Blog #119 Combinations

August 24, 2018 • Leave a Comment

In thinking about making art, and the tools needed to do so, there are just a few albeit critical decisions that need to be made. First, you will need a camera, a lens, perhaps a tripod, or all of the above plus a roll of film.

Clearly, projects can be built top to bottom, or bottom to top in this regard. In other words, the process or means to the end has no rules, no guidelines. The subject may dictate the gear or visa versa.

After a while, when the photographer inevitably explores multiple genres, bodies, lenses, film types, and everything in between, he or she will inevitably stumble upon some camera+lens+[film] combinations that work well for them, or with a given project. In my experience experimenting over the years I have stumbled across a handful of these winning combinations. Here is a short list of my top 10 in no particular order.

Nikon D610

Jeremy’s Top 10 Winning Combinations

Nikon D5200 + Nikon Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens [the cropped sensor makes the nifty fifty behave like an 85mm portrait lens and it makes stunning portraits of people].
Nikon F100 + Nikon 28mm f/2 AF lens + any 35mm film [this is such a powerful, easy to use combination for shooting streets, urban architecture, landscapes, and even portraits. You will want to shoot this all day. The DOF is outstanding. The F100 is a chunk of a camera but the 28mm is small and light and makes for a great package.].
The Leica 28mm f/2.8 + Fujfilm Neopan Acros 100 ISO 35mm black and white film [sadly, this film is being phased out but the natural tones and contrast of this film at 100 ISO works so well with the sharpness and additional contrast from the Leica that the images that result will really make you stop and stare. Use a Yellow #8 filter for that extra punch. French company Bergger’s Berspeed developer for black and white is one of the top developers available and usually results in relatively high contrast with very fine grain structures.].
Any 35mm film SLR from Nikon + 50mm lens + Kodak Portra 400 colour film for making portraits [the colour is just perfect for skin tones with Portra].
Nikon’s AF L35 + flash + night + Kodak Portra 400 [again, Portra is just stunning for making portraits. When your subject is lit properly with fill flash this film comes alive and truly sings].
Fujifilm GA645 medium format film camera + Kodak TMAX 100 [absolutely amazing black and white combination with great tones, and fine grain. Use Berspeed developer and scan at 2400 dpi or higher.
Kodak Ektar 100 film and just about any camera or lens, outside, in a sunny colourful setting [Ektar is bright and punchy but presents very real colours, similar to real life only better, like after a double expresso].
Fujifilm X-T2 + Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 WR Zoom lens [this is my go-to work horse professional grade event combination. Use the extra battery grip that adds two more batteries for a total of three. Rain? Dust? Dirt? Snow? Cold? Keep on shooting. How many cameras and lenses can do this? Enough said.].
Fujifilm X-T1, X-T2, X-E3, any X-mount body + Fujfilm 85mm f/1.4 [this is the bomb set up for portraits, the colour and sharpness that comes off of the Fujfilm sensor with this lens is extremely high quality and terrific in the most demanding situations and with the most discerning clients.].
Fujifim X-E3 + Fujifilm XF 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 compact zoom lens [for travel this is the best combination I have ever used. It’s small, light and the 28-85mm full frame equivalent does everything from street photography, landscapes, portraits, and even stars. I frequently take only this camera lens and neither has let me down. Just about all of the Fujifilm primes can be substituted from this zoom and still work great such as the 18mm, 23mm, 35mm, all of which I use regularly. They are all great in all honesty and their size and weight as well as image quality leave nothing to complain about.].

So there it is, 10 winning combinations that I have discovered by way of trial and many errors. I find myself coming back to these combos time and time again since they so well for me. What are your winning combo? Whatever it it, use it, exploit its strengths and find that match or pairing with your project and make it work.

The light is always right.

jhg

*Images: © Jeremy H. Greenberg

Where: New York City

Subject: Architectural Photography

Gear: Fujifilm X-E3 + Fujifilm 18mm f/2.0 (an excellent combination)

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