Mag

Camera Bag
Less is best when it’s on your back
It’s pretty much common knowledge that you really don’t need as
much gear as what you’d think, or at least every photography ‘how
to’ guide’ tells you that. All it takes is one trip lugging all your gear
on your back and you’ll know exactly what they’re telling you about.
I believe a minimalist mindset is ideal - take what’s necessary and
leave behind the “maybe I’ll use it” gear.
To be fair, I’m not sure that I’m the right person to give advice about
gear, I’m a landscape photographer that doesn’t own a tripod? That’s
like a chef not owning a set of knives. Never the less, here you are
reading my advice so I’ll do my best.
First off you’ll want a good backpack that you find comfortable and
offers great storage. As mentioned before, and by every youtube
channel, your backpack is what you’ll be lugging around and
camera gear really isn’t the most comfortable to transport. Having
a comfortable bag limits your pain and suffering. The bag I use, the
Lowepro Protactic 350 AW, has great internal storage with velcro
dividers so you can create your own custom layout to fit in all your
gear. In addition to that, there’s an array of attachments you can clip
to the outside of the bag with their army-style strapping.
In terms of cameras, I find it useful to use two cameras so that I can
have one camera dedicated to timelapsing and filming, and still have
a camera free to take my usual photos with. This technique definitely
goes against “less is more” but the functionality definitely makes up
for it and also means you have a backup camera if your main camera
throws a tantrum.
In terms of lenses, you can be more lenient with wider apertures as
they’re not as necessary unless you’re shooting at night. I try to give
myself access to as much variety in focal lengths as possible, covering
myself from 24mm up to 200mm, with a 35mm f1.4 for detail shots
where I need a shallow depth of field. I primarily use my 24-70mm
f2.8 because most of my photos fall within this focal range, and I also
use a 70-200mm for portraits and to mix up the perspective of my
photos.
Tip: gear isn’t everything, don’t
get caught up in buying “the best
gear around”. Start with basics
and learn what you benefit the
most from using.
immerse / gear guide