Photo Gear And Books That I Love

Time to update my list of favorites! 

Camera Gear:

My favorite camera is still the Fuji X100s and I love it! It has since been replaced by the latest version, the Fuji X100t . I also own the Fuji XT-1 with the beautiful 35mm f/1.4, perfect for night time street photography and anything else I want to shoot! 

My x100s ©Valérie Jardin

My x100s ©Valérie Jardin

 

My favorite photo bag is the Think Tank Retrospective 5, it’s perfect to carry both my mirrorless cameras when I travel.

For photo walks, since I only carry one camera, I prefer the more comfortable Crumpler 5. 

My favorite travel tripod is the Joby GorillaPod. Although I must admit that I tend to skip the tripod altogether when I travel.

Photography books every photographer should own:

David duChemin’s Within The Frame

Steve Simon’s The Passionate Photographer

Ibarionex Perello’s Chasing The Light

Vincent Laforet’s Visual Stories

Kenneth Kobre’s Photojournalism: The professional’s Approach

A must-have if you are in the business of photography: Ed Greenberg’s A Photographer’s Survival Manual

Everything you need to know about digital photography in a fun and easy approach: Scott Kelby’s Digital Photography Book Set

And for more inspiration:

William Allard’s Five Decades

Cartier-Bresson’s The Modern Century

John Maloof’s Vivian Maier: Street Photographer

My Favorite Photography Podcasts:

I cannot recommend them enough! I’ve learned so much by listening to photography podcasts over the past few years. I am quite addicted to them. I listen while I’m working, exercising, or driving.  Here are some of my favorite podcasts to date:

Of course you must listen to my very own podcast Street focus

This Week in Photo (aka. TWiP), I guest host regularly and it’s a blast!

The Martin Bailey Photography Podcast! btw. I was on episode #364

The Candid Frame with Ibarionex Perello. Guaranteed inspiration every week! I was the guest a long time ago on episode #154

Your Itinirary by my friend Rob Knight.

If you like gear, then Doug Kaye’s has the podcast for you with All About The Gear.

Please add your favorite podcasts in the comments below!

Computer, Web and Other:

I never travel anywhere without 11″ MacBook Air, its super lightweight and performance are amazing.  

My favorite card reader is the Anker USB 3.0. It’s incredibly small, perfect for travel!

At home I work on my beautiful iMac with retina 5K display. 

I work exclusively in Lightroom 5.

14 thoughts on “Photo Gear And Books That I Love”

  1. Hi Valerie- thanks for sharing. After listening to you & several others, I just picked up my Fujj X100s. Really enjoy the feel & just now getting it set up. Would love to hear your settings & if you use any custom settings.
    My podcast include TWIP, Grid, Improve Photography – this is about all I can keep up with & work full time. Thanks again – will continue following!

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  2. Hi Valerie, thanks for listings. BTW you are about the only contemporary photographer I follow (in Facebook). 🙂

    I too am a kind of podcast junkie. Here’s a couple of other ones I have listened: The Active Photographer, Camera Dojo, Depth Of Field, Digital Story, Improve Photography, Jeff Curtos Camera Position, Photofocus, Photography.ca, The Photography Show, Photography Tips From The Top Floor, PhotoNetCast, Pro Photo Show, Shutters Inc, Typical Shutterbug.

    Videocast I highly recommend is old-schoolish The Art Of Photography (theartofphotography.tv/episodes). Sometimes I also watch The Grid, mainly for blind ciritiques episodes.

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  3. Thank you so much for another informative post! I will add this to my notes and wish list for now, and future, references. My husband and I just took a photo drive up the coast of Northern California to Mendocino. I used your advice about substitute tripods with very happy success.

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  4. Merci Valrie pour toutes ces informations… Elles ont d’autant plus de valeur qu’elles proviennent d’une photographe hors du commun… Votre talent n’a d’gal que votre gentillesse… Merci ! Donald WellsMontral, QC

    Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2013 18:11:03 +0000 To: doit4u@hotmail.ca

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  5. Thank you for sharing these Valerie. You are so generous. I was trying so hard to look for the name or brand of your cam strap on photos of yourself.

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  6. Pingback: Smallwood Photo Class » Photo Gear and Books

  8. very valuable info. thanks. I downloaded “Passionate Photographer” onto my tablet and put the Passport Sling on my “future gift list” to my partner! Eric

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  9. Excellent post, Valérie! They are few items that I would like to add to my bag. Never heard of the pancake lens, must be perfect for street photography, the storm jacket look awesome, and I wonder if I could find a remote trigger for Nikon. There is many good find in your books, I’ll have to check it out. Thanks a lot!

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    • I used the Storm Jacket a lot in Alaska last year. Even though my camera is water-sealed, this item is easy to use, doesn’t get in the way and gives you a lot more confidence to shoot in the rain or snow. Some of my favorites were done while it was snowing in Alaska.

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  10. Just a quick note to tell you that your participation in podcasts like “TWIP” really add quality content to these podcasts. I would love to join you for one of your photo tours in France. Next to San Francisco, Paris is my favorite city in the world but I would love to shoot in Normandy and Southern France.

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