Community member John Freeman, known as john80504 in the forums, loves peering into the distance at intricate landscapes, capturing them at the highest resolution possible, then framing multiple shots on a wall to admire. Some of his murals are as large as 15 feet by 50 feet, showcasing wide mountain ranges and vast river valleys.

According to John, he’s the only person in the world who teaches a workshop on Gigapixel Photography, the art of taking dozens or even hundreds of photos and stitching them together into a single image with a resolution that measures in the thousands of megapixels.

Editor’s note: because of the nature of the gigapixel images Freeman creates, we don’t have a way to post the full-resolution versions to our site in a way that would let you sensibly view them. Where possible, we’ll provide a link to his website that lets you experience them in all their glory.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators. See below for what John has to share.

John Freeman

Meet John Freeman

Home base: Longmont, Colorado, USA

Photography has been a lifelong pursuit for John, one that has evolved significantly over the decades. It eventually led him to a highly specialized niche that combines technical precision with artistic vision.

“For more than 58 years, starting at age 13, photography has been a central part of my life. My parents gave me a Kodak Brownie camera for Christmas the year I was in 8th grade. Over that time, I’ve explored many different genres and techniques, but few have challenged and rewarded me as much as gigapixel panoramic wall mural photography. My gigapixel photos are among the largest, highest resolution Fine Art Wall Mural Photos available on the internet.”

That specialization is gigapixel panoramic photography, a field he has spent more than a decade refining and pushing further with advanced techniques.

“When I first started doing gigapixel photos in 2011, I entered a niche market. Gigapixel photography is the process of capturing hundreds – or sometimes thousands – of individual photographs and stitching them together into a single seamless image. Over the past 10 years I have been doing focus bracketing/stacking of the individual images that are stitched into the final image. Adding focus bracketing/stacking has been the single most important skill that has improved my work.”

What’s in John’s bag

John Freeman

Favorite camera: Canon EOS R5 Mark II, though he still carries a Mark I for nostalgia.

“For the past five years, my main camera has been a Canon EOS R5, but before a trip to New Zealand this past April, I added a Canon EOS R5 Mark II to my bag. It has quickly become my favorite. I especially appreciate that it stores focus-bracketed images at 14-bit resolution rather than 12-bit, like the original R5, and that it captures focus-bracketed sequences much faster, which is a big advantage when photographing large landscapes. Most of the time, you’ll find my Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM mounted on the camera.”

Lenses used across all cameras:

• Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM
• Canon RF 28mm F2.8 STM
• Rokinon 14mm F2.8

John Freeman

Any experienced photographer is going to have a set of gear that works well together and is ready to go at a moment’s notice. Apart from the cameras and lenses above, here’s John’s other interesting gear he takes with him on trips into the mountains.

Support gear: “For panoramic photography, I typically carry a Nodal Ninja M2 manual nodal head mounted to a SLIK carbon fiber tripod with a Really Right Stuff leveler, along with a Vello Wireless ShutterBoss remote shutter release to minimize camera shake. For longer hikes, I also pack granola bars, a CamelBak water bladder and a phone running the PhotoPills app for planning.”

Camera bags: “For many years, I used a Tamrac Expedition 9x backpack, which had plenty of room for all my gear but became too heavy for long hikes. Last fall I switched to a lightweight Mosiso backpack that’s just big enough for my camera, three lenses and the Nodal Ninja. It also has a side pocket for my tripod, although that part could be better.”

What are some great locations for super high-res shots?

John Freeman

When John goes to a location, one of his goals is to shoot the largest, highest-resolution photo ever taken there – not just by him, but by anyone else.

“One of my most unique and difficult shoots was one I did in February 2026 of the frozen waves that occur in winter at Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The frozen ice waves are an unbelievable wintertime phenomenon that is caused by freezing temperatures and strong, dry winds. It is called sublimation, the process in which solid ice changes directly into a gas without becoming a liquid first. The result is a 4.63 gigapixel focus-stacked, stitched image made up of 7090 individual focus-bracketed images. This yielded 225 focus stacked sets in a 9 row by 25 column array.”

While Dream Lake stands out as one of his most technically demanding projects, John is always planning his next destination in search of another record-breaking panorama. Earlier this year, that pursuit took him to New Zealand.

“My wife and I just returned from a second honeymoon trip, a 27-night camper-van tour of New Zealand, in April, 2026. During the trip, we visited both the North & South Islands. While not every photo met my 1 gigapixel requirement, I did manage to capture numerous photos of some of the most beautiful areas of New Zealand.”

