In July our family left for our yearly summer trip. This year we chose to spend 4 days in West Yellowstone, then 4 days in Jackson Hole. This was the perfect chance to test out my new Sony camera setup. So I purchased a new thinkTANK Perception Pro backpack to haul the perfect amount of gear. One of the reasons I dumped my Canon setup was weight so I didn't want to again slip into that cycle. The thinkTANK backpack was the perfect blend of being able to carry the gear I needed without taking everything plus the kitchen sink.

Here is the list of gear I brought and used on the trip:

Sony Alpha 7M2

Sony Alpha 7R

Zeiss Vario-Tessar FE 4/16-35 ZA OSS

Zeiss Vario-Tessar FE 4/24-70 ZA OSS

Sony FE 4/70-200 G OSS

Sony HVL-F60M flash unit

5 Batteries (Sony NP-FW50)

​I brought 2 different Camera bodies so I expand my choices and capability. The 7M2 for the 5 axis stabilization, fast focusing, and 5 FPS burst rate. The 7R for it's incredible image quality and lack of a low pass filter for enhanced sharpness. The 3 lens zoom kit seems to be the best choice for me, a great combination of being lightweight but still having great range. I have 3 Zeiss prime lenses from my old Contax camera system and an adapter so I can use them on the Sony but decided to leave those at home to lighten my pack. I didn't think I would need the 18mm f4, 50mm f1.4, or 300mm f4 on this trip, though I did debate on the 300mm since Yellowstone has great wildlife photo opportunities. But the weight of my bag was important so I went with the zoom lenses only.

The first day off the airplane was spent driving from Boseman to West Yellowstone so I didn't do much photography that day. Day 2 we drove over to the Fountain Paint Pots where I took this image in Black & White. I was impressed with how well the default B&W setting did on the Sony. I did punch up the contrast in camera, then polished the image up in Perfect Photo Suite 9. The image was shot in jpg mode on the 7M2 with the Zeiss Vario-Tessar FE 4/16-35 ZA OSS lens.

Reflectionsoflodgepoles.jpgWhile walking past these lodgepole pines with the dramatic clouds I noticed the reflections in the water and thought I would make a great subject for B&W.

This next image was just a simple landscape

DSC04618-Edit copy.jpgMamoth Hot Springs

Grizzly waterfight