Desert island lenses: What the pros use (Part one)
This is the first part of a two part series talking to some of Australia's best photographers about the gear they love. Look out for part two next week, with another 5 pros.
Most of us have been there – we’ve bought a new camera and soon afterwards we want to make images as good as the world’s best photographers.
What’s perhaps not as immediately obvious though, is that aside from a lot of experience and skill, a lens can also have a significant role in defining those great images.
In some instances, these lenses might be a super-telephoto used for photographing wildlife, or an ultra-wide lens for capturing extreme sports and architecture, or maybe an ultra-fast portrait lens that can grind down any background into a creamy blur.
These lenses are often exotic, both in their design and price-tag, but they can also give photographers a strong aesthetic edge when it comes to capturing amazing images. Some photographers have quite literally relied on one lens throughout their careers to define their style.
This is not to say these same photographers would struggle if you were to hand them a budget camera with a kit lens; the best photographers can often use anything you give them to make great photos.
But lenses do play a significant role in defining the look of an image and recently that got me thinking – if I was only allowed to work with one lens, what would it be?
Aside from being a tough question (I shoot a variety of genres), it does pose an interesting question – what is your desert island lens? What is that one lens you cannot live without? Recently I asked some of Australia’s best photographers what their desert island lenses were, and these are their answers.
Ari Rex – Astrophotography
Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art
Canberra-based professional photographer Ari Rex began capturing the night sky about a decade ago and in that time he has used a range of lenses, from Canon’s 16-35mm f2.8 through to Samyang’s 14mm f2.8 and Sigma’s 14mm f1.8 lenses. After a lot of trial and error though, he now considers the Sigma 35mm f1.4 Art to be the ideal lens for his “astro-landscapes”.
“The 35mm hits the sweet spot for connecting the landscape with the night sky,” says Ari, who uses the lens for both single-captures and multi-frame images that he stitches into sweeping panoramas with Photoshop.
Single images are shot at f/1.4–f/1.8, and panoramas at between f/1.8–f/2.5 while keeping the ISO between 2500–6400 and the shutter speed at 20–30 seconds.
His biggest tip for budding astro photographers is to master the hyperfocal distance technique when setting the focus. “By focusing at the hyperfocal point (which is about 28-metres away when using the 35mm lens at f1.4), both your subject and the stars will appear sharp.
The big advantage with this method though, is that it slightly defocuses the stars, making them look bigger and brighter while also allowing you to extend your exposure time by up to 50% without visible star trailing.”
Ari uses his Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art lens with an EF-to-RF adapter on a Canon R5’s 45-megapixel sensor. “By stitching together three or more overlapping frames I can produce ultra-high-resolution files that translate beautifully into extra-large fine art prints.”
Georgina Steytler – Wildlife
Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 VR
Georgina Steytler’s journey into bird photography began 15 years ago when she joined a friend at a Birdlife WA event. “Someone mentioned the organisation needed help putting community presentations together and soon I was volunteering my time. My knowledge went from thinking there was only one species of pigeon in Australia, to learning about every bird.”
Then she was asked if she could add a few photos into the presentations; “My husband bought me a large Canon 500mm f4 lens that I was too scared to even pick up for six months – and then everything got serious.”
Nowadays the award-winning photographer rates the Nikon Z 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 lens as her desert island lens. “The Nikon 180-600mm is so good and so affordable; it is super light and it is really versatile, particularly when you are travelling. And if I ever need some extra reach I will sometimes use the lens with the Nikon Z 1.4x teleconverter.”
Georgina’s advice for novice bird photographers is to buy a telephoto lens with at least 500mm of reach, and then buy a yoga mat!
“If you sit or even lay on the ground most birds will not perceive you as a threat and will probably even ignore you! And work in soft light, particularly in the ‘golden hours’ – that magic time just after dawn and just before sunset.”
Mieke Boynton – Landscape
Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f2.8E ED VR
Mieke Boynton caught the landscape photography bug in 2008 not long after moving to the Kimberley region in WA to work as a primary school teacher.
By 2012 Mieke had registered a trading name and in 2018, after a lot of hard work and many market stalls, she quit her day job to become full-time landscape photographer. Mieke now runs a successful landscape photography gallery in the Victorian Alps with her husband, Matt Palmer.
Mieke’s desert island lens is the Nikon F-mount 24-70mm f2.8 ED VR lens. “It’s a little bit wide and it’s a little bit long, which makes it incredibly versatile. It means you can capture grand scenics as well as your intimate landscapes.
You can get your abstracts as well as your intentional in-camera movements. And while I prefer to use a prime lens for aerial and astro photography, you can absolutely use the 24-70 for this work too.”
Mieke’s main tip is to make good use of the Vibration Reduction on this lens. “When I am hand-holding the lens I’m mainly using the VR mode, but when I am applying intentional camera movements the VR switch gets turned off. And make sure you have a good circular polarising filter and a 6-stop ND filter.”
Mieke uses these filters when she wants a scene with fast-moving water or clouds to look smooth and calm.
Tina Bingham – Portraiture
Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM
Tina Bingham was content as a “momtographer”, making photos of her children on the family’s drought stricken NSW farm, when Tina’s boss (a federal MP) began sharing her photos with the Minister for Agriculture.
Soon Tina realised photography could be a career direction and so she quit her job in politics and was soon receiving mentorship from some of Australia’s best portrait and wedding photographers.
Nowadays Tina attributes much of her success to the many photographers who guided her in the early days, and the day when she discovered her signature lens.
“I was visiting a photographer friend when I picked up this 85mm f1.2 lens, and suddenly I was like – WOW, I’ve got to get myself one of these!
I love how this lens can be so up-close and personal, but you can also step back and isolate a subject with the shallow depth-of-field, even in busy situations. And I love the blurriness you get in the backgrounds and the sense of emotion it can add to a subject.”
Tina is currently using the older Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II with an Canon EF to EOS R adaptor on her Canon R6 mirrorless camera, although she anticipates moving up to the RF lens soon; “the focusing on the mirrorless cameras is definitely more accurate than the SLR cameras.”
Jackie Ranken – Travel
Canon RF 24-105mm f4L
Jackie Ranken has always managed to combine adventure with a very unique visual style. In the 1990s Jackie was making abstract photos of the NSW landscape from a Tiger Moth aircraft, usually while it was inverted at the top of a loop, and nowadays she is travelling the world with her husband, Mike Langford, helping amateur photographers find their own unique visual style.
Jackie’s desert island lens is the Canon RF 24-105 f4L USM lens. “I love the flexibility of this lens, particularly when I’m making multiple exposure images. I can shoot wide and a moment later zoom in to capture smaller details within a scene.”
Aside from having a useful zoom range, Jackie likes the lens’s practical design; “We use the f4 lenses because they are lighter than the f2.8 lenses and they also take the more standard 77mm filter sizes rather than the 82mm filters. The smaller lenses also make it easier to work more discreetly in crowded environments.”
Jackie’s advice for any budding travel photographers is to use a camera and lens that you know intuitively and can easily operate so that you make photos without being too noticeable.
And she adds – “get up early enough to beat the crowds and capture the early morning light!”