Backpacking as a Photographer
Starting out as a travel photographer you may not have the income to support first class transportation and amenities. You most likely have a budget that consists of economy class travel, hostel living, and eating meals for less than $10.
Before you rush out into the world with your camera one of the things to keep in mind is baggage. How you carry your belongings can greatly impact your trip.
The Main Bag
Most backpackers will have a large backpack that stores all of their belongings, hence the term “backpackers”. The bag has the storage equivalent of a suitcase and is commonly covered in straps, buckles, and strings keeping the contents together. The advantage of this type of bag is that it is designed to be carried instead of being dragged on the ground behind you in case the terrain is not wheel friendly. Due to the design of these bags they also have more wiggle room for expanding and compressing their shape giving them an edge over their stiff square suitcase counterparts.
This does get in the way of the traditional camera bag, so you will have to adapt and wear the bag on your chest, like carrying a baby, which is how most photographers treat the cameras anyway.
What are the parameters of your trip?
Think through all the aspects of your trip before filling up all of your gear into a bag. The questions to ask yourself are “Where am I staying? How am I getting around? What is the weather like? What is the content I want to get?” And the most important one, “Will I have a secure place to put my stuff the entire trip?”
The answers to these questions will help you figure out what kind of bag to bring.
The Traditional Camera Bag
It’s padded and can carry all of your gear that you may possibly need. This is the perfect bag to bring for any photography adventure. That is if your trip meets the following credentials. You have your own transportation (like a rental car), a private room (a hotel), and you have the ability to access day to day things like specific clothes, food, or water easily.
Currently holding 1 camera body, telephoto lens, drone, Ronin-S (underneath), flash, shotgun mic, and space for another body & lens.
If you realize that over the duration of your trip you don’t have your own transportation, you have public accommodation (a hostel), and you may need things like a sweatshirt, jacket, water, food or anything else this may not be the best bag for you to bring.
The Half and Half Bag
Half camera bag half backpack. If you are going to be travelling for a long duration where you may find yourself needing more than just camera equipment, this will be the better bag to bring. This type of bag optimizes the best of both kinds of bags by having a section designed for camera equipment, often padded and sectioned. While the other section is an open area for anything you can fit in it. Make sure to pick one that has a waterproof cover and a section for your computer or important documents.
The drawbacks of this bag is that the storage space for equipment is severely limited in comparison to the traditional camera bag. Which is why the question “What kind of content do I want to get?” is important to ask yourself while planning.
My half and half bag of choice is the Havana 48, it is about the size of a camera bag so the section for storage is a little larger than most half and half bags that you see advertised. The amount of storage it has for gear is the equivalent to one camera body, a lens, and a bonus item.
Currently holding a camera body, lens, and drone. In addition to a raincoat and winter sweater.
What Camera Equipment should you bring?
The lens I recommend having is one with a broad range, I always take my 24-70mm f/2.8 (2.8-22) for example, or another option people like is the 24-105mm f/4. These lenses will allow you to go wide enough to capture a landscape while also tight enough to capture a portrait, you may have to sacrifice a distance shot of an animal in the wild.
The bonus item could be another lens, or even a drone. So let’s walk through the potential options.
Portrait Lens
Typically a smaller lens that is set to one focal length, the advantage is that the aperture can open up wide to create a thin depth of field. But if you are traveling and making decisions between gear, the difference between f/2.8 and f/1.8 (or less) is not enough to warrant a separate lens, just add a blur filter in post production.
Wide Angle Lens
It seems like a no brainer, to capture the massive feel of a landscape the wider the lens would be better right? Yes, but at what cost? If your lens can go to 10mm, 14mm, or 17mm that’s pretty cool. But you can also take 2-3 images on a 24mm and then stitch them together as a panorama.
Telephoto or Zoom Lens
A telephoto lens. The big lens always looks cool, it also makes getting shots of animals and people from a distance much easier. It can also compress an image to give a sense of depth to the picture as well. But will it even fit? (It does in the Havana 48). Do you want to carry it? (It can get heavy). How often do you see yourself needing a shot that requires 70mm+?
The real kicker for an additional lens is this, are you going to change your lens in the field? If you don’t have a camera that covers the sensor when it shuts off, you are inviting the potential of dirt and dust to enter into your camera resulting in dust spots on your sensor. THAT WILL BE IN EVERY PHOTO.
Drones
What about a drone? Before you pack your drone you should first check the drone laws in the area you are visiting. Even if you have your part 107 license, having an understanding for where you can fly is vital to not getting a fine or potential jail time. In most first world countries the laws have gotten strict, but there are still recreational areas you can fly. Some of the less developed countries may not have a ton of restrictions. But don’t hear what I’m not saying, I’m not advocating flying a drone in a less developed country recklessly or without a license. But you can’t break a rule if there isn’t one, just don’t do anything stupid.
Tripods
Every photographer knows how important a good tripod is. But they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and the more durable stronger ones are bigger and bulkier than we might like. On my first trip I carried around my heavy-duty manfrotto tripod (only one I owned at the time). It’s sturdy, but it is large, heavy, and a struggle to travel with. I was lucky that it fit in my large backpacking bag for when I needed to board an airplane.
I recommend investing in a travel tripod if possible. If money isn’t an issue for you, I recommend the peak design travel tripod, it is strong, can reach up to 5 ft, and most importantly it condenses to the size of a water bottle. There are several other options that you can choose from on the market if you need to save money, they may be bigger than the peak design tripod but they will be much smaller than a regular tripod.
Wait, what about the Weight?
Think about how much all of your stuff will end up weighing, you may have the ability to bring everything but can you carry it? And for how long? Especially if you don’t have your own transportation. For example my main backpacking bag can weigh anywhere between 40-50lbs, then add on the 20-30lbs a camera bag can weigh, totaling 60-80lbs. If you are capable of lifting that weight then that’s great, if you question your ability try putting everything on and walking about half a mile. If you can’t make that, you have to leave some stuff at home.
Currently holding up 80lbs of clothes and gear
What you look like Traveling
I would like to live in a world where I believe everyone is friendly and goodhearted. But unfortunately that is not the case, one aspect to think about is how you will appear while you are traveling. Depending on what bag or gear you have you may stick out more than other tourists. Most thieves know what an expensive equipment bag looks like. If you are going to be in less crowded areas then you will be fine with a high end camera bag with a big tripod, but if you are traveling around cities or crowded areas the half and half bag looks like a regular bag and a travel tripod can blend in as a run of the day item if stored in its case. Though tourists are easy targets, these few changes may make you blend in with a group more than stick out as an expensive target.
If you want to learn more
I hope this advice helps you plan your next photography trip. The items mentioned in the article can be found with these following links below. If you want to learn more about another subject, please check out one of my other articles on my page, comment a question, or send me a message!
Gear I Mentioned
Gregory Baltoro 75L Backpacking Bag - https://amzn.to/3jplMf2
Camera Bag (LowePro 450) - https://amzn.to/2YDHlyD
Half and Half Bag (Havana 48) - https://amzn.to/3pJ4KKV
Peak Design Travel Tripod - https://amzn.to/3asQkZ3