PhotoMasterclass
Oneofthemostimportantfactorsthatwill
determinehowsuccessfula tripis in termsof
photographyis havingtherightkitthatallows
youtocoverallbases,butisn’tsoextensivethat
youstruggletocarryit allday.I’moftenout
before5amandshootinguntilafter9pmsoI
don’twanttoendupexhaustedbylunchtime.
It hastakenmeyearstonarrowmykitdown,
too.I usedtohaveseveralmorelenses,butI
realisedthatI hardlyusedthem,sonowI only
takewhatI knowI’llneed.TheCanonEOS5D
MkIII is a back-upbodysoit usuallystaysat the
hotel,andmyEOS5Dis infrared-convertedso
onlygoesontripswhereI’mlikelytotakesome
greatIRimages.I'velearntmyperfecttravelkitis
oneDSLRbodyandthreezooms:EF16-35mm,
EF24-70mmandEF70-300mm.AsmyCanon
EOS5DShasa 50-megapixelsensor,I knowI can
cropanimagesignificantlyif 300mmisn'tquite
longenoughandstillhavea high-qualityfile.
I can’tdothatat thewiderend,but16mmis wide
enough99%ofthetime.MyNovoExploraT10
carbon-fibretripodis compactandlightweight,
butsturdyenoughtosupportthe70-300mm
zoomandwhenshootinglong-exposure
images.I alsotakea PlatypodMaxforcityshoots
asit’shandyforlow-lightphotographyin
locationswheretripodsaren’tpermitted– like
theEmpireStateBuildingin NewYork.I screwmy
ReallyRightStuffBH-40ballheadtoit, placeit on
a wallorotherflatsurfaceandit’sassolidasa
rock.I alsocarrya rangeofsoftandhardLEEND
grads,a HoyaRevoandHeliopancircular
polariser and three remote releases.LEE’S TRAVEL KIT BAG
October 2019DigitalSLR Photography 67
MOROCCO:I’veexploredmostofthecountryfrom
Tangiersin thenorthtoMerzougain thesouth.
Marrakechis a vibrant,bustlingcity.Themaze-likesouks
areamazingandthecrowdedDjemaael Fnais a mustin
theevening.OvertheAtlasMountainsthere'sAit
Benhaddou, the Todra Gorge and eventually the Sahara.
NAMIBIA:It’sa hugeandsparsely-populatedcountry
that'sbeautiful.Locationsin theNamibDesertsuchas
DeadVleiandSossusvleiarea photographer’sdream.
ThelandscapeofNamibRandtakesyourbreathaway
andthere'stheminingtowns,theQuivertreeForest,
the Skeleton Coast, Fish River Canyon, and, the wildlife!NEWYORKCITY:I’mnota hugefanofcities,butNYC
is awesome!TheviewsofManhattanfromBrooklynare
fantastic,asis duskfromTopoftheRockandtheEmpire
StateBuilding.TheOculus,theVessel,theHighline,the
FlatironBuilding,BrooklynBridge,TimesSquare, Grand
Central Terminal – you just have to go there!