Techniques that captured that perfect gigapixel shot

John Freeman

“Even after decades behind the camera, I still find myself excited by the challenges and possibilities of gigapixel photography. One of my current projects is what I call Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park – a long-term effort to create immersive panoramic experiences throughout the park and to preserve these remarkable landscapes in extraordinary detail. This virtual tour of RMNP is free to the public to view and enjoy.

Projects like Virtual Rocky Mountain National Park have also pushed John to refine the technical side of his craft. One of the biggest hurdles comes when photographing scenes with an extreme range of light.

“One of the biggest challenges in gigapixel photography is dealing with scenes that contain both extremely bright and extremely dark areas. Unlike traditional photography, where HDR techniques can often solve these problems, focus stacking and HDR do not work together because the camera cannot perform both focus and exposure bracketing simultaneously. To overcome this challenge, I rely heavily on a technique called Expose To The Right (ETTR). This approach has become an essential part of my workflow, particularly when photographing complex landscapes that contain bright skies, deep shadows, waterfalls, and other high-contrast elements.”

John’s advice for photographers

John Freeman

“I always tell my workshop students, don’t be afraid to make mistakes, just make sure that you learn from your mistakes and avoid them next time.”

John really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would love to hear what you think of his photography and to answer any of your questions in the comments below.

You can check out John’s other work at abbascreationsphotography.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself by filling out this form.

The DPReview forums have nearly 100 customized sections to discuss all your gear and photography interests. From reading official DPReview news to talking about camera brands and Nature and Wildlife Photography, there’s a space for everyone’s curiosity.

For visitors who are interested in buying or selling their gear, we also have the For Sale and Wanted forum section. And if you are a mobile phone camera user and love to share your on-the-go photos, not to worry, we have Mobile Photography Talk forum as well.

So, with that said…

Which forum sections are your favorite to visit for both camera brands and digital photography, and why?

I would also like to take this opportunity to ask you which forum sections you would like added that we don’t currently have?

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include from your mentioned forum sections, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

As we enter the second half of this year, I wanted to take a moment to say thank you for all your fantastic contributions in the forums and elsewhere, and to consider where we go next together on a community level.

One of the great things about our community is that every day I see photographers talking about their exciting new G.A.S. purchases (my own “needs” list keeps expanding, too), sharing unique photos like the above and reminding each other that we truly have a special place that supports both gear and photography interests.

So far this year, you’ve started so many fantastic discussions, several of which are still ongoing as of several weeks ago.

One of the community’s great strengths is when you engage with each other and constructively answer questions from both new and old members. Thank you for inviting those new members into our community.

Ab S

Showcasing your content

One of the most exciting initiatives you’ve continued to proudly coordinate for years now are the weekly photo threads. I love these because every day brings a new opportunity to give you a reason to share your photography on a fresh topic.

For those who are not aware, various community members (often from camera-specific forums) coordinate weekly photo showcase threads that encourage everyone to post a photo on the week’s topic. Topics range from nature to indoor decorations to photos taken with a specific camera brand, and sometimes it’s completely open-ended. They are usually more informal and less rules-based than structured photo challenges, which you may have also heard about. Everyone is welcome to participate. Feel free to include a short story along with the photo.

If you are a new member and need a way to “break the ice” on getting involved, sharing your photography wherever you can is a great start.

If you are new to photography itself, don’t feel like you’re “not professional enough” because there is no such thing. Our community is not some elites-only club, even if it feels intimidating at first upon seeing a technical-heavy discussion in forums like Studio and Lighting Technique.

cezirkle

What’s next for our community

I’ve seen some great ideas about how to make the forums an even more valuable and enjoyable place to share your gear choices and photography. I’m committed to giving all the content you create the support it deserves, even if it takes a little while to develop support programs for it. Please keep those great ideas coming.

Here are a few of the projects I’m looking forward to collaborating on with you all over the rest of the year and into the next:

• Create more activities across the forums, including within the photo and album system itself, to maximize opportunities to share your photography. This includes expanding on the per-forum section photo albums we created just a couple of months ago.
• Explore better ways to showcase your gear and photography how-to guides and community reviews – a place that would keep them more in the spotlight than an endless ongoing forum of posts that would otherwise eventually bury the guide.
• Ensure the rest of our community outside the forums has more opportunities to become aware of and contribute to your discussions and activities. This includes us reaching out more on places like reddit to bring them to the forums. Do you know about a photography group that we could invite to our community? Please let us know! 

