Tim Korbmacher
Sports | Last Updated: March 28, 2024
In general, photography gives me Peace, Love and Harmony. The possibility of shooting many kinds of different fields and especially action sports allows me to get a closer look behind the scenes which is good for opening your mind and letting you think differently.
First, it’s a really expensive hobby but once you’re a big hustler you can buy everything that makes you happy ;) Unfortunately, it’s a very long way to get to be a big player, I realize every new day but that’s the challenge we must handle.
A few years ago I started shooting with the Canon system and since that day I’m totally in love with these toys. Actually, I use the Canon 5D Mark III and the Canon 7D as a backup body and shooting sequences combined with a small range of lenses from 10mm fisheye up to 200mm focal length.
With these two bodies, I can do everything and I’m more than happy with this setup.
I’m not using only the best lenses which I can get for money because it’s not that what I always need to get a good shot. For me, it’s more important to cover a big range of focal lengths with less weight and small size which fits into my Backpack and Trolley from f-stop gear.
Mostly I’m working outdoors in the streets and one bag weighs over 20kg. So I can tell you…that’s not really comfy if you don’t have 2 Sherpas ;) F-stop packs give me the opportunity to keep my stuff safe and bundle it according to my needs. For me a great relief to play in the Streets.
Mostly I’m a big fan of shooting with my Tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.5 fisheye Lens. It allows me to show the action in the most dramatic way which I can’t capture with a tele lens. I can go close as hell and/or show what’s happening around without missing the big action.
The other bonus of this gorgeous lens is that I can use it on the 5D fullframe as well as on the 7D crop camera, so I was able to keep my money for other stuff. For Portrait shoots with available light, I love to use the Canon 50mm f/1.4 Lens.
It’s really lightweight, extremely sharp and has a nice depth of field. For all other stuff, I use the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L IS and the Canon 17-40mm f/4 L lenses.
I have to admit that I’m a big flash nerd and use about 80% artificial light in my pictures. I use two Elinchrom Quadra flashes with 400Ws Actionfreeze Heads combined with the Pocketwizard plus III. It allows me to flash against the midday sun without any quality loss!
It’s so sick to fire in one shot and see how sharp and better it looks than without flashes. I really love this powerful and lightweight system and I never go out shooting without my Quadras.
Finally and after work is done I’m loving to shoot on film. My beloved Canon AE-1 is a faithful companion on all my missions out there and I’m a big fan of the Ilford hp5 which is one of my favourites films in the b&w arena ;)
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