For my upcoming road trip from LA to Banff I thought I would give you a peak at whats inside my camera bag and what you need when you are a travelling photographer. I like to travel pretty light because I like to do a bit of hiking so I don’t want a massive load on my back when Im in the middle of nature for hours at a time so I keep it pretty simple.
Back Pack
As you can see above, I have a Low Pro back pack which is great because its got the zipper at the back so all of my camera gear is safe while Im travelling though cities and if I am taking seascapes or I am at a place where there is nowhere to put my bag down I can just clip up the waist band and swing the bag around to the front of me, open the zip and get all my equipment out, zip it back up and put it back on my back. There is loads of padding inside so I know my gear is protected and tonnes of pockets for extras like my phone, lip balm (every girl needs lip balm!), note books, I can also fit my laptop inside. Its also water resistant and comes with a rain pouch that I can pull out from the under side to cover it if its really bucketing down. Its also really comfortable to wear.
Tripod
Next item is my trusty tripod. This is an essential item for a landscape photographer. Ive only had this one a short time and its starting to look a bit beat up already but its a pretty good medium grade tripod from Manfrotto. The legs can go out really wide if I want to get down really low which is a feature I like and its got a spirit level which is handy because I have a habit of taking shots with crooked horizons!
Camera Gear
Next is my Canon 5D Mk III which is my baby. I treat this thing like gold. Its usually got the 17-40mm L Series Canon Lens attached to the front 90% of the time. I also have a 24 to 105mm L Series walk around lens and I alway carry my 50mm Lens with me because I love it and you can read more about that lens here. A battery charger, Shutter release cable for long exposures, and a spare battery. I am going to purchase another battery before we leave plus a few extra memory cards because I think I actually only have one at the moment which is not good!
Filters
As for filters, I have got a Lee Big Stopper, plus 3 Lee graduated neutral density filters and an adaptor ring to fit both my big lenses (not pictured here) and the filter holder.
Misc
Other things I like to carry are a notebook and pen to scribble notes in like destinations of where I took photos and things. A cleaning rag to clean off ocean spray etc, lip balm, and my iPhone.
Thats really about all I carry with me when I’m travelling as far as camera gear goes. Like I said above I like to keep it simple and this is enough for me as I still freak out sometimes thinking where are my filters, where is my cable release.
Are there any must have items that you can’t live without when you are travelling. I would love to know, so leave a comment below! ๐
LOVE this post!
Thanks Nicki! ๐
Love that your camera bag has a built in rain coat!
Thanks Ella! The rain cover has come in very handy at times!
Hey Larissa, I am going to the US in June and I want to take my camera equipment in my lowepro backpack, but I am a bit worried especially in places like NY etc where it is going to be very crowded and busy. How do you go about keeping your stuff safe? Cheers ๐
Hey Lisa, my camera backpack is the Lowepro flipside 400 AW so the zipper is against my back so that nobody can get into it. If I am in a city though I have a jo totes camera bag which is a handbag designed for cameras. It can get a bit heavy carry it around all day like a handbag with your camera in there but at least you don’t look like a tourist when you are somewhere like NY! http://www.jototes.com/collections/all/products/new-allison-butterscotch Hope this helps and YAY how exciting about your trip! Cant wait to see your pics on Insti!
Thanks so much! I’ll definitely look into one of those bags, they’re super affordable too ๐