Lessons
Class Introduction
02:02 2Planning Trip Research
03:21 37 Principles
04:01 4Gear Considerations
07:22 5Packing Essentials
06:14 6Location Scouting
04:19 7Sunrise Shooting
18:48 8Composition Basics
06:14Lesson Info
Gear Considerations
So this right here is my entire camera gear and travel set up for when I'm on the go, getting on airplanes, or getting ready to pack up my stuff for an overnight hike. All of this gear that you see that's right here, can fit into this bag, which is by Wandrd. It's really convenient and has tons of awesome, customizable compartments. This right here is a removable cube. And what I do, is I put my camera gear into this cube, and then the camera gear can fit into bags, such as this bag that I use for day hikes, or my green overnight bag. So, over hear of course we've gotta start with our lenses. So this lens right here is my M.Zuiko 40-150 2.8 zoom lens. So this thing is really good for zooming in to get in those far to reach shots. If I want to get really good background compression so that mountains look bigger than they normally would with like a subject in the foreground. Or anything that might look too far, like an animal or something like that with a normal lens. It's really, really...
, really sturdy. And I also like that it has this add-on, for when you want to put it on a tripod. So it's great in every situation. And I also love this lens hood that was custom made for it. It kinda just slides in and out, which is great if you're trying to pack stuff up. A lot of lens hoods are, can do something similar, but not to this convenience, where you can slide it off just like that. This right here is a 17mm 1.2 lens. This is really good for portrait photography and anything that's gonna have a really good depth of field, just because of the shallow aperture. So if you have an object where you're trying to shoot it, and you want to make sure that the background is out of focus and your foreground is in focus, this is exactly what you're gonna need. It's also pretty lightweight and it can also double as a semi-wide angle lens if you want to pack light on the go. This right here is the 7-14 2.8 lens, also by M.Zuiko. It's a wide-angle lens. So a lot of places at alpine lakes that you're gonna be shooting, you're gonna want to make sure that it's wide enough, especially if you're close enough to the base of a lake. These are things to consider when you're thinking about where you're gonna visit. I really do like it just because when I get a wide-angle shot, I can go back later in post-editing, and crop away the areas that I don't necessarily need. But I'm not gonna make any of my shots too tight. Where I'm gonna miss the opportunity to have the more room that I need, to make sure that my photo has all the details possible. So if you're packing really light on gear, or only want to have to bring one lens with you, I definitely recommend right here, the 12-100 F4 M.Zuiko IS Pro. This thing has internal image stabilization. And it's gonna give you a whole range of focal lengths that you can shoot at. So whether you're gonna be shooting portraits, or you're going to get long-range shots, but don't really want to have to bulk down on the gear, to bring up with you on a hike or anywhere else like that, this is exactly what you're gonna need. It's a one-and-done, all-in-one lens. It's great. So, of course right here, I have my general camera setup. I have the E-M1 Mark II, which is again by Olympus. Really love this camera just because of the versatility of all the functions it has and the coloration's great. Great shadow recovery, water-resistant, and it's light. Mainly because it's a Micro Four Thirds camera, whereas a lot of the other cameras that you might typically buy that could be difference size, like full-format, or full-frame in general, they're gonna be bulkier. So if you want to be able to get places quick, and not bulk down on the gear, this is the camera that you need. And on it, right here, I have a 12-40mm lens. This is the kind of lens that I use for most of my shooting or intermediate shooting. It's kind of an all around lens, but the only thing it doesn't have is getting those really long-range shots or lens compression. Which is what I would use on of the other two for. But, in general, this thing is all around great, compact, and portable. These M.Zuiko lenses are all water-sealed with my camera. So while I'm out and about getting photos in nature, or anywhere else, it's gonna be great to have something that's reliable and they're lightweight too. In addition to my lens setup and my camera, of course I have to circular polarizers. So you're gonna be primarily using these polarizers for removing reflections and things, including windows or water. It's gonna help take glare out of the sky or anything else where the highlights might be blown out. And it's gonna bring detail back into the clouds or any other outdoor subject where you wanna have your sky and your foreground evenly exposed together. I also have two cases for both of them to make sure that they don't get damaged 'cause they are made of glass. Over here I have my laptop. It's a 13 inch laptop. I also have a 15 inch one of the same kind. It's a Surface Book 2, by Microsoft. I do like the Windows system, it just is what it is. I've been using it for a very long time and it's very reliable, I've never had a problem, and I really like the interface. On here, I have a UAG case. It's really rugged and it's great for drops. I definitely recommend if you're gonna be traveling to have a good camera protection and or laptop protection and cases with everything in general. Just so that way you know, if you're handling your bag or drop it nothing's gonna break. Right here I just have a portable power pack. This one's about 10,000 mA, it's by Mophie. This is mainly just to charge my phone and maybe a couple other USB-based electronics. It also has a pad where you can do wireless charging where you just lay your phone down on it and it'll start charging it for you. Hard drive. I usually bring one hard drive with me per trip and then as soon as I get home I'll upload my photos both to the cloud and to an 8 TB hard drive tower and in addition to that, I have two other hard drives of this. I thinking backing up all of your stuff multiple times is really important. You never want to be in a situation where you loose content just because you didn't save it more than once. Lastly, tripod. Of course, with the style of photography I'm doing, where I'm more on the go, I like to be lightweight, I like to be ready for almost any situation, I still gotta have a tripod. There's a lot of situations where you are gonna need one. Whether you're shooting in low light, you're doing astro or night photography, you wanna be able to affect the look of a water by increasing or decreasing your shutter speed, and it's just not gonna be possible without one of these. This one's a Mefoto. And this one can go in the side of my camera bag right here. Nice and portable. I can't forget my headlamp, either. So this is going to be important for any overnight hikes or doing anything at night, in general. You definitely wanna be able to see where you're going and as long as you have a headlamp on, it's gonna get your hands free in case you need to use hiking poles or hold something while you're out and about. This also has a red light, too, and you want to use the red light on it, which is one of the other knobs or buttons. That's gonna allow you to be able to see but if there's somebody else that's camping or sleeping it's not gonna disturb them as it would with a harsh white light that comes outta here. This one's a few hundred lumens so it is really bright and is definitely going to show you where you need to go. So again, all this gear that you see right here fits into this bag. I definitely believe that having all of your necessary gear in one bag is key to minimizing your camera load. And making sure that you have the absolute necessary things to create whatever it is that you wanna create. This bag here, I've traveled with this thing all over the world. It definitely is really reliable and there's a lot of different brands out there that could accomplish the same thing. I would definitely do some research and find one that works for you based on what your needs are and what kind of gear you want to bring with you.
Ratings and Reviews
user-b87872
This is actually a question....regarding "park guidelines". Will you cover what permits are needed, costs; and most of all "insurance". I'd like to take my photography "pro", but these "hoops" appear to be confusing and expensive. Is there any way around them? Or to get the cost down to reasonable? I live in Nevada near Death Valley and travel to California often.