What Camera Gear do they use?

Mike Abrahams: The Humanist Observer by Jerome D. This article contains sponsored links, I might earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Introduction Mike Abrahams (b. 1952, Derby, England) is one of Britain’s most respected documentary photographers — known for his deeply human, empathetic approach to long-form storytelling. His work focuses not on spectacle but on lived experience: communities, social change and the quiet dignity of everyday life. Abrahams studied photography at Manchester Polytechnic in the 1970s before beginning his career working for editorial publications. He quickly developed a reputation for immersive, long-term projects that required patience, trust and sustained engagement with his subjects. He became a member of Network Photographers , the influential British photojournalist collective, and later joined Magnum Photos in 1988 , becoming a full member in 1994. His work has appeared in major publications and has been widely exhibited internationally. Abraham...

  Peter Beard: The Diary of Excess by Jerome D. This article contains sponsored links, I might earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Introduction Peter Beard (1938–2020, New York, USA) was one of the most unconventional figures in twentieth-century photography — a photographer, diarist and collage artist whose work blurred the boundaries between documentation and personal mythology. Raised in New York, Beard developed an early fascination with Africa after reading Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen . This fascination became a lifelong obsession. After studying art history at Yale, he traveled to Kenya in the early 1960s and eventually settled there, dividing his time between Africa and New York. Beard’s work is inseparable from his life. He photographed wildlife, landscapes and people — particularly in Kenya — while also documenting his own experiences through handwritten diaries, drawings and collages. His photographs were often physically altered, covered with ink, paint, blood ...

  The Master’s Palette: 10 Film Stocks Favored by the World’s Top Photographers In the digital age, a sensor is a constant. In the analog world, the film stock is the first and most vital creative choice. It dictates the contrast, the grain structure, and the emotional resonance of the final frame. For the readers of whatcameragear.com , understanding these emulsions is not just about technical specs—it is about understanding the visual language used by the icons of the craft. From the gritty streets of New York to the vibrant landscapes of the Sierras, here are the 10 films that have defined the portfolios of the world’s most influential photographers. This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through links on this page, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. 1. Kodak Tri-X 400 (Black & White) If one film could be credited with documenting the 20th century, it is Tri-X. Known for its punchy contrast and "salt and pepper" grain, it remains the de...

August Sander: The Face of a Society Published by Jerome D. This article contains affiliate links. If you buy through links on this page, I may earn a small commission — at no extra cost to you. I only reference gear that photographers have actually used. Introduction August Sander (1876–1964) is one of the most important portrait photographers in the history of the medium. His work is defined by an ambitious and systematic project: to document the people of Germany across all social classes during the early twentieth century. Born in Herdorf in the German Empire, Sander began working in photography at a young age, initially assisting in a studio before eventually opening his own portrait business in Cologne. While commercial portraiture provided his livelihood, his true artistic focus was a long-term project he called People of the 20th Century — a vast typology of German society. Sander’s aim was not to glorify individuals but to represent them as part of a broader social st...

  Eugène Atget: The Poet of Old Paris Published by Jerome D. Introduction Eugène Atget (1857–1927) is one of the most important figures in the history of photography, though he never considered himself an artist. Working quietly in Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, Atget devoted more than three decades to documenting the streets, shopfronts, courtyards and disappearing architecture of the city. Born in Libourne in southwestern France, Atget initially pursued a career in the theatre before turning to photography in the late 1880s. By the 1890s he had settled in Paris and begun what would become his life’s work: systematically photographing the city and its surroundings. His aim was practical rather than artistic. He described himself simply as a supplier of “documents for artists,” producing reference images that painters, architects and designers could use as visual material. Yet the photographs he produced were far more than documentary records . Atget’s images capture ...

  The Definitive Guide to the Cameras That Come Closest Published by Jerome DL The Question That Would Not Die For three decades, the debate between large format film and digital photography has been one of the most technically charged arguments in the medium. For most of that time, large format film won, at least on the criteria that mattered most to the photographers who used it: raw resolution, tonal gradation, dynamic range, and the ability to make enormous prints that hold their detail at close inspection.  Today that calculus has fundamentally shifted — but not equally across all formats. A drum-scanned 4×5 sheet of film still produces a file that no production digital camera can match in a single exposure. The 6×7 medium format negative, however, has effectively been surpassed. And the gap between digital and every film format is closing fast. This article is a rigorous, technical examination of exactly where digital stands today relative to large and medium format fil...