(wind) All right guys, welcome to Hardman News here in Iceland. No. So we're now out in my cabin in the south of Iceland, very snowy outside, but we're in here in the cozy warmth of my office space. And I wanted to share with you some of the things that I pack for my trips. I thought about a few different ways to break this down and I think the clearest way is to show you what I would take when I'm on a mission from my car versus something, let's say, a mountaineering ascent where lightweight is key. So I have a few different setups and I think what I'll show you first is what I would use when high resolution imagery is of highest importance. So for those situations, I would use Sony A7R3. This camera has been really cool. They've improved the battery life quite a lot from the older models. So obviously living in a cold climate that is very important. And I want to make sure that, you know, I don't have to take 50 batteries when I'm out there. So this is a 42 megapixel camera and it ...

has been really nice. I've printed photos up to three meters. They look pretty legit, so happy to keep shooting with this guy for a while and for that I need lenses. So what would I use and why. I like to keep fairly decent amount of variety in my pack, but of course I don't want to be slugging around a really heavy bag, even if I am just going on a day hike from the car. So I've tried, I spent a bunch of years perfecting this down to a few things that I would take the first being a wide lens and I've moved into prime lenses recently and I'm focusing on making my high res kit completely based out of prime lenses. So here we have the 20 millimeter 1.4 from Sigma it's got a massive front element. Can't put filters on it very easily, which is challenging but lately I've been really loving the 1.4. So I'm not so much focused on longer exposures in the day, so ND filters aren't really an issue. Having the wide 20 millimeter lens in my kit has been amazing for portraits, landscapes, finding any type of scene where I need to isolate a close range subject 'cause I can get low. I can get blur and really focus in on what I'm trying to shoot. That's been really cool. Next up is the big brother of that one. I have the 1351.8 from Sigma and this is a new addition. I used to use 135 almost exclusively, back when I was shooting with a Canon. So I've, I've had the 135 F2 from Canon for years, but unfortunately a while back I dropped it on the ice and it smashed and that was it. And then it was just like a piece of my soul was gone. I went onto 85 for a while, but I found that in some situations it just wasn't tight enough because often I'm using this lens to stitch images together. So I might create an 8, maybe a 12 image stitch, getting a lot of the foreground, a lot of the area above the subject and getting a little bit more of a minimalistic feel by adding space. So this lens has been amazing, especially being 1.8 that's quite unique. So between these two lenses, I have two quite unique combinations, 21.4 and the 1351.8. Now I can't shoot a distant animal when I'm trying to get into my wildlife photography. So I need a longer lens set up for that. And in addition, I also need a longer lens to capture the mountain peaks, which is something that is pretty cool to do here in Iceland. We have some crazy awesome jagged peaks. And for that, I have two lenses, which I'm gonna bring out together. I have old lenses from when back in the Canon days, again that I still use via a Sigma MC 11 converter. The first of those two is the 400. I remember getting this. I was so stoked. It was the first time that I had something over 300 millimeters. It's opened a lot of doors for me. Yes. It's 5.6, which is, you know quite a dark lens in environments like Iceland, where we don't have much light even in, you know, summer maybe in, in summer we have, you know, 24 hours of light but it's not that bright usually but I've been able to make it work. I'm often on the ground balancing the lens against rocks and things that can give me some form of stabilization. But the 400 has really allowed me to compress my landscapes and my wildlife photos. And its size means I can pack it in my bag easily and it's not as hefty as something like a 400 2. which just, you know, that is an entire peli case in itself. If you want to take that around. Then the little brother, is the 200 2.8. So again, following the primes for this setup that's the hood, this lens I didn't even know it existed for a long time. I always thought of this focal length as something you would get out of a 70 to 200 2.8. So when I found this, I was really intrigued and it's been really nice to use because it's compact, it's lightweight. And it's the prime again. I'm just loving the quality that I can get out of prime lenses. Yes, it adds a little bit of weight. You could probably get, I mean you could get these three lenses out of a 100 to 400, for example, but each one especially the Sigma lenses hold this really interesting combination of aperture and focal length. So those have been again, really cool to use. I remember this lens, the 200 in Svalbard I couldn't pack my 400 for this specific boat mission that we were doing and there was this amazing rock face that was off in the distance. This lens became really something that I loved that day because I got home and just it was so sharp that I, I was pretty mind blown. And even with a 1.4 converter, which I was using at the time, I was getting just some crazy you know, structural, textural images from that. And I was really impressed, so between all these four lenses I'm able to head out in the field, maybe I'll refine this. If I'm going, you know, on a hike maybe I don't necessarily need the big Canon here but yeah, between these, I've got a pretty versatile setup and something that I'm confident is gonna give me a high resolution image that may be able to be printed for a billboard who knows. Sometimes you never know where your images will end up in the future. And I wanna be able to cover those situations.

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Benjamin Hardman

Five years ago, Benjamin embarked on his first photographic mission in an Arctic winter climate. Ever since, Benjamin’s passion for the cold has grown to lead him in search of the North’s most obscure landscapes.

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Adventure & Sports Outdoor Post-Processing Aerial & Drone

Ratings and Reviews

Matt Grandbois

Very Informative & Awe Inspiring Both Benjamin and Alex have played huge roles in my photographic style development over the years and it is great to hear first hand exactly what inspires and drives Ben to keep pushing his creative boundaries. Personally, I love his minimalist approach and it was super insightful to watch him explain how he developed that style and how he actively produces photographs in a cohesive manner. 10/10 recommend this workshop to anyone looking for a very unique and profound perspective with the intent of expanding your creative horizons.

Janelle Dransfield

Moving to Iceland now...? Loved this workshop! I really liked the way the modules are split up, and the way you watch Benjamin go out on location for a shot, then immediately sit down and watch his editing process for that specific shot. So much editing to learn too, since he doesn't use presets! The workbook is also super thorough, so printing it out allowed me to pay close attention and just add little notes here and there. The Iceland road guide is also SO helpful and in depth. Can't wait to use it. Also loved that Ben talked about printing your own work. Would be cool to maybe see something from Wildist in the future that goes even more into depth on that (calibrating your own printer, working with a print shop, dropship sites, etc.) Awesome course. Thanks, Hardman.

Alec Brown

First Workshop The first workshop I have ever purchased. I've always been hesitant to invest in a workshop, however this went above and beyond my expectations. Fluid in progression, great insight and a super relaxed learning curve full of information. I feel this has prepared me to take my own personal photographic journey to the next level. Executed to perfection. Nice work guys! 10/10 recommended.

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Series Hello & Introducing Benjamin Hardman

Coffee with Alex - Benjamin's Story

Benjamin's Workshop Introduction