Nick McCarthy Blog

5D MK II, 15mm lens, and two strobes (makes for a creepy self-portrait)

Echo? Alrighty. I’m officially the last person on the planet to start a blog. We’ll see how this goes. I’ll be blogging about my photo shoots as they happen, in addition to random photographic information. I’m developing my photography skills more and more every day, so It’s exciting to see what new stuff I’ll come up with.

So, to start with, a bit about me: I graduated from film school at SMU a year ago and have since been freelancing in the Dallas area. I live in an apartment with two other SMU alum that were film majors with me. As I started working in film and video, I gained an interest in shooting stills as well. During that time I bought a Canon Rebel XT and was happy playing with the 18-55mm kit lens it came with - ignorance is bliss. Then I learned about prime lenses. The Canon 50mm f/1.8 has an amazing price/performance ratio. It goes for $85 and is both very sharp and very fast.

So, here’s my gear list as of today:

• Canon Digital Rebel XT (8.2mp)
• Canon 50mm f/1.8
• Sigma 75-300 f/3.5-5.6
• Vivitar 285HV flash
• Vivtar 285 flash
• Bogen 3373 light stands
• Infinity Gadget - Cactus Wireless Transmitter and 2 receivers
• A couple 5-in-1 reflectors, Big reflector stand
• And of course gels, gaff tape, black and white paper rolls, etc.

So, I’ve got a pretty good collection of gear and it performs quite nicely on a small budge, but as I’ve slowly moved to more commercial photography, I need higher performance equipment. Or so I tell myself. That’s why I bought myself a new Christmas present:

This is my brand new Canon 24-70 f/2.8. Not only is it a serious upgrade from my 18-55, but It's my first L-series glass! Needless to say, I'm very exciting about the new opportunities it will bring me. Expect more photos from this lens to come soon.

On another note, my roommate Jordan had to one up me and retire his 20D for a brand new Canon 5D Mark II

This camera is seriously cool. Live View, 6400 ISO, and 1080P video are some of the killer features. It’s got a massive, high-res LCD screen. Oh, and did I mention 21-megapixels? Aside from a couple of complaints with the camera, I think it’s seriously worth starting to save my pennies for - and I know that Jordan is going to love it.

Canon 5D Mark II

Uncategorized 24-70, 5D Mark II, Camera, canon, Gear, Photography