I do a lot of backpacking photography, frequently going out for periods of many days or even a couple weeks and carrying camera equipment across high (occasionally trail-less) passes in the Sierra Nevada range. There is a whole range of issues to sort out when you do this sort of back-country photography including:

• How much gear to take — what do you really need and how much weight are you willing to lug?
• How to keep the camera and necessary accessories reasonably accessible.
• How to sufficiently protect the camera equipment from weather and from other dangers.
• How to integrate systems for carrying camera equipment with those used for carrying regular backpacking gear.

I’ve described my current backpacking photography setup in detail elsewhere, so here I’ll focus on one key element in my solution, a Lowepro Toploader AW bag. (Mine is a slightly older model – a “TLZ AW.” The current incarnations have a slightly different name. The last time I checked they were the “Lowepro Toploader 75 AW Camera Holster Bag” and the “Lowepro Toploader 65 AW Camera Holster Bag.”)

These bags are designed to accommodate a full size DSLR with a good size zoom lens attached, stowed in a lens-down position in the main compartment of the bag. The larger model is designed to handle the camera with one of the 70-200mm zooms, while the smaller model will handle a typical wide or normal-to-short-tele zoom. Depending on your trail photography preferences, either might be right for you.

I use the larger version, but not because I keep a 70-200mm zoom on the camera. In fact, I often don’t take a lens that long on extended pack trips. Instead I find that I can fit my UWA lens (17-40mm or 16-35mm) in the bottom of the Topload pack, with my full frame Canon SLR (currently 5DsR) and attached “standard” zoom (24-105mm or 24-70mm) above – in this way keeping both lenses at hand.

These bags are designed to provide a great deal of flexibility in terms of how they are carried. I see that the new models are described as “holster” bags, suggesting that you attach them to your belt, a separate equipment belt, or possibly to your pack’s hip belt system. I don’t do this, but it must work for someone! The bags come with a good shoulder strap and in some conditions it works well to just sling that pack over your shoulder. I’ve tried that for backpacking and I did not like it very much – the bag is free to swing about a bit too much for my taste. Others like this method, though. (I use this strap for non-backpacking purposes.)

My preference for backpacking is to replace the standard strap with the Lowepro Chest Harness system designed for these bags. The chest harness attaches to the bag at four points, creating a sort of “reverse backpack” (a frontpack?) configuration that hangs the bag securely on, no surprise here, your chest. While it is a bit tricky to put the bag on — I leave one lower strap unattached — it rides very securely and relatively comfortably once in place. I put my backpack on after attaching the camera bag.

With the camera bag carried this way everything (except my tripod, which rides on my backpack) is readily accessible without any need to remove or rearrange my load. Working from the bag I can even switch lenses if necessary. Since I can carry additional small items – filter, batteries, CF cards, etc. – in the pockets of the Toploader bag, they are also immediately available.

In my experience, there is one significant downside to this system. In rough terrain I cannot easily see my feet or, more importantly, the terrain right under my feet. This isn’t an issue on normal trails, but on cross-country routes it can be. I’ve learned to sort of look around the side of the pack when necessary, but in really rough situations (class 2+ and higher cross-country routes) I remove the whole bag and temporarily stow it in my backpack.

There is one other small issue. On hot days perspiration gets caught behind the bag and can be uncomfortable.

On the plus side, the bag holds so enough equipment to make for a fine bag for day hikes away from my pack as well. For this purpose I may still use the chest-mounted configuration, though for more casual work – say an evening walk around the lake – I’ll simply rearrange the straps a bit and use them like a shoulder strap.

As one of Lowepro’s “AW” (all-weather) packs, this bag incorporates a built-in weather cover of waterproof material. It deploys quickly – again without having to remove my pack – and offers decent protection against light rain and similar conditions. I’ve never pushed it to see just how much rain it can handle; instead I stow the whole thing inside my backpack (which is under a rain cover) if the conditions deteriorate badly enough.

(Note that Lowepro makes a whole series of smaller and less robust “Topload” bags – they are fine for what they are designed for, but they are not quite the same as the “ToploadER” bags described here. I have used one of them with a smaller mirrorless system in the backcountry.)

My bottom line: The Lowe Toploader Zoom and its equivalent newer “Holster” versions are perfect for my approach to backpacking photography. They hold my camera and one additional lens securely and accessibly and provide decent protection from bumps and weather.

Note: This article was revised in February 2018.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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