About The MountainBorn

Memories of a life less ordinary...

Born under the blazing hot sun near the equator, raised in the frozen remote northern wilds, and now making our lives in the Tokyo concrete jungle for the past decade. We love blue skies, stationery, photography, design, 18th century British poets, afternoon naps atop sun-dappled tatami mats, autumnal food, latte art (and lattes), girls in high heels and guys in fashionable scarves.

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Photography

Current

We’ve been shooting for a long, long time and use a wide variety of photographic gear. Here’s some of what we’re currently shooting with.

Medium Format Interchangeable-Lens

Our current medium-format body is the Hasselblad X2D, a beautiful, weighty metal sculpture of a camera that features a gorgeous, intuitive user interface, a massive 100MP resolution and probably no more than 25% of the features available on any consumer FF mirrorless camera available at 1/4th the price. But in many ways, it’s almost like a classic sports car - you pay an eye-watering amount for quantifiably far fewer features but an infinitely, albeit unquantifiably, more sublime usage experience. We generally pair it with the XCD 3,2-4,5/20-35E for ultra-wide landscape and architectural work, and the excellent XCD 2,8-4/35-100E as our standard “walk-around” zoom (to the extent that a MF setup can be considered “walk around-able”).

Full Frame Range Finder

We own a Leica M EV1 along with a Summilux-M 28mm f/1.4 ASPH, a Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 ASPH and a APO-Summicron-M 75mm f/2 ASPH. We pull them out of their lovely resting place on the shelf about once a month when we’re in one of our analogue moods and go wander the city streets trying to live out our best Cartier-Bresson fantasies, but invariably end up coming home with a dozen out-of-focus images of cats and the backs of people’s heads.

Full Frame Interchangeable-Lens

Our current full-frame bodies are the Leica SL2-S and the Sony A1.

We use the Leica SL2-S for most of our general shooting, especially when its larger, heavier size and slower auto-focus performance don’t matter as much as its sublime user experience and amazing build quality. We most often pair it with the Vario Elmarit SL 24-70 f/2.8 for everyday and travel use and match it with our “3 prime” trio of APO Summicron SL 28mm f/2.0, APO Summicron SL 50mm f/2.0, and the excellent (and fantastically affordable, by comparison)Sigma 85mm f/1.2 DG DN for portrait/people-heavy work.

On the other hand, when we need top-end auto-focus performance and/or resolution, we most often reach for our Sony A1. For wildlife/sports oriented work (such as our love of yabusame - Japanese horse-mounted archery) we most often match it with the FE 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS, while for birding we rely on the FE 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS and the FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS occasionally with the 1.4x extender, and supported by the Wimberly Sidekick gimbal attached to a Really Right Stuff BH-55 Ballhead mounted on a Peak Design Tripod equipped with the universal adaptorfor a relatively portable setup that still breaks down and packs up small enough to fit in many normal-sized backpacks.

For portrait work where the extra megapixels are required, we most often rely on the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM - we estimate about 80% of our “people shots” are actually taken with this combination. We round out the “holy trinity” of G-Master lenses with the FE 50mm f/1.4 GM and the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM, the latter of which is also our go-to astrophotography lens.

We don’t often bring our full-frame interchangeable-lens bodies with us for landscape/outdoor adventures due to the bulk and mass - every gram counts when you’re hiking and camping for days in a row. For those travel situations where we want a lighter all-in-one full-frame setup, our go-to is the incredibly capable Sony a7CR paired with the remarkable FE 28-70mm f/2 GM - a tiny but mighty (and yes, admittedly heavy!) package that can handle everything from landscapes to walk-around to portraits with outstanding image quality. The constant f/2 aperture across the entire zoom range is a genuine revelation and makes this combination hard to beat as an all-in-one travel solution.

