Photography and Travel – A personal experience and some tips
Sunset over the Mekong - Don Det, Si Phan Don (4000 Islands), Laos
Being on a budget, I wasn’t sure I would be in places where I can let my gear in some safe place (like a room in a trustable hotel – indeed, i wasn’t always). In other words: I had to take in account that I would have to carry all my valuable stuff with me for most of the time. Hence, the decision concerned how much stuff I was willing to carry around with me. My journey took me in rural areas, sometimes off the beaten track. I have been in places where no one spoke English (not even enough to understand a question like Do you speak English?). It wasn’t always an easy walk.
The DSLR of choice was my old EOS 40D (a great great cam) with a couple of primes (EF 28mm f/2.8, and the mighty EF 50mm f/1.8) and a cheap Sigma 18-125mm (decent optics, poor AF). Nothing I couldn’t afford to loose. But…all together, with the charger, a spare battery and some other stuff, this package was over 2kg (> 4.4 lbs)! I had also a small day-pack, where all my valuables fitted into. I was asking myself for weeks: Do I want to add >2kg to the stuff I would have to keep with me most of the time? At the end I opted for an old, 6MP PowerShot S3 IS 12x zoom
(and a 1st gen iPad
for all the rest, backups, Internet etc). Just a note: I hate the 4:3 format.
And another one: the articulated display of the S3 IS is great for candid shots
Did I regret it? No, not really. There have been (obviously) some places/moments where/when I really missed the DSLR. Mostly for low light settings (noise is really bad on such outdated compact cams) and because I didn’t have a wide angle lens (great landscapes, but also street scenes). But at the end, being able to travel light was the winning point in my three months journey. Sure, I would have shot technically better pictures, but it would also have been rather stressful (for me) to carry around all this stuff, while hopping on and off from terrible buses, in countries where you have more than 39°C (102.2° F) and >90% humidity. Being lost in Laos with little valuables made it better. Not having a DSLR in Angkor Wat (Cambodia) was a pity. Same for the great sunsets over the Mekong (the pic at top of this post), or for some night shots. I also missed the 6fps of the DSLR sometimes (good for portraits). Yes, in three months there have been days where I definitely wished to have a better cam with me. But most of the time the S3 IS was enough and easy to carry around.
So, this is my advice: if you are taking a long journey and want to experience the adventure that’s happening along the road, then choose to stay light with your gear (especially in the tropics). The memories you will be fond of are in your mind, everything else can be caught with a Point&Shot camera (well, almost everything). But then, this is my opinion. Your mileage may be different, totally different if you earn a living with photography. And different again if you are not on a budget or are traveling for a limited period (or if you are a very tough guy). However, never forget the photographers mantra: the best camera is the one you have with you. Mantra’s addendum: it’s the photographer that makes the difference, not the gear. At the end it is all about preferences: traveling with little worries or carrying heavier gear to shot better pics. On the other side: I would have been very happy if I had the PowerShot G1 X. Well, maybe next time.
That said, I would like to point you to two post about travel and photography. The first one is an educated list of 8 tips every photographer should take in account while shooting abroad (each point discussed and explained in the post):
- Include signage in you picture
- Include people in your frames
- Create a photo story with a handful of frames
- Avoid those boring family group shots in front of landmarks
- Resist taking those traditional postcard shots
- Practice your food photography on location
- Pick a theme or two each day
- Be a gear minimalist when traveling (!)
Next, a video about traveling and photography [via fstoppers]. Good hints, even for experienced travelers. Nothing better than sharing experiences among fellow travelers.
Safe travel!
PhuongNguyen
2 years ago |Good amateur tip but bad professional advice.
Al
2 years ago |There is just one thing that bothers me. You said you hate the 4:3 format but seems to me that a 4:3 camera would had been the best compromise for you. It does everything you complaint about at almost equal or better quality than your canon. However I understand you don’t like the crop factor and to each his own.
Of course you would had had to go with cheaper/older model in case someone stole it from you but still it would had been head and shoulders above what the S3 could do. Except for the zoom range but I’ve found that cropping and walking mitigates some of that.
By the way years ago I was in the same dilemma except I did not owned a DSLR but a canon G9 that went with me to a backpacking trip around china. That’s when I realized I wanted something with better image quality but definitely not a lot bigger. That’s how I ended up going with 4:3 which to this day have more than satisfied my needs.
However at the end of the day is the trip and the memories you take from it, what matters. Photography should only be there to help you make those memories everlasting but on a 2nd level.
Al
Frank
2 years ago |The right sentence would have been: I don’t like 4:3 ratio on a 6Mp sensor where you don’t have room for serious cropping. Otherwise there is nothing wrong with 4:3, though I feel that pictures having a 3:2 ratio look better. Just my 2 cents.
Andrew
2 years ago |I am 1 year into a 2 year friendship journey and challenge travelling from Australia to Western Europe without flying or using money for transport. I left Australia in July 2011, I hiked independently through the jungles and swamps in the remotest parts of PNG, caught rides in dugout canoes and other small craft for 3 months before making it to the Indonesian border where I continued in the same vain. Now in May 2012 I’m in China still going and heading toward Mongolia.
I made the difficult decision to forego the dslr/mirrorless for an all in one Nikon p7000 (28-200mm eq. lens)compact in a belt pouch. I’ll be honest and admit I’m less than satisfied with this cam, but it is capable of good images for a compact, though the images are never quite as good as I’ll get with the ideal kit for a specific moment.
I have had brief encounters with professional photographers, cinematographers, photojournalists and enthusiasts. All found they miss the impromptu moments I manage to capture because their kit is buried the wrong side of their kit bag and showed interest in my limited cam while expressing a desire to get a similar fixed lens compact at first opportunity.
I’m not happy with performance, focus acquisition is hit and miss(but to be fair, that’s usually for the quick impromptu shots missed by the bigger cam in the bag), IQ could be better and water/dust sealing would be a god send, but did I make the best choice on balance from the available options? I think so!
I looked at the G1X yesterday. Nice cam, heavy and big???, but worse, slower than the Coolpix p7000
Frank
2 years ago |I know what you mean. For me the most limiting factor was the small 6MP sensor with 4:3 ratio. I agree with you that a little cam allows you to act and react quicker. That can make a big difference for travel photography.
On the other hand, I saw lots of travelers with huge DSLRs and expensive lenses who where shooting in “dummy mode” (the green mode on Canon cams) and using the flash in bright sunlight.
Safe travel!