Photography challenges for thru hikers [Archive]

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Hoot

11-07-2009, 03:37

Peaks

11-07-2009, 07:52

Bring a big SD card, and take lots of pictures. In addition to the views, take pictures of people you meet along the way.

Cheers

11-07-2009, 08:13

You could try and email Grizzly Adam via his Trailjournal. I'm not sure if he's still doing it but he was all about backpacking/photography. I hiked with him for a section of Maine and NH years ago in a november. He must have been carrying an extra 30lbs of camera gear, in addition to his regular pack weight. He took some great photo's, not just in the journal link i'm giving you, but in all his journals.

http://www.trailjournals.com/entry.cfm?trailname=2626

I forgot his actual photography web address.

Cheers

photojojo

11-07-2009, 09:39

Bring a big SD card, and take lots of pictures.

Take several big SD cards. My camera bag weighs in excess of 40 pounds, but I'm a full time photojournalist carrying video and audio equipment as well as still stuff. That said I carry a Canon G7 when backpacking and will be getting a G11 soon. There's no way it can replace a 1D Mark II, but it can come close.

weary

11-07-2009, 13:50

I'm far from a professional, but I've been taking photos for many decades -- many of which have appeared in the newspaper where I used to work.

I also do a lot of hiking, including a 2,000 mile stint on the AT.

I find I take better photos and photos that least interfere with my hiking speed when the camera is kept readily available. That requires less weight than professionals usually carry.

I'm not talking about 7 ounce cameras. But some great cameras are available in the one pound range.

I haven't tried it personally, but I'm sorely tempted by the Panasonic GF1, based on reviews. It costs around $900 with a pretty good removable lens, and weighs just about one pound.

Here's where I found one of the reviews that made me to start saving up for a new camera.

http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/DMCGF1/DMCGF1A.HTM

As for your question. Good photography is time consuming. It will slow you down. I took virtually all the blue blazed trails to scenic overlooks and several thousand photographs, but still made it from Georgia and Maine in six months and three days, using a point and shoot, but somewhat sophisticated point and shoot film camera.

I've been a slow convert to digital. But it's now clear to me that light weight digital has won the battle -- especially for long distance hiking.

Weary

le loupe

11-07-2009, 14:04

Howdy!

Its really ...

[a bit diffrent from the usual nude work i do] ... i'd love to hear about it,

thanx

:dance

Braggart!!

Wise Old Owl

11-07-2009, 14:14

I am with Weary on this, I frequently hike with my dad and he brings a couple of lenses and a heavy digital 35 mm. It's too bulky and if you are photographing nature it rearly worked out. You need to find one that fits well on a hip belt and accepts large memory. I use a lightweight walking stick that I put the correct screw to make it a monopod. I can stick that in mud or dirt or lean it up against a tree and get back in the picture. If I don't get what I want I just fix it in Photoshop. Be aware of humidity and wet conditions and how the camera acts below 40 degrees.

ChinMusic

11-07-2009, 14:19

Take several big SD cards. My camera bag weighs in excess of 40 pounds, but I'm a full time photojournalist carrying video and audio equipment as well as still stuff. That said I carry a Canon G7 when backpacking and will be getting a G11 soon. There's no way it can replace a 1D Mark II, but it can come close.
I'm a serious hobbyist with emphasis in sports photog. I just added a 5D Mark II for backpacking-photo trips. My Mark IIN was just too dang heavy and who needs 8 fps. The 5D gives nice HS video as well but the focus is tricky. Having a usable ISO of 12800 is nice around camp.

For serious hiking trips I just bring a simple Powershot.

bigcranky

11-07-2009, 18:20

Yeah, the 1D Mark II is a bit heavy for a hiking camera. I carried two of them on a hiking trip a couple of years ago (and three f/2.8 zooms, and some lighting gear), but that was work related. Actually, they carried surprisingly well, one over each shoulder, just like at work.

I have a Canon G-7 that I carry on regular backpacking trips. It's heavy for a hiking camera, but I like the manual control and the image quality. I am seriously tempted by the G-11, and also by the Panny GF1 m4/3 camera. Hmmm, what to do. (Seeing as I don't have any spare cash at the moment, that's an easy question to answer.)

