Lauren McDonagh-Pereira

Lauren McDonagh-Pereira is a photographer from Massachusetts, USA. She captures the beauty of the world around her, favoring Nikon cameras and lenses. She is drawn to shooting landscapes, wildlife, flowers, and people enjoying time together.

January 28, 2023
10:02 am

Dreams of Yosemite – Camera Equipment

Introduction

In this post, I cover the camera gear and photography equipment that I used to create the images in my Dreams of Yosemite NFT photography collection.

My name is Lauren McDonagh-Pereira. I am a photographer, NFT artist, NFT collector, and web3 blogger. I have been shooting with Nikon DSLR and Mirrorless cameras since 2008.

Disclaimer

A red stop sign against a blue sky, with a red rocks on either side — ⓒ Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography 2013

Before we get into it, please consider a few quick DISCLAIMERS.

I am not a financial advisor, an art expert, a lawyer, or an accountant. Always do your own research before purchasing NFTs and never spend money that you cannot afford to spend.
This post represents my personal opinions and is NOT financial advice.
I am an NFT artist. At the time of posting, I have works minted on the Tezos and Ethereum blockchain. Links contained in this article may point to my own minted NFTs or may point to the NFTs of other artists that I have collected from. If you choose to collect NFTs referenced in this article, I may earn money from your purchase.

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THE GEAR

The Camera: Nikon D5100

The Nikon D5100 was my do-it-all camera from 2012 until 2016.

It was a great balance of between size and functionality for travel. With my D5100, I explored Iceland, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Portugal, and Jamaica. The Nikon D5100 also served as my road trip workhorse and created images of the gorgeous National Parks of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Maine, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

I would’ve happily held on to this camera body for years, but sadly, it met a tragic end. In April of 2016, I set up my tripod on a narrow path by a waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My husband tried to get by my setup and, in the shuffle, my tripod tipped over, and my poor, beloved Nikon D5100 went for a fatal swim in the river below.

Invest in good tripods, people. Trust me.

The Nikon D5100 has since been updated a few times. The modern equivalent is the Nikon D5600 DX-Format Digital SLR.

You can find a more detailed review of the Nikon D5100 here.

The Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Zoom Lens with Auto Focus for Nikon DSLR Cameras

All 4 of my “Dreams of Yosemite” landscapes were shot with the Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Zoom Lens.

It’s 2023, and I am still rocking this lens whenever I want to shoot a landscape, a cityscape, or a creatively wide scene. It works on crop-sensor Nikon DSLRs.

I currently use it with my crop sensor mirrorless Nikon Z50 with an FTZ adapter.

The Filter: Hoya HD Nano PL-Cir Polarizing Filter (77 mm)

The Nikkor 10-24 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED Zoom Lens has a 77mm filter ring. On this trip, I used my Hoya HD Nano PL-Cir Polarizing Filter to balance the light in the scene. I definitely recommend Hoya Filters. It’s been 8 years, and this filter is still living on the front of my landscape lens.

The Tripod: Ugh, I was foolish in 2015. Invest… or pay.

The tripod I used on this trip was some cheap-o $20 thing from Target. I don’t remember the name, because I threw it out years ago.

I was young and low on funds, and I tried to skimp on my tripod. That decision cost me not one, but TWO DSLRS. My original Nikon D40 was mounted on the tripod, which was knocked over by my cat, and my Nikon D5100 was mounted on the tripod when a gentle bump sent it tumbling into a river. Learn from my mistakes. Don’t mount a few thousand dollars of gear on $20s of plastic and thin aluminum.

These days, I secure my gear with a Manfrotto BeFree GT XPRO Carbon Fiber Travel Tripod with 496 Center Ball Head. It’s light enough, that I can manage it while I’m out with my two small children, and sturdy enough that I can set it up without fear around aforementioned small children (aka human tornados).