First off, thanks so much for all of the great comments on the Norway photos from my post yesterday. I really appreciate it! Next, I saw a few questions about gear, here on the blog as well as on Twitter, social media, etc… so I wanted to cover it here.
Here’s what I took:
Camera Body
• Nikon D800
Lenses
• Nikon 16-35mm lens (for the wide stuff)
• Tamron 24-70 lens
• Nikon 28-300 (for general walking around and some tighter landscape photos)
That’s the wonderful thing about landscape photography. We don’t need a ton of gear and lenses. Honestly, I could probably have gotten away with just the 28-300mm for most of the trip. It is just a bit slow and harder to focus in low light (and I was out in the dark a lot), and while it’s sharp I just feel that the 16-35 and 24-70 perform so well on the wide angle end, that I felt I needed to have them.
Tripod
I’ve become really dependent on my larger Really Right Stuff TVC-33 tripod and BH-55 ballhead. It ain’t light though. And it’s not exactly easy to travel with. But knowing I was going to be outside a lot, up on windy hills and along the water I wanted to make sure I had tack-sharp photos and the only way to do that is with a sturdy tripod. I pack the tripod and ballhead in my checked luggage though, and only pull it out when I’m going out to shoot. I’ve had a lot of people ask if I’m worried about it getting stolen by anyone handling luggage, but I’ve got to figure they come across way better things during the day then a big tripod 🙂
Bags
When I go on a trip like this, I usually travel with the Think Tank Airport Airstream bag and then pack a smaller bag to carry around once I get there. But for this trip, since I packed so light and wanted to cut down on bags, I fit everything into my Vanuard Adaptor backpack and carried that through the airport and around Norway. It was a tight fit, but it’s sure nice to travel light and not roll around a huge camera bag everywhere you go.
Filters
• I brought my trusty Lee Big Stopper 10-stop ND filter
• B&W Circular Polarizer
• Tiffen 3-stop and 6-stop ND
• (no I don’t use split or graduated ND filters)
Miscellaneous Things
• Vello remote cable release
• Hoodman Lens Cleanse
• Lexar 32GB CF Cards
• Microfiber cloths
I love teaching and photography... In that order. I feel that enjoying photography, and photo editing can get WAY too complicated. So my personal mission (and favorite thing to do), is to create education that simplifies the process of taking great photos, and how to edit them to get the results you’ve always wanted.
Matt – thanks for this post; very helpful and timely for me. I’ve been to most of the locations in Norway that you showed; awesome shots! What size/model is your Vanguard Adaptor backpack?? The website shows 4 different sizes? I’m looking for a similar bag for a trip at the end of the summer where I want to travel light for a change 🙂 and to cut down on bags and gear.
Matt-You shoot the Tammy 24-70? I LOVE THAT LENS!!
Lee-SoCal.
Hi Matt, Thanks for the list of gear! I have a Sigma 18-250mm that I use with my Canon 7D and I love it! I have a sigma 24-70mm 2.8, which I use for low light situations. Those are the two lenses I take on my trips. I’m glad to know we have similar gear! That’s awesome! I’m going to check out your tripod … I need something better for traveling. Have a Great 4th of July!!!
Dennis