So, specific ideas about carrying gear on a hike:

1. Lighter is better. A 7D or a 5D Mark II is better than a 1-series camera. I would take my 40D and the 10-22 and maybe a 24-105 and the 70-200/4. I.S. is a big help, and a decent carbon tripod would be a HUGE advantage.

2. Take a ton of CF cards. Costco has the Sandisk 4GB compact flash on sale right now for $25 for TWO of them. They have the 8 GB cards for $35 each. For a thru-hike I would probably bounce a laptop computer (a netbook would be fine) so I could download and edit in town. Need to figure out how to back everything up while on the trail -- maybe upload my raw files to a place like Photoshelter, or burn DVDs and send them home. Or just mail home the cards for download, and have them sent back to the next town on the trail. While you're bouncing the laptop, you can bounce your battery chargers, too. (Oh, and bring lots of spare batteries. Of course.)

3. Water protection should be fairly straightforward (big ziploc bags inside your pack), but that doesn't help when you want to shoot and your camera is in your pack. Maybe one of the smaller Think Tank zoom bags, worn on the front of the backpack harness, with a rain cover.

Not sure if any of this works on a thru-hike. But it's worth a try, anyway. You can always ship the gear home.

Happy trails and good shooting.

kayak karl

11-07-2009, 19:29

just a note. a 15-200mm lens might work better, rather then 2 lens. just a thought. a hard case would be the best. i smashed 2 cameras already.

Ramble~On

11-07-2009, 20:05

take a camera, keep it handy, use it a lot.

:-? See how many hikers you can get to pose nude :eek:...no wait...don't do that!

Hoot

11-07-2009, 20:50

thankyou for the insight thus far,

specifically im going to bring a d100 and d70 which will bring me in to a bit over 3 lbs each w/ lenses. the batteries are the same for both & though i'd hate to lose a camera due to accident, im more comfortable losing these than a body that is worth a bit more. i've tossed around the idea for a infared camera as well, but if that happens i'd likely send it ahead after using it in specific locations.

ive wondered about the use of a netbook/laptop and bouncing it vs the idea of shipping cards back home, right now bouncing and sending cd's of images home seems like the best idea,

being 16 months away still, so some decisions on equitment may be put off of course till later, right now 2 camera's, 3 lenses a gazilion batterys & equal number of memory cards, 2 chargers and a tripod make up the least of what i'll bring with me.

as far as carrying my gear, i'd planned to have one camera ready all the time, the other packed as a backup, weary you pretty much nailed one thing i wondered about, taking extra time to shoot affecting the time i'm on the trail.. 6 months and three days sounds about what i expected to hear, but how many zero days did you have?

again, thankyou for the comments, much apreciated

Shutterbug

11-07-2009, 20:51

Howdy!

Its really looking like im heading to springer around the beginning of april 2011 and doing a nobo, i have a freind likely joining me for the first few hundred miles then its solo and i'm simply planning to go till i cant and hope that means i make it to katahdin.

what i'm wondering is as a semi pro photographer just now breaking into shooting nature [a bit diffrent from the usual nude work i do] what sort of paticuler difficulties i'm going to encounter carrying a camera or 2 and lenses?

Its been in my mind to try a thru hike since 1996/97 but more recently it hit me, wow, theres going to be a lot of photographic opprutinites. at the same time, outside of the general common sense situations- what should i concern myself with in terms of the added weight, suggestions on keeping the gear dry- and most importantly getting the best shots possible?

my partner has hiked a good chunk of the trail already and insists i'll want to spend most my time visiting the blue blazes instead of sticking to the main trail, he's open to hit any part of the trail, dont matter to him. so i do have some curioisty there- which offers the most scenic situations? is he correct? [its been 20 yrs since he was on the trail, i just want to be sure his memory is still good]

for those of you who do shoot a lot, to what degree would you say locating places to shoot, and then shooting affects your distance you cover daily?

comfort isnt really an issue for me, i will be carrying a tent but beyond that camping is something im really willing to give up comforts on in exchange for the added weight i'll carry- my goals are to hike and shoot, that'll be figgured into how much weight i bring, but if any shooters have suggestions about carrying gear- do's and dont's as well as recomended must stop and shoot locations i'd love to hear about it,

thanx

:dance

While I am not a professional photographer, I love photography. In fact, I just hiked the Bright Angel Trail in the Grand Canyon with my Nikon D300 in my hand. What camera and lense you choose is a personal preference, but I will share some of my observations:

1. Keeping your camera available: I have missed a lot of good shots by having my camera in my backpack. When safety permits, I carry the camera on a strap around my neck. I use a hiking pole in my right hand and use the left one to stabilize the camera.

