Being roped into helping out on a trip like this meant that I packed fairly light, restricting myself to my Nikon D60, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 and Sigma 180mm f/3.5 Macro. This kit was joined by my Phottix Duo Cable and Nikon SB-400, all in my Lowepro Inverse 200AW. As a result I had a lightweight, comfortable and versatile load that let me be both mobile and compact, unlike some of the other attendees.

Just yesterday I was given the opportunity to accompany a good friend to a shoot at a slightly different location. This was a model shoot at an abandoned warehouse/factory. This is not my usual sort of thing, but I brought out some toys and headed off with an open mind. What do you bring when you are not sure what you will be doing? I brought along my Nikon D300, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8, Nikkor AI 135mm f/2.8, Sigma APO EX DG 180mm f/3.5 Macro, Nikon SB-400, Nikon SB-600 and Nikon SB-800. Not everything got used in the end but I didnt feel like I missed out on anything.

First up was a compact only day, where a few friends and I did a pretty nice hike from Otford lookout down to Burning Palms and the Figure 8 pool. This hike is rated as “HARD” and really lives up to that rating, hence I didnt complain about only bringing a compact camera. So which compact did I bring? The Sony Cyber-Shot TX5 got the honours that day, mainly because it is so small and lightweight as well as being waterproof without a case, and it was in good company with a Panasonic Lumix LX-3 also in attendence.

This exercise was followed by a long nights sleep, but the next night I found myself hauling out an insane amount of gear to participate in a model shoot. My D300 got another decent workout, along with my AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 and AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR. Being a night shoot there needed to be light, so out came my Nikon SB-800 and SB-600. These were used in conjunction with some coloured gels and the diffuser panel from a Phottix 5-in-1 reflector.

I ended the ANZAC day long weekend with a trip out to the Royal Botanical Gardens. For this trip I decided to travel light, my shoulders still being sore from the weight of the previous nights adventures with the Lowepro Magnum 400AW, so out came my Nikon D60. If you remember my earlier post “Who needs a proper macro?” then you will remember that although I own a Sigma APO EX DG 180mm f/3.5 Macro, I dont always use or carry this behometh. This time, instead of using a Marumi close up kit with my Nikkor AF-D 50mm f/1.8, or my Tamron 70-300mm (1:2 Macro), I was using my Nikkor AF-S DX 35mm f/1.8 with a set of Phottix Nikon AF Extension tubes. My baby Nikon SB-400 and Phottix Duo Cable provided the lighting.

I have to apologise as I am still working on the Velvia scans as mentioned in this post. Also I have updated my gear location, at the moment I only have a SB-400, my other flashes are on loan!

PS: I also have gallery links working for everything up to June 2009 and inclusive

Much later this evening I shot my friends car. This car has been his pride and joy for the last 18months slowly being converted from a stock standard Peugeot 206 to a mean little show car with a bark and a bite that he has dubbed the “GTX”. However he is moving on and will be selling the car to finance something a bit larger and more practical to his changing needs. For these photos I used a variety of lenses (AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye) on my Nikon D300. Lighting was provided by my trusty Wolfeyes Defender 260 and my SB-800 and SB-600 speedlights.

Yesterday, I headed to the Australian Museum to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, which included an interactive photo studio component this year. Armed with my Nikon D60, Nikkor AF-S 35mm f/1.8 and Sigma 180mm f/3.5 Macro I headed in. A prime kit? Between these two lenses I have everything I want, from close focus ability to candid captures, throw in the SB-400 and the Phottix Duo Cable I am ready to take on anything.

That evening I attended the DSLRusers/ex-SURCAS/current SURCAS fire night, an event that I had organised with the help of my friends from SURCAS. Although I was officially there as part of the photographic party, I was too tempted with the thoughts of playing with fire and spent a fair bit of time with the staff in hand. My D300 spent most of the night in the company of the Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 and my Manfrotto 055 Pro B/322RC2 combo. The Tokina 10-17 fisheye and Nikkor AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8 VR also made appearances.

Firstly, I wanted to share some photos that were taken over the last few days, whilst heading into the city and USYD at night and then Mittagong the following day.

After this I swapped a lot of my Nikon gear for some Canon gear (refer here for the status of my kit including loan gear) to brush up on my Canon usage in preparation for some workshops requested by some Canon users. So I was out and about with a 400D and some lenses today.

Firstly, I headed off to Kanangra Boyd National Park (beyond the Blue Mountains and Jenolan Caves) with members of my old lab group from USYD. This was not a photographic expedition, but rather a scientific field trip to collect lizards to continue the work on the evolution of viviparity (live birth) – yes this was the broad subject for my honours year. As it was not a photographic trip, I restricted myself to bringing only my Fuji S5 Pro (the D300 was still with Nikon Australia), Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 and Phottix Geo One.

Soon afterwards (literally a two day break) I headed off to Kiama with some friends for an overnight getaway. However, the weather was not quite smiling down upon me so I did not get a lot of good photos. With me on this trip I brought along my Nikon D60, Nikon F80 (shooting Velvia 50), SB-400, Phottix Duo Cord, Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 as well as the Tokina 10-17mm fisheye.

Then after a single day at home, I headed down to Hobart for a four day trip. This trip was meant to be pretty photo intensive, so between myself and my younger sister we had the entire kitchen sink bringing the, Fuji S5 Pro + Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8, Sigma 180mm Macro, Nikon D60, Nikon F80 (shooting Velvia 50 and Superia 200), Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8VR, Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, Tokina 10-17mm fisheye, as well as the Phottix Duo Cord, Phottix Geo One and my trusty Nikon SB-400. This four day trip can be roughly split between four events:

Mt Wellington – standing behind Hobart, this landmark provides some great views of the city and surrounds

Cascade Brewery – Australia’s oldest continuously operating brewery, a great tour and some great drinks, I really enjoyed their Mercury Cider and the Cascade Lager (only available in TAS).

Bruny Island – untouched wilderness, some animal encounters and a hell of a ride in a 1400Bhp, 14m boat.

Salamanca Markets – a must see, a mix of craft and food and a great way to spend a day

I have only posted digital images taken with the D60 (as my younger sister was using the S5 Pro) with film images from the Superia 200 and the Velvia 50 to come if I have time.

Lastly, I thought I would share a few images from today’s bittersweet adventure where I welcomed back my trusty D300 but my good friend lost her D80.

Enough gear talk…here are a few images.

• 75cm x 75cm x 75cm light tent (sorry I have to iron the backgrounds but couldnt be bothered this morning)
• SB-800 and SB-600 (at 45 deg to light the light tent, controlled using CLS)
• Sigma 180mm macro, Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8, Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8

I got carried away and did some more images of my other lenses as well.