Backpacking and Photography

[nats]

Bill, at the risk of sounding defensive, I would point out that around 300 people thruhike the PCT every year. To finish before you get so much snow that the trip becomes unbearable, one must do 20-25mi/d, and again, hundreds do finish. I will be hiking with a thruhiker and as such, I must hold pace. While I am certainly no super-star athlete, I would point out that I have done that kind of pace before and have played 4 hours (minimum) of tennis per day for at 7 days per week with significant conditioning and running. I try to hold 3.5 mi/h when I backpack.

 

I think you are right about lenses. The 50mm may be just too useful to leave behind.

[bill sullivan]

Nathaniel, I should have made one of those happy face symbols. I was just trying to pull your chain a little, just trying to keep this conversation on the light side, just trying to let you know that at least somebody on this forum respects what you are doing. I don't think you will be sorry to have the 50mm with you. And do give some thoughts to close-up work, will you? Ask at your camera store about close-up filters, possibly a used set. If you have a feeling for belly flowers, insects, leaves, and raindrops, you may just like to play around with them. Close-up filters are not the ultimate tool for close-up photos, but they are a nice place to start, and maybe someday you will think about picking up a macro lens. But that will be for another walk. --Bill S.

[nats]

I have managed to get a rough estimate of the F's weight and I have found that the difference between the F's and the F5's weight is about 10oz which is about the difference between the 50mm lenses for the two cameras. This does not include battery weight. I do not have any lithium batteries so can someone tell me how much 8 lithiums weigh?

[steve_levine]

Buy a point & shoot with a decent lens, and leave the SLR home.

[nats]

Something like a Yashica T4/T5 or a Ricoh GR1, perhaps?

[salvatore.mele]

Having done similar trips in the past I have a few pieces of advice to offer, FWIW and IMHO, of course.

 

- Leave the 135mm home. Too short for wildlife and not worth the weight. Over the years I found that a 20/2.8 and 50/1.4 serve me well and are light enough.

 

- Get a tabletop tripod, maybe with a cable release. A sand/bean bag is too heavy a commodity. Eventually, you can consider bringing just a sturdy plastic bag and fill it with soil once on location.

 

- No F5 (heavy, battery dependent, no need for all extra functions for the mostly-landscape shots you will be aiming at)

 

- To have my gear always handy I've a Lowepro toploader mini attached somewhere to my hip strap or the bottom of the shoulder strap, out of the way of the motion of the arm/walking stick. It contains the camera with the 50mm. In a small pouch also to the hip I hold the 20mm. When weather gets bad, it will be time to get the rainjacket on, so the camera goes in a thick plastic bag in the backpack, in the place previously occupied by the rainjacket.

[stacy_egan]

I'm with Slide and others who have recommended a small P&S. My husband and I hiked 325 miles on the JMT and PCT. We took an Olympus Stylus P&S with 4-5 rolls of film and the REI tabletop Ultrapod tripod. We averaged about 20+ miles a day and to do this comfortably, keeping weight down was a priority for us. We were inspired by Ray Jardine's "ultralight backpacking" way of thinking. I'd go ultralight again, even though it would be painful to leave my 20D DSLR at home in the face of such beautiful scenery.

[phule]

<< We took an Olympus Stylus P&S >>

 

This was going to be my recommendation as well. The weather-proofing is an added bonus. I certainly can see the desire to have more gear (and perhaps this is something Nathaniel will want to do for something that has more reach than the fixed lens Olympus,) but given the small weight it would be silly to /not/ take the Stylus Epic :)

[frank uhlig]

OK, you like Iso 50 slide film. I used to like/use exclusively the old Kodacolor (?) 25 Iso slide film. Great stuff in the 70s and 80s.

 

But for your purpose you need better film than that, I mean more useful film. So, going against everyone's advice here: take Kodak 400 UC from your local Wallmart at 12 $ for 3 rolls of 38 shots and fire away, morning, day and night.

Use your wide angle, maybe the 28mm on your camera on your chest, carry a 50mm lens and an 85 mm one with a 1.4 TC = 120mm, and that is all. A remote release cable, too, and the 20 rolls of film.

 

You will be so much happier on the trail and the pics so much better, believe me. If you were car backpacking, you surely could use 100 or 50 ISO and a backpack with tripod for a few hours a day, but for 20-30 miles a day for 3 weeks any ounce too much is just that.

 

So lighten up and go modern. Kodak 400 UC does not even need a polarizer, so you can save that weight, too.

 

Good luck and do enjoy the trail, so go slowly ... and wisely ...

[greg_miller3]

The people doing 20-25 miles per day on the PCT are typically carrying 30 pounds of gear or less (and they did not start with 20 miles on day 1 - they gradually build up to it allowing the body time to adapt). You indicated you have done this for 1 day but doing it every day for 3 weeks solid is very different. Even if you limit your camera gear to 5 pounds uou have only 25 pounds left for pack, food, shelter, ...