2. Carry extra memory cards: I use about 2 Gigs of memory a day.

3. Carry extra batteries: One Nikon battery will last 2 days on the trail, if I limit the use of flash.

4. Be careful to keep the camera dry. I ruined a good camera by allowing the electronics to get wet. When it rains, I put the camera in a plastic bag and put the bag in my back pack.

5. Handling several lenses in a hiking environment is difficult. I have settled on one lense, a Nikon 28 - 200 VR lense.

If you are interested, some of my Grand Canyon photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shutterbug.dave/GrandCanyonOctober2009#

Hoot

11-07-2009, 20:53

take a camera, keep it handy, use it a lot.

:-? See how many hikers you can get to pose nude :eek:...no wait...don't do that!

no no no!!! :eek:

six months of no nude people is something i'm going to be looking forward to! i been shooting more clothed people lately and its been refreshing..

Hoot

11-07-2009, 20:58

1. Keeping your camera available: I have missed a lot of good shots by having my camera in my backpack. When safety permits, I carry the camera on a strap around my neck. I use a hiking pole in my right hand and use the left one to stabilize the camera.

If you are interested, some of my Grand Canyon photos are here: http://picasaweb.google.com/shutterbug.dave/GrandCanyonOctober2009#

im checking out the site now!

just messing around hiking the local parks i follow the same pattern, walking stick in one hand and camera in the other

thanx again!

weary

11-07-2009, 21:27

...weary you pretty much nailed one thing i wondered about, taking extra time to shoot affecting the time i'm on the trail.. 6 months and three days sounds about what i expected to hear, but how many zero days did you have? again, thankyou for the comments, much apreciated
And thanks for the comment. But I must add one thought. There are millions of good pixs along the trail. You can't possibly take them all. Therefore think about the equipment needed to take most of them.

One camera will take more pictures than you are ever likely to want to process, even with the most modern digital eqipment. My advice remains: Try to strike a balance between all the photos that would be ideal with all the best gear you could possibly carry, vs. the maximum number of great photos you are likely to take, given weather, less than ideal photographer gear and photographer fitness.

It's my guess that most of us are better off with less than all the best possible gear, and better off with a small selection of the best. The greatest likelihood, given a real world recognition of the physical and emotional restraints engendered by the need to carry heavy weights for six months, is that the compromising photographer is more likely to bring home more great photos, than one too committed to the ideal.

Again, to answer your question. I was 64-years-old, and a victim of a mostly sedentary desk job. I had also commited myself to help an 11-year-old grandson, who had been living with a single mother, in a largely female household, experience a different environment. That is a long winded way of saying I don't know. I was slowed by the above noted family concerns, old age, a limited budget, and a desire to create a photographic documentary of the best of the trail.

I pretty much failed to record "all" of the best. I recorded more of the best than any that I've seen in the many years since then.

Weary

Highway Man

11-07-2009, 23:09

Howdy!
what should i concern myself with in terms of the added weight, suggestions on keeping the gear dry- and most importantly getting the best shots possible?

for those of you who do shoot a lot, to what degree would you say locating places to shoot, and then shooting affects your distance you cover daily?

comfort isnt really an issue for me, i will be carrying a tent but beyond that camping is something im really willing to give up comforts on in exchange for the added weight i'll carry- my goals are to hike and shoot, that'll be figgured into how much weight i bring, but if any shooters have suggestions about carrying gear- do's and dont's as well as recomended must stop and shoot locations i'd love to hear about it,

thanx

:dance

I carried a Canon G-3 for my thru hike this year. This is an old 4 MP model, and pretty heavy compared with moden 8~10 MP PS models. Work out your body towards carring more weights on your shoulders. My belief is the image quality is paramount. Have a good camera with you to the trail! You'll never regret it after coming back home. I met two guys, who carried nearly 10 pounds of photo equipment on their thru hikes.

