I am using pretty basic equipment on this project. My main camera is the Canon EOS RP. I own the RP a little over a year and by now I feel perfectly comfortable to undertake any kind of project with it. Glass-wise I’m using just three lenses, the Canon RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM, the Canon EF-S 55-250mm F4-5.6 IS and the Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM, the nifty-fifty. Between the RF and the EF-S I cover a wide focal range (the EF-S is a crop lens but it can be used on the RP giving an effective focal range of 88-400mm) and the 50mm allows me to operate even in low light conditions without the need to boost my ISO to extremes.
For my lighting needs I carry a couple of speedlights, a Canon EX430 II and a Godox TT685. They have similar light output and both operate on AA batteries, with the Godox being a bit bigger in size but a lot cheaper in price. I also use the Godox X1 system to trigger them wirelessly so I can use them off-camera. Since I sometimes shoot video as well I also carry a couple of small Godox video leds (Godox LED120) which have the benefit of operating on both on AA batteries and AC power. They can also be mounted on the hot-shoe mount of the camera for when in run n’ gun situations.
To stabilize things I carry a couple of tripods. The Three Legged Thing Punks Travis carries most of the load. It is a compact general-use tripod which has proved durable and easy to use (and abuse). For special situations where I cannot use a full size tripod, or when I am travelling light, I use the Gorillapod 3k. I often use the Gorillapod as a light stand as it gives me the choice to mount my speedlights on difficult angles and various heights, as long as there is something to hang it on.
As mentioned I sometimes shoot video and for this I need quality audio which cannot be acquired by onboard camera mics. That’s why I’m using the Rode VideoMicro which is a small and ultra portable shotgun mic that doesn’t add much weight or volume to the things I have to carry but still sounds terrific on most cases. The trick however is to get it close to your sound source and that’s why I often use it on a tripod (another use for the Gorillapod) with an extension cable instead of mounting it on camera.
Photography is an energy-intensive activity. For my cameras I only use authorized batteries, the Canon LP-E17 in the case of the RP. Being a mirrorless camera it’s quite power-hungry so I have to carry at least two batteries with me all the time. For the lights (both speedlights and LEDs) I use rechargeable AA batteries from IKEA. Rumor has it the 2450mAh LADDA Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are manufactured by Eneloop but come at a fraction of the cost. After three years using lots of them almost daily I can say it’s quite plausible and I am very satisfied from their performance.
To organize and plan my shoots I use a very useful app called Photopills. This should be an essential companion to any location/outdoors photographer as it allows you to visualize elements like the sun, moon and stars at any given location for any given time.
Nicolas Papassinos-Bletas
Born in 1982, I spent my early years playing with slides & projectors, photo albums, old cameras, VHS tapes, an old turntable and an Amstrad 664. Those things pretty much shaped my future. My parents got me my first camera in the late eighties, a Kodak point & shot, probably to salvage theirs. Around that same time I got involved in my school's photography club. I soon started carrying a camera on me constantly and never stopped shooting ever since. Fast forward to 2017 and this addiction became so serious that I ended up enrolling for a BA in Photography at the University of Middlesex. Now on my final semester, ThisIsEvia is my bachelor's final project.