How do you work in the field?

<p>Hello everyone. Frequently while I am rambling about Oahu on my moped (aka Aloha Hot Rod), I have one (or more) of my CMC folder cameras in the milk crate behind me. 35mm to 6x9 cameras fit inside the pistol cases and are quickly available should I spot the "perfect" scene. Either a monopod or med. weight tripod also goes thru the crate sides.<br /> During my adventures on the mainland, similar cameras are in the cases ready for anything. If I have planned out my adventure, the Big Gun cameras & their support gear will be in the truck canopy. Aloha, Bill</p><div></div>

<p>This one was taken with an Agfa Record 3 while venturing around the Island (Oahu). Above shot of Makapuu Beach was with an Agfa Isolette 2. Aloha, Bill</p><div></div>

<p>Well I own precisely one camera outfit - a Canon dslr with a few zooms- and that's in a shoulder bag with the filters and a few more bits & pieces- all I need - ready to go. Most of my landscape photography is done from a car- sometimes but not always my own ageing Volvo 4x4; or more likely a rental as I'm probably away from home. Tripod, back-up body and hoods are in the car for when I need them. Nothing exciting really, but then I want to be excited by what I'm seeing/photographing rather than by what I'm carrying. In cold snowy conditions I tend to swap the shoulder bag for a backpack.</p>

<p>Sometimes I work from the back of my van, sometimes from a small RV, sometimes from my motorcycle and sometimes from a canoe, depending on the nature of the work.<br>

If I'm within a couple of days of home I work from a Chevy van. I can erect a tripod inside and shoot through the side door if it's raining or snowing hard and there is enough room to carry lots of equipment, a bed and supplies for my dog and I.<br>

If I'm just running to a wedding rehearsal on a nice day I will often take what I need and pack it in the saddlebags of my bike and kill two birds with one stone (the only time my dog/assistant gets the day off).<br>

I'm primarily a nature photographer and live rurally in Northern Ontario where canoeing and fabulous motorcycling are at my fingertips, and I've always believed 'life is what you make it'.</p>

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<p>... and from inside the van.</p><div></div>

<p>Got to have a car right? The windows of my car are used as exploratory devises, but its also useful to plan a destination, get there, get out of the car and hustle using the trail as a journey to the image. I'm getting older and the equipment issue needs to be addressed, meaning lighter is brighter. I have had the experience of getting so beat up from the strain of heavy equipment, that has actually taken me out of the mood, or the zone of creativity. It's real, but I love to hike, its invigorating. Backpack for camera and 3-4 lenses, side sling for one camera, both need different planning, but either way graduated neutral density filters, hoods, batteries, and always a TRIPOD!</p><div></div>

<p>I keep by RB67 medium format gear in the trunk of my car in a back pack and a tripod. But my back is giving out carrying it so I tend to shoot as close to the car as I can. I have a portable cart to wheel it around if I absolutely have too. Age is getting to me.</p>

<p>Hello again everyone. Alan, might you post a picture of your kart? I wish to fabricate one, or possible convert a folding golf kart into something that will allow using my 4x5 camera once in a while. Anyone "suffering" the age bit (I'm 74) might consider getting a CLA'd 6x9 folder. . . good ones are on the market reasonably and the neg's are beautiful!! Aloha, Bill</p>

<p>Bill Sorry it's not a cart but rather two-wheel hand truck that folds. I then use elastic bands to hold the camera pack to the truck when wheeling it. <br>

http://www.sears.com/magna-cart-folding-hand-truck/p-00987615000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6</p>

<p>If I was to get another type I'd get this one. IT can be used as a cart or hand truck.<br>

http://www.sears.com/cosco-home-and-office-products-shifter-8482-multi-position/p-005W008081816001P?plpSellerId=Kmart&prdNo=11&blockNo=11&blockType=G11</p>