wouterv

Whether you’ve been part of the community for more than 25 years, or this is the first DPReview article you’ve read, I hope you will stop by the forums and say hello. While you’re there, feel free to share your photography. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Special thanks to community members, nick10, cezirkle, Ab S and wouterv for their photos being spotlighted in this article. You can find these photos and more in the weekly photo threads.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

This is the story of Max Lowe, a filmmaker, photographer and storyteller based in Bozeman, Montana. Recipient of a National Geographic Young Explorer’s grant early in his career, Max’s work ranges from wildlife filmmaking to deeply personal, human-centered stories. In our conversation, he spoke about learning photography through trial and error, discovering magical places around the world and finding serendipity and inspiration in his own backyard.

Our ‘What’s in your bag?’ community spotlight series features readers sharing their favorite gear and photography, including from past DPReview collaborators such as Max.

Meet Max Lowe

Max Lowe

Photography became a way for Max to engage more deeply at home in Bozeman, Montana, eventually leading to a career spanning National Geographic Expeditions, documentary filmmaking and editorial photography. While he has photographed hundreds of places around the world, he says one of his biggest creative challenges remains capturing the essence of his hometown.

“I’ve never been able to truly capture the essence of the way I love Montana. It’s a place where people put their own interpretations. It’s a place I want to keep finding new ways to illustrate to the world, because it holds that depth and importance to me as my home.”

Max’s parents were a major influence in starting his photography career. “I grew up with a mountaineer for a father, and my mom was an artist. At some point, my mom gave me one of her old cameras. Both my mom and dad made it in the world in different artistic ways. Because of that, I felt I needed to find an artistic path for myself, and photography became that for me. Photography has this magical way of making you feel like you belong somewhere you otherwise might not.”

Career and projects

Max Lowe

One of the most significant turning points in Max’s career came in 2012, when he received a National Geographic’s Young Explorers Grant. That opportunity led to trips with National Geographic Expeditions that continue to this day, and the grant community introduced Max to many of the photographers, filmmakers and storytellers who helped shape the work you see in this article.

“In the earlier years of my work as a full-time photographer and filmmaker, I had more personal ambition to just go places for the sake of going, in the selfish sense. At this point, I’m more compelled to travel because I can get a unique lens on the world – pun intended. There are really cool photography-focused trips that many companies put on, but National Geographic Expeditions goes to some rather remarkable places. I’ve been lucky to make many friends within the National Geographic scene, fellow photographers I look up to and reach out to for collaboration. That camaraderie is what really makes it special.”

Max’s documentary work

Jack Fox

One of Max’s current projects is The Kind Ones, a documentary he’s producing with his wife, Lia. They spent eight weeks at a rural hospital on the North Carolina coast, where Lia worked as a travel nurse while Max documented patients, nurses and moments of care. He described the careful balance between telling meaningful stories and respecting the people involved.

“During the pandemic, everyone rallied around healthcare workers, but in the years since, these tremendous workers just fell back to where they’d been before. After the pandemic, Lia was at a low point in her career. She wanted to talk about the fact that the humans within the healthcare system are often disregarded as a major component of how we function as a healthy society.”

Max Lowe

“We were filming with her every day, capturing beautiful and often difficult moments with patients. Her portrayal of the value nurses bring, not only in the medical care they render, but in the human care and appreciation for life in its most complicated moments. The project is a challenge: working together in a nuanced way to think about what to photograph, and especially what not to.”

Kind Ones is scheduled for release in late 2026. If you’re interested in Max’s other film works, including the acclaimed feature doc detailing his own family story, “Torn” (2021), the Oscar Shortlisted “Camp Courage” (2023) and more.

What’s in Max’s bag

Max Lowe

Max’s approach to equipment depends heavily on the project, though when it’s a personal endeavor, he has some go-to favorites.

Max’s go-to gear:

• Nikon Z8
• Nikon Z6II
• Nikon ZR
• Nikon FG
• Rolleiflex

Lenses:

• Nikkor Z 26mm F2.8
• Nikkor Z 24-70mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 70-200mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 14-24mm F2.8 S
• Nikkor Z 180-600mm F5.6-6.3
• Nikkor 50mm F1.8 Series E
• 2X teleconverter

Favorite camera: When traveling on his own, Max prefers simplicity. One of his favorites is a Rolleiflex 4×4 medium-format film camera, which he uses regularly for personal projects. “I still shoot quite a bit of film, mostly for my own interests. The Rolleiflex is a bit complicated to use. I’ve failed to properly expose images plenty of times. Unlike modern digital cameras, it offers little immediate feedback. Sometimes you shoot a frame you think will be great, only to blow the exposure or end up with a blurry image.”

