What’s in your kit? Packing for travel photography with a pair of professionals
posted Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 4:00 PM EDT
When traveling, which photographic gear is essential? Of course, the answer depends on which kind of photography you intend to do and what equipment you have. However, it never hurts to learn what different pro photographers are using to capture their shots.
In the pair of videos below, we join two different photographers as they discuss their essential cameras, lenses and accessories. First up is Nigel Danson, who recently returned from a trip to the Faroe Islands. Danson shoots with Fujifilm cameras -- although he has in the past used Nikon full-frame gear -- and he traveled with a Fujifilm X-T2 and Fujifilm X-H1, with the latter being primarily used for video. He shot with numerous lenses and took many different accessories, which are outlined below.
In a similar video, photographer Andrew Marr discussed planning and traveling with gear specifically for landscape photography. Like Danson, Marr goes through his bag of gear and discusses what's included and why. There are of course many considerations when packing for a trip. How long will you be gone? What sort of shots do you think you'll be capturing? How much can you realistically carry with you? These are all important questions and the answers to them can drastically change what you pack.
Personally, my starting point when packing is deciding what type of images I want to capture. From there, I can add or eliminate different lenses. There are must-haves, such as a tripod and filters. The filters are easy to fit in a pack, so that's no problem, but a tripod can add quite a bit of weight. Next up is including the very important accessories, a way to clean lenses, extra batteries, chargers if I will be gone for a while, extra cards, etc. I don't like carrying multiple bags, so I usually need to find space for cold-weather gear and/or rain gear depending on the season. It's important to bring the right kind of clothing because if you're uncomfortable, it'll be tough to capture nice images, no matter how great your camera equipment is. At this point, I know how much extra space I have, which means perhaps I can bring a different lens just in case. I most often shoot landscapes, which are commonly also chances for wildlife photography as well, so if I can find space for a telephoto lens, I'll bring it.
Readers, what's your travel photography kit like? What are some of your must-have accessories? Let us know in the comments below.
(Via Nigel Danson and Andrew Marr)