(Nope.. this is Allyson writing about our gear again! Jason told me I did a good job last time, so hopefully I can do so again!)
In June, we took our first ever trip outside of North America and travelled to Europe for 10 days. We spent a whirlwind 24 hours in Paris, part of a day in Brussels, two days in Amsterdam, and then a week touring other parts of the Netherlands (Leiden, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht). We had a GREAT time! (BIG understatement...)
If we look a little disheveled in this photo it is because we had just arrived in Paris at 6am after an overnight flight! (Thanks to our friend Adam for taking photos of us during our travels! Not too often we get to actually have pictures together!)
As we were preparing for this trip of a lifetime, we were discussing what camera gear we should pack. We wanted to pack light, but we also needed to bring a lens or lenses that would be able to capture the scenery, museums, history, etc that we knew we would see on this trip.
We decided we needed to pack a wide angle lens. Knowing we would be inside dark buildings (Notre Dame, other historical churches, the Anne Frank House, Windmills in the Netherlands, etc) or out shooting at night - all low light conditions, we opted to purchase the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II instead of the 17-40mm f/4. At f/2.8 it can take in a lot more light than the 17-40mm, perfect for the lighting conditions we knew we would experience in Europe. The 16-35mm is also a favorite among professional wedding photographers (a wide angle lens is very useful for taking photos of churches, reception halls, and other wedding locations), so it was probably about time we bought it anyway!
We didn't even really have a chance to test it out prior to our trip, and this was the only lens we packed! Yikes! Luckily, it worked out perfectly - we took thousands of photos on our trip and have lots of great memories!
Here are just a few of the photos we took to give you an idea of the wide views and low light conditions this lens excels in (and to share some great photos from our trip). Sorry for the dismal sky in several of these - unfortunately it was rainy the whole time we were in Paris and for some of the time we spent in the Netherlands.
If we look a little disheveled in this photo it is because we had just arrived in Paris at 6am after an overnight flight! (Thanks to our friend Adam for taking photos of us during our travels! Not too often we get to actually have pictures together!)
We decided we needed to pack a wide angle lens. Knowing we would be inside dark buildings (Notre Dame, other historical churches, the Anne Frank House, Windmills in the Netherlands, etc) or out shooting at night - all low light conditions, we opted to purchase the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II instead of the 17-40mm f/4. At f/2.8 it can take in a lot more light than the 17-40mm, perfect for the lighting conditions we knew we would experience in Europe. The 16-35mm is also a favorite among professional wedding photographers (a wide angle lens is very useful for taking photos of churches, reception halls, and other wedding locations), so it was probably about time we bought it anyway!
We didn't even really have a chance to test it out prior to our trip, and this was the only lens we packed! Yikes! Luckily, it worked out perfectly - we took thousands of photos on our trip and have lots of great memories!
Here are just a few of the photos we took to give you an idea of the wide views and low light conditions this lens excels in (and to share some great photos from our trip). Sorry for the dismal sky in several of these - unfortunately it was rainy the whole time we were in Paris and for some of the time we spent in the Netherlands.
We're really excited to have added this lens to our gear and look forward to using it at several weddings we have coming up in the next few months. Stay tuned for more photos using this lens in the future!
To find out more about the professional gear we use when we photograph Sarasota Weddings and Siesta Key Beach Portraits, click here.
PS - Don't forget, you can also follow this blog on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or through your favorite feed reader