Fixed Lens Full-Frame

After a long and tumultuous love affair with the Leica Q line - through the original Q, the murdered-out Leica Q-P Type 119, and the excellent Q II - we’ve now settled firmly into the Q3 generation and couldn’t be happier. We own and use both the Leica Q3 (28mm Summilux f/1.7) and the Leica Q3 43 (APO-Summicron 43mm f/2), and they have become some of our most-used cameras - for EDC, travel, and everything in between. The 60MP sensor, excellent autofocus, and discreet form factor make them genuinely hard to leave at home. Between the two, the 28mm lends itself to landscapes and street while the 43mm has become our favourite for people and travel situations where a more natural field of view suits the subject.

We also use and genuinely love the Sony RX1R III, despite all its well-documented flaws and unecessarily high price tag. The combination of a full-frame 61MP sensor and ZEISS 35mm f/2 prime in a body that fits in a jacket pocket remains a genuinely unique proposition, and the image quality it delivers continues to impress us every time we pick it up.

APS-C

In certain cases where smaller bodies and lenses are worth the trade offs over full-frame we rely on a combination of the Leica CL and the Sony a6600 for our APS-C solutions.

On paper the Leica CL seems like a difficult camera to like - it’s far more expensive and is missing important features (such as image stabilisation) common in virtually all its competitors and it suffers from a rather anemic lens lineup (all of which also lack stabilisation). Despite this, much like the Leica SL2-S, it makes up for it with an amazing, sublime user experience, surprisingly high image quality from the (relatively expensive) lenses and one of the smallest bodies around, which, when coupled with the equally tiny (albeit slightly slow) lenses, makes for a great all-around travel/hiking camera. We pair it most often with the Vario Elmar T 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH for general travel/hiking use, often backed up with either the Summilux TL 35mm f/1.4 ASPH or Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN as a fast general purpose prime/portrait lens for photographing people.

When it comes to the Sony, we usually pair it with the long-overdue but fantastically capable E 16-55mm f/2.8 G for a very capable and very compact all-in-one travel zoom experience. Add in the cheap but excellent E mount version of the Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN to get a capable and compact 2-lens setup that can handle just about any situation.

We also carry and absolutely love the Ricoh GR IV - it goes with us almost everywhere and finds its way into virtually every travel setup and trip we take, no matter how minimal. The combination of its pocketable size, excellent APS-C image quality, and the snap-focus shooting mode makes it a uniquely fast and unobtrusive camera that often produces some of our favourite shots of any given trip.

Video

For vlogging, we pair the Sony a6600 with the Sigma Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN which is a wonderful combination especially with the astounding eye-tracking AF abilities of the a6600 (as well as its flip up screen and microphone in/headphone out jacks). We pipe the 4K output out from the a6600 through a BlackMagic ATEM Mini Pro and record directly into our 2020 16” Macbook Pro for an even faster workflow. For audio, we pair the combination above with the Rode VideoMic Pro+ - the auto power on/off function is truly a lifesaver (to say nothing of the audio quality), and occasionally, the Rode Wireless GO + lavalier mic for videos where we’ll be moving around a fair bit.

1” Sensor / Everything Else

We also have a mix of 1” sensor and smaller speciality cameras we also use when the timing and situation calls for it. A few years ago when our pocket camera suffered a tragic fall down the side of a mountain, we replaced it with the Sony RX100m7 as our ultra-compact pocket camera. Much like its predecessor, the RX7 comes with a strong list of pros, including its absolutely massive 24-200mm (FF equivalent) telephoto zoom, supremely capable 1” sensor, ultra-tiny size, auto pop-up viewfinder and ability to shoot RAWs - a long list to which it also adds a mic-in jack and built-in timelapse functionality. We’ve done entire outdoor hiking trips with only this camera for the entire journey and been well satisfied with the results. The list of cons include its ridiculous price, fiddly buttons, sad battery life and slower aperture than some previous RX models.

In terms of smartphones, we usually shoot with our Apple iPhone 14 Pro. When we’re doing the Android thing, we rely on our Sony Xperia 1 Mark II with its sexy profile and much-hyped triple cameras… that still takes worse photos than the iPhone, in our opinion.

For drones, we often bring along the teeny-tiny Mavic Mini Pro 3 - small enough to throw into almost any bag without thinking about but still providing the flexiblity to grab a quick aerial shot to mix things up even during one-bag travel.

