Tripods & Stability

Really Right Stuff TVC-24L Series Mk2 Carbon Fiber Tripod – My workhorse tripod for maximum stability. This thing is a beast!

Really Right Stuff BH-40 Ball Head – Matching ball head for the TVC-24L.

Peak Design Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod – The footprint on this tripod is tiny and it has become my new travel/backpacking tripod. My only gripe on this tripod is the head doesn’t pan, but I’ve found ways around that.

MeFoto Classic Carbon Fiber Road Trip Travel Tripod – This was my go-to travel/backpacking tripod for a long time and I’ve actually had 2 of these. I just beat my gear up and when it was time for a new tripod, the Peak Design one had come out so I decided to try that route out. I still highly recommend this tripod and the one I have still does get some use.

Really Right Stuff Pocket Pod – This tabletop tripod doesn’t see too much use unless I’m traveling, but when I do use it, it’s invaluable. I’ve found that a lot of places (observation decks, rooftop bars, ect.) have “No Tripod” rules, but this lil’ guy can usually get me around those regulations because it’s so small. It’s also real inconspicuous to setup, which I love, especially in cities.

Really Right Stuff Clamp – Like the pocket pod, this doesn’t get much use when I’m not traveling, but when I am, it’s invaluable as well, maybe even more than the pocket pod. This sucker is rock-solid (I’ve ‘hung’ my camera over a ledge 57 stories up…) and a great way to get around a no-tripod rule or just be more inconspicuous.

Really Right Stuff BH-25 Head – Just a smaller ballhead for the pocket pod and clamp.

Really Right Stuff PC-LR Round Panning Clamp – This has been clutch for my panorama photography, particularly when using the pocket pod or clamp, but this can also attach to other tripod heads that do not have panning ability.

Really Right Stuff MPR-CL II Rail (7.4″) – With panorama photography, you sometimes need to deal with parallax distortion. This rail can act as a nodal slider mitigating that effect.

Accessories

Memory Cards – A mix of Sony and SanDisk Extreme Pro cards, anywhere from 32-128gb.

100mm Format HiTech Firecrest ND Filters – A great filter set for knocking down the light for long exposures.

JJC Intervalometer Remote Timer – Remote and intervalometer for Sony cameras.

Zeiss Lens Wipes – I hate that these are only a one-time use item, but they just work so damn well.

Bags & Carry

F-Stop Gear Satori EXP Backpack – This pack has been my absolutely workhorse since like 2011. I even backpacked with it for a couple years, but for the sake of my lower back, I learned that a true backpacking pack is a much better way to go. However, this still my go-to for heavy loads (~30lbs!) when I’m carrying my entire kit as well as other items (clothes, food, jetboil, ect…) that I might need on trail.

F-Stop gear Loka –  This pack is smaller than the Satori and is the one I use when I’m trying to go lighter, particularly on short day trips or skiing.

Lowpro Photo Sport 200 – I don’t love this pack, but it’s pretty small so I primarily use it when mountain biking when I only bring my camera, one lens, and maybe a travel or pocket tripod.

Peak Design Everyday Backpack – This backpack is less ‘outdoorsy,’ so I primarily use it when I travel. It’s small and compact, but I can carry nearly my entire kit and laptop.

Peak Design Everyday Messenger Bag 15″ – I primarily use this whenever I’m carrying my laptop, but it’s great for anytime I just need to throw my camera or drone in a bag and go.

Pacsafe Camsafe Venture Slingpack – This slingpack is absolutely amazing and I love it. The only reason I don’t use it as often as I used to is because my laptop doesn’t fit in it.

Peak Design Slide – I don’t use camera straps often, but I love how comfortable this is and how easy this is to connect or disconnect from my camera.

F-Stop Gear Navin – This is just a small pack that I attached to the hip belt on my backpacking pack. It protects the camera, but still allows me fast access to it. (I used to use the Peak Design Capture Clips, but those keep the camera exposed and I just found my cameras taking hits too often. It would have only been a matter of time before I did some major damage to one…)

Computers / Backups

Desktop – My desktop computer was a custom build and at this point, pretty close to needing an upgrade so it’s not worth going into details.

Microsoft Surface Book 2 – Overall, I love this laptop, but it is a little too slow for serious photo / video editing.

Synology DiskStation DS1618+ 6-Bay NAS – My primary storage and backup with RAID. (20tb)

Drobo 5N – This was my original server, but now plays a backup roll to the Synology.

Getting Airborn & Under Water

DJI Mavic Pro 2 – An incredible drone with 1-inch CMOS sensor. You can read this article on why a drone is an essential tool for me now.

DJI Smart Controller – The Mavic 2 Pro was designed for use with a cell phone (attached to a remote), but I was always plagued with connectivity issues of the app/phone freezing up while the drone was in flight. I tried out the Smart Controller and at this point, haven’t looked back. The screen is super bright for daytime flights which is great as well.

Polar Pro ND filters to decrease the light and allow for slower shutter speeds when necessary.

GoPro Hero8 – To me, a GoPro is more of a toy than a tool right now and I don’t do too much with anything I use it for. I’m primarily a still image photographer and the GoPro can’t produce the still image high-quality that I demand. However, I do use this camera a lot, but much of the video footage sits unused on my hard drives and is more of ‘personal’ footage versus ‘cinematic’ that I would actually show to the world. It’s super fun to play with (and especially to have diving), but I have yet to really incorporate it into any of my work.

Polar Pro Switchblade for Hero8 – A relatively inexpensive underwater filter set for the GoPro Hero8. To capture more accurate colors under water, it secures on a GoPro dive housing and has a red/magenta/macro lens on a flip-out design for underwater photography and video.