Articles written by Chris Ramsey Jr.

When making films, we experiment with different camera setups, locations, times, and various equipment to try to nail that scene exactly how we see it in our head. Lately though I have been experimenting a ton with movement. It really immerses you into a location and gives you the feeling of being there yourself. It also is great way to piece a story together seamlessly. Now when I saw one of my favorite filmmakers make a video this specific subject I knew I had to share it.

About a week ago I was in New York City visiting for pleasure and decided there was no way I could leave without visiting my favorite store in the city: the B&H superstore. This was something I had been looking forward to since it would be the first time I could get my hand on the new Sony a9 and see what all the fuss was about. During my visit, I was absolutely floored by the performance of the a9 and how the Sony kiosk had way more attention than anywhere else in the store. This along with the recent announcement of Canon’s 6D Mark II and Nikon’s company woes made me realize how much the industry needs a company like Sony.

By now we all should know that Adobe has ditched the traditional one-time purchase for programs in favor of the new Creative Cloud subscription model. During the transition, there were growing pains and outrage amongst the creative community. People were upset that they would no longer be getting updates for the programs that they owned and the only way to stay current would be to subscribe to Adobe’s service. Now that the dust has settled from the transition, Justin Odisho weighs in with his thoughts on the subscription and if he thinks it’s worth it as a professional in the industry.

Unlike most people in Photography, I didn’t pick up a camera for the love of making art. I never thought of myself as an artistic person but I wanted something better than my phone to document my hikes in the Appalachian Mountains. Quickly after getting my first Sony a6000 just like with all my hobbies I had to know everything about it and so I ran down the photography rabbit hole (and haven’t come back). Even though I do more with my camera nowadays than just documenting the trail, it has taught me a few things that have helped me immensely in my work.

With every job or concept we go to shoot, our gear that we take with us is constantly changing. We take our full lighting setup for a day in the studio then we turnaround and pack a separate bag to go shoot in the mountains for that perfect sunset. The gear we take with us is on a constantly turning roundabout between our bags and kits. Through all the madness there does seem to be a few items that are consistently put into every setup. It’s those pieces of gear that work in all scenarios that are invaluable to us and how we work. These are the five items that I won’t leave the house without regardless of what’s on the agenda.

In April, Sony shocked the photography community by announcing the rumored Sony a9 to the world. The camera attacked all the critics by improving on most of the aspects that many believed to be holding Sony back from being a true “professional” camera. Dual SD card slots, 20 frames per second burst with autofocus, and improved battery life all made it seem that the a9 would be the camera to battle the Canon 1DX and Nikon D5 for the top sports camera in the industry. While on paper this camera seemed to be perfect but recent events have come to light showing Sony’s true Achilles heel is still reliability.

When it comes to using camera gear, our carrying and mounting systems are truly paramount to being efficient in many shooting scenarios. While many brands have attempted to perfect a “one-size fits all” system, only one in my opinion hits the nail on the head for all my needs. In his latest video, fellow YouTuber and Sony shooter, Jason Vong, agrees with me that the Peak Design system flat out works. Individually the products are great and high quality, but used together they provide a seamless experience found with no other product line on the market.