View Full Version : Taking Pictures.
RedRunnerJumper
10-07-2009, 15:22
When thru-hiking, do most being cameras for pictures so they can remember their trip? Or do most not because of the weight and hassle?
Forget trying to photograph the vistas. Buy a coffee table book for that.
But, bring a camera for sure. Take pictures of all your hiker friends, trail angels and trail "legends":)
Ramble~On
10-07-2009, 15:32
Lots of pictures to remember and share your journey
I haven't thru-hiked, but won't even consider going on section hike without a camera.
I always take my compact camera (a Panasonic TZ5), whether its a day hike or longer.
wrongway_08
10-07-2009, 15:46
Always take phots, you will forget half the cool places and funny things that happen along the way if you dont. Also Movies! I have a bunch from the bears and snakes and fellow thru'ers - they show a lot more personality then the photos can.
Forget trying to photograph the vistas. Buy a coffee table book for that.
But, bring a camera for sure. Take pictures of all your hiker friends, trail angels and trail "legends":)
Jeff makes a good point about the vistas. Everyone kept asking me what the vistas looked like this year and I'd say "Just hold a sheet of white paper in front of your face and you'll get an idea of what I'm looking at!"
Although I did manage to get a few great shots on top of some peaks I really wish I'd taken more pics of fellow hikers, shelter life, and good times in town.
That said, be sure to get a camera with video capabilities. You'll cherish all those little video vignettes when your older and the nurse is spooning split pea soup in your mouth.
Now let me tell you 'bout the time I wrestled a 10 foot rattlesnake just outside of Duncannon, PA.........
Many Walks
10-07-2009, 16:00
Took 1,100 pics and glad I did. I like to run them in the background as a slide show to bring back the memories. Camera weight was negligible, the memories are priceless.
I pity the ultra lighter that goes without a camera. For the rest of his life, memories fade, and all he can do is remember that he saved himself half a pound.
Ramble~On
10-07-2009, 16:49
:) I have about 3,000 or so photos to upload....and I haven't climbed momma K yet. I won't hike without a camera....ever!
My wife and I carried a camera and just about every other thru hiker that we encountered did as well. We treasure our pictures and would definitely hike with a camera again.
johnnybgood
10-07-2009, 17:05
You'll cherish all those little video vignettes when your older and the nurse is spooning split pea soup in your mouth.
Now let me tell you 'bout the time I wrestled a 10 foot rattlesnake just outside of Duncannon, PA.........
LMAO !! That confounded video whatchamacallit made the snake look small, but I'm tellin' you... it was HUGE and oh, get a load of this.....
I carry a camera..but I also enjoy photography. Some people can vividly capture a moment by writing as well. Its all good.
Let's not turn this discussion into yet another round of "The implication of evil ultralighters who do not take digital imaging equipment to make their substances have form" (or whatever). :sun
RedRunnerJumper
10-07-2009, 19:31
haha alright, thanks. Most likely ill bring a camera but jus wondering what everyone else did.
.......jus wondering what everyone else did.Don't sweat what others do, hike your own hike. There's enough sheeple to go around already. :D
Tipi Walter
10-07-2009, 19:47
I pity the ultra lighter that goes without a camera. For the rest of his life, memories fade, and all he can do is remember that he saved himself half a pound.
Memories do fade and I curse myself for not having a film camera 30 years ago when I was trudging and camping in some glorious, snow filled valleys and rock gorges. I most especially miss having pictures of some of my old gear, like my early 1970s model North Face tent and the old Bigfoot sleeping bag. And I miss all the winter shots I could've taken in a thousand different camps. So, I advise all the young bucks out there to carry a camera and record your tents and your campsites. 30 years from now you may wish you had.
I took a camera on both my PCT hikes. I'm so glad I did. When I miss the trail I look at my pictures again. There's always something I forgot that I remember. My pictures tell a story my journals don't.
I'm just very sad that I crushed my camera by sleeping with it just before Red Pass in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. Some of the most stunning scenery was missed. And the disposable camera I bought to at least get a picture of myself at the Canadian border sucked. It took lousy, grainy, overexposed pictures and had no self-timer so you can't hardly tell I'm at the monument at all.
