Inside My Camera Bag | Wayne La

Hello folks, I’m Wayne La and I’m a wedding and street photographer based in London, England.

I’ve been shooting weddings for eight years, three of which whilst based in Texas, USA where I received formal training from a prominent studio.

I went through a period of unlearning when I moved back to London as a response to a growing love of documentary photography.

The photos I take are people-focused. I don’t often shoot weddings on snow-capped mountaintops or sun-kissed beaches and I’ve never been drawn to landscapes to take pictures of.

I love to travel but only to broaden the mind, not photographic horizons. I believe the best pictures are found closest to home and often during the quietest of moments.

When I’m not photographing weddings, I’m taking photos on the streets. There are parallels to both in terms of aesthetics and practice, but I also see street photography as a tool to sharpen the eye and as a cleanser to freshen the mind.

Cameras

Fujifilm X-T3 – I was a full-frame Nikon user but the overbearing humidity and heat of south Texas turned my head towards the Fuji XT1 back in 2014 and I haven’t looked back since.

I now shoot with two X-T3 bodies and two primes and an X100F for backup and personal use.

The X-T3‘s are pretty much perfect for me: They’re a good compromise in keeping size/weight to a minimum whilst maintaining robustness and feature-rich capability.

I use the flippy screen more than the viewfinder because I like to get a sense of the scene as a whole, though both the back screen and EVF are bright and accurate when called upon. Additionally, the autofocus is blazing fast; the speed of general operation is reassuring.

I also love the tactile nature of the cameras. Three dials for the exposure triangle means I barely have to go into the menu system.

Fujifilm X100F – My spare camera and it’s a thing of beauty. With a 23mm fixed lens, it gives a 35mm full-frame field of view which, if I had to choose one focal length, would be my favoured choice.

The camera is near silent, unassuming and stealthy whilst its hybrid viewfinder is remarkable. I use the EVF to measure exposure and with a deft flick of the forefinger, switch to the OVF to compose. It’s a unique but intuitive way of seeing.

Lenses

Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 – This lens is my workhorse. 75% of my pictures come from this 24mm full-frame equivalent. It’s a little on the large side (in both dimensions and weight) but makes up for it by being fast on its light gathering and autofocus.

Shooting a wide-angle suits me. My preference is to get in close, to compose with depth in mind, and to have that relationship between foreground to background. I have no attraction for shallow depth of field.

Fujifilm XF 35mm f/1/4 – Gives a 50mm full-frame equivalent. It’s my beauty lens for the occasional portrait, and a frustrating one when I’m shooting candidly but the result of perseverance is worth it. It’s also a focal length I enjoy shooting vertically with.

Lights/Triggers

Godox XPro-F trigger and Godox V850II flash for my bare-bones lighting system. I only ever use the flash during the evening reception so a wireless trigger and a simple manual flash is all I need.

Bags/Straps
Peak Design Messenger 13” – It’s big enough to carry both bodies and lenses, flash, trigger and leave space for snacks and sundries.

I have used the Moneymaker in the past and I do acknowledge its ease of use for dual cameras; I just found it a little loud and attracted too much attention, which is opposite of the quiet and discreet photographer that I am.

Spider BlackWidow Holster – As I tend to use the 16mm beyond my eye-level, I use this lightweight holster so that I’m not limited by the strap when I’m scrabbling around at feet level or raising the camera above my head.

Peak Design Slide Lite – This strap is thin, lightweight and strong and allows hip to eye camera access in one super-smooth sliding motion.

Hardware & Software

I’m a Lightroom user with a bog-standard desktop PC. I hear better files can be eeked out of Capture One and faster culling using Photo Mechanic but as everything works fine for me, I’m happy to stay in my comfort zone.

I use my own preset for colour and Mastin Lab’s Kodak Everyday Tri-X 400 as a base for the occasional black and white.

www.waynela.com | @wayne_la_photo