Best Wedding Ever?

[Photo-John]

Since this is a photography site, and technically this was a challenge, I thought I'd share what I used and carried.

I've never done any backcountry skiing so I bought a shovel, an avalanche probe, and a new ski backpack for the big day. A camera backpack wouldn't have worked for this event. Or, it would have required what I consider unaccaptable compromises. The backpack I bought (Camelback brand) is made for carrying extra gear, a shovel, has straps for skis, and has an insulated hydration compartment. The hose on the hydration bladder froze anyway

I bought a larger backpack so I could pack my camera gear in cases inside. Over the years, I've found that large hydration packs that I can pack a small camera bag in work better that purpose-built camera backpacks. I'm still waiting for a camera case company to make a backpack with a hydration system that really works for me on the bike and skis.

I carried my Canon EOS 40D with Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 XR Di lens, and Tokina 12-24mm lens in a small Tamrac hip case that I've been using like this for years. I carried m7 Canon 70-200 f/2.8L in a separate lens case and a 550 EX flash and off-camera cable in another small point-and-shoot camera case. All that, along with shovel, probe, food, water, etc. when in the backpack. I didn't weight it, but I would guess the backpack weighed 20+ pounds. Having that kind of extra weight definitely makes a difference at 10,000 feet and in technical ski terrain. It wasn't my greatest ski day ever

I also carried my Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. Because it's not easy to drop the pack, open it up, secure gear from getting dumped in the snow, etc, a point-and-shoot camera makes a big difference. So I set up four times with the big camera and the rest were shot with the PowerShot - which I love, incidentally. You can read my review of it, here, if you haven't already. It's not a replacement for a DSLR. But it definitely serves a valuable purpose.

I would have liked to use the Olympus E-3 for the wedding because the whole package - with the 12-60mm and 70-300mm lenses, is so much smaller and lighter. But I am not comfortable enough with it yet and I also had to have the off-camera flash capability. But I think the Olympus DSLR system is ideal for this type of photography because it's so much smaller and lighter. And with the E-3, I don't think there's any image quality compromise. If you haven't ready Larry Chen's Olympus E-3 review, you should. I'm working on a follow-up that's more about the auto-focus and outdoor shooting with the E-3. Keep your eyes open for that.

I hope the technical info was useful. Feel free to ask questions. Ski photography is not something I consider myself good at - yet. I'm just learning. It's much more difficult than I expected and I am excited to be in the middle of a steep learning curve again. I sort of feel like a beginner

This last photo was taken at a lunch, after the actual wedding. It was taken with the Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. It has had a fair amount of adjustment in Lightroom, Photoshop, and a little noise-reduction.