Max Lowe

Max has found hidden benefits in the challenges of shooting film. “There’s something cool about photography being this format in which we can learn to fail and do better in small, incremental ways. You’re really forced to learn about ISO, shutter speed, aperture and all the other functions of a camera.”

Still, the camera Max uses most often is the one already in his pocket, an iPhone 16 Pro Max. “Probably the camera I use most is my phone, honestly.” Rather than focusing on gear for its own sake, he emphasized carrying equipment that lets him remain present with people and stories while staying ready when meaningful moments arise.

Photography ethics

Max Lowe

Throughout our conversation, Max returned to the idea that storytelling requires trust, context and respect. He believes photographers should continually ask themselves why they’re taking an image and who ultimately benefits from it.

“Trust is paramount in our work, especially when we’re working with other people. If it’s someone sitting alone on a subway platform crying, I probably wouldn’t shoot a photo of that, because it would feel exploitative. But if you go up to the person, ask them what’s wrong, hear their story and get a little more insight into what they’re experiencing, and then ask if you can shoot a photo of them in that moment. You’re going to get a more compelling image that way.”

Max Lowe

Max also stressed the importance of building relationships and understanding stories before documenting them. “If I’m going to, say, Egypt as a storyteller, I want to find an in – someone who knows the place in a unique way, and within that, a unique story that defines the place and my experience there. When you’re invited by someone who calls a place home, the experience is much richer. Finding someone like that is a tremendous gift that deepens a photographer’s interpretation and understanding of the world.”

Some of Max’s film projects have required him to revisit a scene, and he found that the assumptions he made on a first pass often missed its real context, whether because he was distracted or because his own priorities got in the way.

“Understanding the context of the scene is a major necessity for an artist. Ask yourself: why are you taking that photo? Is it for the benefit of those people? If you’re a photojournalist capturing the story of refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine so that the world can understand that pain, does your work have the power to change things for the better?”

Curiosity and flexibility

Max Lowe

Max’s work is also heavily tied together by curiosity and a willingness to adapt to whatever story unfolds before him. Opportunities will come up to take that perfect shot, and one mustn’t hesitate for long to take it. One such image that surprised him in its success came from an ordinary moment in Italy. “It was just a photo of a cat sleeping on the tire of a Land Cruiser. I snapped it in passing – it was something I saw and was like, ‘Oh, that’s cute.'”

The image was made with a simple point-and-shoot 35mm film camera, and the reaction wildly exceeded his expectations. “It got this massive response on social media and ended up winning an honorable mention in a photo contest called ‘Flow.'”

Max Lowe

Max’s wildlife filmmaking has presented very different challenges. While working on a Frozen Planet II segment about snowy owls near Utqiagvik, Alaska, he ran into an unexpected obstacle. “It gets surprisingly hot because the sun is up around the clock in summer, and that heat rising off the tundra creates these distortions,” Max told us. “Atmospheric distortion made long-lens footage unusable. We ended up having to switch our whole approach on the spot, because the conditions meant the gear we’d brought just didn’t work. Camera traps certainly would have helped, but we didn’t think we’d need them when we planned the trip.”

The experience reinforced one of his recurring lessons: adaptation and flexible expectations matter more than rigid planning.

Max’s advice for photographers

Max Lowe

As I was listening to Max’s stories and adventures, there were countless gems of advice sprinkled throughout. To close out this story about Max, I wanted to list a couple of final pieces of advice that didn’t fit in the stories he told above. I hope they help you improve your photography as much as they got me thinking about mine.

The moment dictates the shot

“Many visual artists approach their work by thinking about a specific shot they want, such as a bear emerging from its den, or whatever it might be. But I approach all my work in a more freeform, creative way, whether that’s photography or filmmaking. You want to allow leeway for the experience to give you the story, instead of putting pressure on yourself to seek something out and setting yourself up for failure.”

“It can be scary to step out of your comfort zone and into someone else’s world, but it leads to much richer experiences for both you and your audience. It’s not that you should never go anywhere without a plan, just make sure you stay open to that depth when it presents itself.”

Max Lowe

Don’t ignore what’s in front of you

“It’s a mistake a lot of artists make – not seeing the value in what exists right in front of them. I’m constantly looking at the world around me, at how unique little moments occur without anyone conjuring them up. One day, I was in my office when a Western Tanager landed on a branch outside the window. Tanagers are these beautiful yellow-red birds that migrate through Montana every spring. It was such a cool moment, and I wanted to hold it forever. Find those moments and hold them forever through your photography.”