RedRunnerJumper
10-07-2009, 20:09
Word, def gotta hike my own hike. But now I have an idea, def bring a camera to treasure the memories.
Memories do fade and I curse myself for not having a film camera 30 years ago when I was trudging and camping in some glorious, snow filled valleys and rock gorges. I most especially miss having pictures of some of my old gear, like my early 1970s model North Face tent and the old Bigfoot sleeping bag. And I miss all the winter shots I could've taken in a thousand different camps. So, I advise all the young bucks out there to carry a camera and record your tents and your campsites. 30 years from now you may wish you had.
Well said.
Gray Blazer
10-12-2009, 12:07
Jeff makes a good point about the vistas. Everyone kept asking me what the vistas looked like this year and I'd say "Just hold a sheet of white paper in front of your face and you'll get an idea of what I'm looking at!"
That's what my WB Gallery is for (at least in the South).
modiyooch
10-12-2009, 12:20
Again, I differ. I don't carry a camera. It's all in my head and I don't believe those memories will ever fade. It hasn't yet. It bothers my friends and coworkers that I don't carry a camera, but they are welcome to go any time.
jersey joe
10-12-2009, 12:34
I pity the ultra lighter that goes without a camera. For the rest of his life, memories fade, and all he can do is remember that he saved himself half a pound.
If someone didn't bring a camera, they could always go back and hike the trail again to recall what they saw. That being said, I would suggest that everyone that attemps a thru hike bring a camera along.
modiyooch
10-12-2009, 13:22
If someone didn't bring a camera, they could always go back and hike the trail again to recall what they saw. That being said, I would suggest that everyone that attemps a thru hike bring a camera along.
you have to go back to see what you missed the first time anyway. Or possibly see it from another direction. At least that's what the multiple thrus tell me.
I took over 2000 pictures during my thru hike. I love looking back through them. And they are great to show all of the people back home. I tried to take lots of pictures with people in them. They help me remember everyone I met. Get your self a digital camera and a couple 2G memory cards.
Enjoy your hike
Wise Old Owl
10-12-2009, 13:36
The smaller point & shoot Digitals are getting smaller lighter & better at battery life. The memory chips can be $13 for 4GB and hold a thousand photos. Even if the camera gets wet the photos will still be there. Later Photoshop can stitch vistas together, fix washed out skys and remove rain drops. There is nothing like a trail journal with photos and topo maps of your trip, to review years later.
just a couple of long sections, no thru hike yet, but i've carried a camera with me, the one thing after the first section that i realized is I had all these pics of great vistas that I couldn't remember the name of and hardly any pictures of the people I wanted to remember more.... my biggest piece of advice when hiking with a camera, is to take pictures of the people you meet, those will be more important afterwards
I had a nikon coolpix on my second section, you can record a little voice memo to each pic so you can remember where it was taken.
If someone didn't bring a camera, they could always go back and hike the trail again to recall what they saw. That being said, I would suggest that everyone that attemps a thru hike bring a camera along.
That is true for the vistas, but it doesn't extend to everything. The people you meet are not going to be there. That perfect moment when the bear was looking at you can't be duplicated. Your grubby gear, dirtied and worn from a thousand miles is now washed and relatively clean. And more importantly, you're different. You've lost that thru hiker look, the ragged beard and well worn clothes have been replaced by a few extra pounds and a slightly more groomed appearance.
It's the eyes that tell the tale. No longer looking forward and outward while keeping an eye on the immediate terrain, the stare which was squinted against the sun is now hooded with weariness. The true understanding of distance, of just how big the world is and how small we are has been replaced by more useful knowledge. You can't duplicate that. We become like Rainier Maria Rilke's Panther:
His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars and behind the bars, no world.
Or maybe I just need to get away from my desk.
garlic08
10-12-2009, 14:15
Since you're so young, definitely bring a camera. If you're like me and have several boxes full of tens of thousands of frankly mediocre photos that all pretty much look the same (here's me and some friends on a snow-covered peak in ______ (your favorite place here)), you may wish to save money, time, and weight and leave the camera behind.
