Category Archives: Equipment

Equipment

Backpacking Photography Equipment – My Approach

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Since the summer backpacking season is upon us – though it will be at least a few more weeks before I’m out and about in the back-country – it seems like a good time to post a pointer to a post I wrote earlier (and update every year) about my backpacking photography equipment.

I have backpacked in the Sierra Nevada – and occasionally elsewhere – for more than four decades, believe it or not. My total time on the trail can be measured in years if you add it all up. Over the years I’ve gone through a diverse range of approaches to integrating my photography with my time on the trail: early on I used to carry film SLRs, I gradually moved to smaller and lighter and less capable cameras, for a while I decided to not let photography interfere with the backpacking experience at all, and these days the photography has again become a primary reason for the backpacking.

I’ve evolved an approach to doing serious photography on the trail that works really well for me. It has to do partly with the selection of equipment that I’ve come to use, but it also has to do with my philosophy about what, when, where, and how to shoot. If you are serious about doing photography on the trail, I hope that the article has something to offer to you, whether your approach turns out to be similar to or quite different than mine.

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” (Heyday Books) is available directly from him.

G Dan Mitchell: Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email


All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Equipment, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Wildlife

Harbor Seal Family

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Harbor Seal Family

Harbor Seal Family. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A family trio of harbor seals rests on an offshore rock at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I photographed this family group (at least they sure acted like a family!) on an offshore rock just above the surf line on the late April weekend when I almost had the whole of Point Lobos State Reserve to myself. (I wrote about this earlier – a marathon had closed the coast highway and almost no one else was in the park.) I think the seals were a bit less wary than they might be because of the very small number of people in the park – actually, I was the only person near them for a good long time. I had a great chance to observe them uninterrupted, and from two slightly different locations – after shooting from this spot I moved far to the right where I could shoot back at the far side of the rock.

I found it interesting that they were very aware of my presence and seemed to pay more obvious attention to me than I have seen in the past. The lighter color seal on the right stared right at me for long periods of time on several occasions, even though I was quite a distance away and standing nearly motionless. Once or twice all three gazed my direction. I wasn’t sure who was observing who! The darker seal on the left seemed to be the least active, only occasionally rolling around and scratching the back (yes, they do this!) of the others, especially the smaller one in the far middle in this shot.

I’m still working out the best ways to photograph creatures like these. Learning their habits a bit helps, as does arriving at the right time – in terms of season, time of day, weather, and the good fortune of being there on an uncrowded day at Point Lobos. I’d like to get shots from a lower angle, but this can be difficult. I think the seals are much less likely to be close to the shore in such places.

I have a very large number of photographs of this group, and I may post more eventually.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: harbor, seal, young, parents, family, eyes, three, rock, shore, water, seaweed, kelp, flipper, white, gray, brown, ocean, sea, coast, wildlife, nature, whiskers, spring, rest, lie, group, point lobos, state, reserve, park, california, usa, monterey, peninsula, carmel, stock

Equipment, Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Ocean & Coast, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Textures

Detail #1, Rocks, Point Lobos

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Detail, Rocks, Point Lobos

Detail #1, Rocks, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. April 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail of rock forms near tidepools at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

I spent a mostly foggy and cloudy day at Point Lobos State Reserve south of Carmel, California during the last weekend of April. (I wrote elsewhere about the miraculous coincidence of my visit with the Big Sur Marathon, which delayed my arrival at the park a bit but ultimately meant that I was virtually the only person in the entire park!) I started at the actual “Point Lobos” – the punta de los lobos marinos area – and gradually worked my way south along the waterline. After stopping to photograph a family if harbor seals I decided to more closely inspect some of the twisted and colorful rock formations and textures and I ended up making some photographs of them, along with some semi-macro shots of shells and other shoreline detritus.

This photograph is not in the public domain. It may not be used on websites, blogs, or in any other media without explicit advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

keywords: detail, rock, formation, shape, texture, form, geology, brown, gray, shore, shoreline, sea, coast, tidepool, rock, point lobos, state, reserve, park, nature, abstract, stock, monterey, peninsula, carmel, california, usa

Commentary, Equipment

Wherever We Are Headed, We Certainly Are Not There Yet

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Contrary to those who feel that with the introduction of multiple reasonably-priced 20+MP full frame DSLR camera there isn’t much room left for advancement and change, I think that the camera market is still truly dynamic.

One assumption that many make is that the high photosite density full-frame DSLR cameras will “take over” the part of the photographic world previously occupied by medium format (MF) film cameras. Several observations seem to support this notion. The resolution available from carefully used high end DSLRs with the best lenses certainly can compete with that of medium format film, and the arguable advantages of the larger format in terms of image quality would not be enough to convince many to give up the conveniences and lens choices of the best DSLR systems. Even those who might prefer to shoot medium format digital back systems – and I count myself as among those who are interested – are often not in a position to be able to afford the stratospheric cost of the best medium format systems, despite the fact that they compete with large format for image quality.

Some have argued that the costs of the high end systems cannot possibly come down. Some argue (falsely, I believe) that the high costs can not drop because, unlike the costs of computer memory, they are determined by factors that are not subject to scaling. Some argue that the market will never be big enough. However, these folks made the same arguments about the very types of cameras that are now becoming available in the DSLR market – the 20MP and higher full frame sensor camera. Not long ago these cameras cost roughly $8000 and were available from only one manufacturer. They now cost a third of this and are available from at least three vendors.

If you think this cannot happen in the medium format market, perhaps you need to watch a bit more closely. Recently Mamiya introduced a basic medium format digital system (admittedly not one defining the high end of this market segment) at a cost of around $14,000 if memory serves. This week Phase One announced 40 MP medium format backs at cost in roughly the upper teens ($15,000 or thereabouts) range. There are certainly higher priced backs available, but it was only a year or two ago that the 35MP MF backs were the high end – and cost perhaps two or three times this much.

It seems to me that these developments are moving toward bringing MF digital systems to a price point where some who might now get a high-end DSLR system may be able to instead think about going MF.

(Note added later: I just want to acknowledge that I do understand that there are reasons besides pixel dimensions – e.g. number of photosites/MP – to choose MF, and that I also understand that there are reasons other than cost to choose a DSLR. :-)