You can check out Max’s other work at maxlowemedia.com.

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like your photography to be featured? Tell us about it by filling out this form . If you’re selected for a feature, we’ll be in touch with next steps.

Buying a new camera is an exciting feeling, but so is seeing the great photos you take with it. For last week’s community question, we asked readers to share a favorite photo or story from their new gear. From majestic animals to intense bokeh scenes, and from antique cameras to modern mobile phones, the responses covered a wide range of interesting categories.

As always, there was also a mix of useful tips you’ll want to read about.

Here are some of the photos and stories they shared. Click their names to see more within the forum conversation.

“Two experiences. The first was the first dance concert I shot with the Olympus 40-150mm F2.8 PRO. I was more than happy to do this with ‘smaller’ (relatively speaking) gear than full-frame gear. Second was the first time I did portrait shots for posters, of dancers, in full costume, with two flash units, umbrella reflectors, etc. Those first-time experiences are always sweet, no matter how many times I do it afterward.” – Satyaa

“Last Christmas, I managed a photo which I had waited literally years to take. It’s usually impossible to take a photo of the center of the Octagon at Ely Cathedral from below because there’s normally a modern oak altar in the way. I had gone to the cathedral to try out my new Hasselblad X2D II with a 20-35mm lens. Lo and behold, a team of workmen was preparing the central area for some school carol concerts. The altar had been removed. One nod of approval later and I was in!” – ClaireJRedHat

PhillipKukelhan

“Since moving to Cleveland 5 years ago, I’ve spent a lot of time riding my bicycle along the old Ohio & Erie Canal, where I see a lot of wildlife, mostly deer, snakes, bird life, and turtles.” – PhillipKukelhan

“Two years ago, I decided to upgrade a Canon 40D 12mp with the used X-T4. After having the camera a couple of months, I had a vacation to Japan scheduled. My intention was to buy an array of lenses while I was there. I put one of them to use the very night I purchased it. Because of the low-light conditions and fast-moving moments, I realized from those photos what a great purchase my X-T4 and Sigma 10-18mm F2.8 were. Personally, there isn’t a better feeling than successfully capturing these moments.” – ronphoto

“As a second-generation photographer, I grew up using Canon, and most of my gear was handed down from my father. Around 2014/2015, I was tired of using cast-offs and older generation equipment, so I set out to purchase my own gear and explore other systems. I had already picked up an A6000 (or A6300) as a secondary camera to my 1D Mark II, but when Sony released the A7RII, I decided to rent it for a big annual job.” – reflux83

Minolta TC-1

“I decided to get the XF 56mm F1.2 WR because the image quality is so good that it compensates for the fact that it’s just really rather big on my X-E5. Well, when I started using it at the next concert, this is the kind of thing that really convinced me it was money well spent. It was even a bit emotional – taking me back 20+ years to when I finally bit the bullet, bought that Zuiko 90mm F2 and got my first photos back. Just one example says enough.” – Minolta TC-1

“Having introduced Eye Control AF (ECAF) with the second camera in the RF series, Canon made it an upgrade I couldn’t pass up. I always believed ECAF had the potential to significantly improve my photography, and I wasn’t wrong. The feature is particularly valuable with lenses such as the Canon RF 28–70mm F2 L USM, whose large and heavy glass elements require more time to focus. By allowing you to direct the AF system immediately to the intended subject, Eye Control AF reduces unnecessary focus hunting and helps the lens lock focus more efficiently, without wasted tries.” – PhotoKhan

“It wasn’t one image so much as hundreds that assured me my stabilized AF telephoto macro lens was a great investment for the online store.” – Jefenator

Invisible Man Potography

“I realized I made a great decision in upgrading from a Canon R6 Mark II to a Canon R5 Mark II when I reviewed my files from the June 26, 2026, 20th Anniversary of fashion designer Diego Cerón’s ‘Couture a Table’ in Mérida, México. Standing outside the room, I photographed Pablo Mercader Duch – performing as ElHada Frozen and embodying Marie Antoinette – through the crowd. In that moment, I made the artistic decision to allow the people to form a natural frame around Pablo.” – Invisible Man Photography

So many other stories we couldn’t fit in this article are shared in the forums. Thanks to everyone who took the time to submit a favorite photo from their first new camera purchase.

