What would Galen Rowell be shooting with today?

[TetonTom]

I was doing some reading over at Thom Hogan, and he made some interesting remarks regarding what equipment he thought Galen Rowell would be shooting with today.
What do you think?

 

[vinman]

I haven't read the article linked, but Galen shot whatever it took to get the shot. His work varied from stunning landscapes to expedition documentation, so my guess is he'd be shooting digital, but probably a mixture of formats. Sure do miss that guy!

 

[ddietiker]

D700, and some light weight lenses, he liked to go really light.

 

[camerapapi]

I never met Mr. Rowell. I was well aware of his workshops and his beautiful photography.
In my case it is not possible to even take a guess at what he could be using today but a full frame camera makes a lot of sense.
I remember he used to pack a plastic 80-200 f4-5.6. I am not saying that is what he would be using today but he was known for traveling pretty light.
Surely I am looking forward to reading Thom Hogan's article.

William Rodriguez
Miami, Florida.

 

[TetonTom]

I wasn't going to spoil the suspense right away, but Thom's comments were part of his D7000 review, which was actually a very good read. Thom thought that Galen would be hiking and climbing around the world with a D7000; that this many great features in such a relatively tiny package would be too much for Galen to pass up. He was definitely into using the minimum of bulk and weight to get the job done.

 

[Pa]

Galen died before I got back into photography, so I wasn't really aware of him until about two years ago. But since then I have been doing quite a bit of reading about him. Based on what I've read, I'm going to go even farther: I think that on his trail runs and climbing expeditions he would be using something even smaller and lighter like a D3100, and consumer lenses.

Of course Thom Hogan actually knew him and photographed with him so I can't presume to second-guess his judgment.

 

[TetonTom]

I think that on his trail runs and climbing expeditions he would be using something even smaller and lighter like a D3100, and consumer lenses...

You're probably right.
I saw a slideshow of his in Jackson Hole one of the last years before he died, around 2000. He was leading a fall photo workshop, and presenting the students' work, plus a few of his own. At the end of the show, someone asked what camera he was using during the workshop, and if I remember correctly, he was using an N80 and just a couple primes, something wide and something mid-long, a light tripod, and a couple grad ND's.
No F5, no f/2.8 zooms, no super-tele's...

So I'll bet a consumer body, a 12-24 (what other wide choices do we DX users have?), and maybe a 50 1.4 or an 85 1.8.

 

[ritewinger]

A D3S, pro lenses, and buy a burro to pack it in......

 

[cwilt]

I think he would still be using the same equipment.