Jackie Ranken

Landscape, Travel | Last Updated: April 5, 2021

I am a photographer/artist/teacher living in New Zealand.

The works that I have selected for Shotkit are some of my favourite New Zealand landscapes.

I learnt my craft through thirty-five years of continual practice – working within the photographic industry as a sports photographer, wedding photographer, commercial photographer and photojournalist.

For the past fifteen years I have been in a position to share my accumulated knowledge through running landscape and travel photography workshops in New Zealand and internationally with my photographic husband Mike Langford.

What I love most about photography is the making of impressionistic, abstract photographs that express the feeling of a place.

I make my images primarily through in-camera techniques. These include multiple exposures and intentional camera movements and stitched images made on my tilt-shift lens.

An important aspect of photography is the printed image. I use a Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 printer and find that it’s a dream machine. Easy to use and the print quality is perfect.

I also have an imagePROGRAF PRO 2000 in the garage for bigger print runs and larger format printing.

I have an EIZO CG277 (27inch) monitor that shows me exactly what I have captured on my files and brings extra joy to the editing and printing experience.

My Gear:

Camera Bag

f-Stop Lotus Camera Bag: This bag is comfortable to wear and great for travelling. Waterproof and easy to reconfigure for different uses.

Camera

Canon EOS 5D MK IV: This is my all-time favourite camera. I find the camera menu logical and easy to read, and the camera is fast and easy to operate. My favourite aspect is the easy to use in-camera multiple exposure modes and options, the high res files that it outputs and the file output from high ISO’s in low light conditions.

Canon EOSR: This is my lighter version of my 5D MKIV. It’s a lot of fun being able to see my multiple exposures come together while looking through the viewfinder. As yet, I haven’t fully jumped ship into the mirrorless world and spent lots of money on new lenses as my 5DMKIV just keeps on giving.

Lenses

My favourite lenses are the go-to Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 because of its flexibility when making multiple exposures and slow shutter speed pans.

My next most used lens would be the Canon EF 100-400mm f4.5/5.6 for finding the detail/abstract shot in the wider landscape. I don’t shoot many classic landscape view images.

I love making square images from stitching two frames together using my Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 tilt-shift lens. I can add the Canon RF 1.4 MARK III Extender to this to make the focal length around 33mm. This lens gives me a unique point of view that takes my mind away from the obvious. (NB. Manual focus and manual exposure are required with this lens.)

I use screw-on neutral density filters because they are easy to carry and fast to attach to my lens.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/4

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4

Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5

Canon RF 1.4 MARK III Extender

Filters

ND Grads P121, P120

72 and 77mm ND 8 & 400

72 and 77mm Circular Polariser

Extras

Canon remote switch RS-80N3