Australian_Photography_-_March_2016_

60 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY MARCH 2016

EXPERT ADVICE Industrial Photography

In the Bag: Michael Evans

My typical kit always includes at least two camera bodies.

Currently I use the Canon 5D Mark III with the 1Ds Mark III as

my back-up. I always take the 17mm TS-E f4 for any building

shots, which of course helps me correct perspective. Working

underground I need some vestige of autofocus and so I use

the 16-35mm f4 for wide-angle work. My general-purpose walk

around lens is the excellent 24-70 f2.8 II, supplemented with the

70-200 f2.8 L IS II USM, which gives me that nice extra reach,

as well as being a good portrait lens. If I want to really isolate a

particular piece of machinery using a shallow depth of field, then

I use either the 50mm f1.2 L or the 85 f1.2 L. For macro work

I still use the very old 50mm f2.5, which despite its noisy and

slow autofocus performance, still produces very sharp images.

I always carry between four and six Speedlite flashguns, Canon

600 EX, 580 EX, and a ST-E3-RT slave trigger. I mount these on

lighting tripods, and without fail carry five or six PocketWizard II

flash triggers as insurance in case the Canon ST-E3-RT fails. I also

use a variety of snoots, gels and scrims, which I mount on the front

of the Speedlites to control the intensity, direction and colour of the

light I apply to a scene.

I have four Elinchrom Ranger heads, two kits, which see fairly

regular use on location. Their compact size, light weight and

relatively powerful output, combined with a great range of soft

boxes make these flashguns invaluable in the field when you just

need a little more punch than a Speedlite can provide.

I use a Really Right Stuff tripod combined with one of their

excellent ball heads. Although expensive, I prefer the stability and

light weight of the RRS gear, and do not use a central column as

I find them to be too unstable, impacting on image sharpness.

I carry everything in a combination of Lowepro and Think Tank

bags, which are certainly up to the level of abuse that I put them

through. – Michael Evans.