STRIKETHEBALANCEBETWEENNEED
ANDWANTWITHTHISADVICE TO
HELP STREAMLINE AND UNBURDEN
YOURCAMERABAGFOREASEOFUSETR AAAVELKIT
P
ACKINGFOR Atripis neveraneasytask,
it’s alwaysfilledwith‘whatif’s’. Whatif
the animals comecloseandIneedthat
wide-angle,whatif thattelephotodoesn’t
givemeenough reachorwhatifI needthat
sixthfilteror20thmemorycard?There’san
arttobalancingthebulkandnotleavingthe
essentialsbehindandit startswithknowing
yourtripandthetypesofimagesyouwant
toleavewith.Ifyou’replanningtoshoot
nightscapesandlandscapes,thena sturdy
butlightweight tripodis essentialbut
maybenotifyouraimis to
captureoff-the-cuffculture,
wildlifeorportraits. Also
assesswhatyou’re most
comfortableworking
with:if you’re usedto
shootingwithzooms,
aonce-in-a-lifetime
tripis probablynotthe
besttimetotrial
workingwithprimes,
but if you’rewantingthe
ultimatein image quality
andyoudon’t havethe
fastestzooms,primelenses
shouldbe onyourlist.Onceyou’ve
yourcorekit,you’vethengottoconsider
thedetails:whataccessoriescan’tyouwork
without?Howwillyoubackupyourimages,
keepyourkit cleanandprotectedin all
weather,andwhatfilterswillyouneed?
Finallycomesthebag– pickinga backpack
and/orrollerbagis notassimpleasyou
might think.Obviously, it needstofit allyour
gearin andbecomfortabletocarry, butcan
itbe takenashandluggageorwillyoube
stungbyairlinerestrictionsandexcess
baggage charges?Theseareallthings to
consider whendeciding onwhat to pack...THEESSENTIALS
58 Digital SLR PhotographyOctober 2019
PhotoMasterclass
TRIPOD:A tripodis essentialif
you’replanningtoshoot
golden-hourlandscapes,
interiors(whenuseis
allowed)orperfectly-
alignedarchitecture,butif
yourmainpurposeis portraits,wildlifeor
cultureyoumaybe able todo withoutas
beanbags orshootinghandheldcanbe
betteroptions. If you do need one, however,
trytooptfora compactmodel(ideally
carbon-fibre)that’snottooheavybutstable
andequipit witha ballheadtokeepbulk
down.Youcanfinddozensofdedicated
aluminium‘traveltripods’available,manyof
whicharegreat,butbesurethatyou’re not
compromisingonstabilityforthesakeof
savingweight.Havinga tripodcapableof
low-level shooting can also be a benefit.LENSES:It’shardtoknow
what lensesareessential
but startwithwhatyouplan
to shoot.If it's mostly
architectureorlandscapes,
anultra-widezoomcan
giveyoumuch-neededfield-of-view–
lensesin therange of14- 2 4mm,17-4 0 mm
or 1 6 -35mmforfull-frame;11-1 6 mm,
10 - 20 mmor 12 - 22 mmforAPS-Careall
goodoptions.Astandardzoom,suchasthe
2 4-70mmor18-55mm,is a greatall-
rounderlens;pairit witha fastprime,likethe
5 0mmf/1.8,andyou’llbeequippedtoshoot
handheldinlow-light aswellasportraits.A
telezoom,suchasthe 70 -3 00 mmor
7 0-200mmf/2.8,is usefulforcandidsorthe
f/4versionforwildlife,buttheyarebig and
very heavy soonly take if essential.CAMERA:Bigis notalways
better when itcomesto
travelphotography.Pro
DSLRcamerabodiescanbe
heavyandcumbersome;
whereassmaller DSLRsand
CSCscanstillcapturefantasticimage quality
anddynamic rangebut morediscretelyand
withoutaddingextrakilostoyourbaggage.
Asmaller,lightercameramayalsomeanyou
canphotographmoreinteriorsduetothe
lackofa tripod,whichis oftenprohibited,
andmorestreetphotographywithout
attractingtoomuchattention.Lookfor
DSLRsorCSCs thatoffer goodnoisecontrol
so youcancapturelow-light scenes
handheldif tripodsaren'tallowed.Picka
modelthatpairswithgreatoptics,too,as
it’slensesthat maketherealdifference.TRAVEL TIP
ESSENTIAL KIT FOR EVERYONE
Polarising filter (extra ND grads/ND filters
if needed); a lens cloth for cleaning kit;
Portable HD; Maxell AirStash, if you want fast
sharing to your devices; spare batteries and
battery charger; correct adaptor, if necessary;
appropriate all-weather clothing and a
raincover for your equipment,
especially if shooting nature
and landscapes.i