Tag Archives: Equipment

Commentary, Equipment

Photography Gear For Travel

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This is the time of year when people plan their summer travels. Recently I’ve noted people trying to figure out what gear will work for photography while traveling, what kind of camera and what lenses to take. What is the best approach? Take the whole kit? Just use your smartphone? Get something special just for travel photography?

I do a fair amount of travel photography, and I wrote an article sharing some of my ideas: Travel Photography Gear. Click the link and take a look!

Je Suis Bleu, Paris
“Je Suis Bleu” — Sidewalk, graffiti covered wall, and women (virtual and real) on a Paris street

A starting assumption: There is no one “right” or “best” approach to photography while traveling, and what works for me may be far from ideal for you. It depends a lot on your goals and the role photography plays in your travels. The article explores some of the options and variables.

I’m hopeful that this article may help you figure out what will work for you.

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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. Blog | Bluesky | Mastodon | Substack Notes | Flickr | Email

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Equipment, Technique

IBIS Does Not Replace Your Tripod

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Recently I have heard some photographers suggest that IBIS-equipped cameras have made tripods obsolete. IBIS is a fine thing, but that overstates the case.

Photographer Patricia Mitchell
“Photographer Patricia Mitchell” — Photographer Patricia Mitchell at work in early morning autumn light in the Eastern Sierra Nevada.

Contemporary cameras incorporate remarkable advances in camera and lens image stabilization. Some newer cameras with IBIS (In-camera Image stabilization) claim to extend the useful range of shutter speeds for handheld photography by as much as seven stops.

IBIS can be very useful for photographers who shoot handheld. I do urban night street photography using a handheld, IBIS-equipped camera that supports high ISOs — and I can capture subjects that would have been just about impossible to photograph a few decades ago.

Continue reading IBIS Does Not Replace Your Tripod →
Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

Scene From the Urban Jungle

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Scene From the Urban Jungle
A tree in a planter on a Manhattan sidewalk, amidst urban detritus of various sorts.

Scene From the Urban Jungle. © Copyright 2023 G Dan Mitchell.

A tree in a planter on a Manhattan sidewalk, amidst urban detritus of various sorts.

This is yet another photograph from my spring visit to New York City. There’s more going on in this photograph than might be immediately apparent. I’ll share a few hints here, but you may want to look a bit deeper, beyond my description, and even consider potential metaphors, not all of which may be immediately obvious. Some of them were not even obvious to me when I made the photograph, and I only saw them later. Yes, I’m being a bit opaque about this. Have fun…

The backstory is pretty simple. I was staying in Manhattan, a few blocks south of Central Park, while visiting my sons and daughters-in-law. My usual plan is to get out for a bit of a walk in the morning before connecting with them, though the constant wet weather interfered a bit with that. But I did head out for a random walk with my camera. I passed this planter before thinking that it might make a photograph, so I backed up and framed a couple of shots, mainly thinking about colors, the petals on the ground, and a few other odd juxtapositions.

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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

Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects, Photographs: Urban/Street

Cherry Pickers

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Cherry Pickers
A line of cherry pickers along a San Francisco street.

Cherry Pickers. © Copyright 2021 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A line of cherry pickers along a San Francisco street.

Since the previous photograph I posted featured cranes (of a different sort!) I suppose that you could, from a certain perspective, regard this as part of a series. Well, these are sort of cranes, right? I encountered them along a San Francisco street a couple of years ago, in an area under extensive construction as part of the underground expansion of the City’s transit system. I can’t explain why there would be quite so many cherry pickers lined up in a row, but they certainly caught my attention.

I think this photograph my be an example of how the act of carrying a camera can change how you see. I know it changes how I see. Normally, I might give this sight no more than a moment’s notice before moving on: “Interesting. Cherry pickers parked along the road.” But with a camera in hand I start to ask visual and other questions: Who thought to segregate them by color? Do they always store them this way or did someone carefully extend them so their angles nearly matched? Am I the only person who thought they looked like gigantic anthropomorphic figures marching to the right?

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, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Flickr | Facebook | Email

Links to Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Information.

Scroll down to leave a comment or question.

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