Inside My Camera Bag | Mitch Rouse

I’m Mitch. I’ve loved photography for a long long time. I got into aerial photography to try something new and holy wow I fell in love. I routinely go up and wander over the western states trying to take cool photographs. Some of my favorite things to shoot are crops, piers and canyonlands.

Cameras

Phase One IQ4 basically is 150mpix of photography goodness! It’s absolutely a beast and it provides me with so much versatility when it comes to recomposing and working on an image in Capture One.

Leica SL2 – When I am not feeling like wielding a monster of a camera, I turn to the Leica which gives me a lot more freedom and comfort when it comes to shooting for long periods of time. The image quality although only 50mpix is still stunning.

Lenses

Schneider 75-150mm is my go-to all around lens for the Phase One. It has great wide-open ability and that 150mm is my favorite for aerial work. Not too much, not too little.

For the Leica, I use both the Leica SL 24-90mm f/2.8-4 and the APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm f/2.8-4. They give me all the range I need. They swap out fast too so I can grab some nice wide-open vistas and then change out lenses and scope into some nice details.

Hardware & Software

I always go up with a laptop to tether for added security when shooting. I would hate to lose files due to corruption. I usually work with a Dell touch screen velcroed to the seat. Once in the hotel room, I use it to review the images and make a few first-round picks.

I do most of the RAW work in Capture One and then move them to Lightroom for cataloguing. I have been using PTGui for stitching as well and have found that to be a great tool for those needs.

Misc.

Lots and lots of memory cards!

Turbulence can be a rough time but staying strong and holding on has never been disappointing. If you ever have an opportunity to try out aerial photography, do it!

www.mitchrouseaerials.com | @mitchrouseaerials