<p>two of these on a belt--<br>

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/847199-REG/Think_Tank_052_Skin_Body_Bag_Black.html<br>

a large DSLR with five lenses does not affect my normal limits of range and terrain difficulty; great flexibility, great distribution... plus, the bag-to-shot time is a couple of seconds<br>

:)</p>

<p>Thank's Alan. I do have one of the folding hand trucks with an enlarged "deck" for the 4x5. The tiny wheels are OK for solid surfaces, but the rig needs 8 or 10 inch wheels for the off-road stuff I favor with the 4x5. That's the reason for looking at a folding golf club bag kart. Aloha, Bill</p>

<p>My most used kit consist only of my Canon 5D II with, typically my 24-105 L zoom lens attached, and carried in a Lowepro Toploader Zoom 50 AW shoulder bag. I like to hike to locations, which explains the minimal content. If I have a specific aim, I might also take along a tripod, a wide angle lens or telephoto in a backpack. Even more minimally, if I am bicycling, kayaking, skiing, etc., I will take only my Pentax WG3 waterproof camera, which fits in a pocket or handlebar bag. I still own a Wista 4x5 field camera and a backpack fitted to hold it, but have not used it for a few years.</p>

<p>My kit for hiking and cycling is a D600 with 24-85 VR and 70-200 f4 VR carried in a Lowepro Slingshot Edge. I also carry my carbon fiber tripod in its own bag. The total weight of the kit is about 8 lbs not including food and water.</p>

<p>I do not think of myself as a landscape photographer but rather a family photographer. That is family shots, trips,events, vacations and such. However I enjoy hiking and try to get out for a 5 to 10 mile hike on Wednesdays. I usually go to Pinnacles National Park as I have a senior pass and it's just 30min down the highway from the house. I carry a Nikon FM2n with a 50mm lens and shoot HP5 usually. It's hard to hike up to the High Peaks so I keep it light and just carry a 4oz mini pod that will support my camera from a rock or the side of a tree. My Domke F6 bag has room for 2 bottles of water and a sandwich along with my 35mm. Sometimes I use my daypack if my wife is going because she wants me to carry her water and food also. It has ample room for everything. Hiking boots are second in importance to the water. Here is a shot from about a week or so ago. I pushed the film to 1600. I would not usually shoot HP5 at 1600 for a landscape shot but the roll was already committed because of some photos from the night before.</p><div></div>

<p>Here is a shot from my hike this Monday. Calif has been getting battered by storms so I headed to the high country with my Nikon. Pinnacles was very beautiful with the water, new life, and fresh air after the storm. I saw at least a dozen Condors soaring high overhead. Pinnacles is generally a very dry place but right now it has waterfalls. So I took a snap. I used my mini pod to get my shutter speed as low as I could. About 2 seconds I think. HP5 at box speed. </p>

<p>Here is the shot..</p><div></div>

<p>My bag usually includes a range of lenses from fisheye, wide-angle zoom, mid-range zoom, and telephoto zoom, with the Shing-Ray variable neutral density filter and graduated filters. <br /><br />For landscapes, I prefer to shoot at dawn and dusk. I try not to shoot where there is no blue or atmospheric drama in the skies. If unfortunately the sky is white, I try not to include it.<br /> <br /> When the conditions are right, then composition is the key. I would identify the main theme of the scene, then move around to compose precisely, including only the elements that I want to include in the image, and excluding everything that would not help to enhance the image. That's why I always carry a telephoto zoom.<br /> <br /> I examine everything (top to bottom, left to right, corner to corner). Everything within the image is a graphic component to me - the lines, shapes, forms, colors, shadows and highlights, shades, and spaces are all building blocks to be "arranged" to carry meaning or to be pleasing to the eye.</p>

<p>Then just shoot.</p>

<p>Am I waxing philosophical deep into the night...?</p>

<p>I mountain bike through a local park almost daily except in the winter. I use a D7100 with a 18-70 zoom attached to a Movo vest, which is great because it is mounted tightly on my chest and is easy to take out and use. Its way better than a camera strap, which allows the camera to swing and bang into the handlebars. </p>

For landscape and travel, I work with one dslr body, a 24-105mm zoom, a 70-200mm and a 14mm ultrawide. I seldom carry a tripod, unless I think that I might be doing nighttime shooting. I hand-hold almost everything, including night street scenes, but I'll pull out the tripod for a long-exposure sky shot or for dawn and dusk shots at iconic sites, like the Grand Canyon.

