Craig Parry sat down with the team at Sony’s Alpha Universe to discus what equipment he uses to capture his stunning Aerial, Landscape and Underwater photographs – read on below for the full article:
Craig Parry’s photography is known to offer a unique insight into the world around us. Primarily focusing upon marine and landscape imagery, subjects are presented in their natural environment in a manner which seeks to connect audiences with the environment. Portraying the obvious as abstract, Craig’s images are engaging and beautiful at the same time. In addition to being an accomplished pro, Craig is a Sony Imaging Ambassador in his home county of Australia. His work regularly has him traveling to all corners of the globe in pursuit of new adventures and unique encounters. We caught up with him to learn more about the gear he packs to create his stunning aerial, landscape and underwater work.
Cameras
(2) Sony α7R III: When Sony released this camera in late 2017 I knew it was going to be my workhorse. I need megapixels and with 42 of them I can capture all the detail I need for my large prints. The camera’s dynamic range and speed won me over straight away and changed the way I capture wildlife and landscapes. Even shooting uncompressed files at 90mb’s, I don’t miss shots because the of the camera’s fast transfer read and write speeds (I use Sony SDXC UHS-II memory cards to take advantage of my α7R III’s transfer speeds).
Lenses
Sony 24-70mm f/2.8 G Master: Sharp at all focal lengths, the 24-70mm is my most used lens, mostly above water. If there was one lens I would recommend for all styles of photography this would be it.
Sony 16-35mm f/2.8: On land or underwater, the 16-35mm f/2.8 is reliable and gives me beautiful results each time. Having the ability to get images at 16mm with sharp edges gives me confidence on demanding commercial shoots when high quality is always expected.
Sony 85mm f/1.4 G Master: This lens has stunning bokeh and mindblowing sharpness. Even completely wide open, this lens is still pin sharp. I occasionally use it for detailed landscape and water images, but it also excels in the studio.
Sony 12-24mm f/4 G: The 12-24mm G is a great lens for my landscape, aerial and underwater. I often create images underwater that require very wide angles and this lens delivers sharp and great color images with very little distortion.
Sony 28mm f/2 + Fisheye converter: I have owned this setup ever since I started using the Sony Alpha cameras and it has never let me down. The fisheye lens is one of the most important lenses in the underwater photographer’s camera bag. Even though this fisheye is an adaptor, it delivers results as good as any other prime fisheye I have used.
Sony 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 G Master: A telephoto lens that is compact and powerful, as a nature photographer I need a lens that gets me closer to the action and that fits comfortably in my camera bag. The 100-400 is sharp and fast exactly what any sports and nature professional photographer needs.
Accessories
Aquatech Elite Series III Waterhousing: This compact underwater housing from Aquatech allows a range of Sony Alpha cameras and lenses to be used without changing the housing itself. Aquatech offers zoom rings for most of the Sony range. I don’t leave home without it!
Gitzo Tripod: Demanding conditions I encounter throughout the world requires me to travel with a tripod that is tough, light and reliable. I have found the Gitzo tripod range are the best for my work and I have used most of them.
Portable SSD Drives: Finally portable SSD’s are now affordable. It’s the fastest and safest way to manage/store your files, with such large RAW files from the Sony α7R III the read and write speeds are mind-blowing and save me so much time.
Lowepro Whistler II: This bag keeps my gear dry and padded, with enough space to hold all my lenses and two camera bodies.
Visit Sony’s Alpha Universe article here on Craig Parry’s Aerial Landscape Underwater Equipment, and check out Craig’s most recent photos on his instagram account.
