No camera

[Penn-J]

I went on a 3 day solo trip Labor day weekend on the Black Forrest Trail in Pennsylvania and decided not to take my camera. It was the first time I diddnt take one.
Everyone always tells me to "take lots of pictures" when I go on a trip.
But I've noticed all my pictures kinda look alike. And it seems like you can never really capture the moment in a picture.
I felt this really freed me in a sence to really enjoy the moments, instead of trying to record them to enjoy later. (if that makes sence)
I had my first encounter with a wild bobcat on this trip and instead of going for the camera, (which would have definitely spooked him and make him run off) I was perfectly still and was able to really enjoy the moment.
I guess I'm just wondering if other hikers on Whiteblaze here go without cameras.

[Ender]

I go with a camera, but like you I noticed that a lot of my photos started to look the same. I've taught myself to take different types of photos, more photos of people, more of interesting things up close, almost no photos of big vistas (since the cameras rarely capture them well).

[Dogwood]

That's a real nice way to put it Penn-J. Whether you decide on bringing a camera, compact, light wt, and easily and immediately accesssible, or not, IMO, you got this part right - "enjoy the moments!" And, most importantly you captured that! The moments are what add up to create a life but so many are flying through life bypassing those moments.

There is more to LIFE than increasing its speed.
Gandhi

[Danielsen]

As photography is just as major an interest of mine as backpacking, I can't not bring a camera. But I've recently returned to medium-format film and now concentrate on carefully composed and exposed fine-art landscape shooting, where every shot is going to cost me a buck or so. So I take very few photographs, and only when the moment is truly right to create a great shot. When I first got into photography I would start snapping shots nilly-willy at anything visually appealing, even if it was not right to take a photograph, and I certainly did notice that most of my photos looked the same and I was getting less enjoyment out of those moments when I spent them behind the lens. Now that I've learned when to shoot and when not to shoot, the photographic process enhances my enjoyment of those moments rather than hindering them.

In other benefits, since I'll be lugging about 5 (or more!) pounds of camera, lenses, and tripod on most trips, I've got that much more motivation to go radically ultralight with the rest of my gear. I'm ecstatic that I just scored a 1 lb. 4 oz. Golite quilt for barely more than I was planning to spend on a campmor down bag thanks to that clymb sale.

[leaftye]

Part of the reason I went with a Garmin Oregon 550 gps is because it has a built-in camera that records the location the picture was taken. When I upload my pictures to my Google photo album, it has a map for the picture. This adds another dimension to the picture so that even though the pictures may look the same, they're all a little different. One thing I started doing was taking pictures of interesting flora. Now I know where I can find those types of plants again, even after my memory fails me. The problem I have is that my gps takes forever to turn on, so I can forget about catching most animals before they walk away...or decompose.

[garlic08]

I have not carried a camera for the last six seasons. Back then I had the same realization as you did--that I wasn't a great photographer after all, and I had boxes full of thousands of photos (pre-digital age) that all looked about the same.

Last year on the Wonderland Trail, I met up with a guy and his huge camera. He said something surprising, "Good--my battery just went dead. Now I can enjoy the hiking." My sentiments exactly.

Without the camera, my hiking seems more pure, with one less encumbrance, one less thing to keep dry and intact, no worries about downloads or storage or loss, and one less set of batteries to worry about.

I have nothing at all against cameras. I do enjoy it when others send me photos of hikes I've been on with them. If I were a talented photographer, or had different ideas about what hiking means to me, I would carry a camera.

[Jonnycat]

I love backpacking with my camera, but I didn't take it on my last trip. It seems every year I just take less and less, and this year it was the camera that stayed home.

[SmokyMtn Hiker]

I never go on a hike or a backpacking trip without my camera. I enjoy showing my family and friends, especially the ones that always talk about hiking but rarely go what I seen or what they missed out on. The only proplem is that pictures just don't compare to what it's like being there at that moment.

[MkBibble]

Penn-J, i agree with everything you said, but I just don't think I could leave the camera at home. Gutsy call.

[Marta]

It's a mixed bag. I've done both--carried and not carried.

