This monthly feature gives you a sneaky peak into the Billingham bag belonging to one of the North’s top photographers – Tony Lendill is May’s photographer of choice…
Tony scraped into art college by the skin of his paintbrush, and quickly discovered he was better behind the lens than he was with painting or drawing. After stints on a cruise ship, in a commercial advertising studio, in a portrait studio, as a medical photographer, and a photo journalist, he returned to the commercial studio environment and helped set up what is now Powerhouse and Phood studios in Leeds.
He now heads up a team of 6 extremely creative photographers working mainly in food and still life. He works for 3 of the 4 big supermarkets as well as M&S, Freemans and has recently been shooting and directing quite a bit of video for online clients.
Outside work Tony is a mountain biker, a reluctant DIYer, but only when can spare the time away from his lovely wife and three daughters!
Visit Tony’s website here.
So what’s in his bag?
1. Large format Linhof Kardan Monorail camera with digital sliding back. Much of my food work is done on this beautiful old camera, but working with a digital back.
2. Extra rail for getting really close-up on the subject.
3. Schneider apo-digitar 90mm lens.
4. Schneider apo-symmar 210mm lens.
5. Schneider Symmar 180mm lens.
6. Linhof bag bellows for the wider lens.
7. Wista lupe, for focusing on the ground glass screen.
8. Clips, never leave home without them!
9. Mirrors, for when you need to get light where no light has gone before.
10. Grey card, you need if this you don’t want your shots to be a strange colour.
11. Firewire, for shooting tethered to the mac.
12. Soft brush, for those errant crumbs.
13. Blutak, needs no explanation.
14. Lighter Fluid, you never know what level of cleaning your subject might need, it’s particularly good on wine bottles.
15. Lighter, honestly I’m not an arsonist, I might need to light some candles!
16. Phaseone activation cable-don’t forget this, your back won’t capture the image!
17. I seem to have missed the number 17, maybe it’s unlucky!
18. Q Tips, I don’t have anything dripping out of my ears, it’s just the food stylist may not have brought any!
19. Colour Correction card, you need this for cameras where the film plane and lens plane have independent movement – that’s the short answer.
20. The all jmportant PhaseOne back, in this case a P30.
21. A wizard for flash sync. I’ve dropped a few off the top of the camera in my time.