You may be able to tell by now that I'm one of the few who buck the trend and do not carry a camera, but that's only me. But the other week I was on a perfect hike in Mt Rainier NP (sans camera), met a guy with a camera and first thing he said was, "Good, my camera battery finally died." I thought I heard wrong, but then he said, "Now I can quit taking pictures and just enjoy the hike." My thought exactly.
Hot Shoe
10-12-2009, 14:22
Since you're so young, definitely bring a camera. If you're like me and have several boxes full of tens of thousands of frankly mediocre photos that all pretty much look the same (here's me and some friends on a snow-covered peak in ______ (your favorite place here)), you may wish to save money, time, and weight and leave the camera behind.
You may be able to tell by now that I'm one of the few who buck the trend and do not carry a camera, but that's only me. But the other week I was on a perfect hike in Mt Rainier NP (sans camera), met a guy with a camera and first thing he said was, "Good, my camera battery finally died." I thought I heard wrong, but then he said, "Now I can quit taking pictures and just enjoy the hike." My thought exactly.
OTOH, learn to make pictures, not just take them. Discipline yourself to quality images over quantity "happy snappies" and know how to use your camera settings to maximize your camera's capabilities for any given scene.
OTOH, learn to make pictures, not just take them. Discipline yourself to quality images over quantity "happy snappies" and know how to use your camera settings to maximize your camera's capabilities for any given scene.
..or do what my friends say "I don't need to take a camera..I take you" :D
Being serious. Take a camera or don't.
I do because I enjoy photography. If you don't want to...no sweat.
Hot Shoe
10-12-2009, 14:40
..or do what my friends say "I don't need to take a camera..I take you" :D
Being serious. Take a camera or don't.
I do because I enjoy photography. If you don't want to...no sweat.
True. It really depends on what your priorities and interests are. A camera not used or used improperly to the extent that your images end up getting erased, just becomes dead weight to carry.
modiyooch
10-12-2009, 14:47
My excuse for not carrying is that on my very first attempt at a thru, I snapped all kinds of pictures but had a bad roll of film. Since those images have to be recalled mentally, I reason that the rest have to be as well.
Should you decide to carry a camera, find a way to attach it to your shoulder or waist strap so it is VERY accessible. You'll be less likely to miss that shot of you trail buddy who just slipped off the puncheons and is now standing knee deep in boggy water. By the time you take off your pack to find the camera and take the shot a time or two, you'll miss the opportunity or never take a photo.
Montana AT05
10-12-2009, 19:53
What I would have done differently:
1. Take more pictures of the people I met, my camp sites, the shelters, breaks, town tasks and enjoyment, normal shots of everyday trail.
2. Used more camera memory to take shot films
3. Continued to take pictures after Harpers Ferry. From HF to Khatadin, I took many 6 pictures. I regret that--but my mindset was "just get-er-done". I don't even have a shot of me on Khatadin (my camera broke 2 days prior to summit and a guy summited with sent me photos but they were somehow lost in the mail).
This advice (to myself) goes for all things--my home town, my current home town, any trips I take, etc.
Who cares if you have a photo of the Eiffel Tower? But a picture of you walking along a side street in some faraway place will evoke more meaning than one of the Mona Lisa, sitting behind bullet proof glass.
Take pics of your dirty thru-hiker clothes, pics of your food bag explosion, pics of you on a rainy day, pictures of your zombie feet, a selfshot of you in your sleeping bag in the cold March weather. That kind of stuff.
And even then, I would dare to suggest that the scenery along the AT is on par and sometimes better than those out west--I'd rather gaze a table top professional photo of a rich green Virginia farm stead along the AT than yet another ridge or peak along the PCT. Both are purdy, oh yes, but the AT is rich in so many ways--you'll tend to forget that as you slog along it, one root and rock at a time. So take pics.
Jeff, the fisrt reply, really struck a chord with me. I have mant pics of mopuntain views, but my favorites are of other people, some of whom names have been forgotten, but memories of the occasion remains. Some of my favorites of scenery are not of long distant views trying to "get it all in", but might be of a small segment, like a rocky ledge or a tree stump.