Camera Equipment for Travel Photography… a Sensible Approach

Excluding nature photographers, who already know what they need for equipment, most of us average travelers just throw together what we have for equipment and are off. Whether we take too much or too little is sort immaterial. So, what do we take for camera equipment? For me it’s simple, take sufficient camera equipment and some backup paraphernalia to ensure that I bring back all of my raw files that I just shot over last two to four weeks. I am continually puzzled by those photographers who think they have to take the kitchen sink with them; e.g., a laptop, four or five lenses, as if the more equipment guarantee better images. The puzzler is the laptop. I thought this was a vacation!   Digital photography has simplified the problem somewhat, we no longer have to decide what film to take for different situations.

I am convinced the key to capturing good images is having flexibility when composing and, of course, a good eye. You have to feel free to move, bend, crouch, get on your knees, or any gyrations you have to go through to compose before clicking the shutter. What about a tripod some will say. Tripods are fine if the shutter speed is too slow, but, in my opinion, using it definitely dampens your creative flexibility when composing a shot except may be when photographing landscapes or cityscapes. Some photographers would say the opposite; you need to use a tripod all the time. Well, each to his own as the saying goes. 

I have found that a VR (vibration reduction) lens can do much to prevent "Camera shake" on those slower exposures.

Ok, I think you may start to see my thoughts on flexibility; less is better. Well, what’s less?  It’s not so much "less", as what is optimal, taking into consideration bad things can happen to digital camera equipment and storage media. Here is my list of what to take when on a non-nature photo-travel vacation:

How much does all this equipment weigh? The total pack, including a sturdy camera bag, tripod and umbrella is well under the 26 pound limit for carry-on luggage on most airlines- that’s fine with me!

On the Street.

In the cities, villages or wherever you visit, get into the habit of carrying two cameras; one with a wide angle and one with a zoom lens. I usually hand hold the camera with the zoom lens and strap the wide angle one around my neck and over my shoulder so it’s sitting on my back, out of sight. Why advertise you're coming to grab some shots of the locals. Plus, I compose a lot in the vertical format to frame vertical objects or just to restrict the scene to remove distractions especially other tourists. A camera strung around you neck is not conducive to composing in the vertical format.

As for using a wide angle when walking around, I cannot stress its importance enough. It really helps when you are in a confined space- no room to maneuver backwards or to the side. Images A and B from our photo-travel guides (http://www.usphotogroup.com/Travel/Travel_Slideshows.htm) give you a good idea of what I mean. When I composed Image A there were cars parked in front of the town meeting hall in Chipping Campden and all I had was about 6 to 8 feet in front of the building. Without a wide angle (12mm), it would have been impossible to get the height in the image to bring in the V-shaped section of the sky.

In Image B, a wide angle shot at 12mm taken at the Louvre, I captured the full diamond shaped structure of the supporting walls in the main entrance. Without a 12mm wide angle, the up and down vertex elements would have been truncated making the image much less dramatic and definitely imbalanced, no closure to the shape.

Well, I may have missed something on my list of items to take that you think is important. If so, let me know at joe@usphotogroup.com, but please, no laptops as a suggested item.

Regards,

J.R.Votano