I'm all about story telling. I believe that a pretty picture isn't worth much unless there is something that viewers can get out of it - a fleeting moment, the emotions, the interactions - all these coupled with a visual picture does more for me than all the pretty sunset pictures in the world.

I've been taking pictures seriously for the past 20 years and suffice to say that it has become an integral part of my life. Not a day goes by without me taking a photo of some sort, whether it's documenting my kids growing up, or capturing something interesting I see on the street. Of course the fact that I make my living as a professional photographer also gives me the opportunity to see and document things that a normal person would never get the chance to, so I take those opportunities to try and share with people my experiences.

When I was younger, the more equipment I had with me, the more options I had. Unfortunately, more equipment also translated to greater weight. These days, I am much better working within the constraints of the gear I have with me, so I just choose a couple of lenses I am comfortable with and head out. But the requirements are the same, I need a camera body that is rugged and can take the occasional hard knock (especially when I am chasing a news event), and some basic weather sealing in case of inclement weather. I also need the basic three lens set up for editorial work (16-35, 24-70, 70-200mm) to ensure that I have all the focal lengths I need. I also tend to use fast, large aperture prime lenses for portraits and street photography, so it's important that I have those too. Quick autofocus and good ergonomics also help.

It's easy to list the famous photographers who have figured prominently in my life like Sebastiao Salgado, James Nachtwey and Alex Webb to name a few, but there were also a lot of lesser names with no less talent. Photographers I worked with at newspapers and publications as well as editors who were more personally involved in the personal forming of my photography career.

Being a big guy, I've had a surprisingly easy time blending into the background, but the sound of the camera shutter sometimes still turns heads. The electronic shutter of the a7S is a godsend for me when it comes to being unobtrusive and taking pictures quietly.

The small size of the camera and the increasing number of lenses make it easy to carry a full-frame camera around with me everywhere I go. I used to carry a point and shoot for days when I am just walking around, but these days, I tend to tote around a7S or an a7II that allows me to capture pictures with the quality of a DSLR, but at a fraction of the weight or bulk.

As mentioned above, the light weight and small size are huge advantages, also the fact that there are converters out there that allow me to use legacy lenses that I love from other systems on my set up. I used to use a rangefinder, and these days I can still use my rangefinder lenses on the a7 bodies to take advantage of the lenses I love. The ability to transfer images to my mobile device via NFC and Wi-Fi^® is also great for quick filing of photos to clients and streamlining my workflow.

Sony has definitely made a huge splash by releasing a small full-frame camera with such versatility to the market. The prices are attractive to both consumers and professional photographers alike, and it’s a great entry to digital photography - especially to film users who weren't willing to embrace a crop factor on their lenses.

My favourite used to be the 55mm f1.8 until the 35mm f1.4 came out. But in terms of practicality and versatility, the 16-35mm f4 is the one lens I would choose if I had to pick one to carry around all the time.

For most editorial shoots, I'd carry an a7S and an a7II, as well as 16-35mm, 24-70mm, 70-200mm, 55mm and 35mm lenses.