Corn Cockle Nikon D100

Mara Nikon D1

Oxe eye Daisies Nikon D100

Websites of Agencies holding my work

Stock photography by JONATHAN AYRES at Alamy Download our images 24/7 from Alamy - a leading portal for both general and specialist images.

As stated earlier my work is almost solely digital. I currently shoot using Nikon bodies, mainly because I already had a few Nikon-fit lenses when I started. I suggest shopping around before getting a camera and try as many as you can before you go for a system. Obviously the main two are Canon and Nikon. Browsing round the sites on the internet can give you a good idea of what is available and there are a good many sites that give decent, honest reviews, a few links are provided below.

All my gear is carried in a Lowepro Pro Trekker II bag, it provides a shower proof protective case with a specially designed harness system. This makes it very comfortable when walking long distances with your gear. If I only need a couple of lenses and one body then I normally put the gear into a Crumpler December Quarter bag. These are extremely well made bags and can be adjusted internally for your specific gear.

For tripods I use Manfrotto. Always get the best you can afford, after all, this is the main point of support for you camera and lens. If you shoot anything over 400mm you will need support. For heads I use a 3 point system rather than a ball and socket as with the latter the lens can come crashing down if you accidentally forget to tighten the control. The Gimbal type heads are best for flight shots or for taking shots of a subject moving quickly.

Here's what I currently use:

Cameras:

Nikon D200 DSLR

Nikon D100 DSLR

Nikon F90X for slide work

Lenses and filters :

Sigma 18-55mm f4-5.6 (for digital body only)

Tamron 90mm f2.8

Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 EX

Nikon 300mm f4 AFS

Sigma 70-300 f4-5.6 Macro with AML for Close up work

Circular polarizers for all lenses with DSLR you don't really need a warming filter as you can get the same effect from using white balance settings in the camera.

Accessories:

Nikon SB80DX flash unit + off-camera cord for both cameras

Kirk Flash camera bracket for macro work and on this a Nikon SC-17 flash cord - stops you from having to try and hold the flash and camera at the same time!

Binoculars for spotting birds and animals try to get the best you can afford I prefer a pair of at least 10x magnification but you need to see how much you can carry

Memory cards are essential get the largest you can if you need speed then get a fast one if you don't need speed then you can save a lot of money by purchasing a slower speed one.

Computers:

Love em or hate em they are now a major part of photography and I cannot imagine being a photographer without one. I use Windows only because I've never used a Mac but its all personal choice and I can't see myself changing. The best program is obviously Adobe Photoshop its fairly easy and they don't bring out new software every month like some companies so you can feel safe that you have bought a program that is fairly well future proofed. You need a good large monitor preferably 19" or 21" this depends on your workspace, most companies use TFT but I recommend going for good CRT as they generally produce colours more accurately. I use a flatbed scanner with a film adapter I don't use it often now though go for one with at least 1200dpi scan depth more if you want to produce larger pictures. Producing prints is as important with digital files as it was film, the main reason I stopped using film was receiving negatives back and they had been ruined by the developer with digital all of this you can now control. Again you normally get what you pay for go for an A3 printer if you can afford and use the best paper you can get, lesser known brands make excellent paper and ink cartridges which can save you a lot of money when compared to well known brands.

Links:

For the latest Nikon information visit www.nikon.co.uk

Contact Lowepro at www.lowepro.com.

Gitzo tripods are at www.gitzo.com.

The Flash Extender and macro bracket is available from Kirk Enterprises, www.kirkphoto.com.

For information on Epson printers, scanners and papers see www.epson.com

For Canon equipment check out www.canon.com