I shoot in such a variety of places and situations I have many combinations of wraps, bags, packs, and a carry-on sized otter box.

If I'm shooting close to the car I can take my 645 kit which I usually put in a backpack (with a CF tripod) but I also have a wheeling Otter box if I'm going to fly with it or just have it on hand at the car.

Next is my K-1 kit, typically with 3 medium to large zooms (15-30, 28-75, 60-250). It goes in a backpack or sling bag (depending on the length of the walk). I can also carry it on a short XC ski or snowshoe if necessary but it doesn't leave a lot of room for other potentially necessary gear if I'm going far.

Then I have a crop kit with a K-3 and a sealed 18-135 zoom and maybe a couple of primes to supplement that (for more width, length, or speed). I'll just carry it in my jacket pocket for Alpine skiing, Alpine touring, or longer Nordic tours or wrapped in a neoprene wrap in my ski or bike pack. Travel tripod if necessary but for daytime in the snow I don't usually bring one because there is usually plenty of light for fast shutter speeds. I also have an Ultrapod II I take mountain biking a lot for low light and/or "selfies" if I don't have a model handy.

 

I realize that is a lot of gear but I use it all pretty regularly for landscape and other subjects with a kit that is always changing depending on where I'm going and what I'm shooting.

 

IMGP6456-Edit by Matt Burt, on Flickr

 

IMGP8332-Edit by Matt Burt, on Flickr

I've been rather hard core in the field here in California from before many on this board were born. Beside considerable day hiking, I've backpacked extensively over 4 decades. In 2014 I put away my 4x5 Wisner Expedition and since have been using a Sony A6000 system focus stack blending and multi column row stitch blending with a manual panoramic head. If a pro interested in large images isn't blending multiple frames they are being left in the dust. Thus am still making large images that are tack sharp top to bottom, left to right, corner to corner. I recently returned from 10 days in the Sonora Desert shooting the major wildflower bloom occurring after this especially wet winter and tomorrow head out again on an extended road trip into the Carrizo Plain and Mojave Desert areas. For my latest work in the deserts including how it is done start on Page 2 of this 2017 Index page:

 

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2017_Trip_Chronicles/2017_Trip-Chronicles-0.html

 

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2017_Trip_Chronicles/QK02281-02326-3x2vw.jpg

 

enlarged vertical slice view:

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2017_Trip_Chronicles/QK02281-02326-3x2vsl.jpg

 

David

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2016_Trip_Chronicles/2016_Trip-Chronicles-0.html

http://www.davidsenesac.com/2015_Trip_Chronicles/2015_Trip-Chronicles-0.html

http://www.davidsenesac.com

Edited March 30, 2017 by david_senesac

<p>Sometimes I work from the back of my van, sometimes from a small RV, sometimes from my motorcycle and sometimes from a canoe, depending on the nature of the work.<br>

If I'm within a couple of days of home I work from a Chevy van. I can erect a tripod inside and shoot through the side door if it's raining or snowing hard and there is enough room to carry lots of equipment, a bed and supplies for my dog and I.<br>

If I'm just running to a wedding rehearsal on a nice day I will often take what I need and pack it in the saddlebags of my bike and kill two birds with one stone (the only time my dog/assistant gets the day off).<br>

I'm primarily a nature photographer and live rurally in Northern Ontario where canoeing and fabulous motorcycling are at my fingertips, and I've always believed 'life is what you make it'.</p>

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You shot that turtle in Northern Ontario?!?

Everybody work in a beautiful place.. i'm cursed to work in a boring environment... Well good luck to you guys, and also great picture from everybody.