I’m a photographer, that’s actually spent a lot of time on the Thames.
I love looking into peoples lives, just for a split second, stepping in,
taking what I want out of it and what I find interesting and presenting that to the world.
So, today we’re here in Maidenhead. And my subjects are a women’s quad.
What I’m really interested in is looking at them from start to finish in their day...
...to see what it takes to do what they do.
Today for this assignment I’ve chosen to shoot on three different lenses.
It’s the 15-35, 24-70 and 70-200. That gives me a massive amount of flexibility, and in only three lenses.
That’s a small kit bag.
On this new trinity of lenses for the RF series, not only have they got F28 throughout the range,
but they combine that with image stabilisation and to have both of those,
accompany that with good ISO performance and Nano USM for smooth fast and silent operation and you’re kind of set for most scenarios.
(that’s beautiful, yeah yeah yeah perfect.)
As a photographer I think it so important that you’re just prepared for every situation
And the gear has to be really nimble and flexible and not give up on me and reliable.
It has to be about the creativity, about the emotion, about the moment.
(that’s great that’s great keep it up keep it up)
Maybe like an athlete, you know there is some similarity there between what I’ll thrown myself into, purely to get the shot I want to get.
(okay let’s go)
Having the ability to just look through the view finder, switch one button, maybe adjust the ISO or frame rate and the shutter speed.
Those are things I can quickly do with my fingers, without thinking about it.
That’s ideal, because I don’t want to lose that moment, the emotion.
(that’s perfect, hold that, that’s great)
Yeah I actually really saw the advantage of the IS on the 70-200 today.
I was shooting boat to boat. I was handheld on the 70-200, a lens that I would quite often leave at home because it’s too heavy
but this one is the smallest F2.8 telefoto on the market.
All I could see, it was like I was on a gimble; there was just smooth motion going up and down the water, the rowers going back and forth,
and I saw the IS in action.
I’m often shooting in quite awkward locations. There’s dust, there’s water droplets, I’ve been in sewers,
on the edge of mountains and I do change lenses a lot.
So, having this protective shutter that comes down on a mirrorless camera which actually, we’ve not seen before gives you that extra piece of mind.
(that’s really good, loving that Sue)
I got in the Thames today.
As I don’t want my gear to let me down or have to think about my gear when I’m shooting
shooting I also don’t really care about what I’m doing a lot of the time.
The new weather suiting they’ve put on the RF l enses gave me that confidence to step into the water with the body,
no housing, actually gave me better results.
So, the shot I did today on the bridge, was a great example of when to use this vary angle screen that’s on this camera.
I can touch to focus; I can touch to shoot. There’s 5000 focus points on there
I can just drag my thumb across it or tap wherever I want, and I’ve got focus.
But it meant that I could get a shot that I wouldn’t otherwise been able to get safely.
I could just flip the screen up and shoot a complete birds eye view of the action of the rowers.
I want to be able to translate that into video sometimes.
The EOS R camera gives you crystal clear 4k broadcast quality films at the touch of a button.
We managed to shoot some amazing 120 frames per second slow-mo of the ores splashing and the girls coming underneath the bridge.
We ended the day in the gym. A lot of people see the rowers on the river, and they don’t se what goes on behind the scenes as well
and I wanted to get in there and get the sweat, get the grit, get the pain.
I used the 15-35 and it was actually quite a tight space so that lens did help.
Having Canon’s nano USM technology,
silent auto focus and the ability to have a silent shutter on here as well
helps me keep that anonymity and be able to get the more candid, authentic moment when they’re not looking.
So, for me the best thing about advances in camera technology is that I have to think less about what the camera is doing.
I can point the camera over there,
focus my attention on interacting with my subject,
setting up the scene, setting up the shot.
And almost just point and shoot...
...and the camera is doing the rest through the technology available,
, through my fingers doing the work without me thinking about it.
That really helps me and my creativity it frees me up.
So, as athletes are always striving for more whether they’re amateur of professional,
photographers are doing the same thing. Were trying to create new frames all the time, new angles.
Which is actually really difficult.
What I’m looking to deliver on an assignment is what the brief asks of me and more.
That and more is often the most important part
and picking up the trinity of lenses as you walk out the door, you know that you’re covered to deliver the brief and more.