For action cameras, we often bring along the GoPro Hero 10 Black for our outdoor adventures and road trips - the combination of built in hyperlapse and timewarp make for some awesome vidoes with almost no extra effort required (other than dragging our sorry butts up to and teeteringly across ridgelines up in the clouds).

Cameras We Used To Own

Full Frame

Over the years we’ve owned and used many other full-frame systems, including the Canon EOS R5 and the Nikon ZR, among others. While we’ve enjoyed time with both, they’ve largely given way to the Sony and Leica systems as our primary tools these days.

Micro Four-Thirds

As for ‘s the story - we absolutely loved and to be honest, still do love, Micro Four-Thirds. In particular, our much beloved trio of the stunningly built Panasonic Leica DG Nocticron 42.5mm f/1.2 ASPH., the Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO and the Panasonic Leica DG Summilux 12mm f/1.4 ASPH coupled with the Panasonic GX7M3 (GX9 outside of Japan) and later on, the Panasonic G9 made us realise that being able to do serious portrait work didn’t necessarily require one to bring multiple kilos of heavy full-frame equipment - especially when traveling overseas with one bag or on mixed business/pleasure trips.

But as the years passed and smartphones got better and full frame and APS-C got better, and even pocket cams got better…. well, you know the story. We’d ended up accumulating so much Sony gear and the release of the excellent Sony 16-55mm f/2.8 G and a6600 meant that we were just not really bringing our M43 stuff out with us as much as we used to - and the 61MP A7rIV and the tremendous margin for cropping in post (to the point where you could crop out a full-sized vertical slice from a landscape-orientation image taken by the A7rIV and it’s just as big as if you’d taken a portrait-orientation shot from a normal FF body) meant that the compact ultra-zooms of M43 were not as much of an advantage as they used to be. And to be honest, we’d been burned a few times by the poor high ISO abilities of M43 in the past as well.

And with a heavy heart, we made the sad decision to sell off all our M43 gear at the end of 2019. Farewell our beloved companions - we shall miss you.

1” Sensor and others

We also own the original Sony RX0 for video, but freely confess that it wasn’t a wise purchase especially in light of the rest of the gear we already own and it has been collecting dust somewhere for almost a year at this point.

GoPro Hero Fusion - we regret buying you, you expensive toy you. We forgot we’re not extreme sport parachute skydiving wingsailers. Our life is boring in 360°.

Bags & Travel

We travel extensively for both work and pleasure and are constantly trying out new gear in search of the ever-elusive “perfect setup”. At last count, in our dedicated “bag room” we have hundreds (possibly thousands if we’re counting pouches) of different carry pieces, and probably are still adding at least two or three each month. We also have a YouTube channel reviewing some of our bags which you can find here.

Given our love of bags, the exact combination of carry solutions we favour tends to change at any given time and depending on the use case, but here are some of our current favourite bags for some common cartegories:

