“Geez, Tim, your photo gear alone is heavier than my entire backpack!” This was a fellow backpacker I met in Glacier National Park. She was exaggerating…I hope. But it is certainly true that adding a lot of photography equipment to a loaded camping backpack adds significant weight.
So why do I take on the burden of a richly camera-laden pack when I go backpacking? Because I want my full photographic outfit available so that I can bring home my best possible images of the remote places I visit. A multi-day backpacking trip can take a photographer to locations far beyond the reach of a day’s hike. Even if a backcountry camping journey doesn’t travel any farther from the trail head than a day hike could, it still lets one shoot during the special dawn and sunset light at the campsite location, whereas a day hiker would need to be on the trail for hours in the dark to get to the same spot at the same time.
Joby Gorillapod Focus
