed. So through this journey, we're going to go sunset through sunrise, and we're really gonna work through this process building on these concepts, step by step, and really, you know, taking that last lesson and progressing and making each photo better and sort of working through this whole progression, you know, I think outdoor photography is really important for for so many reasons, we live in this, you know, on this magnificent planet and without people going out and documenting these special places and sort of giving back and sharing these special places, it really gives people a reason to go out and protect these places. So the photographer it's our, you know, our job and our journey to go out in document these special places and share them with future generations? So I think there's a huge misconception that you need a ton of year to go out and do outdoor photography and adventure photos in general, I'm gonna show you today a really simple kit, one body and three lenses, and really walk you through, why choose these lenses, thes lenses are what I would consider attainable and what I would what I would say people should go out and strive to get because with this kit you can really cover a lot of ground and make some really amazing photos first step for me is a pick a bag that is simple, easy to get into because you're out you're hiking, you're biking you're walking down the trail and you want to be as comfortable as possible so this is a sling bag which I like because it rides on your back and you swing it around the front you're easy to access the lenses very quickly um inside this bag one body uh nikon d seven fifty really a nice go to for me um and the other thing I shoot video as well so I like to have a strap that also connects so it's out of the way uh so that one body uh shoot a little bit of action I really like to have a three hundred millimeter lens in my bag uh specifically this new threat or millimeters point for, uh, snake or lands um it's a for now lens so it's very small compacts and lightweight, which is great because you're gonna be carrying everything around uh always have a blower around the elements it's, dirty it's, dusty always want to keep that ccd clean don't want to spend hours cleaning despots s always keep that um one wide angle lens in particular sixteen to thirty five millimeter zoom this is sort of your bread and butter this is the lens that I use all the time you're going to pick one lens and one lends only a sixteen to thirty five all those advance you know huge landscapes this is the lands I'll get it's an f four lens it's not the top and lens but it's very very good lance one of my favorites and the last thing in my kit a ce faras lenses go would be a fifty millimeter one point eight which is about three hundred dollars maybe a little less very fast and this allows you to take images after the sun's gone down you don't have to push the eyes so so far because it is a one eight ap mature very wide aperture allows lots of light and and a fifty millimeters you khun take nice candid shots of friends family, etcetera, etcetera so this is the third lens in the kit um additionally, extra batteries I usually carry at least four batteries at all times uh headlamp always have a headlamp because sun goes down you want to continue to shoot little micro fiber cloth amazing just wipe off your lenses keep everything nice and clean um and the last thing I would say is one of these really small dust clause for just keeping the dust off the front elements you know, clean lands a clean cameras, a happy camera doing this maintenance uh while you're out in the field really will give you a lifetime with your gear and it really saved you a lot of time in the post processing I've been the business of almost seventeen years now and I've used pretty much every lens you can think of uh from a wide angle all the way up to an eight hundred millimeter ah and these three lenses are a ce faras a starter kit would be what I would go teo you know if I were on a budget thes e the lenses I would go out and purchase first the reason being sixteen to thirty five like I said it's f four but it's pretty fast but it also gives you that wise sixteen millimeter range but you really need get cover those you know, a vast landscapes but at thirty five you've also got a little bit of a zoom so you can shoot some people is well with the for the three hundred four it's light it's compact for nell lens, which means it has a new nano technology and it just makes it for a very small package on dh when you're out and you're in the elements you're carrying all your gear so the lighter and faster you can travel the happier back's going to be on then the fifty millimeter one point eight is also very lightweight lens uh great build quality but it also has that really fast aperture at one point eight so that when the sun goes down and you're shooting around the campfire you can still shoot those handheld shots. So what these three lenses you khun basically cover everything on location the first thing I do when I take my lenses out of the bag as I look at the front element and make sure there's no fingerprints there's no dust so on and so forth and at the end of every day I wiped down the camera typically with a micro fiber cloth just get this dam will wipe everything down just get the dust off because every time you take that lens off you're walking down a dusty trail there's lens being attracted or there's dirt and dust being attracted to your camera and he open that up and that ccd all of a sudden sucks it and all of a sudden you've got death spots and, you know I'm photographer first and editors second, I don't want to be in front of the computer I don't want to be, you know, spending hours and hours and post processing clean up dust spots, so in addition to a great camera kit and a great bag, the next piece of year that we need to have it it's impaired is a really steady tripod um, you know, people go out and they skimp on the tripod, you know, that I don't really want to spend the money on it, but get yourself a decent tripod that you'll actually carry, because if it's in your trunk of your car, you're not going to be using it. And, you know, after the sun goes down, there's amazing shots to be had, and we're going to show you some of those today and tomorrow, I would also bring funny as it sounds, I would bring a shower cap because you never know when you get some sprinkles so thorough shower cap in the bag, I bring some snacks, plenty of water, anything you can do to make sure that you're comfortable, obviously, sunscreen, long sleeve shirts, bug repellent, all all things you can do to make sure you can focus on the task at hand and making images as opposed to being worried about your comfort are our steps you can take to make better pictures. S a little bit of planning, a little bit of foresight will allow you to go out and make better pictures because you're not worried about bug bites, and you're not worried about getting sunburned, you're actually worried about just what's in front of you and having fun as faras just a day pack and that's what I would consider this a sling bag, you know, just going down to the beach for a day shoot this is what I like to use because, like I said, it's simple, you can swing it around, you can access the lenses very quickly and eyes you're going to see in a little bit is the sun starts going down? We're going to start changing lenses very quickly and start working to this process. Uh, and really, lin selection is one of your biggest assets as faras a photographer using focal length, using aperture to draw attention to your subject or to show of a wide landscape these air your tools, eyes an artist, and I think there was a famous fly fishing guide named lefty crais back in the west, he said, always expected to be wetter and colder than you think it is because, ah, the moment that you go out and you think that you're just taking care of is the moment that the clouds are going to open up and you're going to completely drenched in here in the cold and miserable, so, you know, I've always taken that the heart, you know, always have a lightweight rain jacket or a windbreaker in your bag um, and just make sure you take care of yourself as well as, you know, do a little planning, know what the weather conditions are going to be, where you're going to go do a weather check. I always find out, you know what time is sunset, sunrise, what time is sunset? Ah, what what aspect is the moon? Are we in a full moon? Are we in crescent moon? You know, knowing all these things will give you a better arrest representation of the area, you're going to go and also allow you to make better pictures.