I like taking panoramic landscape shots. So I need a good manual control of the camera. Plus, there're many situations that a PS cannot handle, such as taking a shot on a bear which is running away in the low light, or facing the light to take a landscape shot without RAW capability, or trying to focus on objects in a foggy morning. That's I why I've decided to have a Canon 20D with me on the planned PCT thru next year. I think my body is better tunned now for more weight. I only take a Canon EF 17-40 L lens cause I mostly shoot landscape.

To answer your other questions, I used a case without water proof. The camera often got wet, but always functioned. I certainly missed a lot of photo opportunities due to the rains as the camera was put back in the pack. And I didn't go off trails to take pictures for the sake of hiking speed. At last, the views at Fall season in NH&Maine is breathtaking. Be sure you slow down and indulge yourself with the shuter.

Hoot

11-07-2009, 23:39

weary,

your endeaver was much loftier than mine {the expereince you provided your grandson} but as far as the shooting you did, its been my expereince that looking back over any shoot, there is always something you miss after you get time to think back. there is always that "ohh i should have...."

its the nature of the beast i guess..

you did hit the nail on the head though, and this is where i'll be concerned with is balencing going light or taking too much, especialy since without the added gear it seems many people deal with that issue just with their normal camp/hiking gear. luckily theres still 16 months to work everything out!

Highway Man,
im with ya on quality, its likely this will be a once in a lifetime endeaver, quality will be paramount, i'd rather spend a morning getting one jawdropping image than 100 nice shots.

i'm a bit concerned though, about weight, as i am sure i'm closing in on 10 pounds already, i'm already trying to get into shape for this so hopefully the extra weight will have less impact once i begin.

Jim Adams

11-08-2009, 13:49

Hoot,
I have shot professionally in the past and love shooting on the trail. On my thru in 1990, I carried 2 camera bodies, 1 with chrome film, 1 with b&w film, a 28mm, 50mm, 135mm, an extension tube, 2 filters-polarizing and sunset, a flash and a small (2'-4') tripod, and 5-8 rolls of film.
On my 2002 hike I carried a Nikon point and shoot with color print film.
On my 2007 PCT attempt I carried a multi function Cannon digital.
I have since gone back to mostly film.
A. a zoom type lense may have a longer range but it severely cuts into funtion with available light.
B. I used the point and shoot in 2002 to shoot mostly the people on the trail as opposed to all of the scenic shots of 1990 but no people / friends shots.
C. While I liked the digital on the PCT, I missed the process and manipulation of exposure that the film cameras provided.
My advice, FWIW is to take a small digital carried on your chest for quick shots and also being handy enough to use alot w/o consuming alot of time.
I would also then take a second camera, tripod and lenses,( be it digital or film ) that you are comfortable working with and that will actually get the photos that you want and make it worth the down time involved to get the photo.
Just my opinion but you will end up with all of the photos that you want with the lowest amount of time used.

geek

volleypc

11-08-2009, 13:50

One of my main reasons for doing the hike this year was for photography. I started with my slr and several lens, but ended up sending it home and stuck with a mega zoom. I thought I would want to carry the extra weight and thought it would not be a problem, but it was. Not only because of weight, but also because of lack of room in my pack. The megazoom cameras are pretty amazing now and you can get an idea of what they are capable of by visiting www.dpreview.com (http://www.dpreview.com). The Panasonic FZ28 or FZ38 is great. Canon has a very simular camera but at 3 times the weight. You can also check my blog below for sample photos. I also just carried extra memory cards. They are cheap enough now that it isn't really a problem anymore.

When I got to Maine I waited on the fall colors and had my SLR and additional lens. I did not take my 100-400mm telephoto but looking back I wish I had.

I think you will be surprised at how few pictures of nature and wildlife you will take per day. I started taking pictures of other hikes later in the hike, but wish I had started earlier.

I also would not plan on staying at shelters. Most shelters areas are located in protected areas and most do not have views. In Maine I started carrying my water to overlooks or camping by rivers and was able to capture more scenic sunsets and sunrises. I wish I had started doing this earlier in my hike.

