Hey there and welcome !
Who am I?
My name's Benjamin, I'm a French guy living in Paris, and I'm the photographer behind bgs Photography.
I'm 38 (in 2022), and since 2010, I have been traveling to almost 40 countries in the world, as a travel & landscape photographer, looking for the best places our earth has to offer (so many !).
I try to associate my passion for outdoor, sport and photography to discover amazing lands, and catch them under the best light.
The rest of the time, I work in IT as head of network production in a big company in Paris.
Inside my camera bag?
People often asking me detail about the gear I use.
Hereunder a list of the main things I own / I use
Cameras
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
I started with an EOS 350D which belongs to my parents, then I bought my first DSLR, a canon EOS 550D. I upgraded to EOS 60D the next year, and after 2 years, bought my first 5D (Mark III),
Last year, I swapped again for a mark IV, which is my actual and faithful body. I really love it, but even if canon did progress, I'm still a little bit disappointed about dynamic range. I also really miss the articulated LCD screen of EOS60D !
A Potential 5D mark V might be my perfect camera.
Fujifilm x100s
I'm a big fan of the look and the vintage touch. However, I don't use it very often, but it's a good compromise between an iPhone and a heavy DLSR.
Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Okay, not really a classic camera, but I always have it with me. Since we can shoot in RAW and use 3 lenses, it really became a serious (and lightweight) alternative in a lot of circumstances.
Zoom lenses
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4 L IS
Probably the lens I use the most, even if not my favorite.
Big improvement compared to my first UWA, which was the EF 17-40mm f/4. One day maybe I'll change for the f/2.8 III, but... not today !
This is great lens, quite sharp, and IS may help in some situation
Canon EF 24-70mm f/4 L IS
A recent one in the family. I had two 24-105 f/4 L IS on the past, but this lens never makes me satisfied. I spent one year without standard zoom, and I finally tried this one. Quite sharp, IS and macro mode, which is making this lens quite convenient, especially when you can just bring one
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM
Simply my favorite lens ever. So sharp ! Despite the weight, it remains almost always in my bag. Fits any circumstance (travel, portrait, wildlife, landscape, ...). A few hundred grams lighter would be appreciated, especially after a long day hiking !
Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
I mostly use it for wildlife, often with a 1.4 extender. A very sharp lens. I rent the mark I version a few years ago for a trip to Tanzania, and there is a huge improvement with this second version.
Prime lenses
Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
My first prime lense, and an absolutely must have for any photographer. The f/1.8 version may be a cheaper option to consider
Canon EF 1.4X III Telephoto Extender
Mostly combined with my 100-400mm for wildlife, really works well, but require good light condition (Max Aperture f/8 at 560mm...).
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro
An amazing lens as well. Probably the best lens I own after the 70-200
Other gear
Peak Design Capture v3
My last purchase, but probably the gear I'm the most fan of. So easy now to carry on safely your camera on your belt or on a strap of your backpack when hiking, keeping a very quick access. A manfrotto tripod compatible plate is also available to keep a single plate for all usages. A must have !
Lee filter system (100mm)
Well known filter system from the UK with filter holder. I mainly use a neutral graduated filter and the famous bigstopper (2 and 10 stops), more convenient than circular ones
Bag Lowepro Flipside 500 AW
My actual bag. I tried so many, quite impossible to find the perfect one which suits in any situation. I mostly use it for single day trip, when I don't have other stuff to carry on
Manfrotto Lumimuse 8 LED Light
A very convenient light for any circumstance. Small and powerful, it's a great gear for traveling without a cobra flash
Manfrotto MHXPRO-BHQ2 Rotule
The best rotule I ever had (but I just had 3...). I use it on 3 different tripods (2 Manfrotto and 1 Cullman) and never had to complain about, even with a gripped body and a 100-400 + extender
Apple Macbook Pro 15" 2018
I don't have anymore any desktop computer, this is my unique one. I almost have it always in my bag when I'm traveling, to backup and process my pictures immediately .
... and a lot of other stuffs, but it would take too much time to present item by item !
Softwares
I've been using Apple Aperture during several years, then I moved to Photoshop CS6. I also use Nik Collection plugins, bought by DxO a few month ago.
I'm still using Aperture just for Photo library purpose, despite I tried several time lightroom, but never could get used to it. I definitely have something to improve in my workflow...
Online services / Websites
Smugmug
Smugmug is a photographer oriented site builder, and this is the engine behind this site ! If you want to try, use this link to get a 20% discount on your subscription. It's a very complete and customizable solution, from storage to photo selling. You can try it 2 weeks for Free
Dropbox
The best way to backup your pictures, or access your data everywhere on this planet (with an internet access). Easy to keep a copy of your memory card during your trip.
Just create an account for free with 2GB of storage. Different plans are available if you need more space.
Photo sharing (Facebook, Instagram, 500px, ...)
I use the most popular services to share my work. They are all different, then really difficult to say which is the best one. I'd say 500px for the quality, Facebook for the large community, and Instagram for the diversity.
500px: http://500px.com/bgspix
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benjamin-gs/
Youpic: https://youpic.com/photographer/bgspix/