Feel free to participate in the series at any time. New questions are posted here on the homepage and in the forums every other week We can’t wait to read your stories and see your photography!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

With the updated DPReview website, new things are all the rage today. We’ve previously asked you about your first and favorite new cameras, about your first and favorite photos, and now we’d like to combine the two for this week’s community question.

What image made you realize your new gear was worth it?

We’d love to hear the story behind the piece of gear – whether it’s a lens, camera, flash or something else – and see the images that sparked that appreciation. It could be a piece of equipment that was only new to you, as was the case for the camera used to take the image at the top of the article, or something fresh out of a box.

Drop a reply in the comments section below, and if you’ve got a photo to include, it may be selected for next week’s showcase article on this topic!

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

Kathie Thomas

Community member, Kathie Thomas , loves birds. She greatly enjoys getting that shot that shows off a bird’s unique color palette and physique, and fortunately lives in an area with hundreds of beautiful bird species.

“Birds are my #1 genre – I just love them. I’m always trying to get that better shot, and when I get a really good one, it’s not long before I’m trying to do even better. I am blessed to live in a region with many bird species year-round. Some live here, some are seasonal and some are just passing through. I keep a daily eBird record of the birds I’ve seen and heard, and of course, a photo with it.”

This story is part of our What’s in your bag? community spotlight series . The series showcases the diverse gear and photography of our community, and shares their stories of how that gear helped them to capture the perfect shot.

Kathie Thomas

Meet Kathie Thomas

Home base: Dandenong Ranges, Victoria, Australia

“My uncle was a wedding and portrait photographer and often shared with me what he’d been doing when I was in my early teens. My parents bought me my first camera for my 14th birthday. It’s been a journey ever since! My uncle is long gone now, but my aunt tells me that he always wanted to do the type of photography I do, which is nature photography – he never got around to it, sadly.”

What’s in Kathie’s bag

Kathie Thomas

Favorite camera: “Nikon is the brand I’ve been using for over 20 years now. In fact, my husband gave me my first digital camera in the early 2000s, a Nikon, of course. I later upgraded to a D90, which I wore out after about 6 years, having taken almost 100,000 images with it. I’ve been a Nikon girl a long time now! I currently have a Nikon D7000 , D7100 , Coolpix P950 and a variety of lenses. The P950 is my favorite – it’s lightweight, and I get excellent bird shots with it.”

• Support gear: Kathie typically carries spare batteries for her P950, as its battery life can be limited during long birding sessions, along with a water bottle and a few snacks for time spent out in the bush or along the coast.

• Camera bags: “I use a simple, colorful backpack with a zippered compartment against my back, so no one can open it while I’m wearing it. It’s big enough to carry my camera, although that’s usually hanging at my hip on a shoulder strap.”

Kathie Thomas

How has your photography changed since you started?

“It’s improved heaps – I understand so much more about it now. I chose to do a Diploma of Photography Course back in 2014, just for the sake of doing it, so I could learn more. But it’s the regular usage and learning from other photographers that have really helped me improve. I also belong to a local photography club.”

“I learned from a professional nature photographer some years ago, that when tracking a bird, don’t look it in the eye, look around elsewhere, move slowly towards it, take a shot now and then, and keep moving slowly without eye contact. It often has helped to get the shots I’ve wanted – especially before I got my P950.”

What trip memories come to mind where you discovered a new bird?

“Many! Before we retired, we used to take overseas trips by plane and by cruise ship, visiting many places. But since retiring, my husband and I have invested in a campervan (motorhome) and have begun traveling around our own country, Australia, and exploring a bit more consistently. My goal is to record as many different species of birds as I can.”

Kathie Thomas

“Don’t underestimate your abilities and work at surprising yourself. Move out of your comfort zone and try different things. A friend thought she wasn’t very good, but she recently got a Highly Commended in our photography club exhibition. I could tell she was really choked up about it and thrilled. I told her I always thought she did well.”

Kathie really enjoyed participating in this spotlight article and would be grateful if you could join her in the forums .

Kathie’s work

You can check out her other work on Instagram . Thanks, Kathie, for being featured!

If you’d like to share your photography, tell us about your main camera, lens choices, key settings and strategies. Your photos and story could be featured in the next article!

Editor’s note: This article continues a series, ‘What’s in your bag?’, highlighting DPReview community members, their photography and the gear they depend on. Would you like to be featured in a future installment? Tell us a bit about yourself and your photography by filling out this form . If you’re selected for a feature, we’ll be in touch with next steps.

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add DPReview as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.