A dozen years after the hike, I now regret not having any pictures from the West Highland Way hike.

[Shutterbug]

I went on a 3 day solo trip Labor day weekend on the Black Forrest Trail in Pennsylvania and decided not to take my camera. It was the first time I diddnt take one.
Everyone always tells me to "take lots of pictures" when I go on a trip.
But I've noticed all my pictures kinda look alike. And it seems like you can never really capture the moment in a picture.
I felt this really freed me in a sence to really enjoy the moments, instead of trying to record them to enjoy later. (if that makes sence)
I had my first encounter with a wild bobcat on this trip and instead of going for the camera, (which would have definitely spooked him and make him run off) I was perfectly still and was able to really enjoy the moment.
I guess I'm just wondering if other hikers on Whiteblaze here go without cameras.

My experience is different from yours. I have found that my camera helps me enjoy my hikes long after I return home. I rarely go anywhere without a camera.

One of the issues is becoming comfortable enough with the camera that you can take pictures and enjoy the view at the same time. I use a SLR (a camera that allows me to view through the lense), so it is a lot like viewing through a telescope.

I have a number of friends who are unable to hike because of physical limitations. They enjoy sharing my hikes through my pictures.

[Pedaling Fool]

Never leave mine at home and it's always at the ready. I plan on getting a photo of bigfoot.

[Shutterbug]

Never leave mine at home and it's always at the ready. I plan on getting a photo of bigfoot.

Me first. Everyone knows that Bigfoot lives in Washington State.

[flemdawg1]

I just use the 4MP camera on my phone, I put it in Airplane mode to keep the batteries from dieing.

[Sierra Echo]

I always carry my camera in my pocket. Some hikes I take about a 100 pictures, some hikes I might just take 5 or so. But I like having the option!
I like taking pictures of signs and animals.

[halftime]

I have found that my camera helps me enjoy my hikes long after I return home.

I have a number of friends who are unable to hike because of physical limitations. They enjoy sharing my hikes through my pictures.

Agree...photos are there long after memories fade....and there is always that one picture that is really good for enlarging, framing or putting on your computer screen.

[sbhikes]

I like to take a camera backpacking. I like to make a slide show with captions telling the story of the trip. Years later it's fun to look back at the trips I have done.

I like to leave my camera home when day hiking. Like you, I have found that not having the camera lets me enjoy the moments as they happen. I leave the camera home on backpack trips I've already done a million times, too.

[Pringles]

I take LOTS of pictures. I only have a few printed. If I only have 6 or 8 pictures from a hike, I don't feel guilty about showing them to anybody.

I will always remember a hike I went on where I took a camera with only about 4 pictures left on the roll of film, and no extra film. That was when I saw snapping turtles hatching and plodding slowly to the lake. I wished I had about six rolls of film. For two hours I watched little turtles climb out of their nest hole and proceed s l o w l y to the lake. Unlike a wolf or a pine martin, the turtles were slow enough to actually get a picture of... if I'd had film. I do have a scant few adorable baby turtle pictures, and now I won't go hiking without my camera.

Pringles

[beakerman]

I take my camera or at least my phone with camera in it everytime I go out. I take a fair number of photos but mostly jsut flowers, 'shrooms and other things the rest of my family might be interested in seeing. On a long weekend hike I might take a dozen photos and most of them at camp or lunch when I'm sitting around anyway. Most of the stuff I see while making my way along a trail I keep in my mind and say: "you should have seen the _____ that I saw It was cool! Maybe you should come along next time!"

[LIhikers]

.....I had my first encounter with a wild bobcat on this trip and instead of going for the camera, (which would have definitely spooked him and make him run off) I was perfectly still and was able to really enjoy the moment......

I had a very similar experience last month in August. My wife and I were doing a section hike on the AT in New hampshire. One night we camped just a little outside the 1/4 mile zone around the Zealand Falls Hut. The next morning as we were packing up my wife noticed a moose just feet away from us. I went over with my camera in hand and took 2 quick photos. I knew they wouldn't come out to good but had to make an instant desicion to try and get better ones or just stand still and enjoy the moment. I just stood there enjoying something most of my friends will never experience.