I am a Consultant Electrical Engineer working in the Power and Transmission Sector all over Europe, as a result I am extremely fortunate in that I travel a great deal, and therefore get opportunities to shoot my favourite subjects, Cityscapes and Landscapes in some simply stunning locations. I travel light, and shoot full frame, and I really enjoy post-processing my images. So when shooting, I am already thinking about how I can use the tools available in software to create my perfect image. To achieve the dynamic range and maximum colour depth I always shoot RAW, as I prefer to process the images myself, rather than let the camera do it, using the manufacturer’s standard algorithms.
I have been a photographer since the early 1980s, where I started with 35mm film, mainly Pentax systems, over the years I have progressed from the early 1 mega-pixel digital cameras available at the turn of the century such as Olympus, through the earlier DSLRs mainly Canon such as the D300, D550, D60 and D6, then I discovered Sony with their advanced sensor technology, owning an A7R2, A73 and A7R4. In 2023 I decided to move back to Canon and you can see my current equipment in the My Gear tab.
You may ask why move away from a 61 mega-pixel Sony A7R4 to a 45 mega-pixel Canon R5, as the Sony Camera was and is simply one of the best full frame digital mirrorless cameras currently available, and the answer to this is quite simple, I have realised that mega-pixels do not really matter, in fact the more mega-pixels the more your computer has to work when processing them. But even more important is the colour science, with Canon the reds and oranges are better than Sony, but perhaps not as good as Fuji, so why Canon? Canon has generally stayed with the same menu format and ease of use, I prefer the controls layout and I simply love the RF lenses 3rd wheel, which I programme for exposure compensation. I tend to run my camera in Aperture Priority and not Manual, meaning that I am not chasing the correct exposure all the time, when the conditions are changing, such as sunrise, instead I can stick with my set point of 2 stop under exposed (should that be my choice at that time).
We are blessed with such impressive hardware today, even with a limited budget, the capabilities of modern cameras is truly stunning, micro 4/3rd Cameras perform much like full frame sensors from only 5-6 years ago, and the latest APS-C and Full Frame Cameras are simply amazing. So with all this taken into account I believe there is only one thing you should strive for with your photography, as I do with mine, and this is to be happy, to enjoy your pastime, whether you prefer to shoot straight to JPEG without any post-processing or you are a full multi-layer composite Photoshop Master, either way if you are producing images you are proud of and you are having fun and being happy doing it, then you have mastered photography.