Instead of planning on doing a straight thru hike, if time allows I would start out early and focus on winter shots, snow covered trail, ice on waterfalls, snow covered trees against blue skies, etc. Then I would go home and wait until early April to hike through the Smokies. I think you will see considerable more wildflowers and wildlife. I was also a bit early for grayson highlands in Virginia. I have seen this area in June and July and it is absolutely amazing. When I passed through this past year on my hike it was still "charred" from control burning and to early for the spring flowers. Lastly, whatever you do.. no matter the cost, wait on the fall colors to hike most of Maine. This will put you close to the cutoff day and will probably mean you are going to have foggy conditions on Katahdin, but it is worth it. I finished Oct 6th, it rained every day but one, and I still wouldn't have changed it for anything. The timing could not have been better. (I had my SLR w/3 lens from Rangeley on).

If you are wanting to do a hike for photography reasons alone, there are better trails. The Florida Trail is the first one that comes to mind. People tell me they photographed more wildlife during their first week on the Florida Trail than they did on their entire AT hike.

I plan on going back to certain sections with my SLR to capture things I missed because of weather, the season, etc.

Good luck.

bigcranky

11-08-2009, 16:52

I think you will be surprised at how few pictures of nature and wildlife you will take per day. I started taking pictures of other hikes later in the hike, but wish I had started earlier.

I was going to mention something along this line in my earlier post, to the effect that there really aren't that many great scenic photo opportunities every day along the trail. Frankly, the trail in Georgia in March looks pretty much the same every day. Lots of trees with no leaves, brown and gray everywhere. Many of the great scenic overlooks don't look all that great in blah midday light.

Because I'm not a nature/landscape photographer, I held off, figuring it's not my specialty.

No matter what kind of gear I take on a hike, I am always much more interested in shooting the people I meet along the way. That's the kind of photography I do anyway, because that's what interests me off trail, too.

My approach would be much more documentary, with the occasional scenic shot, but mostly about the daily life on the trail. Whenever I look back at photos from my hikes, I always wish I had shot more photos of the people I met and the things I did each day, and fewer photos of the views.

Jim Adams

11-08-2009, 18:35

I think you will be surprised at how few pictures of nature and wildlife you will take per day. I started taking pictures of other hikes later in the hike, but wish I had started earlier.

Good luck.

1990 I shot 9,000+ frames. All on film.
2002 I shot 4,800+ frames. All on film.
2007 on the PCT I shot 380+ frames from the Mexican border to Kennedy Meadows and 2000+ from KM to Yosemite all on digital.
:sun
geek

Lyle

11-08-2009, 19:14

Jim Adams

11-09-2009, 09:02

So Geek, do you attribute the fewer frames in '07 to less interest in the photos, realizing that you over-did the earlier trips, refining the type of shots you really wanted, being more certain of the shots you took since you can review them somewhat with digital, or something else?

Certainly couldn't have been less spectacular of scenery. :D

Just wondering.

No, in 1990 I was very into landscape shots and manipulating the light as much as possible. I got to the end of the trail, had a great hike and realized that I had made about 500 new friends that I had no photos of. I thought about what photo gear to take in 2002 and decided that since I had alot of the landscape shots already that I would take gear that was far more conducive to getting easier, quicker and more plentiful photos. I used a small Nikon film camera with zoom and flash built in and photographed EVERYONE on the trail in all types of situations. I missed the challenges of the landscape photography but ended up with tons of snapshots of friends to show everybody back home.....totally different types of photography but a much more broad perpective to look back on by combining the two different hikes.
As far as quantity difference....2002 I had to pay for my own film!:D

geek

Connie

11-09-2009, 14:15

I like to check dpreview (http://www.dpreview.com/), when considering a digital camera purchase.

I tend to agree with the 2 lens camera systems for hiking. I have seen excellent trip photos made with an Olympus Camera and 2 zoom lenses.

I have two Canon digital camera systems I like reasonably well.

I haven't found my ideal hiking camera outfit.

Right now, it is a Canon digital camera w/swivel viewscreen, 12x zoom, a monopod (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016SAYCE) hiking stick and I think I will add a Stickpic (http://www.thestickpic.com/).

Look into HDR.

I use one of these (http://www.waterproofgear.net/new-waterproof-camera-bag.htm) for kayaking. Maybe help in a downpour?

Maybe you could rig an Aquapac SLR camera case (http://kayak.nrsweb.com/boating/Waterproof%20Camera%20Bags) on the pack straps where the chest strap is located, using the attachment points? I had heavy elastic webbing rigged for holding navigation binoculars close to my chest for sailing.