The Tools I Use:

Bodies

Nikon D700

  • Available from Amazon
  • The decision to purchase this body literally took me months.  I am sure my wife would have been willing to let me buy both this and the crop sensor body I was also researching.  But in the end it really came down to the low light sensitivity.  I really enjoy shooting theatrical performances, concerts, etc and this body has proven over and over that it is up for the challenge.

Nikon D50

  • Available from Amazon
  • This was my first DSLR camera.  At the time I purchased this camera I really knew nothing about camera bodies and didn’t have the time to do the research.  My considering factors at the time were weight and price.  I was less than 24 hours away from engaging in a backpacking trip with my family and wanted better quality than my point and shoot could offer.  It just happened that this was camera kit was on sale that weekend and I felt that the weight it added to my pack was acceptable.  This is also how I managed to choose the Nikon platform.  I had absolutely nothing to do with anything else.   I still have this camera and it is mostly used by my wife now for grab shots.

Lenses

Nikon 50mm f/1.8 AF

  • Available from Amazon, Adorama
  • This is probably my least favorite lens I own.  I purchased it simply for the sharpness and depth of field and the fact that it is a great lens for right around $100.

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

  • Available from Amazon, Adorama
  • This lens is on my body 90% of the time.

Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G ED IF AF-S VR

  • Available from Amazon, Adorama
  • I purchased this lens as a replacement for the kit lens that came with my D50.  I loved the reach that this lens offered on the crop sensor paired with the VR.  For the price you can get these used now it is a great deal.  I definately wouldn’t buy it new with the additional lineup of lenses that Nikon has put out over that last year.


Accessories

Nikon SB-900 AF Speedlight Flash

  • Available from Amazon
  • I simply love using small strobes and am glad I added this to my SB-600s.

Nikon SB-600 Speedlight Flash

  • Available from Amazon
  • Absolutely amazing little flash for the money.  These guys are plenty powerful for most flash work you may need to do.  They also have the built in ability to work with Nikons Creative Lighting System (CLS).  75% of the time I am firing these remotely using my built in flash as a commander.

Nikon SG-31R IR Panel for Built-in Flash

  • Available from Amazon
  • This allows you to cover the front of your built in flash when using it in commander mode using the CLS.  I was finding that the pre-flash that controls your remote units was still being picked up when photographing highly reflective objects.  I picked this up and it immediately eliminated the problem.

The Rest

Slik 700DX Pro Tripod Legs (Read My Review)

Manfrotto 322RC2 Joystick Head

  • Available from Amazon
  • I should have bought this years ago.  This or any other type of joystick head is such a luxury to have when shooting HDR.

Kata DR-467 Rucksack (Read My Review)

  • Available from Amazon
  • This is a great bag and the one I use for 90% of my day to day use.

Black Rapid RS-5 Camera Strap (Read My Review)

  • Available from Amazon
  • Let me tell you, not having my camera hanging from around my neck any longer has been an awesome transition.  Not only does it feel more natural to grab the camera from the hip position it also allows you the freedom of having that space in front of you back.  This is critical when you have children.  The only downside to this piece of equipment was it forced my hand in purchasing the Manfrotto 322RC2 Joystick Head.

After the Shoot

MacBook Pro

Aperture

  • Available from Amazon, Apple
  • This software allows you to manage and edit your photographs.

Adobe Lightroom 4

  • Available from Amazon
  • I recently started using this (2013) along with Aperture.  I will explain when and why in an upcoming review / comparison of the two applications.

NIK Software; Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro

  • Available from NiK – (Read My Reviews) – 15% discount, use coupon code “bcox“
  • This software and these plug-ins allows you to make incredible enhancements to your photographs.  With the assistance of this collection I all but completely removed the need to use Photoshop.

OnOne Software

  • Available from OnOne – Perfect Photo Suite

Topaz Labs

Drop Box

  • Available from Dropbox – Dropbox
  • This creates a shared folder on each of your machines and smart phones allowing you to quickly have access to a file on all your devices.  It also allows you to set up shared folders so you can collaborate with others on files.