My name is Jason Gray, and I am a freelance photographer and artist from St. Louis, Missouri.
I work in a post-documentary style, meaning its focus is more on personal storytelling than on straight documentation.
I see my practice as being semi-autobiographical in the sense that the perspectives of the camera and the photographer are not easily separated. This approach means that I get to photograph a wide variety of subjects, all while exploring my relationship to the theme.
My work has been published internationally, though more extensively in my home region, where it has also been the focus of several exhibitions. I’ve been lucky to have two monographs produced on my photography, with a third expected in 2026.
The photobooks have afforded me the ability to explore series in a long-form way, while the exhibitions afford the images a three-dimensional aspect, viewed in real space.
As my old camera bag, a ten-year-old F-Stop Gear Loka, suggests, I am not afraid to get dirty and have made images in some really tough spots. Over the years, I’ve shot everything from a subterranean lake far below the surface of the city streets to every nook and cranny of the city streets themselves.
Life is never dull if you know where to point the camera.
As I write this, I am preparing for a Gambler 500 event deep in the forests of the Ozarks, where I will spend several days photographing and camping alongside the participants. My gear list below comes from this loadout.
The tricky things I shoot are also a big reason why I chose Fujifilm APS-C over the larger full-frame offerings. Size, weight, and cost are all less than the 35mm equivalents, while durability and image quality remain competitive.
I used to shoot Nikon and have owned a plethora of their cameras, though the decision to switch to a crop sensor stymied my options with that manufacturer.
That said, Fuji X has served all of my needs well, even when I shoot the occasional conference or work in the studio.
I shoot two Fujifilm X-T5 bodies, as I like to have layout and settings parity when switching between cameras.
This camera is very capable of keeping up with the type of work that I do, and the forty megapixel sensor accommodates huge prints for fine art documentation. This offers the ability to crop, which comes in very handy.
These cameras are rugged as well, despite their diminutive appearance. I fell into a river with one of my cameras, fully submerging it, but it was undaunted.
Though battery life is pretty good, I do carry four spares, just in case, in an F-Stop Gear Digi-Buddy.
For lenses, I have the TOKINA ATX-m 11-18mm f/2.8 X, which is my ultra-wide. From my days with Nikon, I have always trusted Tokina as a third-party brand, and this relatively compact and lightweight lens delivers.
Also, this lens maker’s license with Fuji means that its offerings are fully compatible with the X system, ensuring that autofocus, firmware data, and other lens attributes behave like they do on native lenses.
My standard zoom is the Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR M1, and my telephoto zoom is the Fujifilm 50-140mm f/2.8 R LM OIS WR.
These two Fuji workhorses produce excellent sharpness throughout their range, even wide open. Though heavier than the primes I typically carry, they are the perfect solution when the situation calls for the convenience of zooms.
For flash, I packed the Godox V860II-F TTL Li-ion and the tiny Fujifilm EF-X8 as a pocketable backup/fill.
The Godox has a guide number of 197 feet at ISO 100 and 200mm, which is plenty of power for walk-around portraits. Also, though I usually stick to manual, having TTL as an option is nice for run-and-gun images.
The vest that I use is a thrifted, vintage Domke PhoTOGS, which holds all of my incidentals while I am out shooting. Things like my phone, glasses, F-Stop Gear Memory Card Wallet, lens cloth, headlamp/flashlight, chewing gum, notepad and pen, gloves, emergency blanket and rain poncho, first aid, and power banks.
I may not win any fashion awards, but damn if it isn’t convenient and easy on the back. Not pictured is my F-Stop Gear Florentin 11L shoulder bag, which carries my second camera and two lenses when my pack takes a rest.
Hope that you’ve enjoyed this intro to my photography and kit.
Credit : Source Post
