Dale Ward Photography

Gear I’m packing for Smokies “photo safari” No. 3

Since I’m constantly forgetting what to bring on my photo safaris and I’m the worst when it comes to preparing check lists, I thought I’d make my list here and share with whoever is interested what I’m bringing to the Smokies for my upcoming photo shoot.  I’ll be camping at the Smokemont campground, but I’ll spare you that list.  Feel free to comment if you believe I have forgotten something!

CAMERA GEAR:

1. Canon 5D MK II (full frame for maximum detail and flexibility in cropping and printing sizes)

• Canon Rebel XT with kit lens (good backup and more telephoto reach with cropped sensor)
• Canon G10 (for the quick shot that pops up and reference shots. And a great camera in its own right)
• Canon 17-40 mm F4L (for the big wide vistas of the mountains)
• Canon 70-200 mm F2.8L IS (to capture details and close-ups where shallow depth of field is desired)
• Canon 24-70 F2.8L (good to have for narrow depth of field and those “in between” focal length shots)
• Loupe (for viewing the camera LCD in bright light and checking focus)
• Circular polarizing filter (to bring out the color of those great Smoky skies and to saturate foliage color)
• .6 Neutral Density Filter (for longer shutter speeds to capture moving water in mountain streams)
• Graduated ND filters (to balance the foreground and sky exposures)
• Canon 580 EXII flash (to illuminate foreground if needed)
• Off camera flash sync cord
• CTO gels (to add “sunlight” under the canopy of trees)
• Compact Flash memory cards
• Extra camera battery
• Extra AA batteries
• Battery sleeve for battery grip with fresh batteries installed (backup for drained or bad batteries)
• Water tight memory card cases (I’ll be working around water and would hate to drop one into a stream)
• While balance grey card (for getting the color right)
• Laptop computer (to offload the thousands of images I plan to take!)
• Tripod with ball head (for HDRs and allowing longer shutter speeds for moving water in streams and waterfalls)
• Remote shutter release (to keep vibration at a minimum on the tripod)
• Hot shoe mounted bubble level (for pano shots)
• Lens cleaning gear (rocket blower, lens pen, microfiber cloths)
• Rain cover for camera (I call it an umbrella, but also bring extra large clear garbage bags with rubber bands — they work amazingly well in a pinch and don’t take up much room)
• iPhone (use camera for reference shots and geotagging)
• iPhone apps to determine weather forecast, time and azimuth of sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset (Helios, Darkness, Weather Channel, AccuWeather)
• Magnetic Compass (for orienting camera to setting and rising sun – good for advance setup and claiming that prime photo site early)
• Backpack (small one to carry essential gear on the trail to remote sites with attachment for tripod)
• Model releases (in case I want to capture people)
• Maps (with topographical overlay, trails and possible photo sites marked)
• Manuals for all my camera gear (for that setting I forgot about. I keep mine in pdf form on my iPhone)
• Notebook with pencil attached (for recording when, where, what settings, composition ideas, trail notes, notes on locations for future trips, general musings)

PERSONAL GEAR (a few items that make photography a more enjoyable experience):

• Clothing for the prevailing weather
• Wide brim hat (keeps the sun and water away)
• Rain parka
• Fingerless gloves (great for keeping the hands warm and fingers available to operate the camera)
• Sturdy, waterproof hiking boots (GoreTex works wonders when wading thru shallow streams!)
• Water bottle (carried outside of backpack)
• Binoculars
• Vehicle big enough to fit all this stuff into!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 11:56 AM. It is filed under All, My Photo Safari Adventures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.