EDC Backpacks
  • Evergoods Civic Panel Loader 24 v3 (GOATed when it come to EDC bags)
  • Rework Gear Toshi Pack 20L - Another amazingly wonderful EDC bag
  • Aer City Pack Pro 2 (24L) - one of my favourite EDC daypacks, a net improvement on the V1, and a solid fixture in daily rotation
  • Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 20L (CTB20 - large Pro EDC / small OBT crossover, the newest size in the CTB line)
  • Rofmia Shift Daypack V2
  • Bellroy Transit Workpack
One Bag Travel Bags
  • Evergoods Civic Travel Bag 26 (GOATed One Bag Travel Bag / Goldilocks bag. If I had to pick just one bag to live with for the rest of my life it might be this one…)
  • Rework Gear Outbound Travel Pack 30L (Another amazing One Bag Travel / Goldilocks bag)
  • Aer Travel Pack 4 28L - solid, well-reviewed BBTB entrant with good EDC crossover capabilities
  • Rofmia Shift Daypack L
  • Bellroy Transit Pack 28L
Outdoor Bags
  • Hyperlite Mountain Gear Unbound 40 (80% of my outdoor trips are with this bag)
  • Hyperlite Mountain Gear DayBreak
  • Millet Trilogy 30 Dyneema
Sling Life
  • Rework Gear Toshi Sling 2.5L/5L and 6L - One the best EDC/do it all sling series out there
  • Aer Day Sling 4 / Day Sling 4 Max (the Max is especially good for iPad Pro 11” carry)
  • Bellroy Venture Sling 6L/9L (6L in particular is amazing)
  • Aer City Sling 2 (the v2 remains the recommended version - the City Sling 3 was a step backwards)
  • Peak Design Outdoor Sling 5/7L
Duffles
  • Evergoods Transit Duffel 25L - a great weekender and travel duffel companion to the TD35
  • Norda Toolbox
  • Misson Workshop Transit Duffle
  • North Face Basecamp Duffle S/XS
  • Arcteryx Carrier Duffle 30L/40L/80L (including the updated 2025 versions in 40L and 70L)
  • Bellroy Venture Hauler 57L - excellent for car camping and outdoor gear hauling
Rolling Luggage
  • Peak Design Roller Pro 34 (One of the most innovative luggages out there these days)
  • Rimowa Cabin (Aluminum and Distinct series variant) and Compact (Essentials series)
  • Louis Vuitton Horizon Soft Duffle 55 (when we’re feeling extra bougie)
  • Louis Vuitton Pegase (Damier Graphite - beautiful aluminum pull handle, interesting and worth noting)
Messengers/Totes
  • Rofia Boston Bag M
  • Arcteryx Leaf Courier 15L
  • Arcteryx Granville 10L
  • Trakke Bairn Messenger - quality smaller messenger option
Packable
  • Matador x Carryology EDX series (backpack / messenger)
  • Matador x Carryology Redeye
  • GoRuck x Carryology Kaidan Bullet 15L
  • Aer Go Packable Backpack 2
  • Matador On-Grid packable daypack
  • Mystery Ranch In-And-Out
Totes
  • Matador On Grid Packable tote
  • Arceryx Veilance Seque Tote
  • Peak Design Everyday Tote
Special Place in My Heart
  • Evergoods Mountain Quick Draw 24 (possibly one of the best looking bags ever)
  • Arcteryx Veilance Anodic Backpack 20.5L (luxury hypebeast minimalism at its finest - the spiritual successor to the discontinued Nomin Pack)
  • Mystery Ranch x Carryology Assault
  • Mystery Ranch x Carryology Escape

The Analogue

In the non-digital world, we’re partial to Rhodia DotPads, Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks and have a far larger collection of fountain pens than we really ought to, with the Lamy Dialog 3 EF, the Visconti Homo Sapiens Bronze Age EF, Visconti London Fog EF and Pilot Custom Heritage 912 EF being among our heaviest rotators.

For our EDC carry, we’re partial to our Field Notes, often coupled with the Bellroy x Fieldnotes Everyday Inspiration Cover and the James Brand Stillwell pen. For what it’s worth, the National Parks series are absolutely amazing (if only they were dot grid inside…)

Besides our love of stationery, we also have a fondness for watches which we use mainly to making sure we show up places on time, don’t miss flights/trains/boats and to timebox our work throughout the day. We’re certainly not horological connoisseurs but we do have a small mildly eclectic mix of a few choice digital and analogue watches.

In our current collection:

Creative

The MountainBorn is primarily set in Sentinel and Whitney from Hoefler & Co, with Datalegreya for smallcaps captions and Source Code Pro for monospaced text.

The site is powered by Jekyll, created in Sublime Text with photography processed by usual suspects like Lightroom and Photoshop, all atop a combination of an M1 Max Apple Studio, 14” M4 Max Macbook Pro and M4 iPad Pro depending on where we are at any given moment.

We use Cultured Code’s amazing Things across all our devices to keep us organised and get things done, Day One to keep our daily diary (and occasionally draft initial versions of posts), Bear for all our productivity/note taking needs, Sublime Text for just about any kind of text wrangling and coding and Claude Code to help glue our entire lives together.

Finally, we love legos and firmly believe that the Lego Pirates series of the 90s was the single greatest theme Lego has ever created.