 

I think you need to choose between an agressive trip with lots of miles but a very basic camera kit (i.e. small slr and 1 lens; or P&S) for snapshots - or - a serious phot trip with much fewer miles.

[tim_grams]

Hey Nathaniel.

 

I too, have to question the logisitics of your trip .. trying to do 20-25 miles a day with a heavy pack (made heavier with several pounds, at least, of camera gear) is very tough. It also leaves very little time and energy for any real photography - also, if you're not trying to shoot wildlife, you don't need a lens longer than probably 200mm.

 

This is a very tough question, and there's no easy answer. However -- My suggestion would be a small, light, P&S digital camera. I don't know enough about the various models, but you won't have time to bother with tripods, and lenses, etc. I backpack a lot, and carry everything from a 24mm lens to a 500mm lens with teleconverters, 2 bodies, a tripod, etc . sometimes even a flash unit. But I know I'm not going to hike far carrying all that, nor do I want to - I try to spend my time photographing. If I'm doing a hike that involves a lot of walking, covering miles, I don't bother bringing much camera gear, simply because I know, even if I could carry it 20-odd miles a day, I'd end up with neither the time nor the inkling to work very hard at my photography. Go lighter, or go shorter distances.

 

Hope this helps. Good luch with it.

 

Cheers

 

Carl

 

www.AlaskanAlpineTreks.com

[tim_grams]

Whoops

 

Apparently I'm signed in under my friend Tim's name - I'm on his computer. Sorry 'bout that.

 

Cheers

 

Carl

[bill sullivan]

You have to distinguish between a backpack and a photoshoot and Nathaniel, you have made it clear that this is a backpack and not a photoshoot. You are wisely trying to limit your photo gear to what you have and what you know and what you can afford to carry. People have suggested a p&s camera. What I don't like about this idea is that it would mean learning a new instrument. Those puppies have learning curves! You also have to realize that art may suffer on a backpack. For me at least, part of the "art" of nature photography is that I can take my time and think. I enjoy spontaneity, but I love to think. On a photoshoot, if I come across a landscape that I want to photograph and I don't care for the light, I can wait an hour or a day for the light to be right. I can wait for the wind to stop blowing on a fragile flower. On a fast-moving backpack, I can only photograph what I come upon, if I have my camera ready at that moment. As a result, I may get a lot of record shots or snapshots. But then again, I may also luck out and come across some real keepers. It sounds to me like you are approaching this project wisely, Nathaniel. I hope for the best for you.

[ldarnell.com]

Some advice from Galen Rowell.

 

http://mountainlight.com/rowell/gr_camera_bag.html

[lex_jenkins]

Leki makes lots of trekking poles for hikers. At least one of 'em is equipped with a standard 1/4" tripod bolt for use with cameras. I'm thinking of getting one myself.

 

Fast film like NPH or 400UC would make it easier to use faster shutter speeds for sharper photos in dim light. For me, it'd be worth the compromise if I wanted to travel light.

 

A small waistpack and a little equipment would round it out. Last year I toted my OM-1 and three Zuikos in a Lowepro Off Trail, their smallest bag. I don't care for some of the Lowepro, Tamrac and other waistpack designs but I like this one. It's too small for Nikon bodies and AI/AI-S lenses, tho' - I use both systems and the Off Trail is suited only for tiny SLRs like the OM-1, Pentax ME or LX, etc.

[rjacksonphoto]

Alright, gotta throw in my $0.02. Of what you have, take the F and the 28 and 50 (you're not a wildlife photographer, that's not why you are going, and the 135 doesn't even approach the length of a useful wildlife lens). A polarizer and 2-stop soft ND grad, cable release, and a tabletop tripod (like the little Bogen). All in one bag like a Velocity 7 or Tamrac holster bag. Take a Stylus Epic for back-up and use 400 speed color print film (Max or UC). Will work for scenics and camp shots. Grain is not an issue if not doing mega-enlargements and you can bump the saturation in PS if you want.

 

Don't base your walking support on whether or not it has a screw for your camera-- pick your suuports for what you need hiking. I find the trekking pole/monopod combos not very helpful as camera supports and usually not my first choice for walking stability. So there.

[nats]

Well, thanks to everyone for their thoughtful responses. I appreciate all the input. I am leaving this week and expect it to be a wonderful trip no matter what. Unfortunately, I think the cost of food will finish off my bank account, and thus, I cannot make excuse even a $40 purchase. (I am afraid I may end up having to borrow some money to eat at the end of the trek.) I think I will be taking the F, the 28mm and the 50mm lenses, and a close-focus lens/diopter/macro-filter thingy if my friend will lend it to me. After I pack and figure out my baseweight, I decide whether or not to bring my old, plastic, broken tripod. I will be carrying some Velvia 100 and some Kodak (Portra) 400UC. Again, I appreciate everyone's time and effort, and I will post results (including photos if I can get around to dropping by the film scanner at school) when I get back.

 

Cheers.