MY KIT
Professional photographers reveal their top six tools of the trade they couldn’t shoot without
Based on the beautiful Isle of Skye, Marcus McAdam runs through his Canon EOS digital setup for commercial shoots and 8x20-inch Ultra Large film he uses for fun!
Istarted getting into photography after my father bought me a Minolta X300 SLR film camera for my 18th birthday and have been hooked ever since.
Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II was the first digital camera I felt rivalled film and I loved the convenience of being able to play back images, check the histogram and change ISO between shots. I eventually upgraded to the EOS 5DS R which I still use now. With digital I found that I took too many photos. It’s great when you’re learning, as practise makes perfect, but I ended up with thousands of shots and I was only using my top 1%.
Now when I shoot for commercial clients who want great-quality files ASAP, I use my Canon EOS 5DS R. But I’ve fallen back in love with film photography in recent years and I shoot film when I have more time. It’s more challenging and I end up putting more consideration into images. I shoot less and use almost all of the photos, which I find more rewarding. I’m working on a book called Lifesize Landscapes, which will showcase photos from my 8x20-inch Ultra Large Format film camera, printed at the same size as the camera recorded them. We’ve had too much HDR, oversaturation, cloning and sky replacement and I think people are starting to get tired of the lack of authenticity in photography. I love that my shots are 100% genuine. I need to limit myself to around 50 Ultra Large shots per year, as I only buy two boxes of 25 sheets of film which are over £200 each. So mistakes are costly!
IN MARCUS’S BAG
01 Chamonix 8x20in Ultra Large Format film camera
THIS IS a beast of a camera which takes panoramic 8x20 inch negatives. The film has to be custom-made, but you can shoot straight onto photo paper cut to the right size as an alternative option. It takes a few minutes to set this camera up, so it’s only useful for static subjects. Despite its size, it’s not as heavy as it looks due to being mostly carbon fibre – weighing in at 6kg.
02 Pentax Spotmeter V
THIS IS a vintage piece of kit and the same model used by Ansel Adams back in the 1960s and 1970s. Even thoug
