A few weeks ago, we had the good fortune of hosting photographer Hollis Bennett at Andros South. Hollis spent the week on the flats with us to capture our fishery via photo and video. Aware of his resume, we were thrilled when he agreed to shoot some content for us!
Hollis has been a professional photographer for over eight years and has shot photos for numerous national publications in destinations all over the world. To name a few, his work has appeared in TIME, the Wall Street Journal, Field and Stream, Garden and Gun, as well as many other smaller titles. His photos have taken him to every continent except Antarctica and we made sure to pick his brain on his choice of camera gear for such a shoot.
For all you “techie” folks out there, as part of our “expert series,” here’s a look into Hollis’ box of gadgets. Thanks for the input, Hollis!
Interested in Hollis’ work? Check him out at www.hollisbennett.com.
The Summary
- Pelican 1510 Rolling Carry-on Case
- Canon EOS 5D Mark II
- Canon 6D
- 24-70 mm Lens
- 24-105 mm Lens
- Zacuto Marauder Stabilizer Rig
- GoPro 3 Black Edition
The Commentary
“Any water is bad bad bad for a camera, but salt water is the worst. I use a pelican case to protect my gear while in transit and on location. Personally, I am a huge fan of the Pelican 1510 rolling carry on case. It’s not too big and will fit in the overhead in all but the smallest of planes (I was even able to wedge mine into the bin on the Saab 340 into South Andros). Its smaller size also limits how much you can carry and limits the weight you’ll have to tote around. While this may be a bit much for most folks to bring on to the boat, Pelican makes cases in all sorts of sizes. Just carry them on the plane as a personal item.”
“I personally use a Canon 5Dmk2 as well as a Canon 6D. The reason I travel with 2 cameras is because one is a backup to the other. However, assuming and hoping nothing goes wrong, I use my 6D to shoot video.”
“In addition to the cameras, I use a 24-70 mm and a 24-105 mm lens. Both of these are great focal lengths but the 105 offers a bit more reach to capture those bonefish tails as they are hauling away with your buddy’s line. On the other end of the spectrum, you need to think about the widest focal length on the lens. There were a few times I could have used a 16mm or so lens since it gets a bit tight in the forward half of the flats boat. One thing to watch out for on the wide lenses is distortion. At times it can be visually appealing but if overused it looks hokey.”
“When shooting video as well as stills, this can be really tricky on a boat. You can’t use a tripod for a myriad of reasons so you are stuck with being hand held. Fortunately, there are some really good options out there for camera stabilizers. I was using a Zacuto Marauder for my 6D since it’s a bit heavier of a camera/lens combo. However, things like a steadicam are great. Again, you just want to make sure it will fit in your bag and will be easy to rig while on the go.”
“A lot of folks are using GoPro cameras now and in simple terms, they kick ass! You can’t use them for everything since they are quite wide but, they are waterproof, they shoot great video and the newer versions can shoot at very high frame rates. I personally use a GoPro 3 Black edition and it works great. I carry extra batteries for sure. They are cheap and the camera is battery hungry. I also use a small retractable pole as well because there are times when you want to be able to hold the camera high above the deck or dunk it in water when a fish is being brought to the boat. There is nothing cooler than coming back to base camp and reviewing footage of that silver bullet appear out of the distance and come face to face with the camera – very very cool indeed.”
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