Marcus Enno

I’m Marcus Enno, a cycling photographer better known as Beardy McBeard.

Photography has been my passion since my primary school days growing up in Newcastle just north of Sydney.

I studied photography throughout high school, setting up my own darkroom. I then moved to Sydney after school and went on to complete a diploma in photography at TAFE.

After graduating, I worked as a commercial photographer for ten years for a company called Studio Commercial.

During this time, I started an Instagram account documenting my daily road bike rides. It was well received, and I made a trip to the Tour de France in 2013 as a spectator.

The images I returned with inspired me to curate a photographic exhibition. It was a great success, and I started to receive commissioned work, including travelling to the Giro d’Italia in 2014.

Since then, I have covered six Tour de Frances, five Giro d’Italia’s, two Vuelta Espana and commissioned work for numerous clients in the cycling industry.

I have worked for tourism boards and have been published in a range of magazines and online publications.

I sell images through my website and produce a calendar of my best images each year.

I moved to Hobart, Tasmania, five years ago with family connections, and this provided amazing locations for both road and mountain biking.

It’s been an inspiring place to live, work and ride!

Most of my work involves travel to far-flung locations. It is not uncommon for me to carry my camera gear on my back while cycling in all conditions.

I also shoot from the back of a motorbike, ATV and out the back of a car.

Therefore a lightweight portable kit is essential for me. I’ve been shooting with the Olympus OM systems camera for six years.

I’ve found the cameras and lenses to be not only lightweight but extremely durable.

I’ve had my camera kit soaked in rain, splattered in mud, baked in the sun and even dropped a camera out of my bag while mountain biking, and they survived it all!

I was a little sceptical about the smaller format at first, but after testing it against my previous kit, the Canon EOS 1D X Mark II, I was impressed.

The compact nature of the lenses means that I can pack my camera gear into a carry-on without the stress of being overweight or ride all day with a full kit of lenses.

Olympus OM-1 – my newest camera and the one that I constantly reach for first. It’s lightweight with fantastic autofocus.

I will often ride with this camera around my shoulder to capture cycling from a unique perspective. I really like the files straight out of the camera, and they often require minimal processing.

Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III – this is a great little camera and was my go-to for taking on my bike until, of course, the newer Olympus OM-1 came out.

Now I use this camera mainly as a backup as it takes up so little space in my camera bag that you hardly know it’s there.

OM-D E-M1 X – the weather sealing on this camera is truly amazing. I’ve used it in the most horrendous conditions without a problem. I like that this camera has a built-in grip, unlike the other two.

It makes for a much more solid camera when paired with the bigger 300 f/4 lens.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 7-14mm f/2.8 PRO – a great super wide zoom I use for landscape shots or tight locations such as mountain bike trails.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-40mm f/2.8 PRO – a good standard kit lens with a fast F/2.8 aperture. This lens is always in my camera bag.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO – this is a perfect long zoom for finish line shots. Great for isolating subjects against the background, especially at 150mm.

It’s fast, and with a great range in the focal length, it makes capturing fast-moving action easy.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 8mm f/1.8 Fisheye PRO – a super fast fisheye. Great for mountain bike trails in dark forests and accentuating curves in the road for dynamic shots.

Olympus M.Zuiko 17mm f/1.2 PRO – and when the action is close up but I still need shallow DOF, this lens is perfect. I love using it for a media scrum at the end of a bike race.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 25mm f/1.2 PRO – this is my favourite lens that has a super shallow depth of field and great focal length.

I use it for portraits of riders, especially at the start and finish of bike races.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.2 PRO – another great lens for low light and shallow DOF. I use this lens for photographing bikes and components.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 75mm f/1.8 – I use this lens when riding. It’s tiny but really packs a punch!

It gives beautiful out-of-focus backgrounds, it has a nice sturdy construction, and it fits in a cycling jersey pocket.

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm f/4 IS PRO – this is an amazing lens, but its focal length is so long you need to be ready as moving subjects are challenging to capture.

The 300mm focal length compresses scenes and brings the background and foreground together. It is great for accentuating distant mountains

Olympus FL-700WR Electronic Flash – a compact flash that I use both on and off the camera. I use the high-speed sync of the flash to combine it with daylight and fast shutter speeds.

Olympus FC-WR Commander – a wireless flash controller that allows full control of Olympus flashes.

Lowepro Mini Trekker – the compact nature of the OM system means I can fit all my kit in this small camera bag!

Lowepro Flipside Sport – I prefer to use this bag when riding with my camera gear. It opens from the back, so the straps don’t get muddy when you put it down.

It also has two rain covers, one on the outside and one on the internal section, so it is great for keeping gear dry in wet conditions.

Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a myriad of camera equipment. I used to love geeking out with the latest photographic magazine dreaming of all the kit.

But as times moved on and film cameras became less common, I had a habit of holding on to my older equipment, including my Hasselblad 500cm kit.

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